A Fever in the Heartland, page 33
Nebraska Klan terrorizes home of Malcolm X, Adam Fletcher Sasse, “A Biography of Malcolm X in Omaha,” https://northomahahistory.com/2019/03/13/a-biography-of-malcolm-x-in-omaha/.
“Death Takes Madge Oberholtzer,” Indianapolis Times, April 14, 1925.
Madge’s funeral and Steve’s plea, “Friends Lay Madge Oberholtzer to Rest,” Indianapolis Times, April 16, 1925.
George’s prior losses, Ottinger, Madge, 22.
Pact between Steve and Duvall, “Stephenson Influence Described,” Indianapolis Times, April 21, 1925.
“no mean city,” Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, https://indyencyclopedia.org.
40,000 Klansmen in Indianapolis, Jackson, The Ku Klux Klan in the City, 154.
“Klanopolis,” “How the Kleagles Collected the Cash,” Independent, Dec. 13, 1924.
Fire, “Stephenson’s House Set on Fire,” Indianapolis Times, April 17, 1925.
Rug removed, “Oriental Rug from Stephenson Home Is Taken to House of Official in Charge,” Indianapolis Times, May 8, 1925.
Remy death threats, his unpublished memoir, IHS.
Beautician’s story, Smith oral history, ISL.
Sorority girl, Chicago, ibid.
Protests by women, Ottinger, Madge, 224–25, and “Stephenson Is Still in Jail,” Indianapolis Times, April 21, 1925.
Resolution from Butler, “Stephenson Is behind Bars,” Indianapolis Times, April 20, 1925.
Duvall and Klan ticket win, “Duvall’s Lead Mounts over 7,000,” Indianapolis Times, May 6, 1925.
Mayor and Klan in Evansville, “1920s Evansville Mayor Was in KKK,” Evansville Courier & Press, Sept. 24, 2018.
19. Big Man in a Small Town
Church scene, “Moore Discusses the Ku Klux Klan,” Noblesville Ledger, Jan. 8, 1923.
Noblesville Klan, Allen Safianow, “You Can’t Burn History,” Indiana Magazine of History, June 2004.
Klan parade largest in town history, “Klansmen in a Monster Parade Saturday Night,” Noblesville Ledger, July 2, 1923.
William Stern, quotes and feelings, “W. H. Stern Makes Plea for Colored Race,” Noblesville Ledger, Sept. 24, 1927.
Stern recounts war, “Anniversary of Battle of Shiloh,” Noblesville Ledger, April 7, 1925.
W. E. B. Du Bois, “The Shape of Fear,” North American Review, June 1926.
Change of venue, “Stephenson Trial in Noblesville,” Indianapolis Times, May 23, 1925.
Matilda wanted to kill Steve with her hands, Ottinger, Madge, 196.
Ruling on declaration, quotes from Steve and his lawyers, “Stephenson Wins State Evidence,” Indianapolis Times, June 16, 1925.
Dale quotes from his column, “ ‘I am the Law,’ Stephenson,’’ Muncie Post-Democrat, June 26, 1925.
Klan failing in Muncie, “Disgraced,” Muncie Post-Democrat, May 8, 1925, and “The Ku Klux Klan,” Muncie Post-Democrat, May 15, 1925.
“Hicks,” “Klan Delegates Are Taught All of the New Songs of the Day,” Muncie Post-Democrat, June 19, 1925.
Caleb Ridley arrested, “Seizes Klan Chaplain as Intoxicated in Car,” New York Times, Oct. 18, 1923.
Quote from Chicago Defender, Jill Lepore, “Why the School Wars Still Rage,” New Yorker, March 21, 2022.
Scopes Monkey Trial, Noah Adams, “Timeline: Remembering the Scopes Monkey Trial,” NPR, July 5, 2005, https://www.npr.org/2005/07/05/4723956/timeline-remembering-the-scopes-monkey-trial.
20. One Nation under a Shroud
Parade description and quotes, “Sight Astonishes Capital,” New York Times, Aug. 9, 1925.
“one of the greatest demonstrations,” “Klan’s 1925 Rally: ‘A Great Parade,’ ” Washington Post, Aug. 29, 1982.
Nearly 90 percent from Northern states, “Sight Astonishes Capital.”
W. E. B. Du Bois quote, “The Shape of Fear,” North American Review, June 1926.
Coolidge work habits, Irving Stone, “Calvin Coolidge: A Study in Inertia,” reprinted in The Aspirin Age: 1919–1941 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1949), 144.
Coolidge quote, ibid.
Mencken quote, “The Klan Walks in Washington,” Literary Digest, Aug. 22, 1925.
Steve’s gifts in jail, Niblack, Life and Times, 212.
Attempt to bribe reporters, ibid., 213.
