The Rise and Fall of the Ku Klux Klan in New Jersey

by Joseph G. Bilby, Harry Ziegler

Overview

This revealing history chronicles the rise of the KKK in 1920s New Jersey and the backlash it faced from the state’s immigrant communities.
 
As one of the nation's most diverse states, New Jersey is celebrated for its strong communities built across religious and ethnic lines. But the Mid-Atlantic state is not immune to the ills of bigotry and racism. When the Ku Klux Klan began to reemerge in the first half of the twentieth century, it found a home for a time in New Jersey. Arthur H. Bell, a former vaudevillian turned KKK Grand Dragon, used the tactics of public theater to advertise and recruit for the secret society. 
 
In a time of heightened xenophobia during World War I, many white Protestants were already suspicious of their Catholic and Jewish neighbors—a trend Arthur used to his advantage. But the organization’s rise was soon met with a forceful backlash. At a massive riot in Perth Amboy, thousands of immigrants besieged a few hundred Klansmen and ran them out of town. This detailed history chronicles the brief rise of the Ku Klux Klan and how brave New Jersey residents collectively stood up to bigotry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439667699
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	07/31/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	147
Sales rank:	959,631
File size:	17 MB
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About the Author

JOSEPH G. BILBY received his BA and MA degrees in history from Seton Hall University and served as a lieutenant in the First Infantry Division in Vietnam in 1966-67. He is assistant curator of the New Jersey National Guard and Militia Museum in Sea Girt, a columnist for the Civil War News and New Jersey Sportsmen News and a freelance writer, historian and historical consultant. He is the author, editor or coauthor of more than four hundred articles and twenty-two books on New Jersey, the Civil War and firearms history. Mr. Bilby has received the Jane Clayton Award for contributions to Monmouth County (NJ) history, an award of merit from the New Jersey Historical Commission for his contributions to the state's military history and the New Jersey Meritorious Service Medal from the state's Division of Military and Veterans Affairs. In 2018, he was awarded the Richard J. Hughes Prize by the New Jersey Historical Commission for his lifelong contributions to New Jersey history.HARRY ZIEGLER received his BA degree in English from Monmouth University and his MEd from Georgian Court University and worked for many years at the Asbury Park Press, New Jersey's second-largest newspaper, rising from reporter to bureau chief, editor and managing editor of the paper. He is currently associate principal of Bishop George Ahr High School in Edison, New Jersey, and this is the eighth book he has coauthored on New Jersey history.