Jeffery ☘️

Did you know that the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) violently targeted Irish immigrants in the USA during the 19th and early 20th centuries as they arrived in waves from the Great Famine onwards? We were characterised as sub-human, violent, alcoholic disease spreaders (God forbid a time traveller has hobbies!) who relied on theft and charity to maintain their massive families. The Klan even questioned Irish people's "whiteness". Cementing all this prejudice of course was religious intolerance. The KKK maintained that Catholics were an "unAmerican" enemy within, who swore loyalty to Rome and the Pope over the USA. Labour tensions further stoked anti-immigrant sentiment against the Irish who were heavily involved in labour movements and often competed with native born workers for jobs, especially in industrialising cities. By the 20th century, Irish Americans had started to gain economic and political influence, especially in cities and powerful institutions such as the police force. The KKK’s revival in the 1920s brought a focus on so-called “100% Americanism." This blended with a wider nativist movement that influenced the U.S. immigration policies, such as the restrictive Immigration Act of 1924. The Klan stoked popular fears the newly established Irish-Americans would erode Protestant influence over US institutions.