The Ku Klux Klan's Association with Political Leaders

During the Progressive Era of the South, the Ku Klux Klan became a major political force. Many members of the government were involved with the Klan. In the 1920s Thomas Hardwick, governor of Georgia at the time, denounced the Klan while campaigning for re-election, he subsequently lost to Clifford Walker, a close member of the Klan that even spoke at the national KKK convention in Kansas. ¹ This shows the level of influence the Klan had on the government. This is due, in part, to the efforts of Hiram W. Evans, who took charge of the Klan in 1922 with the goal of turning it into a major political machine. He succeeded in this goal for a brief time as by 1924 both major political parties in America wouldn't attack the Klan.²  The Klan mainly supported the Democratic party due to the party's views on African Americans.