bad that the Klan barely escaped. In Chicago, a council made up of a Jew, a Catholic, and a black (note: not a joke) was appointed to recommend legislation on the Klan. Illinois passed a state law saying that no one was allowed to wear a mask in public. In New York there were anti-Klan acts as well. However, after all of the media surrounding the Klan they still managed to stay alive, as did their prejudices. (Ingalls, 65 and 69) The Klan was weakening and fell into what was called “the depression years”. With the growing poverty in America, Klan member’s fees became a luxury that only a few Americans could afford. Even though it looked like everything was going wrong for the KKK they still stayed alive. The north was almost totally stripped of Klan inhabitants. There were still some Klan rallies on Long Island, in the Hudson River Valley, and in cities in New Jersey, Ohio, and Michigan, but only at most 1,000 Klan members were in each area. (Meltzer 64-65) Meanwhile in the south, Klansmen still continued to resort to violence. They would beat any whites that would cater to blacks. They still sought to ensure white supremacy. The KKK also tried to keep blacks from voting. Klansmen would invade black sections of cities and leave messages on cards for blacks to stay away from the voting polls. (Meltzer, 66) By 1936, the Klan started calling communism the main enemy. During this time, Florida's “realm” became the biggest “KKK” movement, with around 30,000 members. The Klan started to show light of coming back again. In the fall of 1946 the Klan burned its first cross atop Stone Mountain. The Klan was getting back into full swing. From California to New York the Klan stated showing signs of life. (Meltzer, 55) Since the Klan was making a comeback, it began to meet strong opposition once again. Attorney General Tom Clarke of Texas said he would use every law in the book to break up the Klan. In many ...
