QUERY: Uses of gowns by KKK

H-Civwar co-moderator Peter Knupfer (pknupfer@ksu.ksu.edu)
Mon, 18 Jul 1994 01:05:07 -0500

***************
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 1994 11:42:30 -0500 (CDT)
From: BERCAW%vax.rhodes.edu@KSUVM.KSU.EDU
Subject: Use of gowns in KKK

I'm writing on Reconstruction in the Mississippi Delta and was wondering about
the symbolism of the KKK robing themselves. Was wearing gowns common in secret
societies in the 19th century? Can anyone recommend books or articles
discussing these issues.
Nancy Bercaw
Rhodes College
"bercaw@vax.rhodes.edu"

***************
Moderator's Footnote (PBK): How about that ridiculous scene in _Birth of a
Nation_, where the local Klan leader gets his inspiration to wear sheets by
watching children scare off a group of black children by hiding under a sheet?