Notre Dame vs. the Klan : how the Fighting Irish defeated the Ku Klux Klan /

Independent writer Tucker examines in some detail the events of May 17-19, 1924, when the Ku Klux Klan rallied in South Bend, Indiana, and came to blows with the "Fighting Irish" of Notre Dame. More than a day or two of riots or heartfelt donnybrook is at stake in this account. The community response in South Bend by both residents and law enforcement changed from one of guarded sympathy and neutrality to hostility toward the university students. The predominant nativist mood of the country could not be denied, especially in Indiana, where the Klan held powerful political sway at all levels. Tucker provides appropriate context for readers unaware of US history at the turn of the last century: virulent anti-Catholicism, xenophobia, resurgence of the Klan after 1915. The work provides a useful, accessible case study for general readers and undergraduates about the ethnoreligious tensions permeating US society at the time. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Public, general, and undergraduate collections. J. Kleiman University of Wisconsin Colleges

On May 19, 1924, students at Notre Dame battled deputy sheriffs connected to the KKK. Though he highlights that incident, Tucker (Notre Dame Game Day) focuses more on the early history of the nation's leading Catholic educational institution, the Klan, and the men who led those organizations, President Matthew Walsh and D.C. Stephenson, the Klan's Grand Dragon in the state. Tucker tracks Notre Dame's rise to prominence and Walsh's seemingly inevitable ascension to its presidency, given his impeccable academic record, work ethic, and devotion to Catholicism. As Tucker shows, Stephenson, gifted in his own way, deftly built an upper-Midwest power base for the new version of the Klan, which targeted immigrants, Jews, and Catholics in addition to blacks. Ironically, Stephenson opposed the KKK's violent actions and rhetoric, although his treatment of women, involving repeated sexual abuse, eventually doomed him. By contrast, Walsh remained the embodiment of rectitude. An intriguing tale, but the subtitle is perplexing; Tucker indicates that Stephenson's own antics tripped up the KKK. For general libraries.-R.C. Cottrell, California State Univ., Chico (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.