The Fall of Oklahoma Klanswomen

Political Activities of Oklahoma Women in the Early Twentieth Century.

(PRWEB) September 29, 2004 -- Women belonged to numerous patriotic organizations in the 1920s, but perhaps none as conservative as the Knights of Kamelia and the Women of the Ku Klux Klan (WKKK).

The WKKK is one of only a number of early Oklahoma womens political organizations discussed in a new book, Whos Rocking the Cradle? Women Pioneers of Oklahoma Politics from Socialism to the KKK, 1900-1930," by Suzanne H. Schrems, Ph.D.

The first women activists in Oklahoma were Socialists, but by 1920, far-right organizations such as the WKKK attracted many Oklahoma women. According to the author, Many civic-minded women ... found the Women of the Ku Klux Klan to be the organization that best represented their political ideals.

The WKKK roots were in the White American Protestant Study Club in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where an organizer for the KKK convinced the all women membership to form an organization patterned over the Ku Klux Klan. The Women of the Ku Klux spread to other communities across the state where women found it quite easy to move from their patriotic clubs into a secret organization because from behind their mask of anonymity, they believed they could better enforce traditional American values."

By 1921, WKKK announced that Oklahoma had 291 chapters and 23,859 members. Not every woman was eligible for membership in the WKKK. Only if a woman could adhere to the policies numerated on an official invitation could they qualify for membership. Policies that a good Klanswoman should support were, Tenets of the Christian religion, just laws and liberty, upholding the Constitution of the United States, preventing the causes of mob violence and lynching, limitation on foreign immigration and to understand the relations of home and duty."

WKKK members considered their organization a separate entity and not an auxiliary to the KKK. The women, like the men, were white supremacists who stood against foreign immigration, internationalism and Roman Catholicism," and The women of the Ku Klux Klan were impatient with the slow-grinding wheels of justice. To them, there was a litany of societal problems, including corrupt public officials, cultural decay and religious contamination that needed their attention."

But, looking out for others also was part of the WKKK program. Klanswomen helped those in need in their communities by providing necessary items such as clothing, food baskets and, in some cases, money. A family in need very seldom saw its benefactor."

The Oklahoma WKKK lasted only about five years. Violence by the KKK men damaged the WKKK, as well as internal divisions among the leadership, and a strong anti-Klan bill passed by the Oklahoma legislature; all contributed to the decline of both the KKK and the WKKK in 1925.

Whos Rocking the Cradle? Women Pioneers of Oklahoma Politics from Socialism to the KKK, 1900-1930. By Suzanne H. Schrems, Ph.D. www.horsecreekpublications.com, 405-364-9647

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