The following article appeared in the September 17 edition of the Fort Collins Coloradoen. It is a short history of the Ku Klux Klan in Colorado and I was struck by the similarities with the present day Tea Party. You could easily substitute “Tea Party” for “KKK” through out the article and not be far off including the jingoistic patriotism and the anti-minority or anti-other religion stance.
KKK had strong presence in Colorado [1]
[2]By Barbara Fleming
The Ku Klux Klan in Colorado? Hard to believe — the Klan was mainly in the South, wasn’t it?
Believe it.
In the aftermath of World War I, the Great War as it was called then, American society adopted a carefree, hedonistic posture, paying little heed to the outside world. America became radically isolationist and patriotic in reaction to the horrendous toll “the war to end all wars” had taken — not only soldiers, but a virulent, cruel flu epidemic following the war that took many lives.
The Klan’s message of patriotic fervor and nationalism fit right in with the current mood in Colorado and nationwide.