Accounts for the Rise of the Ku Klux Klan in America in the 1920s

The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s provided what was perhaps one of the most spectacular examples of patriotism, secrecy and malevolence ever witnessed, and as with all sensational organisations , has been subject to a great deal of speculation concerning it's origins and success. The second Ku Klux Klan, which was modelled on the Reconstruction-era order , has myriad causes attributable to its rise. Essentially it was the perfect formula of financial opportunism and the chameleonic nature of the Klan , that successfully manipulated existing grievances into a barrage of support for the hooded order. Factors such as popular cultural revisionism , World War One and the ensuing changes to the traditional American way of life as well as the hatred of foreigners were contributing factors to the Klan's re-birth. …