Subsequently. white southerners easily passed into law the "separate but equal" doctrine of segregation. which lasted almost a century. After World War I. the Klan gained supportive momentum under the leadership of Grand Wizard William Simmons. a former preacher. Two trends added fuel to the Klans fire: The great World War and the massive influx of European immigrants from 1890 to 1910. Together. these trends produced a fierce nationalism among Americans and. thus. a mood more receptive to the Klan which claimed to be a "proAmerican" group. dedicated to preserving racial purity in the Nation. In the civil rights era. the Klan once again swam into the mainstream.
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immigrants