Description
- Abstract:
- This thesis examines the rise and fall of the Ku Klux Klan in Rhode Island from 1905 to 1935, with a particular focus on the years 1924-1928, when the hooded order was most active in the state. It argues that, while the Klan was a fixture of Rhode Island’s social and political life during this period, it was above all a fixture of public discourse. Such public discourses not only reflected an existing reality, but actively participated in the creation of a perceived reality. The presence of the Klan in the community meant very different things to different people, and these different meanings were articulated in different ways. In articulating their viewpoints, Rhode Islanders participated in the construction of a communal understanding of the Klan. This thesis traces the evolution of those viewpoints as they can be discerned from a variety of documents, including diaries, correspondence, and, above all, local newspapers. It begins by considering Rhode Islanders' perceptions of the Klan before it had established a firm foothold in the state, as those perceptions were informed by what they saw on stage, on screen, and in the press. It then turns to the sensationalized media coverage of the order's early activity in Rhode Island, arguing that local newspapers overinflated the Klan's prevalence and thus inadvertently fueled its growth. It then explores the acceptance of the Klan into the fabric of day-to-day community life in Rhode Island, and the way that that acceptance served to mask the racial and ethnic hatred at the heart of the Klan. It concludes with a brief consideration of the Klan's fall out of public discourse in Rhode Island.
- Notes:
- Senior thesis (AB)--Brown University, 2026
- Concentration: History
Access Conditions
- Use and Reproduction
- All rights reserved
- Rights
- In Copyright
- Restrictions on Use
- All Rights Reserved
Citation
Daigneault, Evelyn,
"'The Usual Flaming Cross': Discourses of the Ku Klux Klan in Rhode Island, 1905-1935"
(2026).
History Theses and Dissertations.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.26300/gh7x-3y40
