"A new Ku Klux Klan arose in the early 1920s, a less violent but equally virulent descendant of the relatively small, terrorist Klan of the 1870s. Unknown to most Americans today, this "second Klan" largely flourished above the Mason-Dixon Line--its army of four-to-six-million members spanning the continent from New Jersey to Oregon, its ideology of intolerance shaping the course of mainstream national politics throughout the twentieth century...Never secret, this Klan recruited openly, through newspaper ads, in churches, and through extravagant mass "Americanism" pageants, often held on Independence Day. These "Klonvocations" drew tens of thousands and featured fireworks, airplane stunts, children's games, and women's bake-offs--and, of course, cross-burnings. The Klan even controlled about one hundred and fifty newspapers, as well as the Cavalier Motion Picture Company, dedicated to countering Hollywood's "immoral"--and Jewish--influence. The Klan became a major political force, electing thousands to state offices and over one hundred to national offices..."--Dust jacket.

Introduction : "100% Americanism" : 1. Rebirth -- 2. Ancestors -- 3. Structures of feeling -- 4. Recruitment, ritual, and profit -- 5. Spectacles and Evangelicals -- 6.Vigilantism and manliness -- 7. KKK feminism -- 8. Oregon and the attack on parochial schools -- 9. Political and economic warfare -- 10. Constituents -- 11. Legacy : down but not out -- Appendix 1 : A Glossary of Some Klan Titles -- Appendix 2 : Klan Evaluation of US Senators, 1923 -- Notes -- Index.