The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1865 by former Confederates to obstruct the extension of voting rights to Black Americans. Strong Reconstruction Acts were passed by Congress in 1867 and 1868. By 1870, the Klan had chapters in almost every Southern state. Members waged a campaign of intimidation against Black citizens and their white supporters. Klan participation gradually declined and was largely inactive by 1890.
The film "The Birth of a Nation" was released in 1915. It portrayed the Klan as the heroic protector of helpless Southern women against violent former slaves who were determined to seek revenge. The movie sparked a resurgence of the Klan. In addition to Black Americans, the Klan targeted immigrants, Catholics, and Jews. The organization moved beyond the South and spread across the country.
In 1918, Presbyterian minister F. Halsey Ambrose arrived in Grand Forks. He incorporated a North Dakota Klan chapter in 1922. Members dressed in traditional Klan robes and hoods for their gatherings. This caused enough concern that the Legislature introduced a bill making it illegal for anyone over the age of 15 to wear a mask or head covering that concealed their identity.
Ambrose testified against the law. He said that “only the Klan was preventing a tide of immigrants from overwhelming American civilization... and that it had to remain secret to grow and do its valuable work.” Senator McCoy said that if Klan members were good Americans, they would show their faces. The bill was passed and signed into law over his objections.
By the mid-1920s, the Klan was in decline. On this date in 1923, a petition in a Georgia court charged Klan officers with gross mismanagement and requested receivership for the national organization. National support began to fall off for local chapters. In spite of declining national support, the Grand Forks chapter was successful in the 1924 elections and decided to remove Catholics from city government. They fired the fire chief, the city treasurer, and the city electrician. They even fired the city hall janitor.
Citizens saw the mass firings as a dangerous overreach. A newspaper that had supported Ambrose withdrew its backing and refused to run favorable editorials. Frustrated, Ambrose left Grand Forks, and the North Dakota chapter of the Klan quietly faded into obscurity.
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Bismarck Tribune. “Klan Active in Politics Says Member.” Bismarck ND. 1/24/1923. Page 1.
- Bismarck Tribune. “Ask Receiver for Klan.” Bismarck ND. 5/4/1923. Page 1.
- History. “Ku Klux Klan.” https://www.history.com/articles/ku-klux-klan. Accessed 5/4/2026.
- InForum. “The Rise and Fall of the Klan in a North Dakota City.” https://www.inforum.com/lifestyle/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-kkk-in-a-north-dakota-cityAccessed 5/4/1923.
- Fargo History Project. “Ku Klux Klan.” https://fargohistory.com/2013/11/23/ku-klux-klan/Accessed 5/4/2026.
