How much power could the Ku Klux Klan have gotten?

[All Rounder]

The Ku Klux Klan are quite a prominent movement that dates back to the late 1860s with the first movement which died out in the late 1870s, it was recreated back in 1915 with the now infamous cross burning and white robes being donned, peaking at an astonishing number between three and six million members in 1924 and '25. The third movement is more so an insurgency compared to the previous groups as it's member size is less than 10,000 as of 2015. But a question I am currently curious about is how much political power the Ku Klux Klan could have gotten if supported massively by the public.

 

[Booster Gold]

In what period are you referring to? In the bad old days of segregation they got massive support from the public but they didn't need political power because the local governments were already ideologically aligned with them and the federal government looked the other way.

In the 1870s they basically won.
In the early decades of the 20th century they had so much power that they were essentially above the law.
At present, for the moment, thier level of overt racism is distasteful. No one wants to promote white supremacy by force. However, if they underwent an ideological facelift like Marine LePen's National Front though, they could, conceivably, become as important to the American political spectrum as the NRA or the Christian right.

But their public brand is so badly tainted at this point, they'd all be better off if they all left en masse and started some new organization. Call it the LLL or the JJJ or something.

 

[All Rounder]

In what period are you referring to? In the bad old days of segregation they got massive support from the public but they didn't need political power because the local governments were already ideologically aligned with them and the federal government looked the other way.

In the 1870s they basically won.
In the early decades of the 20th century they had so much power that they were essentially above the law.
At present, for the moment, thier level of overt racism is distasteful. No one wants to promote white supremacy by force. However, if they underwent an ideological facelift like Marine LePen's National Front though, they could, conceivably, become as important to the American political spectrum as the NRA or the Christian right.

But their public brand is so badly tainted at this point, they'd all be better off if they all left en masse and started some new organization. Call it the LLL or the JJJ or something.

Preferring the second movement for the point of wank.

 

[Booster Gold]

Well in the second period they don't need political power. Woodrow Wilson is segregating the federal government so it goes all the way up. I suppose if some prominent politician actually made an effort to improve civil rights on a large scale the backlash could see the klan gain power nationwide. But not in a political way. The klan is a vigilante organisation first and foremost. It'd be like asking Batman to run for Mayor of Gotham.

But...

You might be able to have them form a shadow government/secret society type thing within the federal government, if you're creative enough. I guess.

 

[Arkenfolm]

The Klan would have to be the "power behind the throne" (rather than having the President and a bunch of congressmen burning crosses on the White House lawn or something). In that no one could run for/win an election without Klan approval. This isn't too far out of the question, since well into the 20th century in many places, you needed to have the approval of the local political machine to win even the primary (which was in places like the South, the real election). So what we're presuming is that the KKK takes over/becomes the political machines that dominated local/state politics.

And that's pretty hard, since the Klan seems hard to make compromises with. Apparently, they had an auxiliary group on the same status as the Women's Ku Klux Klan meant for blacks, as well as one meant for naturalised Protestant citizens. How can these groups be any stronger, when that would compromise so much of what the Klan was and what gave them their appeal? And for that reason, they can't take over/defeat the political machines on a large enough basis. These are the sort of machines which helped black people in the South vote during Jim Crow whenever it suited their needs. You're gonna need a very different Klan to defeat the strength, and with such an alienation of blacks, Catholics, and immigrants in general, they simply can't win.

Nationally, I still doubt it. The Klan can sway major elections their way. But their enemies are still the local/state machines, which can sway them the other way. The Klan would have a difficult time of swaying presidential elections more than they did OTL.

But less Catholics and immigrants in general in the US might be able to help the Klan out. However, would you even have the Klan have so much strength at that point? Anti-black racism would only take you so far in the 1920s in the places the Klan's powerbase was (Indiana, etc.), simply because of how few blacks there were there at that time.