A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussions of racism, violence motivated by racism, alcohol addiction, and sexual assault.

History is often cyclical rather than linear, and in the rhetoric and tactics of D. C. Stephenson, there are clear antecedents. Corruption in politics has existed since societies began to organize themselves under leaders. In the aftermath of the Civil War, William “Boss” Tweed led a ring of corruption that dominated New York City politics for years: “Tweed doled out thousands of jobs and lucrative contracts as patronage, and he expected favors, bribes, and kickbacks in return” (“William ‘Boss’ Tweed and Political Machines.” Bill of Rights Institute). Stephenson, as charismatic as Tweed himself, took a cue from history and replicated Tweed’s tactics, although with a grimmer motive—the establishment of white supremacy as national creed. Using his power as head of Indiana’s Klan, Stephenson skimmed from the profits of Klan membership fees; he used his political influence to buy legislators, judges, and police chiefs; he expected kickbacks from infrastructure contracts; and once in prison, he expected favors from politicians he helped install in office. However, when it mattered, those politicians (particularly Indiana governor Ed Jackson) refused Stephenson’s quid pro quo demands and allowed justice to run its course.