s and torched the sucker. One week later, this group applied for a state charter making them "The Knights of the KKK, Inc." This was put in effect during the Reconstruction. The new Klan, at first, received little attention. In time, it grew to become the largest and most powerful Klan in history. Klan membership was limited to native-born, white, Protestant American men. The Klan message was clearly to appeal to people who were troubled by abrupt changes in American Society. (Ingalls, 16-17) Many believe that the biggest growth of the “KKK” began when Colonel Simmons, considerably the founder of the new “KKK”, linked up with Edward Young Clarke and Elizabeth Tyler. In June 1920, Clarke and Simmons signed a contract that guaranteed Clarke a share of the Klan’s profits. Clarke and Tyler would receive a good amount of money for each new “KKK” member. The fee for membership would be $10. The money was split up so that $4 went to the Kleagle (an official in the KKK), $1 went to the King Kleagle (state leader of the Klan), $.50 to the Grand Goblin, and $2.50 to Clarke and Tyler. The final $2.00 went to Colonel Simmons. This promotion brought over 85,000 new Klan members, and over $85,000 in Klan profits. The Klan still had more publicity to come its way.In the 1920’s many Americans felt threatened by the variety of recent changes, and in 1920 most Americans were living in cities. Many Americans were scared that Jewish and Catholic immigrants would dominate cities. Americans also thought their country was coming apart at the seams. The KKK presented itself as the "100 percent Americanism." This slogan proved popular because it acted as an alternative to the ever-changing society. By the end of 1922 there were approximately 1,200,000 members in the Klan. This time period supposedly had the highest number of Klan members ever recorded. (Ingalls, 24-25) One of the greatest Klan strengths came in 1...
