Hiram Wesley Evans facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hiram Wesley Evans
|
|
|---|---|
Evans in Washington, D.C., 1925
|
|
| Born | September 26, 1881 Ashland, Alabama, U.S.
|
| Died | September 14, 1966 (aged 84) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
|
| Education | Vanderbilt University |
| Occupation | Dentist |
| Employer | Ku Klux Klan |
| Political party | Democratic |
| 3rd Imperial Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan | |
| In office November 1922 – June 10, 1939 |
|
| Preceded by | William Joseph Simmons |
| Succeeded by | James Arnold Colescott |
Hiram Wesley Evans (September 26, 1881 – September 14, 1966) was a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. This was an American group that believed white people were superior to others. He was their national leader, called the Imperial Wizard, from 1922 to 1939.
Evans was born in Alabama and went to Vanderbilt University. He became a dentist. He had a small dental practice in Texas until 1920. That year, he joined the Klan in Dallas. He quickly moved up in the group. In November 1922, he became the Imperial Wizard after the previous leader, William Joseph Simmons, left. Evans wanted to make the Klan a powerful political group.
As Imperial Wizard, Evans told members not to use violence in public. He feared it would stop his plans to gain political power. In 1923, he led the largest Klan meeting ever, with over 200,000 people. He supported several candidates who won elections in 1924. He moved the Klan's main office to Washington, D.C. He also organized a march of 30,000 members on Pennsylvania Avenue. But the Klan faced bad publicity, partly due to fights among its leaders. This made it harder for Evans to achieve his political goals.
In the 1930s, the Great Depression caused the Klan to lose a lot of money. Evans worked for a construction company to earn more. He left the Klan in 1939. He was replaced by James A. Colescott. Evans later faced legal issues in Georgia and was fined $15,000.
Evans wanted to promote a type of American nationalism. He believed that only white Protestants born in America were true Americans. He strongly spoke against Catholicism, trade unions, and communism. He linked these to new immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. He also said that Jewish people had a non-American culture. Historians say Evans helped the Klan focus on politics. He also helped it grow outside the South, especially in the Midwest. However, this growth and political power did not last.
Contents
Early Life and Schooling
Evans was born in Ashland, Alabama, on September 26, 1881. His family moved to Hubbard, Texas, when he was a child. His father, Hiram Martin Evans, was a judge. Evans went to Vanderbilt University. He became a dentist and got his license in 1900. In 1923, he married Ellen "Bama" Hill. They had three children.
Evans opened a dental practice in Downtown Dallas. It offered low-cost services. He was a Protestant and went to a church called Disciples of Christ. He was also a Freemason. Evans described himself as "the most average man in America." He was of average height and a bit overweight. He dressed well, spoke skillfully, and was very ambitious.
Joining the Klan
The Ku Klux Klan was started again in Atlanta in 1915. Evans was very involved in Freemasonry before joining the Klan. He became a Freemason in Dallas in 1907. He was part of different Masonic groups. Bertram G. Christie, who started the Dallas Klan in 1920, was also a Mason. He met with Evans and other Masons in 1921.
Evans left his dental practice to work full-time for the Klan. In 1921, he became an "exalted cyclops" in the Dallas Klan. This was a role for recruiting new members. The Dallas Klan was the group's largest chapter at the time. In the same year, Evans became "great titan" (an executive) for the Klan in Texas. He led a successful effort to get more members in the state.
Evans had supported violence against minority groups. But as he gained power, he publicly spoke against such actions. He worried that violence would bring government attention. This would hurt the Klan's political goals. He later claimed he helped reduce lynchings in the Southern United States. However, some Klan members said he secretly encouraged violence.
In 1921, Evans was put in charge of the Klan's national membership drive. In 1922, he became the "Imperial kligrapp," like a national secretary. He oversaw Klan activities in 13 states. He earned a salary and traveled to meet local Klan leaders.
Becoming National Leader
In 1922, Evans and other Klan members worked together to remove William Joseph Simmons from his leadership role. They tricked Simmons into agreeing to changes that took away his power. Evans became the Imperial Wizard of the Klan in November 1922. Simmons tried to fight this legally, but Evans kept control. Evans later said Simmons was "betraying the movement" and removed him from the Klan.
As the Klan's leader, Evans promoted a belief in white supremacy. He said that Protestantism was a key part of being American. He believed that white Protestants had the right to govern the US. He said they were descendants of early colonists who came to America for freedom. Evans wrote a pamphlet called Ideals of the Ku Klux Klan. In it, he described the Klan as:
- This is a white man's organization.
