D.C. Stephenson: KKK and Murder

The Ku Klux Klan had originally been formed as a fraternal society by ex-Confederate army officers. Its first official leader was the legendary cavalry commander, General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Its membership grew rapidly as it became clear that it sought to restore and maintain white supremacy in the south. Its increasingly violent behaviour, however, the lynching’s, the burnings, and intimidation of Negroes and northerners forced President Ulysses S Grant to act. The increased pressure forced the Klan, as it had become known, to disband. At its peak its membership numbered in the hundreds of thousands. But by 1877, it seemed all over.

In the wake of the gloom that settled upon the United States following the end of the First World War, Americans were looking for alternatives. The release of D W Griffith’s film Birth of a Nation, which depicted the Klan as heroes, saw a revival in its fortunes. For the first time it became a national political force with Klaverns in most States north and south. By 1925, its membership stood at over 6 million. Affiliated to the Democratic Party it effectively held the 1924 National Convention to ransom. Tens of thousands of Klansmen in full robes marched in a torch lit procession through the streets of Washington; but by the end of 1926, the Klan’s popularity was in free-fall, its reputation in tatters, and its membership declining to a low from which it has never since recovered. One man was responsible for bringing the Klan to its knees, that man was David Curtiss Stephenson.

D.C Stephenson

D C Stephenson, known to his friends as Steve, was born in Houston, Texas, on 21 August, 1891. Little is known of his childhood but he started work as an apprentice printer aged 16, and joined the Socialist Party. It was evident early on that he was something of a political chancer for when the Socialist Party’s fortunes declined he left to join the Democrats. In 1920, he moved to Evansville, Indiana, where he joined the Ku Klux Klan. A charismatic speaker and excellent administrator he soon rose to lead the Indiana Klan. Under his guidance Klan membership in Indiana rose to 250,000. In November, 1922, he backed Hiram J Evans in his leadership bid against the incumbent Grand Wizard, William Simmons. When Evans won he rewarded Stephenson for his support by appointing him Grand Dragon for the 22 other northern States.