The rise of the Ku klux klan in the 1920's
The new Ku Klux Klan was founded by William J. Simmons in Georgia in 1915. By 1924, nearly 4 million from the north and south joined to Klan. The Klan gained support because many people in the U.S. believed immigrants from southern and eastern Europe would not assimilate into American culture. Led to KKK and efforts in Congress to pass legislation that would keep "undesirable" immigrants out. The Klan began declining in the late 1920's because of scandals and power struggles between KKK leaders.