author
W. J. (William Joseph) Simmons
1880–1945
A Methodist preacher and organizer who became nationally known for reviving the Ku Klux Klan in 1915, he also wrote about the movement he led. His life sits at the center of a dark and influential chapter in American history.
1 Audiobook
The Klan Unmasked
by W. J. (William Joseph) Simmons
About the author
Born in Alabama in 1880, William Joseph Simmons was an American preacher, teacher, and promoter of fraternal organizations. He served in the Spanish-American War and later worked in religious and civic circles before gaining notoriety on a much larger stage.
Simmons is best known for founding and leading the second Ku Klux Klan in 1915. Under his leadership, the organization was reestablished in Georgia and presented itself as a patriotic fraternal order, while promoting white supremacist and nativist ideas that would shape its rapid rise in the years that followed.
He also wrote The Klan Unmasked and remained a public figure associated with the movement even after losing control of its leadership. He died in 1945, and his name is remembered mainly in connection with the revival of one of the most destructive hate organizations in U.S. history.