is normally thought of as being an anti-Negro institution,
the other major themes on which it built in the 1920s were opposition to
Catholicism, dope, bootlegging, gambling, roadhouses and loose sexual
behavior.

For the Klan, the end justified the means. Defending the values of
American society was to them so important as to condone the use of
violence and murder. By 1921, Klan membership had soared to 100,000 but
its real growth had only just begun, As it came under public attack, its
popularity increased. Newspapers and Congressmen charged that the Klan
had violated the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Thirteenth Amendments to
the Constitution. The House Rules Comittee held hearings on the Klan.
However, the comittee chairman found that he lost the next election.
Newspapers attacked the Klan in lurid headlines which, although they
helped to sell copy, only succeeded in making the Klan more attractive to
potential members. By 1923 Klan membership was estimated between two and
three million.

When it was at its zenith, the Klan used violence, intimidation, and
parades to make its presence known in the community. Its members were
prominent on police forces, sheriff departments, and various other local
branches of government. In the early 1920s, Klan support was responsible
for electing a handful of senators and several Congressmen. Finally, in
1924, an attempt was made to capture both political parties on the
national level. Failing to get its nominee chosen as Vice President on
the Republican ticket, the Klan swung its full attention to the
Democratic convention in Madison Square Garden in New York. Anti-Klan
forces at the convention were also strong. The convention leadership made
the attempt to keep the issue in the background, but a minority report on
the platform resulted in forcing the convention to condemn the Klan by
name. The convention was split in two. As a result, it took the party
nine days and one hundred and twenty-three ballots before it was
successful in choosing its national candidates. In the following year,
the Klan again tried to make its presence felt on the national scene. It
held a march of its members in Washington. Forty thousand robed and
hooded Klansmen marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in a display of strength
while thousands more cheered and watched.

The violence which, for a short time, had helped the Klan to grow, would
eventually contribute to its decline. It appealed to public anim