Small History of Membership to the Ku Klux Klan:
Men in the 1920's were attracted to the Klan not because of there relative standing, but it was "the changes they experienced in their standing over the years leading up to and following 1920, as their expectations were first raised, then abruptly dashed" (53). In the mid-decade, "the greatest proportions clustered in the three categories of lower white collar employees; petty proprietors, managers, and officials; and skilled tradesmen. Members also indicated their relative status as middle class, not society.
A majority of members and their families also belonged to the Baptist or Methodist churches of their towns, and a very small number belonged to the more elite Presbyterian or Episcopal churches. Similar to this, scores of members also belonged to fraternal organizations, which we were usually dominated by the lower middle class. The most common occupation among KKK members were owners or managers of a small business. Another group of individuals that had a high participation percentage in the KKK were the small farmers. In the Athens, Georgia chapter, the largest general occupational category (30% of its members) were lower-level white collar employees, which included public employees, salesmen, clerks and agents.
"The typical Klansman was not simply petit-bourgeois; he appeared less economically secure than the norm for his class" (58). Many of the men who officially joined the KKK were around the age of 40-50. Since they were of this older age, they were trying to grasp on to their past and their comfort zone because society was changing drastically around them. These men who joined the Klan did not always necessarily believed in everything that the Klan stood for, but was looking for a way to grasp onto their past and what they were brought up believing.