57 pages • 1 hour read
Timothy EganA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
With the blessing of clergy, the Klan gained a foothold in Noblesville, Indiana, a small town just north of Indianapolis. In 1925, all eyes turn to Noblesville as Stephenson’s trial was moved there. A local judge denied Stephenson bail but allowed his legal team access to Oberholtzer’s notarized statement, her dying words accusing the Grand Dragon of kidnapping and rape. Her statement gave weight to the defense since she admitted taking the poison herself and keeping it a secret for six hours. However, the statement also contained Stephenson’s claim that he “could get away with this monstrous crime because ‘I am the law in Indiana’” (243), a claim widely reported by the press. Oberholtzer’s death galvanized the protest movement in a way O’Donnell and Dale had failed to achieve.
Evans scrambled to contain the damage. The hypocrisy of the Klan’s high-profile moralizers—Stephenson, Barr, and Caleb Ridley, its national preacher arrested for drunk driving—began to show. With Klan political influence at an all-time high—its most recent legislative goal was to outlaw the teaching of evolution—Evans tried to disassociate Stephenson from the Klan altogether. He planned a massive rally in Washington, DC, the same day Stephenson’s trial was set to begin.
By Timothy Egan
Books on U.S. History
View Collection
Books that Teach Empathy
View Collection
Contemporary Books on Social Justice
View Collection
Fiction with Strong Female Protagonists
View Collection
Good & Evil
View Collection
Hate & Anger
View Collection
Mystery & Crime
View Collection
New York Times Best Sellers
View Collection
Politics & Government
View Collection
Popular Study Guides
View Collection
True Crime & Legal
View Collection