Chalfant: KKK was distributing fliers back in 1922, too

Researching a specific past event generally involves piecing together information from a variety of sources.

Primary sources include diaries, deeds, court records, birth and death certificates, the manuscript census reports, and other original documents.

Secondary sources include books and articles written about those events. Secondary sources are based on a study of primary sources as well as other historians’ research, interviews and newspaper accounts of the event at the time it happened.

Some events have been the subject of more research than others.

Some events are not well covered by historians because of attitudes toward those events or because of a lack of interest.

Still other events have not been covered because a pall of secrecy surrounds the events.

Racism is sometimes difficult to research in part because events from the past that affect minority groups are often not given the attention that historians devote to events affecting the majority or dominant group. In addition, the concept often makes people uncomfortable.

Uncovering the history of such events requires patience to wade through the available material, but more important, requires access to both primary and secondary sources.

Information about the Ku Klux Klan in central Missouri has been only partially documented, but evidence of its existence in the past is available in both primary and secondary sources.

The earliest existence of the KKK is mentioned in the 1882 History of Pettis County, which covers the years immediately after the Civil War in some detail. In 1868, the 1882 History notes, “there was much talk of a Ku Klux Klan in the county.”

The KKK, in addition to terrorizing the approximately 2,000 recently freed slaves living in Pettis County, was said to have committed “outrages” against “the persons and property of Union men.”

In December 1868, Deputy Sheriff A.P. Morey arrested John Bridgeford and his brother near Longwood for sending “threatening letters to Union men.”

The supposed secrecy of the Klan was violated by one of its members, who reported that “some of the Klan had formed a plan to throw a passenger train off the track west of Sedalia and then to rob the train.”

During the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s, the Sedalia Democrat, Sedalia Bazoo, and later the Sedalia Sentinel reported instances of people being harassed or “white capped” by members of the Klan in their traditional hoods.
 
Documents from the early 20th century, however, reveal more about Klan activity in Pettis County.

On Monday, September 11, 1922, the Ku Klux Klan held a rally in a field near Mitchell School two miles west of Hughesville. Cars from Sedalia, Appleton City, Warrensburg, Clinton, Independence and other communities began to converge on the field soon after sundown.

Some attending the rally had “covered or partially covered their auto licenses so as to keep their identity secret.”

Neighboring farmers noticed the gathering crowd and attempted to get to the field to see what was happening. They were turned back by white-robed Klansmen who informed the farmers that the roads would be closed until 1 or 2 a.m.

The farmers did, however, report recognizing “several prominent businessmen” along the road.

The Democrat reported that approximately 500 cars parked near the site of the rally, and approximately 1,500 people were “working by the light of torches.” A large cross burned in the center of the field.

On Tuesday, September 12, 1922, a man, supposedly a member of the Klan, left a note on the desk of the Sedalia Democrat editor.

The note clarified the information about the Klan rally. The note reported 329 automobiles at the scene. A total of 475 Klan members attended, and another 400 candidates for membership were initiated into the Klan. The cross was 12 feet by 40 feet.

The same day, Klan fliers appeared on the streets in Sedalia and along the road from Sedalia to Hughesville. These fliers announced the presence of the Klan and warned “bootleggers, gamblers, and homewreckers, white and black” to behave properly and obey the law.

The fliers continued with an only slightly veiled threat. Noting that “a man that will not help to uphold constituted authority is an undesirable citizen,” the Klan warned those who did not support the segregation and voter restrictions in effect that they “had cause to fear.”

Next week’s column continues to explore the presence of the Klan in the area.