Defiance: Thomas Hardwick and the Backlash of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia Politics
Location
Presentation- College of Arts and Humanities
Document Type and Release Option
Thesis Presentation (Archived)
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Lisa Denmark
Faculty Mentor Email
ldenmark@georgiasouthern.edu
Presentation Year
2021
Start Date
26-4-2021 12:00 AM
End Date
30-4-2021 12:00 AM
Keywords
Georgia Southern University, Honors Symposium, Presentation
Description
In 1915, William Simmons reestablished the Ku Klux Klan atop Stone Mountain after 50 years of inactivity. Within a few years of promoting itself, the KKK grew from a few thousand to several million members across the United States by the start of the 1920s. With its strong national growth, the Klan also had a large following in Georgia, where many new members worked in the state's public institutions. At the start of the decade, Thomas William Hardwick became the Governor of Georgia. In response to an uptick in Klan-associated crime, Hardwick attempted to establish anti-klan policies. Klan members criticized Hardwick throughout his term, and supported his opponent, Clifford Walker, a Klan member, for governor in 1922. Hardwick's political career never fully recovered from his fight with the Klan.
Academic Unit
College of Arts and Humanities
Defiance: Thomas Hardwick and the Backlash of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia Politics
Presentation- College of Arts and Humanities
In 1915, William Simmons reestablished the Ku Klux Klan atop Stone Mountain after 50 years of inactivity. Within a few years of promoting itself, the KKK grew from a few thousand to several million members across the United States by the start of the 1920s. With its strong national growth, the Klan also had a large following in Georgia, where many new members worked in the state's public institutions. At the start of the decade, Thomas William Hardwick became the Governor of Georgia. In response to an uptick in Klan-associated crime, Hardwick attempted to establish anti-klan policies. Klan members criticized Hardwick throughout his term, and supported his opponent, Clifford Walker, a Klan member, for governor in 1922. Hardwick's political career never fully recovered from his fight with the Klan.
Comments
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