Book Review on "Women of the Klan"

Book Review 7 pages (2345 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Women of the Klan

Chances are that anyone living in America, whether born in this country or not has heard of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). What many aren't aware of is that there were also Women of the Ku Klux Klan (WKKK) and their numbers were strong. The WKKK existing in every state much like the KKK and white, Protestant females over the age of sixteen were allowed and encouraged to join (Blee, p. 19). There are some similarities between the male version of the group and the female version of it. The WKKK held that their belief in Christianity was strong and they somehow felt that the Protestants were the only worthy religion that practiced true Christianity. Just as their male counterparts, the female members were staunchly opposed to race mixing. To them, this was an totally against nature and against God. They did not believe in it nor condone it because they perceived themselves as superior to other races.

The Ku Klux Klan is known for violence and the violent methods used in order scare other individuals. They are infamously known for burning crosses on people's front lawns to serve as a warning that whatever the individual was doing to offend them had better cease. They are also known for the numerous lynchings of many African-Americans and others as scare tactics. Many times children were present as these heinous crimes. It is common knowledge that the Ku Klux Klan despised African-Americans. However, these groups of people were not the only ones who have suffered at their hands. According to Blee, not only did blacks, Jews, nonwhites, Bolshevicks and immigrants become their targets, but they also became successful at recruiting members in the northern states (p. 21). These types of people polluted the human race, according to them. The WKKK were not as violent as the men of the KKK were. Even though they did not physically participate in such crimes, they did not oppose them (p. 33,34).

Defining Women's Rights

Even though the WKKK stood for many of the same things that the KKK stood for, they also believed in women's rights. Their male counterparts did not view them as equals. Instead, they viewed them as objects to be protected and placed on a pedestal. In the view of the Ku Klux Klan, the woman's role was to help and assist the man, not be his equal. The WKKK was established around the time of the Women's Rights Movement and there is no doubt that many women in the WKKK had the same views on women's rights issues as did non-WKKK members. During this time, women from all walks of life were living in what was considered the traditional role of women. They maintained the home, cared for the children and stood behind whatever decisions their husbands made for the family. They basically did not have a voice. Their role was to be supportive, or to be seen and not heard. Many women of the WKKK used the organization as a platform in support of women's rights. Blee states that the "KKK defined women's political role as separate and subordinate to that of men" (p. 49).

The problem with this is that the WKKK did want to have a voice. Not only did they want to have a voice, they wanted equal rights for women. During the time this organization was established, women were still fighting for the right to vote. Among the many issues that the WKKK fought for, voting was at the top of the list. However, they did not feel that all women deserved the right to vote. They didn't feel this right should be bestowed upon black women, immigrant women or women from lower classes. The women of the WKKK also wanted to be able to work outside the home if they chose to. During this time there were women that worked outside of the home, but it was more of a necessity than a choice. If a woman was a widow with children or if she was extremely poor, working outside the home was a must. The women of the WKKK were generally not poor, but they still wanted the right to work outside the home if they chose to do so. It wasn't a law that women couldn't not work outside the home, but many of their husbands forbade them to do so because it could send the message to others that he was not able to support his family. Also, many Ku Klux Klan members felt that the woman's place was inside the home.

The members of the WKKK felt that being a housewife and a mother did nothing but tie a woman down and many of them dreaded this. They were not against any member that wanted to bear children, but many of them viewed motherhood as a hindrance. There was no joy in the day-to-day life of being a mother and housewife many of them likened it to a form of slavery. Being a housewife and mother stripped women of their economic freedom. They were expected by their husbands to stay inside the home, do the cooking and cleaning and childrearing and this is something that they did not pretend to enjoy doing. According to Blee, the Klanswomen did not relish being homemakers because they felt that society held this position in low esteem (p. 51).

By the WKKK being somewhat of an extension of the KKK, the group cannot be commended for much because of what the KKK stood for. They did not participate in the violent acts of the male version of the organization, but they condoned it and they did feel that White Protestants were superior to black, Catholics, immigrants, Jews and others. However, the WKKK was very progressive in their views of womanhood given the time that they lived in. They wanted equal rights and in their own way they fought for them and used and organization such as the WKKK to further their cause. This is something that most don't want to acknowledge, but it is a fact. The women of this organization were clever enough to use the KKK as a springboard for their causes and one of those was women's right.

The differences between the KKK and WKKK caused tension between the two groups. The original plan, according to the KKK was to have the WKKK be more of a support group to them. They had expected that the women would basically tend to their needs and do such tasks as sewing clothes, making posters and other secretarial or housewife chores. The KKK were never in favor of women's right, nor did they feel that the woman had a place outside of the home. Once they figured out that the WKKK had a similar agenda on the surface, but a different one underneath the tension mounted. What was meant to be a supplement to the KKK turned out to be more of a separate entity altogether and this angered the KKK. They viewed themselves as a forceful group with power and control and right before their very eyes, their women were gaining power and independence aside from them.

The KKK probably felt humiliated and betrayed by the WKKK. Because of the direction that the WKKK went in, it was clear that they did not support and stand behind the men 100%. Through their push for independence and women's rights, the WKKK showed outsiders that they really were strongly united to the KKK as people may have thought. Even though the WKKK had many issues that they fought for that weren't supported by the KKK, one of the most important issues was the right to vote. They wanted this right because voting made them apart of the process of change and betterment for women. They were fortunate that women gained the right to vote during the early years of the formation of their organization.

The right to vote was considered a huge gain for the organization. Their dependence on the men of the KKK grew less and less as the WKKK gain more freedom. After just a few short years, the WKKK grew to include a large amount of members and the more established it became, the more separated they were with the KKK. They made it clear that they did not want to be exploited by men as they had their own agenda, which did not fall in line with what the men wanted. The KKK allowed these women to be somewhat politically active because the reasoning behind this was that the women would further their cause. The men were unaware that the women had their own agenda and they succeeded.

The women knew how the men really viewed them. They did not see them as equals and this angered the women. Even though they agreed with some of the issues that the men stood for, they also pretended to agree with the majority of the men's issues, especially those pertaining… READ MORE

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