The Hoosier Journalist and the Hooded Order: Indiana Press Reaction To the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.

The article examines how Indiana journalists reacted to the Ku Klux Klan in the state. According to the journalists, responding to the Klan was vexing because it probably attracted more members and attained greater political power in Indiana. The Klan entered the state in 1920 and recruited an estimated 240,000 to 500,000 members by late 1923. In the first half of the 1920s, it became a powerful political force in the state. The Klan's success was due to its ability to sell itself both as a fraternal organization and as a vigilante society.