- This is a gentile organization.
- It is an American organization.
- It is a Protestant organization.
Under Evans, the Klan supported a mix of political ideas. Klan writings praised politicians like Woodrow Wilson and William Jennings Bryan. Evans used ideas from writers who promoted scientific racism. He tried to make his views sound scientific. Evans attacked immigrants. He said they would bring ideas like anarchism and communism. He also claimed they threatened national unity. He called immigrants "ignorant" and "superstitious." But he supported immigration for people he called "Nordic."
Evans also spoke against mixed-race marriages. He opposed Catholic and Jewish immigration. He believed they threatened the country's "good stock." He thought the Catholic Church wanted to control the US government. He questioned if American Catholics were loyal to their country. He feared the Catholic Church, with Jews and non-white groups, was becoming too active in politics.
Under Evans, the Klan grew in Indiana and Illinois. It also grew in Michigan, especially in Detroit. The Klan became known in Midwest cities. It attracted native-born Americans who competed for jobs with new immigrants. It also gained members in Nebraska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.
Evans tried to improve the Klan's public image. He wanted it to appeal to people struggling with modern problems. He watched members more closely and removed those with "questionable morals." He also tried to get the Klan involved in local policing. He spoke out against violence by Klan members. He wanted the Klan to be seen as a symbol of lawfulness. These efforts helped reduce attacks, but they did not change public opinion much.
Klan Growth and Politics
When Evans first became leader, the Klan's membership grew a lot. Estimates say it reached between 2.5 and 6 million members. He also greatly increased the group's money. Evans changed how local leaders were paid. They got a fixed salary instead of money based on new members.
Evans hoped the Klan would reach 10 million members. In 1923, he spoke at the biggest Klan gathering ever. It was a Fourth of July meeting in rural Indiana, with over 200,000 people.
Evans wanted more leaders from the Southwest. Before, most leaders were from the Southeast. In 1922, Evans supported Earle Bradford Mayfield for the U.S. Senate in Texas. Mayfield won, showing that Klan-backed candidates could win big offices. The next year, Evans went to the Texas state fair. 75,000 people came for a "Klan day" celebration. He spent money to fight Jack C. Walton, the anti-Klan governor of Oklahoma. Walton was removed from office in 1923, which made the Klan happy. But the Oklahoma government soon passed anti-Klan laws.
Evans wrote guides for local Klan leaders. These guides explained how to run meetings, get new members, and speak to groups. He told leaders to avoid "raving hysterically." Instead, they should give a "scientific... presentation of facts." He also told members not to take their Klan robes home. He urged them to check backgrounds of new applicants. He told Klan members to avoid violence. He wanted them to help the police and tried to recruit police officers.
Evans wanted to show his Klan was different from the older, more violent 19th-century Klan. He even started Klan-themed groups for children. The Klan tried to seem like a group led by educated people. Its leaders talked about education in the US. Evans thought public schools could create a unified society. He saw supporting education as a good way to improve the Klan's image.
He wrote that American public schools were failing because of illiteracy. He thought low teacher pay and child labor were problems. He supported a federal Department of Education. He hoped it would improve schools and help "Americanize the foreigners." He also wanted it to stop Catholic schools from growing. Evans wrote four books in the 1920s about immigration and Americanism.
After the Klan gained respect in some parts of the US, Evans wanted to do the same nationally. Political involvement was a debated topic among members. Evans gave mixed messages, sometimes saying he was not involved in politics, but secretly trying to influence politicians. In the mid-1920s, the Klan was often discussed by political experts.
In 1924, the Klan convinced Republican Party leaders not to criticize them. This led to Time magazine putting Evans on its cover. That year, the Klan supported Calvin Coolidge for president. Coolidge won. Evans said Coolidge's victory was a big success for the Klan. The Democratic Party also discussed the Klan at their meeting. Senator Oscar Underwood called them "a national menace." Evans's efforts to elect Klansmen in 1924 had limited success, except in Indiana.
Klan's Decline
Even though the Klan had four million members in 1924, its membership quickly dropped. Other problems also hurt the Klan. For example, in Colorado, Evans asked a leader to resign due to local corruption. This made Colorado Klan members unhappy, and their numbers fell.
In 1926, Evans had problems with Klan leaders in Pennsylvania. They thought he was too controlling. He removed some local Klan groups and a state politician from their roles. When these groups kept using the Klan name, Evans sued them. The Pennsylvania Klan members then made many accusations against Evans in court. Newspapers reported these stories, and the Klan in Pennsylvania lost many members.
