Ku Klux Klan
In 1915, William J. Simmons, an Atlanta businessman, started the Ku Klux Klan for a second time. A movie called The Birth of a Nation had just been released. It showed African-American men (played by white actors in blackface) as stupid and sexually aggressive towards white women. It also showed the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force. The movie proved to be an excellent recruitment tool for the KKK. Most of the rituals and traditions of the "old" Ku Klux Klan were kept. Any white Protestant man could join the KKK. The KKK still attacked African Americans, but they also attacked Jews and Catholics this time. In 1920, the Klan began attracting recruits from all over the nation. They promised better law enforcement, better government, better schools and to restore traditional family values.