The Ku Klux Klan was originally founded by Confederate veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee, in 1865, but had dissolved by the 1870’s. In 1915, the Klan was revived by William Simmons, which was the same year that D.W. Griffith’s film, “Birth of a Nation” debuted, which stereotyped blacks and portrayed the Klan as a heroic force.

On June 7, 1920, Simmons hired publicists to grow the Klan’s membership, launching a campaign called “100 Percent Americanism.” Within sixteen months, the Klan’s ranks increased by nearly 100,000.

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