''The Traitor: A Story of the Fall of the Invisible Empire'' is a 1907 novel by Thomas Dixon Jr. It is the third part in a trilogy about the

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 ...

during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

. The two previous installments were ''

The Leopard's Spots ''The Leopard's Spots: A Romance of the White Man's Burden—1865–1900'' is the first novel of Thomas Dixon's Reconstruction trilogy, and was followed by '' The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan'' (1905), and '' The Traitor: A ...

'', published in 1902, and '' The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan'', published in 1905.

Plot summary

John Graham, a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

veteran and dispossessed planter, serves as the Grand Dragon of the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

.Judith Jackson Fossett, ''Race Consciousness: Reinterpretations for the New Century'', New York, New York: New York University Press, 1997, pp. 39-4
">
/ref> As black power has been curtailed, the Grand Wizard orders Graham to have one last march through town and finally discontinue their activities. (This was ordered by the Klan's first

Grand Wizard The Grand Wizard (later the Grand and Imperial Wizard simplified as the Imperial Wizard and eventually, the National Director) referred to the national leader of several different Ku Klux Klan organizations in the United States and abroad. The ti ...

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealt ...

.) The Klan members burn their robes and bury them in a grave. Two weeks later Graham's rival, Steve Hoyle, starts a new Ku Klux Klan.

Dramatization

A dramatic version was produced in 1908. It was written in collaboration with Channing Pollock, whose name got first billing over that of Dixon.

Critical reception

Judith Jackson Fossett, an African-American Associate Professor of English, American Studies, and Ethnicity at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, has called the novel "a meditation on whiteness, a contest between the 'good' Klan and the 'bad' Klan." Indeed, this interpretation was echoed by Dixon himself, who viewed the original Ku Klu Klan as indispensable to fight back against black "barbarism" during Reconstruction as opposed to the second Klan, which was more vengeful and violent.Andrew Warnes, ''Richard Wright's Native Son: A Routledge Study Guide'', Routledge, 2007, p. 12

/ref> She added that the scene where the original Klan members burn and bury their robes is reminiscent of scenes of burials in

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

's fiction. Moreover, she suggested it paralleled the natural shedding of skin by snakes. Andrew Warnes, a

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

in American Studies at

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in England, suggested the depictions of the mob mentality of the Ku Klux Klan in Richard Wright's novels were influenced by ''The Traitor''.

References

External links

''The Traitor,''
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Traitor 1907 American novels American novels adapted into plays Novels set in North Carolina Novels about the Ku Klux Klan Novels by Thomas Dixon Jr.