1925: The Verge of Decline
Still possessing substantial membership, the Spokane Klan remained somewhat active throughout 1925. Exalted Cyclops Rev. C. A. Rexroad kept the Spokane chapter in the papers through charitable donations on the part of the Klan as well as a film screening. In February of 1925, the Spokane KKK advocated for an exhibition of the 1915 silent film Birth of a Nation: a highly influential film displaying a heroic Klan in the south during the days of reconstruction. The film’s initial release in 1915 had prompted the Klan revival that by the 1920s was in full swing. The planned showing of the film at the Class A Theater in downtown Spokane struck controversy. The most vocal critics of the film came from the Spokane NAACP led by Rev. E. B. Reed of the Cavalry Baptist Church. The result of this outcry was the elimination of certain scenes from the film as determined by the Spokane City Council. Rexroad’s final response was an acceptance of these changes.
The showing of Birth of a Nation points to a desire of the Spokane Klan to increase membership. Rather than hold a screening of the film for Klansmen and their families, the film was meant to foster positive sentiment towards the Klan as it had when it released in 1915. The film served as a propaganda piece to give those with views in line with the Klan a sense of purpose and duty to join the organization—a sense of excitement. This move on the part of the Spokane Klan is a natural one as following an electoral defeat the previous fall, it is likely to asses some Klansmen would feel disillusioned with the organization—especially amidst headlines of infighting coming from Seattle and later the Yakima Valley.
Klan presence in 1925 continued visually as it had in the past two years with the Klan making regular headlines—albeit much less than in the days leading up to the 1924 election—for events such as cross burnings and Initiations. 1925 also marked a peculiar trend in Klan politics. January 18th, it was reported by Exalted Cyclops Rexroad that the candidates for the upcoming city commissioner election would be reviewed by the Klan and an endorsement would be given. Nearly a month later, Rexroad released a statement to the Spokesman Review stating the Klan to have no official endorsements of candidates. This change from previous years came with the caveat that the Klan would release recommendations only to its own members. The reasoning given for a lack of hard endorsement was the Klan approved of all candidates. While his is likely true, declining to publish a favorite shows a decreased confidence in the sway of the Klan in the eyes of Rexroad. With the Klan’s lack of endorsement, the race was fairly non-controversial. Rumors circulated and were denied that the Klan had a hand in the school board election and a hardline candidate for Sheriff stated that like many organizations, there were good men in the Klan.
The next mention of the Klan precluding to Spokane Politics came the Fall of 1925. The Spokane Klan geared for one last push at political influence when the race for state representative in the fourth legislative district gave Spokane voters the choice between two Catholic candidates. The response was the promotion of Sticker candidate Thomas McCormick to run against the two Catholics. McCormick, although a protestant, was not a member of the Klan as he was born outside of the United States however he did support Klan principles including the political view touted by the Klan at that time that the Bible should be read in public school. The Klan did not officially endorse McCormick however Rev C. A. Rexroad of Corbin park Methodist Church and Exalted Cyclops of the Spokane KKK did admit to sending out letters of support for McCormick from his position of power in the Methodist Church network. While both of the Catholic Candidates maintained the support of their parties, McCormick was able to sweep the election without being officially on the ballot—gaining more votes than the other two combined. While this may seem like a show of Klan power, a more likely reason for McCormick’s success could very well be chalked up to already existing anti-Catholic sentiment in the region.
The special election of Fall 1925 serves as an excellent example of both why the Klan was able to exist in Spokane during the 1920’s as well as why the organization was somewhat short lived. It makes sense that they were able to establish in the region with only moderate resistance—resistance not to their bigotry in many cases, but to their appearance of non-democratic control—because the platform of the Klan was in many cases in line with the ideology of those holding the most social power in the Spokane region. Views of nativism and anti-Catholic Xenophobia were commonplace during the 1920s and this just happened to fall into place with the ideology presented by the Klan and their goal of one hundred percent Americanism. Furthermore, the failure of the Klan to have a long-lasting influence on the region can be understood for the same reasons. The ideology of the Klan being similar to that of those in power, their presence can be in a way seen as non-disruptive to the function of the region. Essentially, the Klan did not necessarily have a lasting influence because the society they expanded into during the 1920s was already in many ways in line with what they would have shaped it to be—they brought nothing new to the table. Approaching a question of “why Spokane?” the answer is the same for many other cities—why not? In the Spokane region, the Klan did not so much shape the times it was in as it was simply a symptom of a society ingrained with white supremacy.