Steve felt threatened by Evans men, Lutholtz, Grand Dragon, 228.
Klan pressure in Noblesville, “Klan Komment,” Noblesville Ledger, July 20, 1925.
“Klan Komment,” Noblesville Ledger, July 8, 1925.
Evans, “Imperial Wizard of Klan Spoke at Chautauqua,” Noblesville Ledger, Aug. 10, 1925.
New judge, delay of trial, “Judge Sparks to Try Stephenson,” Indianapolis Times, Aug. 11, 1925.
21. To Slay a Dragon
Remy weight loss and fears, his unpublished memoir, HIS.
Remy, quotes and strategy, ibid.
Remy notebook on strategy, on file at IHS.
Charles Cox bio, “Charles E. Cox Sr., Former Judge, Dies,” Indianapolis Star, Feb. 4, 1936.
Stern bio, thoughts on Klan, “W. H. Stern Makes Plea for Colored Race,” Noblesville Ledger, Sept. 24, 1927.
Threats to Oberholtzers, Ottinger, Madge, 266–67.
Makeup of jury, “Men Who Hold Trio’s Fate,” Indianapolis Times, Oct. 29, 1925.
Cox opening statement, “Stephenson Branded Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde,” Indianapolis Times, Oct. 29, 1925.
Opening testimony, ibid.
promise of “startling revelation,” “Evidence of State Concluded in Murder Trial,” Indianapolis Star, Nov. 7, 1925.
“which crowd are you in,” “Klan Komment,” Noblesville Ledger, July 20, 1925.
Dale note passed to Steve in courtroom, W. A. S. Douglas, “The Mayor of Middletown,” American Mercury, Aug. 1930.
Kingsbury testimony, “Oberholtzer Lawyer Denies Bribe,” Indianapolis Times, Oct. 30, 1925.
Smith, Battle of Belleau Wood, “More Stephenson Case Testimony,” Indianapolis Times, Oct. 29, 1925.
Steve’s dress, diamond on display, “D. C. Stephenson’s Greatest Love Was of ‘The Old Man,’ ” Indianapolis News, Oct. 9, 1950.
Judge statement in ruling, “D. C. Stephenson Trial: An Account,” assembled by Professor Douglas O. Linder, University of Missouri-Kansas School of Law, https://www.famous-trials.com/stephenson/74-home.
22. She Said
Rally for Klan ticket, “G.O.P. Backs Klan School Board Slate,” Indianapolis Times, Nov. 2, 1925.
Madge’s dying declaration read in court, “Poison Room in Hotel Is Pictured,” Indianapolis Times, Oct. 31, 1925.
Testimony of hotel employees, “Stephenson Charges Mistrial,” Indianapolis Star, Nov. 1, 1925.
Testimony of Levi Thomas, porter, ibid.
Steve bribe attempt, oral history of Walter D. Meyers, 1970–71, ISL.
23. Inside and Outside
Steve quote, “cold, hard cash,” “The Printer Who Turned Indiana Over to the KKK,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 14, 1926.
Steve bribes the jailer, women visitors, etc., Court Asher testimony, Marion County Grand Jury, IHS, and Niblack, Life and Times, 212–13.
Carl Losey and Steve’s “witnesses,” “Defense Tries Attack on Girl’s Statement,” Indianapolis News, Nov. 7, 1925.
Niblack on bribes, Life and Times, 213.
Feightner hears rumors of attempts to bribe jurors, his oral history, ISL.
Evans plea to Grand Dragons, “Klan Official Urges Secrecy,” Dayton Daily News, Aug. 26, 1925.
Evans, “The Klan: Defender of Americanism,” Forum 74 (Dec. 1925).
“the greatest organization ever,” Steve message, Sept. 19, 1923, ISL.
Letter to “Mildred,” undated, on file at IHS.
Asher and $17,000, his testimony to Marion County Grand Jury, IHS.
Testimony of MacDonald and Moon, “State Bolsters New Blood Poison Theory,” Indianapolis Times, Nov. 3, 1925.
Election results, Klan statement, “John L. Duvall Wins by 8,991,” Indianapolis Star, Nov. 4, 1925.
City Hall to the Klan, “Klan Scores Heavily in Political Plum Passing,” Indianapolis Times, Nov. 9, 1925.
24. He Said
Smiley on the stand, “Suicide, Stephenson’s Opening Gun,” Indianapolis Times, Nov. 5, 1925.
Steve “affable,” “Evidence in State Concluded in Murder Trial,” Noblesville Ledger, Nov. 5, 1925.
Steve lunges for Niblack, “Suicide, Stephenson’s Opening Gun.”
Cora Householder and Chester Clawson testimony, “Evidence in State Concluded in Murder Trial.” Householder “affair” story, Lutholtz, Grand Dragon, 271–73.
