1/10/2012:
On this date in 1923, North Dakota State Senators James McCoy and Lynn Sperry introduced a bill into the State Senate “…aimed at the Ku Klux Klan and prohibiting the wearing of a mask, regalia, or other head covering in public...” The bill, which became known as the ‘Anti-Mask Bill,’ was largely a response to Klan violence in southern states. News of the violence had created public outrage against the Klan, spurring North Dakota legislators to action. The senators hoped that by ‘de-masking’ Klan members, they would lose the anonymity that enabled them to commit such atrocious crimes.
That winter, many North Dakotans were following the daily headlines of a criminal trial being prosecuted in Bastrop, Louisiana. There, members of the Klan were being investigated for the murders of Watt Daniel and Thomas Richards. Daniel and Richards were kidnapped from their homes in August of 1922, brutalized, and murdered. It became known that several of the Klan members involved were prominent citizens, and that an elaborate cover-up was staged shortly after criminal charges were filed. During the course of the trial, however, many additional crimes of the Louisiana Chapter of the Klan were made public, causing national alarm at the Klan’s growing power and heinous practices. The Anti-Mask Bill, however, did face some opposition. Several members of the Non-Partisan League argued against the bill, claiming it unjustly targeted certain individuals and that there was insufficient proof that Klan members were involved in North Dakota crimes.
Senator Sperry, hoping to persuade members of the State Affairs Committee to pass the bill, requested information on the Klan from the state of Louisiana to present before the Senate. Leaguers countered by having the Reverend Halsey Ambrose of Grand Forks, a Klan member, speak to the Senate on January 23rd. Although the Reverend attempted to paint the Klan as peaceful and noble, Thomas Dixon, famed author of The Clansman, made national headlines condemning the actions of the Klan that same day. The next day, Nebraska passed its own Anti-Klan Bill. Two days later, charges were brought against Klan members for a physical attack on a man in Casselton, North Dakota, creating further public outcry. Opposition to the bill was flattened, and the bill quickly passed both the Senate and House in late January.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Sources:
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Saturday, December 30, 1922 (Evening ed.): p.1.
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Wednesday, January 10, 1923 (Evening ed.): p.1.
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Friday, January 12, 1923 (Evening ed.): pp.1, 2.
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Saturday, January 20, 1923 (Evening ed.): p.1.
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Tuesday, January 23, 1923 (Evening ed.): p.1.
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Wednesday, January 24, 1923 (Evening ed.): pp.1, 6.
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Friday, January 26, 1923 (Evening ed.): p.1.
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Saturday, January 27, 1923 (Evening ed.): pp.1, 2.
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Monday, January 29, 1923 (Evening ed.): p.7.