Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan became a significant force in New Jersey during the 1920s, demonstrating that white supremacist and nativist movements were not confined to the American South. The second Ku Klux Klan, which emerged nationally after 1915, found fertile ground in New Jersey's rapidly changing communities. The state was experiencing increased immigration, urbanization, religious diversity, and the migration of African Americans from the South. Klan organizers appealed to white Protestant fears about Catholics, Jews, immigrants, and racial integration, presenting themselves as defenders of "100 percent Americanism."

Evidence from contemporary newspapers reveals that the Klan was active throughout northern New Jersey, particularly in Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, and Essex Counties. By 1921, organizers were already publicly announcing the formation of Klan chapters in Hoboken, Newark, and Jersey City. A Jersey Journal article reported that Klan leaders intended to establish organizations throughout the state and claimed that thousands of New Jersey residents had already joined the movement.¹

The organization expanded rapidly during the early 1920s. In Bergen County, Klan chapters operated in communities including Rutherford, East Rutherford, Carlstadt, Little Ferry, Paramus, Midland Park, Wyckoff, Waldwick, Allendale, and Hackensack. Recruitment efforts were often conducted openly. In April 1923, the Passaic Daily Herald reported that Klan literature had been distributed throughout Rutherford and Carlstadt, inviting residents to join the organization through a Carlstadt post office box.²

Public demonstrations became a hallmark of the New Jersey Klan. In July 1923, approximately 2,000 spectators gathered at Dunn Brothers Farm in Paramus to watch the initiation of 652 new members from Bergen and neighboring counties. According to The Record, hundreds of automobiles transported participants and spectators to the ceremony, which included the burning of a large cross and the administration of Klan oaths.³ That same year, another initiation ceremony near Pompton Lakes reportedly inducted 300 new members and attracted thousands of observers.⁴

Klan activity was particularly visible in Bergen County. In 1925, newspapers announced plans for large Klan parades and rallies near Hackensack and Arcola Field between Ridgewood and Hackensack.⁵ Contemporary reports described parades passing through Midland Park, Wyckoff, Waldwick, and Allendale before culminating in open-air meetings where national Klan speakers addressed the crowd and recruited new members.⁶ In 1926, hundreds of robed Klansmen paraded through Rutherford, East Rutherford, and Carlstadt before gathering in Little Ferry for speeches and ceremonies.⁷

The Klan also sought influence in local politics and education. In August 1923, approximately fifty alleged Klan members attended a Hackensack Board of Education meeting following the appointment of Nellie Morrow, an African American teacher, to the public school system.⁸

While anti-Black racism remained central to Klan ideology, New Jersey Klansmen frequently focused on anti-Catholicism, anti-immigrant sentiment, and opposition to religious and ethnic pluralism. The state's large Italian, Irish, Polish, and Jewish populations became common targets. Klan leaders portrayed themselves as defenders of Protestant values and American institutions against perceived foreign influences.¹

The social environment in which the Klan flourished was reflected in local newspaper coverage of racial issues. Earlier articles from Bergen County reveal how racial prejudice shaped suburban development. In 1906, a Fair Lawn property owner threatened to sell homes to Black families if local officials interfered with one of his projects, using racial integration as a threat against white residents.⁹ That same year, an Englewood businessman threatened to establish a "Negro colony" in retaliation for local political disputes.¹⁰ Such incidents demonstrate that racial exclusion and fears of Black settlement existed in many northern New Jersey communities before the Klan's rapid expansion during the 1920s.

Despite its visibility, the Klan never achieved the level of political power in New Jersey that it attained in states such as Indiana. Opposition from Catholic organizations, civic leaders, labor groups, newspapers, and many local residents limited its influence. Internal scandals and declining membership further weakened the organization by the late 1920s. Although Klan activity continued in isolated forms, the mass movement that had attracted thousands of members and spectators throughout New Jersey largely disappeared before the Great Depression.

The history of the Ku Klux Klan in New Jersey challenges the notion that organized white supremacy was exclusively a Southern phenomenon. The Klan's rallies, parades, recruitment drives, school board interventions, and public ceremonies in Bergen and Passaic Counties reveal how racism, religious intolerance, and nativism shaped the social and political landscape of northern New Jersey during the 1920s.

"Ku Klux Klan Organizing All Over the State," The Jersey Journal (Jersey City, NJ), August 29, 1921.

"Ku Klux Klan in Rutherford," Passaic Daily Herald (Passaic, NJ), April 10, 1923.

"Ku Klux Klansmen Gather at Paramus; Initiate 652 Members," The Record (Hackensack, NJ), July 23, 1923.

"Ku Klux Klan Initiates 300 at Rally on Pompton Road," The Record (Hackensack, NJ), July 23, 1923.

"Ku Klux Klan to Parade Tomorrow," The News (Paterson, NJ), June 6, 1925.

Ibid.

"Ku Klux Klan Holds Big Parade Through Rutherford Streets," The Record (Hackensack, NJ), October 29, 1926.

"Ku Klux Klan Attends School Board Meeting," The Jersey Journal (Jersey City, NJ), August 15, 1923.

"Clauss Threatens Drastic Revenge," Passaic Daily News (Passaic, NJ), April 10, 1906.

"Negro Colony for Englewood," Passaic Daily News (Passaic, NJ), April 10, 1906.