ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA
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COLLECTION: OGL#598
DATES: 1916-1981
SIZE: .25 linear feet
ACQUISITION: There have been several donations to the Ku Klux Klan in North Dakota Records:
Transferred from the North Dakota Pamphlet File in 1981: (Acc. #81-688 and #81-731)
Donation by Richard Beringer in 1995: (Acc.# 95-2015)
Donation by Jerry Newborg in 1998: (Acc.# 2005-2763)
ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.
The first Imperial Wizard, Emperor of the Invisible Empire, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan was Nathan Bedford Forrest, a former Confederate general. Forrest, along with other Confederate Veterans, formed the Ku Klux Klan on December 15, 1865, at Pulaske, Tennessee, in order to prevent African-Americans from utilizing their rights as American citizens. In 1869, due to lack of control, Forrest disbanded the Klan but several other organizations continued on.
The release of D.W. Griffith's 1915 film, The Birth of a Nation, ignited new interest in the organization. That same year, William J. Simmons and Samuel Green reformed the Ku Klux Klan in Stone Mountain, Georgia. By the beginning of the 1920s, Klan membership had grown to nearly 5 million members.
Interest soon spread to North Dakota, where Klan members staged rallies in Williston and Fargo. The largest Klan following in the state, however, was in the Grand Forks area. The Grand Forks Klan was known as the Ansax Club, whose members were anti-Catholics, Jews, and immigrants and strongly favored the public school system.
Unlike Klan membership in the south, the Ansax Club members consisted mainly of men from the business community. Officials within the organization included: 7 store owners, 3 lawyers, 3 bank officials, 1 doctor, 1 architect, and 1 clergyman. At their highest point of membership the Ansax Club had over 500 members.
Concerned about the growth of the Klan in North Dakota, the state legislature passed a law on January 10, 1923, banning all citizens over the age of 15 from wearing a mask or any other head covering in front of a public building, in order to conceal their identity. Thirteen days later, the Exalted Cyclops of the Ansax Club, Reverend Frederick Halsey Ambrose testified in front of state senators denouncing the new law.
Later that fall, Ambrose spoke in front of a large group of Klan members 21 miles east of Grand Forks. Ambrose spoke about his contempt for immigrants who he saw as pushing American citizens out of their homes. Ambrose also mentioned the need of its members to support the Klan and support the public school system, which he saw as the foundation and nurturing of American citizenship. He also stressed that each member should reach their goals by peace, not through violence.
Around the same time as the meeting, the Grand Forks Klan applied to the North Dakota Secretary of State office for incorporation as a fraternal society. Along with the application was a charter granted by the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, but due to insufficient funds the application did not go through and the Klan was never officially chartered.
In a 1924 school board election, two Klan supported candidates, Leslie Stinson and E.A. Arhart, won election over two candidates Ambrose deemed to be "unamericanized." The Ansax club was at its most influential during this time but by the end of the 1920s membership began to decline. With the indictment of Indiana's governor and mayor, both Klan supporters, officials began cracking down on Klan organizations throughout the Midwest. By the end of 1928, Klan activity had essentially ceased in Grand Forks.
Source: "The Ku Klux in Grand Forks, North Dakota" by William L. Harwood, South Dakota History. Fall 1971.
The Ku Klux Klan in North Dakota Records consists of newspaper articles, Klan publications, and historical journal articles regarding Klan activity in North Dakota, primarily in Grand Forks during the 1920s. Also included is a photocopy of the application and charter for the Grand Forks Klan #1, for incorporation as a fraternal society. The charter was issued by The Imperial Wizard, Emperor of the Invisible Empire, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan on June 4, 1922, and officially recognized the Grand Forks Klan to perform all acts under Klan law. The charter was accepted by the Grand Forks Klan, also known as the Ansax Club, on September 21, 1923, but was never officially chartered due to insufficient funds. Some of these records were originally part of the North Dakota Pamphlet File.
Box 1
Folder
This is a list of other articles that can be found in the Grand Forks Herald, but were so small they were not copied.
| DATES | |
| April 13, 1920, page 1 | September 12, 1922, page 16 |
| December 28, 1922 | January 11, 1923, page 1 |
| January 24, 1923, page 1 | January 25, 1923, page 4 |
| January 27, 1923, page 1 | January 31, 1923, page 1 |
| February 2, 1923, page 1 | March 15, 1923, page 1 |
| September 9, 1923, page 1 | September 10, 1923, page 1 |
| March 20, 1924, page 5 | March 24, 1924, page 8 |
| April 2, 1924, page 1 | April 5, 1924, page 1 |
| April 12, 1924, page 1 | June 28, 1924, page 4 |
| October 10, 1925, page 1 | April 19, 1927, page 5 |
| March 18, 1928, page 1 | March 25, 1928, page 1 |
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