Ku Klux Klan Collection, 1917-1920
(Manuscript Collection #425)
Descriptive Summary
| Title: | Ku Klux Klan Collection |
| Creator: | Ku Klux Klan |
| Repository: | ECU Manuscript Collection |
| Languages: | English |
| Abstract: | Collection (1917-1920) including a letter, pamphlet, a proclamation, admission card, penciled notations. 6 items. |
| Extent: | 0.073 Cubic feet, 6 items , consisting of a letter and pamphlets, a proclamation, and an admission card. |
Administrative Information
Accessions Information
April 7, 1981, 5 items; Papers (1917-1920), including correspondence, a proclamation, and pamphlets. Gift of Mr. Norman Caine, Raleigh, N.C.
January 15, 1997 (unprocessed addition 1), 1 item; Copy of The Fiery Cross (April 1965), containing articles on the racial violence in Selma, Alabama. Donor: Mr. S. Tony Jordan, Jr.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions
Copyright Notice
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.
Preferred Citation
Ku Klux Klan Collection (#425), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Acquisition Information
- Gift of Mr. Norman Caine
- Gift of Mr. S. Tony Jordan
Processing Information
-
Processed by J.W. Morris III, January 1985
-
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Description
The collection consists of Klan publications and personal correspondence from its Imperial Wizard. A letter (January 13, 1919) from Col. W. J. Simmons, Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in Atlanta, Georgia, to Maurice O. Roberts of Greensboro, N.C., encourages Roberts to join the Klan, describes the organization in general terms, and promises more information when Roberts joins. Simmons discusses the money a Klan organizer could make and offers to send Roberts literature on the Klan.
Three pamphlets and a proclamation (1917) constitute Klan propaganda. One, written by Simmons, discusses the Klan's history, its goals, and its policies. The second pamphlet, a reprint of a signed editorial from McClures' Magazine (April, 1920) is titled Scum O' The Melting Pot. In it, Herbert Kaufman describes America's Anglo-Saxon mission. A third (incomplete) pamphlet (undated), entitled America, The Second Land of Promise, bemoans America's anti-Christian stance and the removal of Christian ethics and teachings from its government, educational system, and military. The pamphlet further decries the influence of Jewish and Catholic elements in American society and advocates Col. William Simmons and his organization as the salvation of white America.
The collection also contains an admission card (undated) for Mr. M[aurice] O. Roberts to hear an address on Americanism, with penciled notations on the reverse side.
Subject Headings
Personal/Family name
Topical term
Geographic name
Online access to this finding aid is supported with funds created through the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). These funds come through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services which is administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. This grant is part of the North Carolina ECHO, Exploring Cultural Heritage Online, Digitization Grant Program.
