Synopsis

In 1924, students of the University of Notre Dame and members of the Ku Klux Klan faced off in a violent confrontation in South Bend, Indiana. This shocking and true hidden chapter in Catholic and American history is recounted in Notre Dame vs. The Klan, the story of two uniquely American institutions that rose to power amdist rampant anti-Catholicism and collided druing a riotous weekend.

Library Journal

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 Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.