1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky. Hostility toward 3 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 1: people who are different from us has always been a 4 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 1: human flaw, but in the nineteen thirties, Adolph Hitler took 5 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: that hate to a tragically historic level, and for those 6 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: who wanted their animosity validated, Hitler became an icon and idol. 7 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: Over a hundred anti Semitic organizations sprung up all over 8 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,880 Speaker 1: the world. Jewish people fleeing for their lives sought safety 9 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: in the United States, but American radical groups like the 10 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 1: Friends of Germany, Silver Shirts, Defenders of the Christian Faith, 11 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: the Christian Front, and the Knights of the White Camellia 12 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: rallied behind Hitler protect did by the First Amendment. These 13 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,760 Speaker 1: Nazi groups participated in parades and rallies calling for the 14 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: eradication of the Jewish people. They wore Nazi uniforms and 15 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:15,040 Speaker 1: flew Nazi flags to flaunt their prejudice. They viciously bullied 16 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: and attacked Jewish people and vandalized their businesses and homes. 17 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: Now we are free to voice our opinions and beliefs. 18 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: It's a fundamental right in America. But we're not free 19 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: of the consequences, and we're not free to move from 20 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: voice to violence. And these groups they thought they were 21 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 1: free of both consequences and the law. They believed that 22 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,400 Speaker 1: the more brutal they were, the more people would become compliant. 23 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: So when they chose to stake acclaim in New York City, 24 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: they were a bit surprised by the pushback. You see, 25 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: in the nineteen thirties, New York was a haven for gangsters, 26 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: and not all of them were Italian. Mayor Landsky and 27 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: other Jewish mobsters ran prostitution and gambling rings and loan 28 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: shark operations, and they had plenty of hired hit men. 29 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: They weren't exactly good men. However, they weren't about to 30 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 1: let Hitler's version of evil invade America. The Nazis might 31 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: have had some twenty thousand supporters in New York, but 32 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: that didn't frighten Lansky and his allies. While no one 33 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: could legally stop the radicalized groups from marching, they could 34 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: make their own voices. Heard. Of course, that would probably 35 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: lead to a fight, which was perfectly fine with the mob. 36 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: Mayor Lansky had friends in high places like the notorious 37 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:44,959 Speaker 1: mafia gangster Lucky Luciano. His connections prompted a judge, Nathan 38 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: Pearlman to ask Lansky to help teach the Jewish community 39 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: how to defend themselves. In return, he would grant legal 40 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: protection and supply the funding under one condition, no killing. 41 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: A Lansky agreed to help, though he'd clined funding or protection, 42 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: acutely aware of the Nazi deaf camps in Germany and 43 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: seeing how the marches in America were increasingly destructive, he 44 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: simply refused to make a promise he couldn't keep. Lansky's 45 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,919 Speaker 1: men and their allies taught Jewish and sympathetic communities how 46 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: to fight, and before long, street gangs and mobsters began 47 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: to show up at rallies and shout the Nazis down. 48 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: The hate groups resorted to their usual violence, but the 49 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: street gangs outmatched them, putting many of the Nazis in 50 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: the hospital with broken bones and teeth. Yet Lansky and 51 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 1: the other mobsters never killed anyone, and while the radical 52 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: groups enjoyed dishing out violence, they didn't like being on 53 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: the receiving end and demanded protection. The mayor agreed on 54 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: the condition that they not wear Nazi uniforms, carry Nazi 55 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: flags or brandish spostikas, and that they refrained from vandalism 56 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: and any violence. Unwilling to meet those demand ends, the 57 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: groups eventually stopped their rallies. Lansky and the others may 58 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: have been gangsters, but when it came to their approach 59 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: to Nazis, many saw them as heroes. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. 