tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post3879725533774918025..comments2024-03-26T12:05:58.591-04:00Comments on Freemasons For Dummies: Indiana Freemasonry and the KKK of the 1920s in Upcoming 'Heredom'Christopher Hodapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04201859873755654395noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-23503335551696230142023-06-13T03:01:21.381-04:002023-06-13T03:01:21.381-04:00No, they did not. That said, the re-created KKK of...No, they did not. That said, the re-created KKK of the 1920s promoted itself as a flag-waving, patriotic organization that primarily railed against Catholics in government and as school teachers, during the height of the Golden Age of fraternalism. They were quite different from the Klan of the 1860s-70s and the 1950-60s and up through today. The 20's Klan was astonishingly popular nationwide for about a ten-year period, and Indiana's Grand Dragon David Stephenson worked hard to make them into a major political movement. He would have succeeded, too — devious mechanisms were in place for him to be appointed as Senator by his pal Governor Ed Jackson, and everything was arranged for him to run on a national ticket for the presidency two years after that. <br /><br />He might have been able to pull all of that off. But after his murder of Madge Oberholtzer and the details of Klan members' government corruption and "Steve's" disgusting personal exploits came out, the national Klan organization almost completely vanished, within two years of his conviction. (He had kidnapped Madge, threw her into his Pullman room on the overnight train to Chicago, and proceeded to beat, rape and bite her so badly that the doctors said it looked like she'd been torn apart by wild animals. It took her weeks to die from infections after her untreated bites failed to heal.) <br /><br />No Masonic Grand Lodges lost amity within the mainstream Masonic community during the period because there were simply too many men who belonged to both the Masons and the KKK at the same time, all over the US, And countless serving Grand Masters were Klan members and officers. <br /><br />Truth is, this was an extremely complex moment in history that takes lots of explanation of information not readily available about an organization whose branding in the public consciousness today is so repellent that it can't be discussed dispassionately.Christopher Hodapphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04201859873755654395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-59891339257416303522023-06-11T12:49:57.542-04:002023-06-11T12:49:57.542-04:00Of course notOf course notDave gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-37683270891317782442022-12-22T12:58:58.135-05:002022-12-22T12:58:58.135-05:00Did any of our Grand Lodges suspend Masonic commun...Did any of our Grand Lodges suspend Masonic communication with those GL's supporting KKK activities? Did this rapprochement with the KKK result in a decrease in membership as did the Morgan Affair?BobbyVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10677098825386668725noreply@blogger.com