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Ku Klux Klan headgear and certificate
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The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is a secret society dedicated to white supremacy. The 20th century KKK was restricted to white American-born Protestant men, Simmons designed the notorious hooded uniform, composed an elaborate ritual for the secret order, and secured an official charter from the state of Georgia. The revived Klan grew slowly during the years of World War I (1917-18), but in 1920 the secret order changed its solicitation procedures and began to attract hundreds of thousands of recruits from across the nation. Much of the second Klan's appeal can be credited to its militant advocacy of white supremacy, anti-Catholicism, anti-Semitism, and immigration restriction, but the organization also attracted the support of many middle-class Americans by advocating improved law enforcement, honest government, better public schools, and traditional family life.
In 1922 Hiram W. Evans, displaced William Simmons as the leader of the Klan and attempted to turn the organization into a powerful political machine. At the very height of its political influence, however, the second Klan entered a period of steep decline caused by internal feuding, scandals, increased activism by opponents, and the fading of the group's romantic image. By 1930 the KKK, which had attracted an estimated 5 million members during the early 1920s, was reduced to about 30,000 supporters. Georgia's KKK membership declined from approximately 156,000 members in 1925 to 1,400 in 1930. (Extracted from Lay, Shawn.Ku Klux Klan in the Twentieth Century. New Georgia Encyclopedia. 05 June 2014.)
Edra C. Moore (1899-1960) was born November 22, 1899 in Shiloh, Georgia. He graduated from Georgia State Military Academy, became a police officer in Washington D.C., and served in the Army Reserve during World War II. His involvement with the Ku Klux Klan was brief, ending when he left Georgia for D.C. Moore later suffered from mental illness and committed suicide April 1960. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Edra C. Moore was married to Martha Irene Rawls; they had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth Moore.
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This collection contains a Ku Klux Klan membership certificate for Edra C. Moore to the Knights of Kamellia, dated November 19, 1929 and signed by Imperial Wizard, H.W. Evans; a coarsely woven hood liner (size 7/14); and a felt fez with tassel.
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Restricted item: KKK fez.
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GHS 2452, Ku Klux Klan headgear and certificate, 1929. Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia.
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