60 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: Welcome to American Shadows. It started on Christmas Eve of 61 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty. Upset over losing the Civil War and angry 62 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: that enslaved people have been freed, a group of Confederate 63 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:40,600 Speaker 1: veterans gathered in Pulaski, Tennessee to form a secret society, 64 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: one they dubbed the Invisible Empire of the South. Their 65 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: first order of business was selecting their leader, a former 66 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 1: Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest. The title of leader didn't 67 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: come off as imposing enough for their tastes, so they 68 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:01,160 Speaker 1: called him a Grand Wizard instead. Forrest ruled over a 69 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: chain of command made of Grand Dragons, grant Titans, and 70 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: Grand Cyclops. No, it wasn't a nineteenth century tabletop role 71 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: playing game. The men, most of whom were extremist members 72 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: of their political party had created a white terrorist hate group, 73 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: the Ku Klux Klan. Unwilling to accept President Andrew Johnson's 74 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: reconstruction Arab policies providing equal protection under the Constitution for 75 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: formerly enslaved people, the men dedicated themselves to civil unrest 76 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: and violence. Their main targets were black schools, businesses, and 77 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: political leaders. They also targeted white sympathizers and politicians. In 78 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:46,600 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty nine, with Arson lynch Ng's murders and other 79 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 1: hate crimes out of control, Forrest tried to disband the KKK, 80 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: but to no avail, and by eighteen seventy the clan 81 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:59,919 Speaker 1: had branches in practically every Southern state. Members ranged for 82 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: poured wealthy, and they rooted themselves into every aspect of 83 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,360 Speaker 1: law enforcement and the courts, making it hard to bring 84 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:10,600 Speaker 1: them to justice. In eighteen seventy one, President Grant used 85 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: military force to wipe most of the group out. The 86 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 1: fires of hate rekindled in nineteen fifteen when die hard 87 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: Confederates rallied a new generation to their lost Cause philosophy. 88 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:27,840 Speaker 1: Advocates of the ideology romanticized the Confederate's efforts, claiming that 89 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 1: slavery had brought economic prosperity not possible with paid labor. Further, 90 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:36,919 Speaker 1: they painted themselves as the chivalrous and to bellum South, 91 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,280 Speaker 1: whose state rights had been ignored by the aggressive North. 92 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: The narrative the Confederate veterans spun was one of a 93 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: noble and just cause, that the South's generals were good 94 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: men with ethics and high morals. The South, they said, 95 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,599 Speaker 1: was a gentle, more traditional way of life with strong 96 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,839 Speaker 1: Christian values. They claimed that the Union, with their larger 97 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,919 Speaker 1: population and more militant lifestyle, wanted to exploit the South's 98 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: power and wealth, that the South had a right to succeed, 99 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:11,800 Speaker 1: and that greedy Northern industrial businessmen and politicians had set 100 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: out to steal the power for themselves by force. The 101 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: film The Birth of a Nation, a silent movie based 102 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: on the novel The Klansmen, also hit theaters in nineteen 103 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: fift To this day, the film is still considered one 104 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: of the most controversial and racist movies Hollywood has ever made. 105 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 1: It sparked an intense upturn in the Lost Cause movement, 106 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: mostly by Confederate soldiers who were dying and wanted to 107 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: preserve their memories. The film portrayed the ku Klux Klan 108 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: as defenders of women from black sexual predators and as 109 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: heroic protectors of American values. It sparked fresh racism and 110 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 1: inspired former preacher William Simmons to resurrect the clan. Simmons 111 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: gathered friends and a handful of elderly original clan members. Together, 112 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: they set fire to a cross on top of Stone 113 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: Mountain in Georgia on Thanksgiving Day. The message was clear, 114 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: the KKK had returned. Simmons, who had been honorably discharged 115 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: from the Spanish American War, dropped out of medical school 116 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: and been suspended from the church for inefficiency, finally found 117 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 1: the attention he sought. He declared himself the Imperial Wizard 118 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: of the Invisible Empire of the Knights of the Ku 119 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 1: Klux Klan. This time, the clan expanded their hate toward 120 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:38,679 Speaker 1: other groups, including Native Americans, Italians, Jews, the Irish, Catholics, 121 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: labor unions, certain political parties. Basically, Simmons and the others 122 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: wanted only American born, Anglo Saxon Protestant white men to 123 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: call the shots. They used fear to gain public support, 124 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: preying on people's insecurities during the uncertain times surrounding the 125 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: First World War. They insisted people of specific legions and 126 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: races where the root cause of all their problems, all crime, 127 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: all poverty, immorality, disease, and anything else that troubled America, 128 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:13,040 Speaker 1: and he and his nights were going to save America 129 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 1: by putting those people in their subservient place. The clan 130 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: also used labor strikes to stir the pot. The Simmons 131 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: claimed strikers were in league with foreign powers and communists. 