Citation

Lewis M, Serbu J. Deviant Behav. 1997; 18(2): 185-198.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper applies the ideas presented by Kai Erikson (1966) in Wayward Puritans to explain a series of brutal attacks carried out by the Ku Klux Klan on the citizenry of Macon, Georgia, episodes that brought national attention to that town. What made these attacks so unusual was their victims, most of whom were White Anglo-Saxon Protestants who were accused by the Klan of engaging in immoral behavior. Rather than viewing the Klan's actions as deviance that was sanctioned by outside sources, this article focuses on the attacks as attempts by the Klan to eradicate deviance from within their own community. Using historical data gathered from newspapers, Klan speeches, and Congressional hearings, the article explains the Klan's drive against immorality in terms of Erikson's notions of boundary crises leading to crime waves that ultimately serve to clarify the distinctions between social groups.