Remy cross of Clawson, “Stephenson Defense Outline,” Indianapolis Star, Nov. 7, 1925.
Hotel employee testimony, ibid.
A-Y-A-K letters on roadside, Remy’s unpublished memoir, IHS.
Steve going through political pledges, “Lawyer Insists He Saw Papers,” Indianapolis Times, Oct. 14, 1926.
Steve’s gunman in court, “Steve Was the Terrorist instead of the Terrified,” Indianapolis News, Oct. 5, 1950.
Rigdon testimony, “Witness Invites Kane Out on the Street for Fight,” Noblesville Ledger, Nov. 9, 1925.
Whereabouts of Shorty DeFriese, Ottinger, Madge, 440.
Final defense witnesses, Red Cross donation, “Hill Tells of Governor’s Ball,” Noblesville Ledger, Nov. 11, 1925.
25. The Closers
First four Remy quotes in closing argument, “Facts Back Up Dying Story—Remy,” Indianapolis Times, Nov. 12, 1925.
Plan to kill Remy, his unpublished memoir, IHS.
Remy quote after lunch, “Facts Back Up Dying Story—Remy.”
Holmes quotes, ibid.
First Cox quotes, “Inman Assails Blood Cry of Mob,” Indianapolis Times, Nov. 13, 1925.
Cox on medieval times, “Jury Retires to Deliberate Case,” Indianapolis News, Nov. 14, 1925.
Cox on doing right by Oberholtzer parents, ibid.
Floyd Christian, “Inman Assails Blood Cry of Mob,” Indianapolis Times, Nov. 13, 1925.
More Inman, ibid.
Kane, on whole nation looking to verdict, “Jury Retires to Deliberate Case,” Indianapolis News, Nov. 14, 1925.
26. Verdict
Details while awaiting verdict, Niblack, Life and Times, 215.
Attempt to bribe two jurors, Feightner oral history, ISL.
Reaction of Stephenson to verdict, number of Indiana Klansmen, “Finds Ex-Klan Head Murdered Woman,” New York Times, Nov. 15, 1925.
Verdict details, “Stephenson Is Sentenced,” Indianapolis Times, Nov. 16, 1925.
New charges, arson etc., “Stephenson to See Prison by This Weekend,” Indianapolis Times, Nov. 17, 1925.
Remy nearly forced off road, his unpublished memoir, IHS.
Steve checks into penitentiary, “Prison Door Closes upon Stephenson,” Indianapolis Times, Nov. 21, 1925.
Contents of his pockets, request for cigars, measurements of the Bertillon system, “Stephenson to Be Assigned to Work in Prison Soon,” Noblesville Ledger, Nov. 23, 1925.
One of the jurors a Catholic, “Steve Was the Terrorist instead of the Terrified,” Indianapolis News, Oct. 5, 1950.
27. Dirt from the Dragon
Steve in prison, his plan for a pardon, Niblack, Life and Times, 217.
Steve’s motion, “Plans to Ask for New Trial,” Indianapolis Star, Dec. 10, 1925.
Evans, “The Klan’s Fight for Americanism,” North American Review, March 1926.
Oregon dentist and collapse of Klan there, Ben Bruce, “The Rise and Fall of the Ku Klux Klan in Oregon during the 1920s,” Voces Novae 11 (2019).
Colorado, Elise Schmelzer, “The KKK Ruled Denver a Century Ago,” Denver Post, June 6, 2021.
Klan records found, “Two Bags of Klan Records Floating down River,” Noblesville Ledger, Aug. 21, 1925.
Dale comments, “Stephenson before Starting for Prison Says Courtroom Crowd Was Hostile,” Muncie Post-Democrat, Nov. 18, 1925.
“Democrats Flay Klan in Meeting,” Indianapolis Times, Nov. 19, 1925.
Editorials, Indianapolis Times, Nov. 16, 1925.
Paper lost 5,000 subscribers, Leibowitz, My Indiana, 214.
Correspondence with San Francisco woman Verna Green, undated, IHS.
Letter from woman in South Bend, Dec. 15, 1925, signee unclear, ISL.
Martha L. Dickinson, from her letters, undated, IHS.
Adams report, “Outraged Editorial Conscience Tore Mask from Indiana Politics,” Editor & Publisher, Oct. 16, 1926.
Adams bio, “T. H. Adams Dies; Foe of Ku Klux Klan,” New York Times, Nov. 23, 1930.
Republican reaction to press accounts, “Stephenson Here, Talks to Jury,” Indianapolis Times, Oct. 13, 1926.
Racial zoning law, “Segregation Measure Passes amid Cheers,” Indianapolis News, March 16, 1926.
