Ku Klux Klan in northwestern Wisconsin

Abstract

There appeared on the American scene during the decade of the twenties a new phenomenon bent on making the United States safe for Americans. Recognized by William J. Simmons in 1915, the Ku Klux Klan made little headway until after the First World War. A factor in the affairs of many states of the Union, few communities went unscathed as a result of the Klan's preachments of hatred and bigotry. Wisconsin was no exception in seeing many of its communities suffer a rending of the social fabric. What follows, then, is the story of what happened to several localities in northwestern Wisconsin when the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan first made its appearance in that section of the state.