Imperial Wizard Hiram Wesley Evans resigned on June 10, 1939, and Colescott became the
Ku Klux Klan's new leader. He had previously served as
chief of staff under Evans. Hiram Evans was effectively forced to quit, as his renunciation of
Anti-Catholicism had proven unpopular with "rank-and-file Klansmen". He resigned in favor of Colescott, who was soon officially initiated as the Imperial Wizard. The initiation ceremony was held in the Dixie Ball Room of the
Henry Grady Hotel in
Atlanta,
Georgia.
World War II The decline continued during
World War II, when most of the Americans began being preoccupied with the issues of national security and Ku Klux Klan "lost social influence, money and political support". The Klan's association with
Nazi sympathizer organizations, such as the
German American Bund, and with the
Detroit race riot of 1943 were detrimental to the organization's public image: a substantial number of Klansmen stopped attending meetings and paying their dues.
Dies Committee hearing In January 1942, Colescott was questioned by the Dies Committee, precursor to the
House Un-American Activities Committee, headed by
Martin Dies Jr. (D-TX). Colescott was criticized by Dies for the Klan's alleged anti-Catholicism. Before formally stepping down on April 23, 1944, On April 23, the final Klonvocation gathering was held in Atlanta. Its decisions disbanded the central Klan organization, "repealed all degrees, vacated all offices, voided all charters, and relieved every Klansman of any obligation whatever". Local chapters could, however, continue their activities, now acting independently from each other. The final Klonvocation called for them to act in an "informal, unincorporated alliance". under the leadership of
Samuel Green, an
Atlanta obstetrician, in 1946. Already in November 1944, anthropologist H. Scudder Mekeel had expressed concerns that the end of World War II could be followed by a "revival in full force" of the Klan. Meanwhile, Colescott retired to
Miami. He remained bitter about his forced retirement, and blamed "
nigger-lover"
Franklin D. Roosevelt and "that Jew"
Henry Morgenthau Jr. for the downfall of the Klan. In his final statement, Colescott declared, ==References==