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2.51k reviews for:
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
Timothy Egan
4.34 AVERAGE
2.51k reviews for:
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
Timothy Egan
4.34 AVERAGE
Audiobook. This book made me so sad and disappointed in America. At first I didn’t see anything good in it, but then realized, if people could come together, rally, and change these horrible habits in the past - maybe we’ve still got a chance in our current era of terror!
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Does any of this sound familiar to you?
-a sexual predator who brags about his lawlessness gains power and influence over a large group of Americans by flaunting his dubiously-gained wealth and spouting racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric?
-The same leader gains traction with evangelical Americans by preaching temperance, purity, and Christian values, while brazenly drinking, lying, cheating, and sexually assaulting multiple women behind the scenes in complete hypocrisy of the values he claims to champion?
-This leader has multiple schemes to make money directly from his followers expressly for personal gain, even though he’s wealthy and many followers are not?
-Deputized squads taking illegal action to intimidate, influence, and silence persons of color, or anyone who tries to fight back against the political and societal control of this racist group?
-Politicians, newspapers, and business owners across political parties pressured to bend the knee and behave favorably to this man in power and his wants?
The similarities between the KKK’s rise in middle America in the 1920s and the state of the US today were uncanny and too many to count. I learned SO MUCH from this book about the history of the klan and white supremely during the rise of Jim Crow, especially that klan affiliation was far more ubiquitous than we were taught in school and their crimes and intimidation far more violent and numerous.
This book is written like a true-crime story, and was it fascinating to follow the course of the narrative. It never felt dry, and I was constantly wanting to listen more. It details how the KKK rose to such great numbers, how it used its influence to force membership and subserviency, how it focused on the memberships of women and children to ensure deep indoctrination into white supremacy, and most deeply how it directly sought political influence up and down the ballot in local and national elections.
A powerful quote that stuck with me:
“When hate was on the ballot, especially in guise of virtue, a majority of voters knew exactly what to do.”
The events of this book largely take place exactly 100 years ago in 1924 and 1925, yet every chapter felt like it could be just as applicable today. It illustrated the extremely difficult fight against the klan, a tragic story that finally brings some consequences, and how the impacts of klan-driven legislation continued to impact the US even long after the klan fell from power.
It’s an illustration of just how important it is to stand together and not let fear and intimidation win, as well as how dangerous this intimidation can be. It made me feel hopeful that we could achieve the same victory today, 100 years later.
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