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In the subsection Resistance and decline, why does it say:
"In the 1928 presidential election, the state voters overcame their initial opposition to the Catholic candidate Al Smith and voted the Democratic Party line as usual."?
There is not citation or explanation with this sentence. Al Smith lost the 1928 election by a landslide. States like Florida, Texas, Virginia, and North Carolina which typically went for the Democratic party in the early 20th c. (see Solid South) went Republican in 1928. The article on the 1928 presidential election says that anti-Catholic sentiment was a major factor in Smith's loss and includes several sources to support this. Unless someone has a source to back the claim that "voters overcame their initial opposition to the Catholic candidate Al Smith and voted the Democratic Party line as usual", I think it should be removed from the article. Wanderingspark (talk) 18:19, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Look up the platform switch which took place during the course of the Civil Rights Movement. By today's standards, Lincoln would be considered a Democrat. Salvapdivad (talk) 13:58, 5 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
In the Sherlock Holmes story The Five Orange Pips (published 1891), Holmes investigates a murder committed by members of the Ku Klux Klan. He reads from the 'K' volume of his American Encyclopaedia this description of the Klan:
Ku Klux Klan: A name derived from the fanciful resemblance to the sound produced by cocking a rifle.
This contradicts the etymology provided in our article, which is based on the Greek word kyklos (κύκλος) meaning circle. Our citation for this dates from 1939, so is far from contemporary, but does reference three founders of the Klan. In support of the Holmes story, it seems entirely credible that disaffected Confederate soldiers would be more familiar with the sound of cocking a rifle than with Greek.
Which is right? I appeal to the librarian of any US University to look up encyclopedias from 1880-1900 to see which definition they support. Brymor (talk) 16:48, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Not a librarian at any US university but it would appear that Arthur Conan Doyle was mistaken - he was, after all, writing a work of fiction. Authentic History, Ku Klux Klan, 1865-1877 (a very KKK sympathetic tome) by Susan Lawrence Davis & published in 1924 gives its particular history of the etymology of the term on pages 6-8. Her text agrees with the kuklos/Greek origination history put forth by the other works cited in this Wikipedia article. I must say, one issue with any research pertaining to the term is that this first iteration of the KKK maintained strict secrecy about the organization. Davis's book mentions Nathan Bedford Forrest extensively (as Grand Wizard etc) but gives the founding credit to the Pulaski Tennessee group with members including Captain John Lester, etc. Did find this Sherlock Homes website article about Holmes & the Civil War that states that Doyle was incorrect. By the way, the "American Encyclopedia" does not seem to exist in real life. - Shearonink (talk) 19:21, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Good to have that clarified, thanks. I agree that Holmes's American Encyclopaedia does not appear to exist. The obvious choice would be the Encyclopædia Americana (1826-33) by Francis Lieber in 13 volumes, but that predates the war. I cannot find any other suitable multi-volume tomes. Brymor (talk) 14:03, 7 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I haven't looked at this page in a little while. But at some point some people who clearly aren't familiar with MOS:LEAD or WP:LEADCREATE came here and changed the lead. It needs an absolute chainsaw to be taken to it. A good lead is 250-400 words and 4 paragraphs or less. This is nearly 700 words and 8 paragraphs. I'll add a tag, but it needs practically an entire rewrite. Just10A (talk) 21:45, 9 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
level-5 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
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