Guardians of Liberty
Encyclopedia
Guardians of Liberty is a three volume set of books published in 1943 by Bishop
Alma Bridwell White
, author of over 35 books and founder of the Pillar of Fire Church
. Guardians of Liberty is primarily devoted to summarizing White’s vehement anti-Catholicism
under the guise of patriotism. White also defends her historical support of and association with the Ku Klux Klan
while significantly but not completely distancing herself from the Klan. Each of the three volumes corresponds to one of the three books White published in the 1920s promoting the Ku Klux Klan
and her political views which in addition to anti-Catholicism
also included nativism
, anti-Semitism
and white supremacy
. In Guardians of Liberty, White removed most, but not all of the direct references to the Klan that had existed in her three 1920s books, both in the text and in the illustrations. In Volumes I and II, she removed most of the nativist, anti-Semitic and white supremacist ideology that had appeared in her predecessor books. However, in Guardians Volume III, she did retain edited versions of chapters promoting nativism, anti-Semitism and white supremecy.
Like their predecessor books, each of the volumes is primarily a compendium of essays and sermons written by White and of illustrations by Reverend Branford Clarke
. Most of the text and illustrations had originally been published in the pro-Ku Klux Klan
political periodical The Good Citizen
, one of the numerous periodicals published by the Pillar of Fire Church
at their communal headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey
. The Pillar of Fire ceased publication of The Good Citizen
in 1933. Guardians was published when White was 81 years old, three years before her death, and one year before the second Ku Klux Klan
declared bankruptcy.
. Of the 13 chapters in Guardians Vol. I, 7 are edited chapters from KKK in Prophecy, and one chapter is from Heroes of the Fiery Cross
(1928).
An additional chapter, Rome’s Political Defeat defends the Pillar of Fire Church
's and its members' role in two violent incidents that occurred near Zarephath, New Jersey
, the church's headquarters.
It is devoted nearly entirely to promoting White's deeply held fears and hatred of the Roman Catholic Church
and of Roman Catholic individuals. Most of the material promoting anti-Semitism, racism, and white supremacy that had originally been published in KKK in Prophecy was omitted in Guardians Vol. I, although some more-subtle reference were still included. Furthermore, most but not all of the of the references to the Ku Klux Klan
were either removed or substituted with the following euphemisms: Patriots, Patriots in White Robes, Our Patriots, Our American Patriots, 100-Per Cent Americans, A Great Patriotic Organization, Invisible Empire, Freedom, Liberty, The Star of Hope, and Our Guardians of Liberty. Two illustrations with Klan images were retained and included in Guardians Vol. 1.
and one from The Ku Klux Klan In Prophecy
.
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Alma Bridwell White
Alma Bridwell White
Alma Bridwell White was the founder, and a bishop of the Pillar of Fire Church. In 1918, she became the first woman bishop in the United States...
, author of over 35 books and founder of the Pillar of Fire Church
Pillar of Fire Church
The Pillar of Fire International is a Christian organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1901 by Alma White, with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire was originally incorporated as the Pentecostal Union, but changed its name to distance itself from Pentecostalism in 1915...
. Guardians of Liberty is primarily devoted to summarizing White’s vehement anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
under the guise of patriotism. White also defends her historical support of and association with the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
while significantly but not completely distancing herself from the Klan. Each of the three volumes corresponds to one of the three books White published in the 1920s promoting the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
and her political views which in addition to anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
also included nativism
Nativism (politics)
Nativism favors the interests of certain established inhabitants of an area or nation as compared to claims of newcomers or immigrants. It may also include the re-establishment or perpetuation of such individuals or their culture....
, anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and white supremacy
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
. In Guardians of Liberty, White removed most, but not all of the direct references to the Klan that had existed in her three 1920s books, both in the text and in the illustrations. In Volumes I and II, she removed most of the nativist, anti-Semitic and white supremacist ideology that had appeared in her predecessor books. However, in Guardians Volume III, she did retain edited versions of chapters promoting nativism, anti-Semitism and white supremecy.
Like their predecessor books, each of the volumes is primarily a compendium of essays and sermons written by White and of illustrations by Reverend Branford Clarke
Branford Clarke
Branford Clarke was an Evangelical preacher, poet and artist who promoted the Ku Klux Klan through his art which was drawn for the Pillar of Fire Church and their publications.-Biography:...
. Most of the text and illustrations had originally been published in the pro-Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
political periodical The Good Citizen
The Good Citizen
The Good Citizen was a sixteen-page monthly political periodical edited by Bishop Alma White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. The Good Citizen was published from 1913 until 1933 by the Pillar of Fire Church at their headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey in the United States...
, one of the numerous periodicals published by the Pillar of Fire Church
Pillar of Fire Church
The Pillar of Fire International is a Christian organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1901 by Alma White, with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire was originally incorporated as the Pentecostal Union, but changed its name to distance itself from Pentecostalism in 1915...
at their communal headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey
Zarephath, New Jersey
Zarephath is an unincorporated area of Franklin Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It was the communal home to the Pillar of Fire Church, and was the worldwide headquarters of Pillar of Fire International and housed the church's college, Somerset Christian College, and radio...
