The KKK in US Legislation #100YearsAgoToday #SundaySalon
Happy Sunday! Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at ReaderBuzz. Check out her post and the links to see what other bloggers have been up to in the last week.
This is my third post inspired by the book A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s plot to take over America, and the woman who stopped them by Timothy Egan.
I can tell this is a popular book because my book review is currently the most visited post on my blog, surpassing the usual post that gets attention in May (the summary of Shakespeare’s Macbeth that students find helpful at the end of the school year).
I also wrote a post where I explored what I learned about how the KKK operated in Indiana, particularly Tipton County, where my grandfather got involved.
Today, I want to write about what happened one hundred years ago on this date. The United States Congress enacted the Immigration Act of 1924, giving the Klan exactly what they wanted, discriminatory policies based on skin colors and religions.
Strict quotas on shunned countries slashed new arrivals from eastern and southern Europe to a bare trickle, shutting out Jews and olive-skinned Catholics. The new law made it impossible for someone from Japan to come to America legally, and tightened the already harsh ban on Chinese. Africa was shut out as well. After all the speeches and essays about eugenics and human imperfections, after the crusades against the criminality of the mongrel hordes, the hooded order got everything it wanted. (p. 171, A Fever in the Heartland)
The Wikipedia article covers some of the unintended consequences of legislation that goes against the highest ideals of the United States. By legislating hate, the United States
- ended a move toward democracy in Japan and ushered in Japan’s resentment of the US
- prevented Jews from moving out of every-increasing danger zones (including the family of Anne Frank, according to A Fever in the Heartland)
- reduced innovation and suppressed the economy in the United States
- perpetuated eugenics and racial stereotyping
- encouraged and influenced the thinking of Adolf Hitler
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana, Spanish-American philosopher in The Life of Reason, or The Phases of Human Progress, 1905
Your post gave me chills. Hatred has never worked well as a policy position in any time or in any place on earth. As MLK, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” It always seems like those who focus most on hating others have been the victims of hatred in their own lives.
I am saddened by the direction America has been going in recent years.
Interesting book, but a scary one too. I agree with what Deb said. It really is a sad time right now.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
I have been thinking about this quote a lot lately, especially as I read Team of Rivals and reflect on the turbulence and division of the 1850s. This is yet another scary context…
Interesting book and post. It is so hard to see the decline we are in.
It’s hard to believe this level of hatred happens even today.
I think Tim Egan is such a good writer and researcher. I was disturbed to learn that the KKK had a big presence in Oregon, too. It made me cringe to learn this when I found out about it. There are still parts of the state which are very racist. Sigh.
Believe it or not but about 10 years ago when we were riding the motorcyle throgh Donaldsonville GA we saw guys in klan outfits! I leaned toward Doug and asked, “Did you see That? Was that…???!!!”
Yes, it was. I felt like we’d gone back in time and was horrified that was so public in this day and age. Sad commentary on this country.
Great review.
I’ve heard that my grandpa was involved with the KKK in Kentucky. I cannot imagine. But my dad sure did have a strong hatred and fear of anyone who wasn’t white and he must’ve gotten that from somewhere.
My mom had some uncles and aunts in Tipton that they used to visit when she was a little girl living in 1930’s Indianapolis. They refered to it as “the country”. During the depression when my Mom’s family of 9 would return home with a load of farm goods from Uncle Herbert’s farm. I have not heard of any of her people being involved in the KKK, but who knows?
They faced their own persecution for being from Germany and Ireland.