William D. Upshaw
| William David Upshaw | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| U.S. Representative from Georgia's 5th Congressional District From: March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1927 | |||
| Predecessor | William S. Howard | ||
| Successor | Leslie J. Steele | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Democrat | ||
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Beverly (died 1942) Lily Galloway | ||
William David Upshaw (October 15, 1866 – November 21, 1952), also known as Bill Upshaw and the "Driest of the Drys,"[1] was a Prohibition activist, Ku Klux Klan ally,[2][3] and Democratic U.S. representative from Georgia for four terms spanning 1919–27. His political tenure was marked with racism and a variety of progressive reform advocacies, such as his support for a United States Department of Education, a commonly held opinion among the Second Klan.
Upshaw is known for ordaining Pentecostal charlatan William M. Branham, a propagator of the false serpent seed theory and admirer of Communist Jim Jones.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1918, Upshaw was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Georgia's 5th congressional district, a Klan stronghold, without opposition,[4] and subsequently reelected three times.[5]
According to historian Thomas R. Pegram, Upshaw was a clear Klan sympathizer despite lack of solid evidence that he was an official member of the "Invisible Empire," writing:[2]
| “ | An even greater test of the Anti-Saloon League's willingness to tolerate public displays of support for the Invisible Empire was provided by the colorful Georgia congressman William D. Upshaw. Upshaw was an entertaining and highly popular lecturer for the ASL as well as perhaps the most vocally adept defender of prohibition in Congress during his tenure from 1919 until 1927. He was also an outspoken friend of the Ku Klux Klan, though he was never proven to be a member of the hooded confederation. Upshaw was lavishly attentive to William J. Simmons when the founding imperial wizard appeared before a congressional committee in 1921. He contributed articles to the Georgia Klan publication The Searchlight, and concluded his affectionate correspondence with a Klan leader by using the ceremonial benediction supposedly known only to those familiar with Klankraft. Moreover, letters of Klan officials published in Georgia newspapers indicated that Upshaw worked as an agent for the Klan in Congress. | ” |
| —"One Hundred Percent American: The Rebirth and Decline of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s," p. 149 | ||
Progressive leader
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As a Democratic Klan activist,[6][7] Upshaw persistently derailed congressional efforts to stifle the Second KKK during its peak. He "shielded" Klan organizer William J. Simmons from harsh denunciations by House investigators, denounced Republican president Calvin Coolidge for dodging the Klan issue during the 1924 U.S. presidential election, and extolled the virtues of a common goal pursued by the Klan, National Education Association, and Southern Jurisdiction of Scottish Rite Masons—the enactment of a federal Department of Education.[8][9] However, despite "hooded interest in the matter," enactment bills were never dislodged from committee in 1924.
Upshaw was a strong advocate of labor unions, noted as having "blindly obeyed every demand of organized labor."[10] He vociferously fought against conservative efforts to restrict labor power excesses, defeating the anti-strike clause in the Railroad Transportation Act by helping pass the Anderson substitute.[11][12]
References
- ↑ November 22, 1952. " WILLIAM UPSHAW,", " PROHIBITIONIST, g6",; " Party's Presidential Candidate", "in '32, Ex-Congressman Known", "as 'Driest of Drys' Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pegram, Thomas R. (2011). One Hundred Percent American: The Rebirth and Decline of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, p. 149. Google Books. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ↑ Gordon, Linda (October 15, 2017). Threat to Democracy: The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s: A Warning from History, ch. 9. Google Books. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ↑ GA – District 05 Race – Nov 05, 1918. Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ↑ Candidate – William D. Upshaw. Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ↑ 1926. Forum and Column Review: Vol. 76, p. 49. Google Books. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ↑ Churchwell, Sarah (December 15, 2022). The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells. Google Books. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ↑ "One Hundred Percent American," p. 209.
- ↑ 1924. Home, School, and Community: Vols. 16–18, p. 31. Google Books. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ↑ Environmental Protection Agency (1973). Legal Compilation; Statutes and Legislative History, Executive Orders, Regulations, Guidelines and Reports: Vol. 4, p. 1,677. Google Books. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ↑ Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (1924). Railroad Brakemen's Journal: Vol. 41, p. 655. Google Books. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ↑ U.S. Government Printing Office (1927). Congressional Record: Vol. 68, Pt. 5, pp. 5,263–64. Google Books. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