132 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 1: By the nineteen twenties, the clan had over four million 133 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 1: members across the nation, even in northern states. In Indiana, 134 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: the KKK boasted two and fifty thousand members, quickly becoming 135 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:54,720 Speaker 1: one of the largest chapters in the country. Heading up 136 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: the Indiana branch of the clan was David Curtis Stevenson, 137 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: one of the most powerful men in the state. Reportedly charismatic, 138 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 1: Stevenson wasn't short on compliments for himself. He told everyone 139 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: who would listen that he had the biggest brains and 140 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 1: would be the biggest man in the United States. He 141 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:17,719 Speaker 1: had moved to Evansville in ninety and had worked for 142 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:21,440 Speaker 1: a retail coat company. Though he told people he was wealthy, 143 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: and had come from wealth. In reality, had been born 144 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: in Houston, Texas to a family of sharecroppers. Stevenson had 145 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: little schooling, having left to work as a printer's apprentice 146 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:36,079 Speaker 1: before joining the army. He never saw combat in World 147 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:39,120 Speaker 1: War One, but his training provided him with the means 148 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 1: to effectively organize and lead the clan in Indiana and 149 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 1: six other states. He helped create the white supremacist newspaper, 150 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,720 Speaker 1: The Fiery Cross. He also became the top recruiter for 151 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 1: the clan, bringing in nearly fifty undred new members and 152 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:59,200 Speaker 1: offering Protestant ministers free membership and the wealthy brad Dove 153 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 1: came quickly from the sales of uniforms and other items 154 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 1: that clan members purchased. Though his vanity and mistruths continued, 155 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,560 Speaker 1: clan members worshiped him. At a gathering for the fourth 156 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 1: of July in three he addressed a hundred thousand members. 157 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:20,440 Speaker 1: He arrived late and gave an excuse that thrilled them. 158 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:22,920 Speaker 1: He had been counseling the President of the United States, 159 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 1: he told them, and harding had kept him unduly long. 160 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:31,240 Speaker 1: It was another lie, of course, but the crowd believed him. 161 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:34,400 Speaker 1: Warren g Harding had denounced lynching and had made some 162 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:37,600 Speaker 1: efforts to combat the clan. The clan had become so 163 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:39,960 Speaker 1: angry with the president that they spread rumors that he 164 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,480 Speaker 1: was secretly a klansman himself. It wouldn't be the first 165 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 1: or the last time Stevenson used the rumor to spread misinformation. 166 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 1: He had helped two prominent local politicians rise to power. 167 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 1: After all, he had used the clan to intimidate voters, 168 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,439 Speaker 1: putting Edward L. Jackson in the governor's mansion. I'm proud 169 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:02,599 Speaker 1: of his effort, Stevenson told the crowd, I am the 170 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:07,880 Speaker 1: law in Indiana. The clan didn't like Catholics, much less 171 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 1: Irish immigrants, and the nearby Notre Dame had become a 172 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 1: thorn in Stephenson's side and something had to be done, 173 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 1: and he organized a rally in South Bend. Stephenson's clansmen 174 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,480 Speaker 1: had harassed the University of Dayton in Ohio the previous year. 175 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:28,360 Speaker 1: They had burned crosses and cemeteries and on school grounds. 176 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:33,079 Speaker 1: After repeated acts of terrorism, the football team successfully chased 177 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:37,680 Speaker 1: off the clansmen. The clan retaliated, setting off bombs and 178 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: setting an eight foot cross ablaze. On school property. As 179 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 1: the students doused the flames, fifty cars of clansmen arrived. 180 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:49,280 Speaker 1: The men surrounded the students and attacked them. Town residents 181 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:53,679 Speaker 1: joined the fray, eventually beating back the clan. If they 182 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: couldn't intimidate that school, the clan would pick another to harass, 183 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:01,240 Speaker 1: and Notre Dame was right on Stevenson's door step. The 184 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 1: students had heard about the attack on the Ohio University, 185 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:07,440 Speaker 1: so they weren't too surprised when clansmen arrived on school 186 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: property to lecture about the dangers that the Irish and 187 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:15,600 Speaker 1: other immigrants posed, as well as the problem with Catholicism. 