. The Pillar of Fire ceased publication of The Good Citizen
The Good Citizen
The Good Citizen was a sixteen-page monthly political periodical edited by Bishop Alma White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. The Good Citizen was published from 1913 until 1933 by the Pillar of Fire Church at their headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey in the United States...
in 1933. Guardians was published when White was 81 years old, three years before her death, and one year before the second Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
declared bankruptcy.
Volume I
Volume one of Guardians of Liberty was an edited reprint of White’s 1925 book The Ku Klux Klan In ProphecyThe Ku Klux Klan In Prophecy
The Ku Klux Klan In Prophecy is a 144 page book written by Bishop Alma Bridwell White in 1925 and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. In the book she uses scripture to rationalize that the Klan is sanctioned by God "through divine illumination and prophetic vision". She also believed that the...
. Of the 13 chapters in Guardians Vol. I, 7 are edited chapters from KKK in Prophecy, and one chapter is from Heroes of the Fiery Cross
Heroes of the Fiery Cross
Heroes of the Fiery Cross is a book published in 1928 by Protestant Bishop Alma Bridwell White in which she "sounds the alarm about imagined threats to Protestant Americans from Catholics and Jews." In the book she asks rhetorically "Who are the enemies of the Klan? They are the bootleggers,...
(1928).
An additional chapter, Rome’s Political Defeat defends the Pillar of Fire Church
Pillar of Fire Church
The Pillar of Fire International is a Christian organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1901 by Alma White, with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire was originally incorporated as the Pentecostal Union, but changed its name to distance itself from Pentecostalism in 1915...
's and its members' role in two violent incidents that occurred near Zarephath, New Jersey
Zarephath, New Jersey
Zarephath is an unincorporated area of Franklin Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It was the communal home to the Pillar of Fire Church, and was the worldwide headquarters of Pillar of Fire International and housed the church's college, Somerset Christian College, and radio...
, the church's headquarters.
It is devoted nearly entirely to promoting White's deeply held fears and hatred of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and of Roman Catholic individuals. Most of the material promoting anti-Semitism, racism, and white supremacy that had originally been published in KKK in Prophecy was omitted in Guardians Vol. I, although some more-subtle reference were still included. Furthermore, most but not all of the of the references to the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
were either removed or substituted with the following euphemisms: Patriots, Patriots in White Robes, Our Patriots, Our American Patriots, 100-Per Cent Americans, A Great Patriotic Organization, Invisible Empire, Freedom, Liberty, The Star of Hope, and Our Guardians of Liberty. Two illustrations with Klan images were retained and included in Guardians Vol. 1.
Volume II
Volume two of Guardians of Liberty contains fifteen chapters, thirteen are from Klansmen: Guardians of LibertyKlansmen: Guardians of Liberty
Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty was a book published by the Pillar of Fire Church in 1926 by Bishop Alma Bridwell White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. She claims that the founding fathers of the United States were members of the Ku Klux Klan, and that Paul Revere made his legendary...
and one from The Ku Klux Klan In Prophecy
The Ku Klux Klan In Prophecy
The Ku Klux Klan In Prophecy is a 144 page book written by Bishop Alma Bridwell White in 1925 and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. In the book she uses scripture to rationalize that the Klan is sanctioned by God "through divine illumination and prophetic vision". She also believed that the...
.
Further reading
- Kristin E. Kandt; Historical Essay: In the Name of God; An American Story of Feminism, Racism, and Religious Intolerance: The Story of Alma Bridwell White, 8 Am. U. J. Gender, Soc. Pol. & L 753 (2000)
- Christianizing the Klan: Alma White, Branford Clarke, and the Art of Religious Intolerance by Lynn S. Neal Church History June 2009
See also
- The Ku Klux Klan In ProphecyThe Ku Klux Klan In ProphecyThe Ku Klux Klan In Prophecy is a 144 page book written by Bishop Alma Bridwell White in 1925 and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. In the book she uses scripture to rationalize that the Klan is sanctioned by God "through divine illumination and prophetic vision". She also believed that the...
- Klansmen: Guardians of LibertyKlansmen: Guardians of LibertyKlansmen: Guardians of Liberty was a book published by the Pillar of Fire Church in 1926 by Bishop Alma Bridwell White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. She claims that the founding fathers of the United States were members of the Ku Klux Klan, and that Paul Revere made his legendary...
- Heroes of the Fiery CrossHeroes of the Fiery CrossHeroes of the Fiery Cross is a book published in 1928 by Protestant Bishop Alma Bridwell White in which she "sounds the alarm about imagined threats to Protestant Americans from Catholics and Jews." In the book she asks rhetorically "Who are the enemies of the Klan? They are the bootleggers,...
- The Good CitizenThe Good CitizenThe Good Citizen was a sixteen-page monthly political periodical edited by Bishop Alma White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. The Good Citizen was published from 1913 until 1933 by the Pillar of Fire Church at their headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey in the United States...
- History of Ku Klux Klan in New JerseyHistory of Ku Klux Klan in New JerseyThe Ku Klux Klan has had a history in the U.S. state of New Jersey since the early part of the 1920s. The Klan was in the area around Trenton and Camden and had a presence in several of the state's northern counties, but its largest presence was in Monmouth County, where it had a resort at Wall...