Hatred and profits
Subtitle: getting under the hood of the Ku Klux Klan
By: Roland G. Fryer, Jr, Steven D. Levitt.
Contributors: Levitt, Steven D.; National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series -- no. 13417.; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research) -- working paper no. 13417.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 41
Subjects: Ku Klux Klan (1915- ) -- United States -- Influence -- Mathematical models; Ku Klux Klan (1915- ) -- United States -- Membership -- History
Description: The Ku Klux Klan reached its heyday in the mid-1920s, claiming millions of members. In this paper, we analyze the 1920s Klan, those who joined it, and the social and political impact that it had. We utilize a wide range of newly discovered data sources including information from Klan membership roles, applications, robe-order forms, an internal audit of the Klan by Ernst and Ernst, and a census that the Klan conducted after an internal scandal. Combining these sources with data from the 1920 and 1930 U.S. Censuses, we find that individuals who joined the Klan were better educated and more likely to hold professional jobs than the typical American. Surprisingly, we find few tangible social or political impacts of the Klan. There is little evidence that the Klan had an effect on black or foreign born residential mobility, or on lynching patterns. Historians have argued that the Klan was successful in getting candidates they favored elected. Statistical analysis, however, suggests that any direct impact of the Klan was likely to be small. Furthermore, those who were elected had little discernible effect on legislation passed. Rather than a terrorist organization, the 1920s Klan is best described as a social organization built through a wildly successful pyramid scheme fueled by an army of highly-incentivized sales agents selling hatred, religious intolerance, and fraternity in a time and place where there was tremendous demand.
Notes: "September 2007"

Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-36).

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