Ku Klux Klan collection (Tacoma, Washington)
Overview
This collection consists chiefly of Ku Klux Klan membership guides, but also includes communications relating to Klan members of Pierce County, Washington during the 1920s. Included are pamphlets published by and for Women of the Ku Klux Klan, two photographs of a Klan parade float, and a Klan hood from Tacoma, Washington.
Dates
- Creation: 1920 - 1936
Creator
- Ku Klux Klan (1915- ) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
History of the KU Klux Klan
The organization known as the Ku Klux Klan emerged in U.S. history as a secret society of the South whose mission was to reassert white supremacy in the aftermath of the Civil War. The organization became known for terrorism and for the ritualistic use of white masks and robes by its members. The Klan flourished again in the period of patriotism which followed World War I, reaching a peak in the 1920s. During this period, the Klan added to its pursuit of white supremacy an intense nativism, anti-Catholicism, and anti-Semitism which permeated its organizations of the North as well as the South.
Extent
.25 Linear Feet (1 box (10 folders))
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
This collection consists chiefly of Ku Klux Klan membership guides, but includes items relating specifically to Klan members of Pierce County, Washington during the 1920s. Among the membership pamphlets are many published by and for Women of the Ku Klux Klan, including membership application forms.
Collection items that relate to Pierce County, Washington include a typed communication to Women of the Ku Klux Klan of Washington State; two photographs of a Ku Klux Klan parade float; a signed meeting notice to local Klan members from the Grand Cyclops of the Puyallup Ku Klux Klan of Pierce County, Washington; a Klan hood labeled Tacoma, Washington; and a published booklet of the initiation ceremony for installation of Klan officers, annotated with names of Pierce County, Washington initiates.
Collection content is chiefly from the 1920s.
Physical Location
RH WL MS 33
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift, 2006
Subject
- Ku Klux Klan (1915- ) -- Handbooks, manuals, etc. (Organization)
- Women of the Ku Klux Klan (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the KU Klux Klan Collection (Tacoma, Washington)
- Subtitle
- Ku Klux Klan collection (Tacoma, Washington)
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by mh 2009; Finding aid encoded by mh, 2006, rev. 2009
- Date
- 2009
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English.
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/5392491499
- Preferred citation
-
Ku Klux Klan collection (Tacoma, Washington), Wilcox Collection, Kansas Collection, RH WL MS 33, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository