The Ku Klux Klan reached its height in the 1920s, and nowhere was it as large and politically powerful as in Indiana, where about 30 percent of the native-born white male population were Klansmen. This book explores the career of D. C. Stephenson, grand dragon of the Indiana Klan, his rise to power, and his eventual conviction for second-degree murder in 1925. Grand Dragon traces Stephenson's background, still shrouded in mystery due to Stephenson's own colorful but imaginary accounts of his early years. A political opportunist, Stephenson's rise to power in the Klan was startlingly swift, but so was his fall from grace. Tried in Klan country for the rape and murder of a young government worker, Stephenson was convicted and imprisoned for a crime of which some still consider him innocent. Who was the man who could proclaim with arrogant self-confidence, “I am the law in Indiana,” and how did he and the Ku Klux Klan rise to a position of power unparalleled in other states?
Lutholtz gives a valuable history of the Ku Klux Klan and dispels many misconceptions about the Klan, including the notion that it was only a southern organization targeted solely against black Americans. In the 1920’s, Lutholtz argues, the Klan in Indiana was not “scented with magnolia blossoms and blood”; rather, its hatred was directed toward Catholics, Jews, and non-native Americans. The compelling force in Stephenson’s career was money and political power, not ideology. The cornerstone of Lutholtz’s narration is his account of Stephenson’s trial, for which the 2,347-page court transcript had been missing for thirty years. A model of investigative reporting, Grand Dragon captures the reader with its skillful narration and compelling story. It also raises troubling issues for the modern reader: Was Stephenson guilty of the crime for which he was imprisoned? Why was membership in the Klan so widespread in the 1920s? What are the dangers of charismatic leadership? And why is this disturbing chapter in Indiana history not better known?
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter One: The Closing Door, November 14, 1925
Chapter Two: A Nobody from Nowhere, 1891-1920
Chapter Three: The Early Days in Evansville, 1920
Chapter Four: The Klan Reborn, 1920
Chapter Five: The Klansman and the Mayor, 1921-22
Chapter Six: Citizens of No Mean City, 1922
Chapter Seven: The Art of the Double-cross, 1922
Chapter Eight: The Start of a New Regime, 1922-23
Chapter Nine" The Rising Opposition, 1923
Chapter Ten "Americanism Gone a Little Sour," Summer 1923
Chapter Eleven: Kokomo, Indiana, July 4, 1923
Chapter Twelve: The Ladies' Man, 1923
Chapter Thirteen: Brief Glor y, Summer 1923
Chapter Fourteen: "The Law in Indiana," 1922-23
Chapter Fifteen: The Man Who Would Be Governor, 1923-24
Chapter Sixteen: The Feuding Klans, 1923-24
Chapter Seventeen: On the Campaign Trail, Summer 1924
Chapter Eighteen: A Plan for the Statehouse, January 1925
Chapter Nineteen: The Law Makers, January 1925
Chapter Twenty: Stephenson's Triumph, February 1925
Chapter Twenty-one: Madge Oberholtzer Comes Home, March 1925
Chapter Twenty-two: A Dying Woman's Statement, March-April 1925
Chapter Twenty-three: A Death in Irvington, April 1925
Chapter Twenty-four: An Investigation Begins, April-May 1925
Chapter Twenty-five: The Trial Before the Trial, May-August 1925
Chapter Twenty-six: A New Judge Arrives, August-October 1925
Chapter Twenty-seven: The Opening Gambit, October 29-31, 1925
Chapter Twenty-eight: Losing Ground, October 31-November 4, 1925
Chapter Twenty-nine: The Defense Takes Over, November 5-6, 1925
Chapter Thirty: "The Old Man's" Friends, November 6-9, 1925
Chapter Thirty-one: "The Fairest Trial in History," November 12-14, 1925
Chapter Thirty-two: House of Cards, 1925-27
Epilogue: Was Stephenson Framed?
Notes
Sources
Index