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Primary Source Sets
Second Ku Klux Klan and The Birth of a Nation
A photograph of William J. Simmons, the founder of the Second Ku Klux Klan, 1921.

A photograph of William J. Simmons, the founder of the Second Ku Klux Klan, 1921.

In this photograph, William J. Simmons sits during a 1921 investigation of the Ku Klux Klan by a US House of Representatives committee. He faces front, and several men sit in the background. Simmons was inspired to reestablish the Klan in 1915 after seeing D. W. Griffith's film, The Birth of a Nation, and learning about the Leo Frank trial in Atlanta, Georgia. Simmons designed the hooded uniforms and secret rituals associated with the organization.

Citation Information
“William J. Simmons,“ Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/650190d8a72f5ef0a5cce4d8f602d34c.
Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.
Courtesy of New Georgia Encyclopedia (Project) via Digital Library of Georgia.

Tips for Students

For this source, consider:

  • the author's point of view
  • the author's purpose
  • historical context
  • audience

Item 5 of 15 in the Primary Source Set Second Ku Klux Klan and The Birth of a Nation

Previous ItemNext Item
A Ku Klux Klan flag, 1865.
A Ku Klux Klan whip, ca. 1875.
A flyer explaining the purpose of the Ku Klux Klan from the second half of the nineteenth century.
A photograph of Jewish businessman Leo Frank at his murder trial in a courtroom in Marietta, Georgia, 1913.
A photograph of William J. Simmons, the founder of the Second Ku Klux Klan, 1921.
A photograph of early twentieth-century filmmaker D. W. Griffith who produced The Birth of A Nation, ca. 1923.
An excerpt from a souvenir program for the silent film The Birth of a Nation, 1915.
A movie poster for D. W. Griffith’s film The Birth of a Nation, 1921.
An essay discussing the reception of The Birth of a Nation, 1936.
An excerpt from a book entitled Ku Klux Klan Secrets Exposed, 1921.
A photograph of a Ku Klux Klan initiation ceremony in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1925.
A photograph of a Ku Klux Klan rally in Indiana, 1920s-1930s.
A press release from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) about a Ku Klux Klan lynching, 1926.
A Ku Klux Klan uniform, ca. 1930.
A Ku Klux Klan mailer asking the reader to buy only American goods, 1940.

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