Americanism and Liberalism

“…Liberalism is today charged in the mind of the most Americans with nothing less than national, racial and spiritual treason”.

1. Members of Ku Klux Klan = old-stock Americans which must be distinguished from the intelectually

mongrolized Liberals. Liberalism is centered on the unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion for all belief systems, and the separation of church and state, right to due process and equality under the law are widely accepted as a common foundation across the spectrum of liberal thought. But: Hiram W. Evans' "The Klan's Fight for Americanism" tries to enlighten audiences to his view point: the Klan's feeling that America is being lost to these liberal ideologies and cold intellectualistic directions.

In those times the Progressives who fought for economic change and government regulation for the improvement of the U.S. were considered the liberals according to Hiram Evans. The conservatives, which Evans felt he was a part of, were slow to accept the government control especially if those leaders were immigrants themselves.

He states the problem with the Klan's credibility lies in their lack of ability in public speaking, and current poverty conditions afflicting his infamous group.

Evans mentioned they, the old-stock Americans, were viewed as hicks and drivers of second hand Fords, suggestion poverty level living and little education.

Disloyalty to America on behalf of the immigrants was soon discovered and led to the awakening of the old-stock Americans who immediately rejected completely the whole body of “Liberal” on the base that Liberalism was against Americanism.

2. In an effort to stop a tide of immigrants that many Americans feared would totally erase the American

way of life, both independent and government-sponsored groups began organized programs to aid and Americanize the immigrants.

immigrants were required to take English classes as part of their job placement.

Women were seen as the ones who would pass on American culture to their families, so organizations established classes to teach women American homemaking skills.

Programs for children included opportunities to play that taught them how to go grocery shopping, American games and music.

A classic example of this blending of traditions is immigrants who celebrate the holidays of Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July by incorporating traditional American dishes as well as their own ethnic foods in the celebration.

Glossary:

Conservatism- is a political and social philosophy that promotes retaining traditional social institutions. A person who follows the philosophies of conservatism is referred to as a traditionalist or conservative.

Due process is the legal requirement that the state must respect all of the legal rights that are owed to a person.

Hick- A person regarded as unsophisticated or provincial.Mongrelize-to intermix in racial or ethnic character; a derogatory term used by racists

Progressivism is a general political philosophy advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform. Progressivism emerged as part of a more general response to the vast social changes brought by industrialization.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatismhttp://websters.yourdictionary.com/mongrelization http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hickhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Due_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivismhttp://www.studymode.com/essays/Klans-View-Against-Progressivism-133752.htmlhttp://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/reading2.1.pdfHiram Evans, “The Klan’s fight for Americanism”, 1926, in Lane and O’Sullivan, American Reader, pp. 277-279.