Publication Date
1-1-2001
Document Type
Article
First Page
214
Last Page
239
Abstract
During the early 1920s the Ku Klux Klan gained considerable support throughout the United States and in Maine. In 1924 Ralph Owen Brewster, later a senator, secured the Republican nomination for governor with the Klan’s support. The dominant issue in the election was whether the state should continue to fund parochial schools. Brewster urged that this aid be ended, and the Klan enthusiastically endorsed his candidacy. Brewster narrowly won the primary and then easily won the September election. In this article John Syrett explores the relation between Brewster and the Klan. Mr. Syrett is a Professor of History and former chair of the Department of History at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. He is currently revising his dissertation on the Confiscation Acts during the Civil War for publication. Originally from New York City, he first came to Maine in the 1940s and plans to retire there in the near future.
Recommended Citation
Syrett, John. "Principle and Expediency: The Ku Klux Klan and Ralph Owen Brewster in 1924." Maine History 39, 4 (2001): 214-239. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistoryjournal/vol39/iss4/2