Note: Paper demonstrates how to summarize, analyze, and critique an
historical monograph. Note the way in which the author dissects the text while also fairly
and concisely summarizing the central points of the work under review.
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In his book Citizen Klansmen, author Leonard J. Moore gives a comprehensive analysis of the Ku Klux Klan as it existed in Indiana from the years 1921 through 1928. In his own words, Moore's thesis is that "the largest state Klan of the 1920's is best understood not as a nativist organization, at least as nativism is usually defined by historians, but rather as a populist organization." (11) Citizen Klansmen presents the argument that the Ku Klux Klan of 1920's Indiana was not the stereotypical version of immigrant-hating vigilantes which most people associate with the Klan, but that it was instead a reflection of the popular concerns of the majority of citizens at the time. Moore also makes the assertion that "the real victims were the members of the Republican political establishment" and not the "nearly nonexistent ethnic minorities." (12) A brief analysis of each chapter of Citizen Klansmen reveals the arguments and evidence which Moore uses to support his thesis.
Following his introduction in Chapter 1, Moore addresses the subject of White Protestant Nationalism in Chapter 2. Moore's basic argument in this chapter is that the Klan was "dispensing ideas that appealed to average citizens, not disaffected fringe groups." (43) The author, however, seems to contradict himself when he states in the same chapter that the ideals of the Klan were "racism, religious bigotry, and hidebound patriotism, and on a number of occasions it was linked to violent vigilante activities." (15) Moore also states that the ideals of the Klan which linked them to their followers were bigotry and hatred of specific racial and religious groups, and he points out such groups as Catholics, Jews, and immigrants which were targeted by the Klan. Moore then apparently tries to temper this account with the argument that the Klan "also focused on such issues as law enforcement, especially of Prohibition, problems of vice and public morality, political corruption, the erosion of traditional family values, waning church attendance, and the need for better public schools." (22) The evidence presented in this chapter would seem to contradict Moore's assertion that the Klan was not a primarily nativist organization.
In Chapter 3, Moore explores the segments of Indiana population which made up the Klan, and he presents a series of statistical tables which show Klan disbursement according to such factors as religious affiliation, home ownership and rentals, urban and rural residence, and occupations and wages earned. Moore's use of this evidence makes for a stronger argument that the Klan was able to cross geographic, class, and denominational boundaries in order to appeal to a wide cross-section of the Indiana populace. However, Moore's statement that the Klan 11represented in significant numbers ... every type of community" (45) would seem to assume that there were no other citizens besides white Protestants living in Indiana in the 1920's.
Chapter 4 of Citizen Klansmen examines the interaction of the Klan in the community, and it begins with an account of a massive Klan rally in Kokomo, Indiana which drew a crowd of over 100,000 people. Even though this rally espoused typical Klan bigotry and intolerance and ended with the traditional cross burning, Moore believes that the town's citizens still did not regard the Klan as a dangerous group of vigilantes. Moore argues that aspects of Indiana society including industrial development, the migration of southern blacks, declining voter turnout, and Prohibition formed the backgound which the Klan performed against. Moore cites the Klan's outrage over these issues as evidence of the Klan's attempt to insinuate itself into the everyday lives of a wide segment of the population.
In Chapter 5, Moore compares and contrasts the cities of Richmond, Wayne County, and Indianapolis as three types of communities which embraced the Klan: medium-sized commercial town, outlying rural community, and large industrial city. For evidence, Moore once again produces several statistical tables which show the dispersal of Klan members within these three types of communities, according to such factors as occupations and occupational differences. In the case of Indianapolis, Moore argues that the Klan's racially segregated high schools and accompanying residential segregation ordinances led to their role of scapegoat in later years, and that these measures would have taken place even if the Klan had not existed. However, these very actions on the part of the Klan which Moore cites undermine his argument.
Chapter 6 of Citizen Klansmen examines the Klan's role in Indiana politics and
its ability to shape the outcome of local elections. Moore once again produces evidence in
the form of tables which show the influence of different segments of Indiana society upon
the elections of 1920 and 1924. Moore's argument for widespread Klan acceptance is more
effective in this chapter, as he convincingly describes the favorable results the Klan was
able to obtain for themselves in these elections. Moore also notes the failure of the
Klan's leadership to capitalize on their brief success, due to a lack of unity and
commitment, infighting among the Klan's leaders, and scandal and corruption. The negative
publicity which surrounded these latter events also contributed to the eventual demise of
the Klan's brief period of accomplishment.
Citizen Klansmen by Leonard J. Moore is ultimately a work which presents convincing
and simultaneously contradictory arguments. While Moore's evidence is apparently
well-researched, especially given the scarcity of official Klan documents, there is
occasionally a tone about his work which suggests that the Ku Klux Klan of 1920's Indiana
was a misunderstood group, and this is what provides much of the contradiction between Moore's evidence and his conclusions.