• Login
  • Register
  • FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Documents
  • Activities
  • Activity Tools
    • All Tools
    • Analyzing Documents
    • Discussion Topic
    • Compare and Contrast
    • Zoom/Crop
    • White Out / Black Out
    • Spotlight
    • Finding a Sequence
    • Making Connections
    • Mapping History
    • Seeing the Big Picture
    • Weighing the Evidence
    • Interpreting Data
  • Popular Topics
    • See All
    • National History Day
    • The Constitution
    • Sports: All-American
    • Rights in America
    • American Indians
    • Women's Rights
    • American Revolution
    • The Civil War
    • World War I
    • World War II
    • The Vietnam War
    • 1970s America
    • Congress
    • Amending America
    • Elections
    • What Americans Eat
    • Signatures
    • Nixon and Ford Years
  • Resources
    • Getting Started
    • Document Analysis
    • Activity-Creation Guide
    • Manage Assignments
    • iPad App
    • Presentation Materials
    • Webinars
      • Recorded Webinars
      • Live Webinars
MENU
DocsTeachThe online tool for teaching with documents, from the National Archives National Archives Foundation National Archives

Letter from Women of the Ku Klux Klan to President Calvin Coolidge

5/15/1924

Print
Add to Favorites:
Add
Saving document...
Your document has been saved.
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
The Government used the "Ku Klux Klan Act" of 1871 (also known as the Enforcement Act of 1871 or the Civil Rights Act of 1871) to fight the KKK’s campaign of violence and intimidation – effectively extinguishing the first-generation KKK. But a second wave began during World War I and flourished in the early to mid-1920s.

Feeding on the antiforeigner and nationalist sentiment of the war years, the KKK promoted itself as a “100% American” organization. It spread its membership and white-supremacist views across the country, exercised its First Amendment rights through publications and parades, and petitioned the Government.

The women in Alliance Klan #1 wrote this letter in favor of the Johnson Immigration Bill – known as the Immigration Act of 1924. The act set "quotas" for immigration. It limited the annual number of immigrants who could enter the United States from any country to 2 percent of the number of people from that country already living in the United States as recorded in the 1890 census.

Show/Hide Transcript

Transcript

labor [written in pencil]

Women of the Ku Klux Klan [letterhead]
[In the center, underneath this wording is a shield with a Christian cross in the center. On top of this cross is a W. To the left and right of this cross is a K and a K. At the bottom of this cross is another K.]
[underneath the shield it says] Incorporated

[hand stamp] RESPECTFULLY REFERRED FOR CONSIDERATION C.B. Sleuiy Secy to the President]

Alliance, Ohio, May #5, 1924.

[hand stamp of a clock, triangle inside the hand stamp points to the 9:00 hour, below the triangle it says:] MAY 20 SECRETARIES OFFICE

President Calvin Coolidge,
Washington, D.C.

Honored Sir, -

We, the Women of the Ku Klux Klan of Alliance Ohio, do so heartily approve the Johnson Immigration Bill so overwhelmingly passed by House and Senate, and we earnestly request that you, the President, of this United States, give your support and affix your signature to this bill.

We shall ever be devoted to the sublime principals of a pure Americanism, and valiant in the defense of its' ideals and institutions.

It is our earnest desire to promote real patriotism toward our civil government, honorable peace among men and nations, and protection for and happiness in the homes of our people.

Sincerely,
Alliance Klan #1,
Women of the Ku Klux Klan.

[notarized seal of the Women of the Ku Klux Klan at the bottom left of the document]
This primary source comes from the General Records of the Department of Labor.
National Archives Identifier: 7455592
Full Citation: Letter from Women of the Ku Klux Klan to President Calvin Coolidge; 5/15/1924; 164/14 Immigration 1924; General Files, 1907 - 1942; General Records of the Department of Labor, Record Group 174; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/women-kkk-coolidge, February 1, 2023]
Return to ResultsReturn

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.

  • Explore Primary Source Documents
  •  
  • Discover Activities You Can Teach With
  •  
  • Create Fun & Engaging Activities
Follow us on Twitter:twitter
Follow us on Facebook:facebook
Please enter a valid email address

View our webinars:youtube

Get our iPad app:apple
New Documentsshare
New Activitiesshare

The National Archives

DocsTeach is a product of the National Archives education division. Our mission is to engage, educate, and inspire all learners to discover and explore the records of the American people preserved by the National Archives.

The National Archives and Records Administration is the nation's record keeper. We save documents and other materials created in the course of business conducted by the U.S. Federal government that are judged to have continuing value. We hold in trust for the public the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights — but also the records of ordinary citizens — at our locations around the country.
  • All Education Programs
  • Student Visits
  • Distance Learning
  • Professional Development
  • National Archives Museum
  • Presidential Libraries
  • Archives.gov
  • National Archives Foundation




Creative Commons License

Except where otherwise noted, DocsTeach is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Primary source documents included on this site generally come from the holdings of the National Archives and are in the public domain, except as noted. Teaching activities on this site have received the CC0 Public Domain Dedication; authors have waived all copyright and related rights to the extent possible under the law. See our legal and privacy page for full terms and conditions.