Klan Ideology in Effect
In many cases, the laws passed by the political establishment of the 1920s were very much in line with the political goals of the Klan. The Klan’s height occurred during an extremely conservative period in American politics with the Republican party in control for the most part during the decade. Conservative policies like prohibition and anti-immigration laws matched nicely with the reactionary politics of the Klan which enthusiastically offered to aid in their enforcement. While especially in the state of Washington, most law enforcement officers denied Klan assistance, the Klan nonetheless made itself known as demanding strict law enforcement in regard to the laws the organization agreed with.
A common practice of the Klan was the delivery of written warnings to those deemed morally corrupt. In many cases those warned by the Klan were individuals involved in the consumption or distribution of bootleg liquor. Additionally, law enforcement officials and those involved in the legal process would be warned if they did not enforce the law strict enough. While it is unknown how many such letters were sent in the Spokane region, they were commonly reported in areas where the Klan was strong—notably in Northern Oregon.
Regardless of how violent the organization was in the State of Washington; the actions of the organization nationally were enough to enact some social control over the people of Washington. Notably, on March 11th, 1924, John Groger, a Seattle teen suspected of murder turned himself in to the police out of fear he would be lynched by the Klan. His fear, while not necessarily legitimate in the state of Washington in which the Klan was largely nonviolent, was fueled by increasing Klan presence in the region coupled with the notoriety of the order as a night riding organization riding for strict law enforcement and strictly enforced morals.
Criticisms of the Klan stated that the organization attempted to intermingle law and morals to the point that they sought to define sin in legal terms. Fuels by reactionary politics and conservative Christianity, the Klan sought to label all that they were opposed to as both sinful and illegal. In rhetoric surrounding prohibition laws, the Klan sought to paint breaking these laws as inherently sinful thus legitimizing not only established law enforcement but also vigilante justice against transgressors. The Klan was not an isolated response to the less tradition values of modern life in the 1920s. During their rise to power, the Fascist party of Italy was compared to the Klan in their vigilante enforcement of laws and hardline authority. The Klan of the 1920s can ideologically be seen as a fascist like movement with a distinctly American twist. It should come as no surprise that many Klan officials such as King Kleagle of the Pacific Northwest Major Luther Ivan Powell eventually became involved with fascist movements and pro-Hitler organizations in the 1930s.