Whiteman’s quote, Paul Mullins, “Racist Spite and Residential Segregation,” Invisible Indianapolis (blog), Jan. 20, 2019, https://invisibleindianapolis.wordpress.com/2019/01/20/racist-spite-and-residential-segregation-housing-and-the-color-line-in-inter-war-indianapolis/.
Women of the KKK meeting, “Klan Women of Nation in Session Here,” Indianapolis Times, Aug. 5, 1927.
Klan march on Washington, “Klan Ranks Thinner in Capital Parade,” New York Times, Sept. 13, 1926.
Evans speech, “Women of Klan End Convention,” Indianapolis Star, Aug. 7, 1927.
Steve quote, “I purchased,” Libby Cierzniak, “D. C Stephenson’s Revenge,” historicindianapolis.com, Aug. 8, 2015.
Remy in Lick Skillet, Niblack, Life and Times, 221.
Steve’s testimony against Jackson, Feb. 13 and 14, 1928, IHS.
Steve testimony on guns and violence, “$1,800,000 Harvested by Steve from Klan Office during His Dizzy Regime,” Indianapolis Times, Oct. 15, 1928.
“Isn’t it strange,” “New York Times Analyzes Ku Klux Klan Complex,” Catholic Transcript, Nov. 11, 1926.
Klan atrocities, “Steve Reveals Klan’s Power,” Indianapolis Times, April 2, 1928; “Burnings at Stake at Behest of Evans Told at Klan Trial,” New York Times, April 11, 1928.
Judge comments in Pennsylvania case, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Inc. vs. Strayer, 1928.
Chicago Tribune summary, “Indiana in the Dark Age,” April 3, 1927.
Priest comes to Noblesville, “Father Holand Discussed Good Fellowship,” Noblesville Ledger, Oct. 3, 1928.
Commencement speech, “Immense Crowd at Commencement,” Tipton Daily Tribune, May 22, 1926.
Klan membership down 90 percent, Chalmers, Hooded Americanism, 291.
Feightner quote, oral history, ISL.
Lynching, “Marion Mob Storms Jail, Hangs Two,” Indianapolis Star, Aug. 8, 1930.
Klan at lynching, atmosphere like a “picnic,” “Old List of Klan Members Recalls Racist Past in an Indiana City,” New York Times, Aug. 2, 1995.
Cameron’s story of lynching, his book, A Time of Terror: A Survivor’s Account (Lancaster, PA: LifeWrites Press, 2016).
Epilogue
Discovery of secrets, “Trunk Opens Up Indiana Town’s Secret Past,” Los Angeles Times, July 15, 1995.
Allen Safianow, “You Can’t Burn History,” Indiana Magazine of History, June 1, 2004.
“most talented psychopath,” Wade, The Fiery Cross, 221.
Ritchie Boys, Bruce Henderson, Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler (New York: William Morrow, 2017).
Supreme Court on sterilization, “Is Forced Contraception Alleged by Britney Spears Legal?,” New York Times, June 27, 2021.
Effect of eugenics ruling, Adam Cohen, Imbeciles (New York: Penguin, 2017), 160–282.
Repeal of Horse Thieves, “Votes to Cut Out Horse Thief Law,” Indianapolis Star, March 7, 1933.
Repeal of Prohibition, “U.S. Wet Again,” Indianapolis Star, Dec. 6, 1933.
Consumption rose, Mark Thornton, “Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure,” Cato Institute, July 17, 1991.
“Manning Making Calls about His Bourbon,” Indianapolis Star, Sept. 22, 2021.
State Supreme Court quote, from its ruling, Stephenson v. State, 1932, IHS.
Steve’s release, “Stephenson Wins Commutation,” Indianapolis Times, March 4, 1950.
Kicked out by daughter, “Death of a Klansman,” Louisville Courier-Journal, Sept. 17, 1978.
Steve disappears, “Stephenson Seized on Murder Parole,” New York Times, Nov. 16, 1950.
Steve’s assault of teenager, “Death of a Klansman.”
Reporters discover his death, ibid.
Steve never a war veteran, report of the adjutant general, “no overseas service,” undated, on file at ISL.
Steve and presidency, Remy, his unpublished memoir, IHS.
Klan falls to less than 100,000, Chalmers, Hooded Americanism, 291.
Evans’s later years, sale of Imperial headquarters, “Dr. Colescott Dies; Ex-Chief of Klan,” New York Times, Jan. 13, 1950, and “Dr. Hiram W. Evans,” Texas State Historical Association, June 2, 2016.
Colescott, Klan disbanding, “Dr. Colescott Dies; Ex-Chief of Klan.”
Court Asher, his paper, sedition, death, “Court Asher, Controversial Muncie Figure, Dead,” Muncie Star Press, Dec. 30, 1967.
Gentry death, “Who Murdered Earl Gentry?” Milwaukee Journal, April 25 and 26, 1938.