188 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:19,199 Speaker 1: One clansmen posted up in an auditorium, handing out leaflets 189 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:22,679 Speaker 1: and telling students and staff that Catholics were horrible Americans. 190 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: The Irish students responded by throwing potatoes at him that 191 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 1: they had stolen from the cafeteria, and the man fled. 192 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: Stevenson retaliated, and he was playing a long game. He 193 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:38,320 Speaker 1: used scare tactics to force citizens into voting clan candidates 194 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,319 Speaker 1: into government office. If you couldn't force the school to 195 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 1: shut down, one way, he'd do it. Another university president, 196 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: father Matthew Walsh began to fear for his student safety. 197 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:51,959 Speaker 1: He and two other priests went to talk to the 198 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:56,320 Speaker 1: Chief of Police, Lawrence Lane, to file a complaint. Chief 199 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,360 Speaker 1: Lane didn't want the clan there either, and assured Walsh 200 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 1: that the group been denied permits for rallies and parades. Relieved, 201 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 1: Walsh and the others left. What they didn't know was 202 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:10,520 Speaker 1: that the clan didn't care about the law and South Bend, 203 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: nor did they care about the students. On March seventeenth 204 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 1: of NTO, a large number of clansmen arrived in South 205 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:22,240 Speaker 1: Bend by car and train. At first glance, they could 206 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 1: have been anyone until you noticed the white robes and 207 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:29,400 Speaker 1: hoods they carried. As the day wore on Moore arrived, 208 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 1: members who had shown up earlier dawned their robes and 209 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:38,160 Speaker 1: began directing traffic for even more incoming clansmen. Father Walsh 210 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: knew a storm was brewing. When the word hit Notre 211 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:54,720 Speaker 1: Dame that the clan had arrived, students began to trickle 212 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:58,680 Speaker 1: off campus. Though Father Walsh issued a warning for them 213 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 1: to stay on school ground, the students weren't going to 214 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,520 Speaker 1: sit idly by and let a bunch of men dressed 215 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 1: in sheets run them off. They loosely formed groups and 216 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 1: hoofed it the two miles to downtown South Bend. Once there, 217 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,600 Speaker 1: they found a scuffle already in progress. The clan was 218 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 1: attacking and beating local Catholic citizens who had come to 219 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,680 Speaker 1: voice their opinions against the clan. Seeing an opportunity, a 220 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 1: few students pretended to wander in alone. The clan members, 221 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 1: all grown men, saw the boys as easy targets and 222 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 1: chased them down alleys where other Notre Dame students waited. Meanwhile, 223 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: football players charged into groups of clansmen, sending them tumbling, 224 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:44,800 Speaker 1: making it easier for local citizens to gain the upper hand. 225 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:49,280 Speaker 1: Beaten and bloody, the clan made a hasty retreat to 226 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 1: their headquarters. They called Chief Lane, who refused to press 227 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: charges against the students. Well, unless the clan wanted charges 228 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 1: pressed against them, they did not. Stevenson used the riot 229 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:06,760 Speaker 1: to paint Notre Dame students as violent hoodlumps. He claimed 230 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,320 Speaker 1: that their behavior only proved his point about the Irish 231 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 1: and Catholics being menaces that had to be dealt with. 232 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 1: In Stevenson's eyes, he could spin this into the best propaganda, 233 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:21,560 Speaker 1: Yet still the clan licked their wounds. Only one klansman 234 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: had walked away unscathed that day. Of policemen, who had 235 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 1: kept one hand on his gun while threatening the students, 236 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:31,600 Speaker 1: though he didn't kill anyone that day, had promised they 237 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 1: would get what was coming to them. The students didn't care. 238 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: They had just kicked the kkks butts. They arrived back 239 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: at campus the souvenirs of torn robes and hoods and 240 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:45,080 Speaker 1: ran them up the flagpole for the klansmen to see. 241 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:50,320 Speaker 1: The clan was furious and embarrassed they had been sent 242 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 1: packing by a bunch of college kids. For damage control, 243 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,600 Speaker 1: Stevenson used his connections to portray the students as potato 244 