How far could the historian make use of Sources 1 and 2 together to investigate
attitudes towards the Ku Klux Klan during the years 1921-29?
The historian could make use of both Sources 1 and 2 to investigate the attitudes
towards the Ku Klux Klan during the years 1921-29 as it gives two different opinions
of how people saw the KKK and what people of America believed.
Source 1 shows the opinion of the members of the Ku Klux Klan and many of their
followers as people believed that ‘any mixture between races of any great divergence
is evil’ and the races should be kept segregated. It can be suggested that the
members of the Klan were seen as superior to people of a different race which is
shown by the constant references to animals throughout the source in an attempt to
dehumanise them. For example, they believed ‘that races of men are as distinct as
breeds of animals’ which suggests that they believe they are the superior race. This
shows that Source 1 has some value to the historian in showing the attitudes towards
the KKK to some extent during the years 1921-29 as many people turned towards the
Ku Klux Klan as they feared the different races and beliefs at that time.
In comparison, Source 2 shows a different opinion towards the Ku Klux Klan as not
everyone believes that different races should be segregated to the same extent as the
members and supporters of the KKK do. This source suggests that people should not
‘discriminate because of colour, birthplace, or creed’ because it makes them seem
less human that those who are white, which is believed by the KKK as they see
themselves as the ‘superior race’ This shows that Source 2 can be used to investigate
the attitudes towards the KKK between 1921-29 as it shows that although many
people supported the Klan, many people also opposed their views and believed that
people should not be discriminated against.
Source 1 shows the historian very little about the attitudes towards the KKK as it was
written by the leader of the Klan at that time about their beliefs and what they do.
The article is called ‘The Klan: Defender of Americanism’ which provides some value
to the historians as it shows that people wanted to defend America from different
races and beliefs. It is also known that the Ku Klux Klan was at its peak of 5 million
members in 1925, at the time that the article was written, as many people feared the
spread of Communism and the unknown of different races and their beliefs.
Therefore the source has some value in showing the historian the attitudes towards
the Ku Klux Klan during the years 1921-29 as many people joined the Klan at them
time to defend Americanism. However, it cannot be completely valuable as it was
written by the leader of the KKK so it is likely to be subjective.
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