Written by Coco Barrett

The Second Coming of the KKK by Linda Gordon tracks the meteoric rise and subsequent fall of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. The primary aim of the book is to explore the big ‘why’ question – why “perfectly reasonable” people would support a hate organization such as the KKK. She highlights many factors, but three particularly stand out: masculine community, expressing resentment and profit. Gordon’s writing is incredibly engaging, speckled with anecdotes and cases that not only educate but shock and entertain the reader too.  

Gordon demonstrates how Klan membership provided a strong sense of community and inclusion for its participants. She pays particular attention to the gendered nature of the clan, how it “confirmed manliness” for the members. The power of this community is emphasised, that its size and reach made it a political force to be reckoned with, so much so that “neither major political party, and none of the presidents in this period… could be persuaded to condemn the Ku Klux Klan”. She emphasises how the communal and fraternal bonds are formed by shared resentment, and by the Klan’s providing the platform and space for this resentment to be expressed to a supportive audience. Gordon emphasises that this resentment is both hatred of groups considered ‘other’ or ‘outsider,’ and resentment or frustration toward the failures of one’s own life. She looks at the rhetoric of victimhood and language of fear used to reinforce their own fears, which are channelled towards the groups of ‘other’, such as invoking antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories. Gordon really highlights the anti-immigration and Americanism of the Klan, such as their anti-Catholic attitude which she points out to be especially unique. 

As well as community, Linda Gordon seeks to explain how Klan members had much to gain from membership, not merely just financial gain but also profiting in social mobility and electoral success. The leaders profited from the dues, initiation fees, and merchandise, as well as the recruiting system that worked like a multi-level marketing scheme. In terms of social mobility, she highlights how the community aspect allowed for the redefining of the middle class, as “one could become middle-class by being treated as an equal”. In the final chapter she compares the KKK with other fascist groups and social movements in Europe. The main difference here is that the KKK were successful enough to not need to be fascist or to attempt a coup – they were popular and powerful enough to use the confines and methods of democracy to achieve their aims. The power they wielded manifested in legislation with federal immigration restriction and state eugenic laws.  

While she stays clear from directly addressing the sociologist’s success/failure framework of assessing social movements, the book demonstrates ways in which the KKK succeeded and ways in which they failed. One of the key reasons for their failure is the leadership scandals, most notably the rape and murder committed by Indiana ‘Grand Dragon’ Stephenson. It seems that her argument for the success of the KKK as a social movement was their enduring legacy. Whilst the numbers fell quickly towards the end, the KKK never disappeared completely, even to this day. Gordon makes clear comparisons and draws parallels to the rise of the far right in the 2010s, thus her book serves as both an explanation for the past and a warning for the future.