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: throwing savages in the newspapers and that the clan had 245 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:05,359 Speaker 1: been peaceful. Father Walsh was angry. The statements in the 246 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:09,440 Speaker 1: article were not only untrue, they were racist and derogatory, 247 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: but there was little he could do. The clan had 248 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,919 Speaker 1: also pulled strings to get thirty deputies to stand guard 249 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: over their headquarters, where a cross emblazoned with red lights 250 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:23,439 Speaker 1: sat in the window. To Father Walsh, the clan was 251 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: flaunting their power and to his students that red cross 252 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:30,399 Speaker 1: was like flashing a red cape in front of an 253 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:35,160 Speaker 1: angry bull. It had been a chaotic weekend, and all 254 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:38,119 Speaker 1: sophomore Bill Fooey wanted to do was settle into a 255 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:41,359 Speaker 1: normal week. It was a Monday, and he sat in 256 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,400 Speaker 1: his dorm room studying chemistry. When the phone rang down 257 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:48,320 Speaker 1: the hall. He paid little mind until he heard shouting 258 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:52,080 Speaker 1: and doors slamming. Someone knocked on his door and yelled, 259 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:55,920 Speaker 1: they've got one of the boys downtown. The messenger didn't 260 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,679 Speaker 1: say who had been taken, but he had an idea 261 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:02,440 Speaker 1: of why. The Ku Klux Klan was out for revenge. 262 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:07,080 Speaker 1: Over five hundred students ran down to South Bend the 263 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: cross with the red light bulbs burned brightly in the window. 264 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:14,520 Speaker 1: Deputies stood guard, many of whom the boys recognized as clansmen. 265 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,280 Speaker 1: While the boys were armed with nothing more than rotten food, 266 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:22,520 Speaker 1: the deputized clansmen surrounded them and began beating them with clubs. 267 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: The students fought back. Father Walsh got word about the 268 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 1: fight and drove into South Bend. He climbed on top 269 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:31,879 Speaker 1: of a cannon that was part of a monument and 270 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:35,000 Speaker 1: shouted over the crowd, pleading for peace and for his 271 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: students to return to school grounds. It wasn't like Father 272 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:43,639 Speaker 1: Walsh to plead every single student returned to the school. 273 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:49,879 Speaker 1: Walsh stayed until everyone students, clansmen, and deputies left. When 274 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,920 Speaker 1: the street was finally empty, he returned to Notre Dame. 275 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 1: The following day. The clan told the papers that they 276 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,480 Speaker 1: had come across the students beating on women and children 277 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:03,640 Speaker 1: and had simply been defending the innocent. Then they promptly 278 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:07,359 Speaker 1: left town, vowing to return in greater numbers to handle 279 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:12,240 Speaker 1: the issue. They never returned, though, and the students went 280 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,679 Speaker 1: down in history for taking on the clan and winning. 281 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:31,680 Speaker 1: Father Walsh found him standing before the mayor and the 282 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:35,600 Speaker 1: chief of police on Tuesday. A few local clan members 283 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:39,520 Speaker 1: also showed up. For a while, Walsh sat in silence 284 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: as the clansmen repeated their lies about his students attacking 285 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:46,879 Speaker 1: women and children the previous night. He listened with disinterest 286 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 1: when some of the townspeople complained about how rowdy the 287 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:53,919 Speaker 1: students had been. When everyone finished speaking, they turned to 288 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:57,720 Speaker 1: hear what the father intended to do about his misbehaving students. 289 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 1: Walsh said, give and their history of boorish behavior in 290 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:05,680 Speaker 1: our community an incident like this was just a matter 291 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:09,719 Speaker 1: of time, and then he left. He never punished a 292 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:13,240 Speaker 1: single student for standing up to the clan. The school 293 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,600 Speaker 1: didn't expel or even suspend anyone who had participated in 294 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:19,600 Speaker 1: defending the town or themselves against the clan that night. 