Immigration in Indiana: Introduction

Impact of the Klan

Two themes continued to dominate early to mid twentieth century patterns of immigration in Indiana: the active recruitment of new workers from Europe and increasingly from Central and South America and Asia; and the ambivalence or hostility expressed toward these same groups by Anglo-Americans and others who feared the loss of jobs and their own cultural identities. For example, at this time many of the legal rights obtained by African-Americans in Indiana after the Civil War had been limited or reversed, and lynchings of people of color throughout much of the midwestern United States were at an all-time high.

Klan meeting at Ridgelawn Cemetery in Gary, Indiana, ca 1925

Despite the ever growing ethnic diversity of Indiana in the 1920s- or perhaps because of this diversity- the Ku Klux Klan gained a stronghold in Indiana's political and social climate in the 1920s. During the spring of 1923, about 150 hooded horsemen rode down Kirkwood Avenue and around the Bloomington courthouse. In the summer of 1923, the Indiana Klan made an unsuccessful attempt to buy the financially troubled Valparaiso University. They hoped to spread their concept of traditional values by creating a "Klan Kollege." In 1924 at the Indiana State Fair, "Klan Day" was celebrated. Members marched onto the fair's midfield to lead the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance and sing a Christian hymn.

Some white Protestants of Indiana, believing in the Klan's vision of "100 percent Americanism," embraced the group. It was a forceful, fearful response to immigration from other countries and other regions of the United States. Much of the popularity of the Klan among Anglo-Americans grew from its stated goals of recapturing a sense of Christian community morals and ethics, and a promise to ensure jobs for "Americans first". For many Hoosiers and new immigrants who were neither Caucasian nor Protestant, the Klan became a tangible symbol of racial hatred and terror.

By 1924, the Klan was a powerful force in Indiana. That year, the Klan-backed candidate Ed Jackson won the race for governor. The state legislature also carried a Klan majority. But there was soon a shift in power. David C. Stephenson, the powerful Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan helped bring about the downfall of his organization in 1925 when he kidnapped, beat and raped an Indianapolis woman named Madge Oberholtzer, who later committed suicide. Stephenson was imprisoned for 30 years and as a direct result, the Klan's influence waned.

Klan Rally in LaGrange, Indiana, ca 1998