To stop the decline, Evans organized a Klan parade in Washington, D.C., in 1926. He hoped a large turnout would show the Klan's power. About 30,000 members attended. This was the largest parade in the group's history. But Evans was disappointed because he expected twice as many people. The march did not stop the drop in members.
In 1928, Evans spoke against Al Smith, the New York Democratic governor, for president. He focused on Smith's Catholic faith. After Herbert Hoover won, Evans claimed he was responsible for Smith's loss. But most of the South, which usually voted Democratic, had voted for Smith against the Klan's advice.
By 1929, Evans admitted that membership had gone down. But he wrongly thought it would soon get much better. The Klan became a shadow of its former self. Historians say the leaders' mistakes and mixed messages caused this loss of members. The Klan also struggled to form alliances with other political groups. This led to a sharp loss of power and unity.
Later Years and Death
In the 1930s, the Klan's public support dropped greatly. Its membership fell to about 100,000 people, mostly in the South. James A. Colescott, Evans's chief of staff, took on more of Evans's duties. The Great Depression hurt the Klan's money even more. In 1936, the group sold its main office in Atlanta. Around this time, Evans said he planned to retire.
Before leaving the Klan, Evans changed his views on Catholics. He said there was a "new era of religious tolerance." In 1939, he stated that "all people who believe in the same Father and same Son" needed to work together. He also showed interest in learning about Judaism. Some say he changed his views to focus on fighting unions and communism.
After Evans sold the Klan's old headquarters, the Catholic Church bought it. The Cathedral of Christ the King was later built there. Evans went to the building's dedication and spoke highly of the service. This surprised many people. It was his last big public appearance as Imperial Wizard. He left the role soon after, on June 10, 1939. He had become very unpopular with Klan members who felt he was too friendly with their former enemies. Colescott replaced him as Imperial Wizard.
Being Imperial Wizard had been profitable for Evans. He lived in a large house in a nice Atlanta neighborhood. But in the mid-1930s, Klan money ran low. He then worked for a construction company in Georgia. He sold products to the Georgia Highway Board. He also strongly supported Georgia Governor Eurith D. Rivers. Evans's political support for the governor helped him sell to the highway board without competing with other companies. In 1940, Georgia accused Evans of price fixing. He was fined $15,000.
Colescott tried to revive the Klan. But it could not get more members. It also faced pressure from the government for not paying taxes. On April 23, 1944, Colescott officially ended the Klan. Some local groups still used the name, but they no longer had a single leader.
As late as 1949, Evans still commented on Klan activities as the former Imperial Wizard. He died on September 14, 1966, in Atlanta.
What People Thought of Evans
Historian David A. Horowitz says Evans changed the Klan. He made it a "centralized and powerful political movement" from a group of local vigilantes. Another historian, William D. Jenkins, said Evans was "personally corrupt." He thought Evans cared more about money or power than the Klan's cause. During Evans's time as leader, The New York Times called the Klan's leaders "shrewd schemers." However, Arnold S. Rice, a political scientist, believed Evans's changes would never fully work. This was because the Klan was a group that opposed anyone who was foreign-born, Black, Catholic, or Jewish.
An editorial in The New York Times called Evans's writing "severe and logical." But historian Richard Hofstadter said Evans's writings were not extreme in tone. Nicolas Rangel Jr., a communications specialist, suggested that Evans's simple language made it hard for some Americans to see how extreme his views were.
Many people criticized Evans's ideas. David Lefkowitz, a rabbi in Dallas, disagreed with Evans's claim that Jews did not fit into American society. He pointed out that Jews and Christians shared American experiences, like serving in World War I. James Weldon Johnson, a leader of the NAACP, responded to Evans's ideas of white supremacy. He said that "all races are mixed." Other opponents included the minister Reinhold Niebuhr. He opposed the Klan in Detroit in 1925. He called them "one of the worst specific social phenomena." The Dallas Morning News publisher George Dealey and Atlanta journalist Ralph McGill also opposed Evans. McGill criticized Evans for being a hypocrite and making false claims about minorities.
However, some publications wrote positively about Evans, but not always about his Klan work. In 1927, The New York Times praised Evans's "modest and engaging exposition of 'Americanism'." Even though the Klan disliked Evans for reaching out to the Catholic Church, public opinion was more positive. In 1939, the Palm Beach Daily News said Evans's meeting with Cardinal Dennis Joseph Dougherty stirred both religious and non-religious groups. Other publications also gave good coverage. Dougherty said he found Evans "intensely interested in religious subjects" outside Protestantism.
