How Did The Irish Defeat The Klan? | History

How did the Irish communities rise against the Ku Klux Klan—and what echoes remain of their defiant courage? This episode uncovers the street-level clashes, bridges, and towns where ordinary people stood shoulder to shoulder, turning fear into resistance. Neither spectacle nor legend, these confrontations reveal the power of unity, resolve, and community spirit in the face of intimidation.

We trace the battles from Maine’s bridges to Pennsylvania’s steel towns, exploring how immigrant solidarity shaped local history. Archival accounts, dramatic reconstructions, and lyrical storytelling illuminate moments of bravery, chaos, and unyielding resolve. Were these clashes mere fights, or a declaration that communities could not be subdued?

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PRIMARY & SECONDARY SOURCES

KKK Expansion into the Northern United States (1915–1940)
• The Fiery Cross: The Ku Klux Klan in America – Wyn Craig Wade, pp. 201–266
• Women of the Klan – Kathleen M. Blee, pp. 54–101
• Hooded Americanism: The History of the Ku Klux Klan – David M. Chalmers, pp. 143–198
• The Ku Klux Klan in the City, 1915–1930 – Kenneth T. Jackson, pp. 89–139

Irish-American Communities & Anti-Klan Resistance
• The Irish Americans: A History – Jay P. Dolan, pp. 233–287
• Paddy and the Republic – Dennis Clark, pp. 101–152
• The Irish Contribution to American Labor – Philip H. Foner, pp. 77–121
• Struggles in the Promised Land: The Irish and the Making of America – Lawrence McCaffrey, pp. 156–204

Maine Conflicts: The “Battle of the Bridge” & Franco–Irish Resistance
• Maine: A History – Richard Judd, pp. 311–347
• The Klan in Maine – Mark Paul Richard, pp. 43–88
• Franco-Americans and the KKK in New England – Yves Roby, pp. 112–156
• Maine’s Visible Minorities: Ethnicity & Community Defense – Marc Lavoie, pp. 54–97

Pennsylvania, Steel Towns & Anti-Klan Solidarity
• Steelworkers and the KKK in Western Pennsylvania – James P. Cannon, pp. 21–65
• Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City – Stefan Lorant, pp. 233–278
• Multicultural Coalitions in the Industrial North – Joe William Trotter Jr., pp. 101–149
• Fighting Hate in Industrial America – Robert Slayton, pp. 67–112

Clashes, Street-Level Resistance & Community Defense
• The Second Coming of the KKK – Linda Gordon, pp. 178–232
• Counter-Fraternalism: Catholics vs. the Klan – Thomas Pegram, pp. 91–143
• Community Solidarity Against Nativism – Nancy MacLean, pp. 231–269
• Working Men Unite: Labor & Ethnic Alliances in the 1920s – James Barrett, pp. 54–98

Catholic, Immigrant & Irish Identity in Anti-Klan Movements
• American Catholicism and the Klan – John McGreevy, pp. 88–123
• The Irish Catholic Experience in America – Maureen O’Rourke Murphy, pp. 167–213
• The Immigrant Church: Ethnicity & Catholicism – Jay Dolan, pp. 120–171
• From Nativism to Nationalism: Irish America in the 1920s – Timothy Meagher, pp. 57–94

General U.S. Social History & Anti-Klan Context
• A People’s History of the United States – Howard Zinn, pp. 320–351
• The 1920s: A Clash of Cultures – Lynn Dumenil, pp. 211–244
• The War at Home: Social Conflict in America – Alan Brinkley, pp. 142–176