295 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 1: Despite Stevenson's best hopes and efforts, the school did not 296 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:29,840 Speaker 1: dissolve or fall into disgrace. Instead, it flourished the clan, 297 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: and Stevenson didn't fare so well. There wasn't a single 298 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:36,640 Speaker 1: report of the injured women are children who the clan 299 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:41,160 Speaker 1: insisted had been viciously attacked. Instead, word about the clan 300 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: getting beaten up and ran out of town by college 301 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 1: kids spread. Then the second blow hit Grand Dragon. Stevenson 302 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:53,200 Speaker 1: was arrested for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of twenty 303 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,240 Speaker 1: eight year old Madge Oberholtzer, whom he had met at 304 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 1: the governor's inauguration back on January twenty five five. He 305 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,120 Speaker 1: had hired her to work as his aid, running messages 306 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,400 Speaker 1: to and from his office, and she had even helped 307 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:12,160 Speaker 1: him write a book. On March fifteenth, Stevenson's secretary called 308 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:16,680 Speaker 1: match and told her she was needed immediately. Eight hours later, 309 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:20,880 Speaker 1: her parents reported her missing. Mad showed up two days 310 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:25,280 Speaker 1: later in bad shape, bleeding, badly bruised, and with numerous 311 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 1: bite marks on her body. When questioned, she told her 312 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 1: parents what had happened at the hands of a man 313 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:35,600 Speaker 1: she had trusted. Stevenson had been drunk when she had 314 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: arrived that day, and he and his men had forced 315 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:40,359 Speaker 1: her to the train station and then onto a train 316 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: heading to Chicago. Then they shoved her into a private 317 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:48,400 Speaker 1: compartment where Stevenson brutally beat bit, cut and assaulted her. 318 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: So she cried out. None of the men stopped him, 319 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:54,399 Speaker 1: and no one helped match. When she got off the 320 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:58,040 Speaker 1: train with Stevenson in Hammond, Indiana, he and the other 321 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,800 Speaker 1: clan members took her to a hotel. The next day, 322 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 1: he had his men take Marge back home, where they 323 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:08,159 Speaker 1: dumped her. A boarder at her parents home found her 324 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 1: and summoned help. Madge would die from her injuries. Stephenson 325 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:18,159 Speaker 1: didn't bother to run from the police. Actually, he seemed 326 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:23,639 Speaker 1: surprised when his political ties and protectors abandoned him. Stephenson 327 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:28,320 Speaker 1: was convicted on November twenty four of ninety The Indiana 328 00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: clan fell apart soon after. In nine, and by nineteen 329 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,919 Speaker 1: thirty most members found themselves out of work in the 330 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,240 Speaker 1: midst of the Great Depression, unable to pay their dues. 331 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:44,280 Speaker 1: Membership dropped to just forty five thousand. In nineteen fifty, 332 00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:48,240 Speaker 1: Stephenson was paroled. None of his former connections would have 333 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,800 Speaker 1: anything to do with him, for fear of the stigma 334 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 1: the relationship would bring. He died in nineteen sixty six, penniless, 335 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:06,520 Speaker 1: alone and forgotten. There's more to this story. Stick around 336 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:08,960 Speaker 1: after this brief sponsor break to hear all about it. 337 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,160 Speaker 1: It was the golden age of radio across the nation. 338 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:23,679 Speaker 1: Families sat in their living rooms to listen to a 339 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:29,160 Speaker 1: variety of news and entertainment broadcasts. Long before cable TV 340 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: and the Disney Channel. Parents enjoyed a little downtime when 341 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 1: the kids sat quietly to listen to their favorite shows. 342 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 1: Superman had long been a favorite of children who read 343 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 1: comic strips, and they were equally fascinated with the radio show. 344 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:47,320 Speaker 1: When it first aired in kids hurried home from school, 345 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:50,359 Speaker 1: did their homework, ate their dinner, and sat wide eyed 346 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:54,320 Speaker 1: while voice actors and audio producers brought the stories to life. 347 00:23:55,640 --> 00:24:00,320 Speaker 1: In six Stepson Kennedy, an author, journalist and human rights 348 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:04,119 Speaker 1: activist came up with an idea for the show Superman 349 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: Versus the KKK. He had despised the group ever since 350 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:11,760 Speaker 1: he was a child. As a teen, had been devastated 351 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:14,399 Speaker 1: by the loss of his family's maid, a black woman 352 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:18,639 Speaker 1: whom the family loved. Several clansmen had assaulted and killed 353 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:21,919 Speaker 1: her for questioning the change. A white bus driver handed her. 354 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,920 Speaker 1: Clan membership had experienced a resurgence in the nineteen forties, 355 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:29,080 Speaker 1: and they had their sights set on removing anyone who 356 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 1: stood in their way. Stetson wanted to do something about 357 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,639 Speaker 1: them to bring America's full attention to the terrorist group 358 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 1: in their midst To give the show the best insight 359 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 1: and to best humiliate the clan, Stetson knew he had 360 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:48,359 Speaker 1: to infiltrate the group. He went undercover in Atlanta, visiting 361 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,480 Speaker 1: bars he thought the clan frequented. He told everyone he 362 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:55,679 Speaker 1: sold encyclopedias. He drank a lot of beer and played 363 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:59,399 Speaker 1: even more games of pool, and eventually he got an 364 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,960 Speaker 1: invitation to joined the Georgia Fraternity. After receiving his robes, 365 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 1: he attended regular meetings where he learned the clan's secret passwords, 366 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: and to his astonishment, they turned out to be nothing 367 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 1: more than adding the letters K and L in front 368 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:17,200 Speaker 1: of certain words in their minds. Adding the letters would 369 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: confuse any outsiders from understanding what they were talking about. 