Kleagles are the individuals responsible for recruiting potential
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
(KKK) members.
Kleagle
A Kleagle is an officer of the Ku Klux Klan whose main role is to recruit new members and must maintain the three guiding principles: recruit, maintain control, and safeguard.
King Kleagles are appointed as leaders of a region and have delegation ...
s, as defined by the ''Ku Klux Klan: An Encyclopedia'', are organizers or recruiters, "appointed by an imperial wizard or his imperial representative to 'sex
' the KKK among non-members".
[Newton, Michael and Judy Anne (1991). ''The Ku Klux Klan: An Encyclopedia, Garland Publishing, Inc., New York and London''.] These members were paid 200 dollars per hour by the commission and received a portion of each new member's invitation fee.
Recruitment of new KKK members entailed framing economic, political, and social structural changes in Politics, University of Minnesota Press, Vol 32, 2009'' Informal ways Klansmen recruited members included "with eligible co-workers and personal friends and try to enlist them".
[Goldberg, R. The Ku Klux Klan in Madison, 1922-1927, The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Autumn, 1974), pp. 31-44, JSTOR, Wisconsin Historical Society, https://www.jstor.org/stable/5634926] Protestant teachers were also targeted for Klan membership.
Bloc recruitment
"Bloc recruitment" was coined by Black sociologist
Anthony Oberschall
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...
.
[McVeigh, R. (2009).''The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan: Right-Wing Movements and National Politics, University of Minnesota Press, Vol 32, p. 34''] Bloc recruitment refer to "the way in which social movement organizers often recruit members and participants among groups of individuals already organized for some other purpose."
[ This strategy was advantageous to the Klan because it allowed them to recruit large groups of members from one source instead of being faced with the difficult task of recruiting individuals one by one. This strategy was also effective because it allowed the Klan to build upon the solidarity already in place from other organizations.
The organizations that the KKK targeted for bloc recruitment were usually fraternal lodges and Protestant churches. Protestant ministers were offered free membership and powerful Chaplain status within the KKK. Recruitment also involved recruitment drives that toured the ]United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Members of organizations like churches and fraternal lodges, were easily accessible by Kleagles or Klan recruiters because they were already socially active in public issues through their involvement in these organizations.
These recruitment efforts were very successful, as such, Klan mem and used membership fees to finance large purchases such as the Klux Krest, a new home for Imperial Wizard William J. Simmons (founder of the 2nd KKK).[Quarles, C ''The Ku Klux Klan and related American Racialist and Anti-Semitic Organizations: A history and an analysis'', McFarland and Company Inc. Publishing, 1999]
Violence
In addition to recruitment drives and alliances with fraternal lodges and Protestant churches, the Klan also used controlled instances of violence to attract members.[McVeigh, R ''The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan: Right-Wing Movements and National Politics, University of Minnesota Press, Vol 32, 2009''] Violence was pronounced in areas of high KKK activity. This intimidated and silenced opponents of the KKK and also impressed prospective Klan members. Violence was a method to demonstrate a commitment to the Klan philosophy. Violence was used.
Charity work and recruitment
To off-set violent acts, the KKK participated in charitable activities. In 1922, the Klan "contributed $25 each to the Volunteers of America
Volunteers of America (VOA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1896 that provides affordable housing and other assistance services primarily to low-income people throughout the United States. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, the organiz ...
and to the African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...
, an offer which Webster said proved that the Klan was not anti-black". These charitable activities demonstrated the KKK's commitment to the nation's welfare and also "served as an effective public relations device by creating a more favourable opinion of the secret order and attracting new members".:
Other recruitment factors
The allure of the "invisible empire" and its public anonymity were also appeals for potential Klansmen. In addition to the empowerment of membership in an empire that was secretive, Klansmen also enjoyed a kinship-like bond from membership. The activities and events organized by Klan members were impressive to future recruits as they included family picnics and other social events that built solidarity. As other fraternal-like organizations, these activities reinforced ideals but were also typical social events. These and many other factors made the Klan appealing to white Anglo-Saxon native-born Protestants (WASPs) during the 1920s.
See also
* Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
* Kleagle
A Kleagle is an officer of the Ku Klux Klan whose main role is to recruit new members and must maintain the three guiding principles: recruit, maintain control, and safeguard.
King Kleagles are appointed as leaders of a region and have delegation ...
References
{{Ku Klux Klan
recruitment
Recruitment is the overall process of identifying, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates for jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organization. Recruitment also is the processes involved in choosing individual ...
Recruitment