Ku Klux Klan, Tillamook

After WWI the Ku Klux Klan, which had been largely suppressed since the 1870s, underwent a national resurgence under the leadership of William Joseph Simons. The re-established Klan retained its former goals of white supremacy and sectional patriotism, but added new targets of religious, cultural and social bigotry to its agenda. During the 1920s the Klan grew into the largest anti-Negro, anti-Semitic, anti-Roman Catholic and anti-immigrant organization in the history of the US. This growth reached Oregon in 1921 when out-of-state Klan organizers arrived in Medford and began enrolling members around the state. According to Eckard Vance Toy, “The peak of Klan power in Oregon was reached during 1922 and 1923 when the Klan’s lobbyists and political organization applied continual pressure upon legislative and law enforcement officials. Klan influence was still important during the legislative assemblies of 1925 and 1927, but by then it had lost its hold over the people and even its own members” (Toy 34).

One of the major agenda items adopted by the Oregon Klan was the Compulsory Education Bill of 1922, which required all Oregon children to attend public schools and ordered the closure of all private and parochial schools. Although the bill was passed by popular vote, the US Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 1924 and the law never took effect.

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