Guardians of Liberty is a three volume set of books published in 1943 by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Alma Bridwell White Alma Bridwell White (June 16, 1862 – June 26, 1946) was the founder and a bishop of the Pillar of Fire Church. In 1918, she became the first woman bishop of Pillar of Fire in the United States. She was a proponent of feminism. She also ass ...

, author of over 35 books and founder of the

Pillar of Fire Church The Pillar of Fire International, also known as the Pillar of Fire Church, is a Methodist Christianity, Christian denomination with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire Church affirms the Articles of Religion (Methodist), Meth ...

. Guardians of Liberty is primarily devoted to summarizing White's vehement

anti-Catholicism Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...

under the guise of patriotism. White also defends her historical support of and association with 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 ...

while significantly but not completely distancing herself from the Klan. Each of the three volumes corresponds to one of the three books White published in the 1920s promoting the

and her political views which in addition to

also included nativism,

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

. In ''Guardians of Liberty'', White removed most, but not all of the direct references to the Klan that had existed in her three 1920s books, both in the text and in the illustrations. In Volumes I and II, she removed most of the nativist, anti-Semitic and white supremacist ideology that had appeared in her predecessor books. However, in ''Guardians'' Volume III, she did retain edited versions of chapters promoting nativism, anti-Semitism and white supremacy. Like their predecessor books, each of the volumes is primarily a compendium of essays and sermons written by White and of illustrations by Reverend

Branford Clarke Branford Edward Clarke (March 18, 1885 – July 7, 1947) was an Evangelical preacher, poet and artist who promoted the Ku Klux Klan through his art which was drawn for the Pillar of Fire Church and their publications. Biography He was bo ...

. Most of the text and illustrations had originally been published in the pro-

political periodical ''

The Good Citizen ''The Good Citizen'' was a sixteen-page monthly political periodical edited by Bishop Alma White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. ''The Good Citizen'' was published from 1913 until 1933 by the Pillar of Fire Church at their hea ...

'', one of the numerous periodicals published by the

at their communal headquarters in

Zarephath, New Jersey Zarephath (, ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) and located in Franklin Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, about north of Princeton.The Good Citizen ''The Good Citizen'' was a sixteen-page monthly political periodical edited by Bishop Alma White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. ''The Good Citizen'' was published from 1913 until 1933 by the Pillar of Fire Church at their hea ...

'' in 1933. ''Guardians'' was published when White was 81 years old, three years before her death, and one year before the second

declared bankruptcy.

Volume I

Volume one of ''Guardians of Liberty'' was an edited reprint of White's 1925 book ''

The Ku Klux Klan in Prophecy ''The Ku Klux Klan in Prophecy'' is a 144-page book written by Bishop Alma Bridwell White in 1925 and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. In the book she uses scripture to rationalize that the Ku Klux Klan is sanctioned by God "through divi ...

.'' Of the 13 chapters in ''Guardians'' Vol. I, 7 are edited chapters from ''KKK in Prophecy'', and one chapter is from ''

Heroes of the Fiery Cross ''Heroes of the Fiery Cross'' is a book in praise of the Ku Klux Klan, published in 1928 by Protestant Bishop Alma Bridwell White, in which she "sounds the alarm about imagined threats to Protestant Americans from Catholics and Jews", according ...

'' (1928). An additional chapter, ''Rome’s Political Defeat'' defends the

and its members' role in two violent incidents that occurred near

Zarephath, New Jersey Zarephath (, ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) and located in Franklin Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, about north of Princeton.Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and of Roman Catholic individuals. Most of the material promoting anti-Semitism, racism, and white supremacy that had originally been published in ''KKK in Prophecy'' was omitted in ''Guardians'' Vol. I, although some more-subtle reference were still included. Furthermore, most but not all of the references to the

were either removed or substituted with the following euphemisms: Patriots, Patriots in White Robes, Our Patriots, Our American Patriots, 100-Per Cent Americans, A Great Patriotic Organization, Invisible Empire, Freedom, Liberty, The Star of Hope, and Our Guardians of Liberty. Two illustrations with Klan images were retained and included in ''Guardians'' Vol. 1.

Volume II

Volume two of Guardians of Liberty contains fifteen chapters, thirteen are from '' Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty'' and one from ''

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guardians Of Liberty Books about the Ku Klux Klan Anti-Catholicism in the United States Pillar of Fire International 1943 books Political books Far-right publications in the United States

Volume I

Volume II

Further reading

See also

References