370 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:24,679 Speaker 1: There was a secret handshake to a limp, wristed grasp, 371 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:28,720 Speaker 1: and a wiggle. Members had to pay dues and by 372 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:32,200 Speaker 1: their uniforms exclusively from the clan for fifteen dollars each. 373 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:37,800 Speaker 1: That's two dollars today for pretty much a sheet. All told, 374 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 1: the clan was a profitable pyramid scheme based around hatred. 375 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:46,400 Speaker 1: Stetson took extensive notes and even risked rating the Grand 376 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 1: Dragon's waste basket. He learned about the clans secret rituals 377 00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:54,200 Speaker 1: and their plans for violence. The I R S slapped 378 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,400 Speaker 1: the Atlanta chapter with a six five thousand dollar bill 379 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:01,919 Speaker 1: when he alerted them about the chapter's taxivation. Being a 380 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:05,199 Speaker 1: mole in the clan was dangerous. They'd kill him if 381 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:08,600 Speaker 1: they found him out, and he couldn't trust law enforcement 382 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,040 Speaker 1: if he wound up in a bind. The local cops 383 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:14,120 Speaker 1: were of two minds, those who were afraid and those 384 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 1: who were members. Instead, Stetson had to trust the Georgia 385 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 1: Bureau of Investigation and hope he wouldn't be out it. 386 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:26,040 Speaker 1: Before long, the radio producers had enough material for the 387 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:30,240 Speaker 1: sixteen part mini series The Adventures of Superman Plan of 388 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:34,760 Speaker 1: the Fiery Cross. The show pitted Superman against the Clan 389 00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:41,399 Speaker 1: and used fiction to reveal the clan's real rituals, demystifying them. 390 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: Four and a half million listeners tuned in, including clan 391 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:49,560 Speaker 1: members children. One member reported he came home from work 392 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:51,840 Speaker 1: to find his son with a towel tied around his 393 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,359 Speaker 1: shoulders like a cape, chasing other kids wearing pillowcases over 394 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,680 Speaker 1: their heads. The kid told his father he was Superman, 395 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:01,360 Speaker 1: ridding the world of the bad men in the KKK. 396 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:04,800 Speaker 1: The clan has been worried that his son, who had 397 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:07,399 Speaker 1: always looked up to him, might now find his robes 398 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:12,040 Speaker 1: and hood. Stetson promptly left the clan and didn't out 399 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:15,440 Speaker 1: himself until when he was asked to testify in front 400 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,399 Speaker 1: of a grand jury. The clan had bombed religious and 401 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:22,640 Speaker 1: community centers in black, Jewish and Catholic neighborhoods. The clan 402 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,320 Speaker 1: tried to silence him with death threats, by shooting his 403 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:28,679 Speaker 1: dog and with frequent attempts at setting his home on fire. 404 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:33,040 Speaker 1: Like the Man of Steel himself, Stetson didn't back down. 405 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:36,680 Speaker 1: The public no longer thought of the clan as something 406 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:41,040 Speaker 1: arcane and enigmatic. They joked about grown men acting like 407 00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:46,199 Speaker 1: schoolyard bullies with their secret Dakota rings. Recruitment dropped, and 408 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:49,639 Speaker 1: when the clan held rallies, people flocked to see them, 409 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,080 Speaker 1: not to hear what the hate group had to say, though, 410 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:58,399 Speaker 1: no the public came to mock them. Stetson Kennedy died 411 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,919 Speaker 1: a hero in his own right. He lived a long life, 412 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:18,800 Speaker 1: passing away in his home At the Age of American 413 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 1: Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This episode was written 414 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 1: by Michelle Muto, researched by Ali Steed, and produced by 415 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:30,919 Speaker 1: Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, 416 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:35,200 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, 417 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,320 Speaker 1: visit Grim and Mild dot com. From more podcasts from 418 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:42,360 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 419 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:44,040 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts.