Episode description
The Ku Klux Klan came to Indiana in 1920. Within four years it had infiltrated Indiana politics to the highest levels. But they did not go unchallenged. The Indianapolis Times crusaded against the KKK at every step and contributed to their downfall. In this episode, students will learn about the rise and fall of the Indiana Klan and its nefarious leader, the convicted murderer D.C. Stephenson.
Standards
US History
USH 4.3 – Assess the causes of the resurgence of conservative social movements, reform movements, and vigilante groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, the Red Scare, and Prohibition.
Indiana Studies
IS.1.17 – Identify new cultural movements of the 1920s and analyze how these movements reflected and changed Indiana society.
Examples: Jazz on Indiana Avenue (Indianapolis), French Lick Springs and West Baden, Cole Porter, KKK, Gennett Records, John Dillinger, Hoagy Carmichael, Prohibition.
IS.1.18 – Identify areas of social tension such as the Red Scare, Prohibition, Religious Fundamentalism, the KKK, New Morality, and the New Woman and explain their consequences in the post-WWI era as it pertains to Indiana.
Examples: D.C. Stephenson and the Indiana Klu Klux Klan, Steel strike in Calumet, Albion Fellows Bacon.
