EPISODE · May 23, 2025 · 1H 10M
Under the Shadow of the Hood: When Denver fell to the KKK
from False Summits: A History Podcast about the American West · host Mason Orlando - Jess Leigh - Marcelo Aguilar
Let us know what you think🎙️ This episode, we delve into a dark and unsettling chapter of Colorado history — the era when the Ku Klux Klan created a shadow government that infiltrated Denver’s City Hall and eventually reached the State Capitol.We explore the societal and economic conditions that made it possible for a secret terrorist group of the 1870s to be born again in 1916 as a fraternity— and how, by the 1920s, they seized power with the aid of Freemasons, Woodsmen, and other fraternal organizations But the so-called Invisible Empire wasn’t invincible. We break down how internal corruption, scandals, and rising public opposition brought the Klan’s Colorado reign to a swift and dramatic end. Discretion Advised: sensitive topics#WesternHistory #ColoradoHistory #DenverHistory #BenjaminStapleton #JohnGalenLocke #BrownPalaceHotel #TabletopMountain #PhilipVanCise #PhilHGoodstein #LindaGordon Sources: The second coming of the KKK : the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American political traditionBy Linda Gordonhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34082146-the-second-coming-of-the-kkkIn The Shadow of the Klan: When the KKK Ruled Denver 1920-1926Phil H. Goodsteinhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2158055Stapleton accused of paying off history museum to remove family’s KKK past from exhibitBy: Madeleine Schmidthttps://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2018/04/stapleton-kkk-past-paying-off-history-museum/8585/“Murder Wasn’t Very Pretty”: The Rise and Fall of D.C. StephensonBy Abbott Kahlerhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/murder-wasnt-very-pretty-the-rise-and-fall-of-dc-stephenson-18935042/Woodrow Wilson: “It is like writing history with lightning.” Quote or No Quote?By: Joe Coohill/Professor Buzzkillhttps://professorbuzzkill.com/2017/08/30/qnq-29/Colorado Under the KlanBy James H. Davishttps://www.historycolorado.org/story/2023/12/06/colorado-under-klanThe Klan in Charge: They Said It Couldn't Happen Here, but It DidBy Alan Prendergasthttps://www.westword.com/news/gangbuster-kkk-klan-denver-mayor-da-van-cise-stapleton-16438675Ben Stapleton Joined Ku Klux Klan for Political Power, Historian SaysBy Conor McCormick-Cavanaghhttps://www.westword.com/news/ben-stapleton-used-kkk-to-gain-power-in-denver-11727640Episode photo from Westward Thanks so much for listening!!!!!Like, subscribe, leave a review, wherever you can!!! Check us out with pictures on YouTube.com @ FalseSummitPodcast and like and subscribe !!!We would love to hear from you!Follow us on Instagram and bluesky @ false_summits_podFeel free to send an email to [email protected] Provided by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
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Let us know what you think 🎙️ This episode, we delve into a dark and unsettling chapter of Colorado history — the era when the Ku Klux Klan created a shadow government that infiltrated Denver’s City Hall and eventually reached the State Capitol. We explore the societal and economic conditions that made it possible for a secret terrorist group of the 1870s to be born again in 1916 as a fraternity— and how, by the 1920s, they seized power with the aid of Freemasons, Woodsmen, and other fraterna...
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Under the Shadow of the Hood: When Denver fell to the KKK
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