AHC: prevent (or greatly mitigate) the revival of the KKK, 1915-1920

The progenitor of the revival was the publication of the Thomas Dixon novel, The Clansman in 1905. This romantic view of the post-Civil War south and the KKK, along with the rise of immigration (particularly from eastern and southern Europe) constitute what many view as the groundwork for the revival of the organization in 1915.

That re-emergence took place under the guidance of one William Simmons, a Methodist minister in Georgia, approximately at the same time that the cinema version of The Clansman premiered. That movie was D. W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation. Many accounts hold that Simmons, already a member of multiple organizations, was inspired by the movie, particularly since he wanted his name associated with the founding of some sort of "fraternal" (using that designation very loosely) organization.

So: the challenge is to thwart the KKK revival in 1915, or its great expansion beginning in 1920 under the malign tutelage of Edward Y. Clarke and Elizabeth Tyler. Prevent it outright, or curtail it so that it's a fraction of what it was in our timeline. Good luck.
 
Whatever the specifics of the 1915 revival the attraction over the next few years was the Klans appeal to the white protestant citizenry. The early 20th Century was marked by increasing immigration from non English and non protestant Europe and Asia. Many WASPs from long established lineage in North America felt threatened by the increasing number of swarthy smelly Catholics & Easter Orthodox immigrants. Even Nordic German types & fifth generation Irish Catholics were seen as a threat to 'True Americanism' . The Klan seemed to gain membership the most where local Klan leaders were able to build on the agitation created by current social trends.

The acceleration of the decline in need for rural agrarian labor and the migration to the urban industrial towns was a profound change in US character between the largely rural 19th Century & urban 20th Century. That the WASP migrants to the cities found themselves in direct competition with recent garlic eating polka dancing immigrants led to the appeal of the Klans message. That the immigrants drank a lot of alcohol, had Anarchists, Socialists, & Reds among them just sealed the deal. Clearly they needed to be kept in line, & if the guvmint was not going to do it the the citizens had to, by all means necessary. Note how the Klan was a strong supporter of Prohibition through 1919-1921. A high portion of the Klan then came from strict tetotalling Protestant sects. People who had bought off on the entire Demon Rum story, who seemed to think any sort of fun was the work of Satan.
 
Ireland gets a demographic transition circa 1790 like France, so no surplus population to see a famine or flee. As a result, the US's first catholics are germans/italians instead of the Irish so fit in much easier. No KKK revival, or if it comes back it's only aimed at blacks/jews.
 
Ireland gets a demographic transition circa 1790 like France, so no surplus population to see a famine or flee. As a result, the US's first catholics are germans/italians instead of the Irish so fit in much easier. No KKK revival, or if it comes back it's only aimed at blacks/jews.

Well, the first Catholic immigrants to the US in your scenario would be Germans (Italians didn't come to the US in sizable numbers until the latter years of the 19th century). And wouldn't that make matters worse, since German Catholics don't speak English as a first language? That would just add fuel to the nativist fires.
 
Have a liberal progressive like tr go after the education during their early time as president, and demonize the south and their message as hard asp possible federally. Strip the daughters of the confederacy of whatever clout they have. This might not stop the oldest of the recruits, but it makes the younger generation less likely to fall to the dark side
 
Have a liberal progressive like tr go after the education during their early time as president, and demonize the south and their message as hard asp possible federally. Strip the daughters of the confederacy of whatever clout they have. This might not stop the oldest of the recruits, but it makes the younger generation less likely to fall to the dark side
No. You'd get a strong second klan. Difference is it'd include blacks as part of the nativist coalition against the catholics.

Well, the first Catholic immigrants to the US in your scenario would be Germans (Italians didn't come to the US in sizable numbers until the latter years of the 19th century). And wouldn't that make matters worse, since German Catholics don't speak English as a first language? That would just add fuel to the nativist fires.
English/british had a long and unpleasant history with ireland. Germans/italians/poles at worst didn't speak english as their first language on moving here. Irish? A long and drama-filled history.
 
Ireland gets a demographic transition circa 1790 like France, so no surplus population to see a famine or flee. As a result, the US's first catholics are germans/italians instead of the Irish so fit in much easier. No KKK revival, or if it comes back it's only aimed at blacks/jews.

Germans and (especially) Italians would have received even more pushback. At least the Irish could speak English.

Some of my ancestors were affiliated with the Know-Nothing Party in the 1800s. Another branch of my family tree is Irish Catholic. Irony.
 
You would have to butterfly the temperance movement as understood. Fun fact: they fuelled lost cause myths of grant being an alcoholic while exalting the straight edge lee.
 
Ben Franklin openly expressed concerns about having too many Germans. There's precedent for otherizing them.

And this time period coincided with WW1, which provided a pretext for anti German sentiment.

You would need different history in Europe. Maybe instead of Catholic emancipation, England deports its Catholics to the US or at an earlier point to the colonies. This makes Catholics lessalien from a US perspective. Or have a more recent POD that minimizes the number of people coming from southern and eastern Europe. Then Catholics aren't also ethnics.

The second Klan was very strong in the North where the black population was minimal.
 
1) Restrictions on immigration starting shortly after the Civil War - the large number of Europeans migrating to America at the time played just as much of a role in the rise of the Klan as did increasing black empowerment
2) No birthright citizenship - give freed slaves citizenship but don’t extend the law that does it beyond them. A fear of Irish/Italian/Polish/other “ethnic White” political power was a driving factor in the Klan’s power
3) No anti-alcohol movement
 
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