Arthur Hornbui Bell

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Arthur H. Bell and his wife Leah Bell

Arthur Hornbui Bell (born February 14, 1891 in New York City , † March 1973 probably in Bloomfield , New Jersey ) was an American cabaret artist and racist. He was the "Grand Dragon" (head of a state) of the Ku Klux Klan in New Jersey. According to various sources, he also worked as a lawyer.

Life

Childhood and youth

Arthur Hornoi Bell was born in New York City to an Englishman. Together with his wife Leah, née Hamlin, he performed as a variety duo called "Bell and Bell". After the First World War , they performed together in front of US troops in Europe for "Y" and the "Overseas Theater League" of the YMCA . Leah Bell rode a unicycle during the performance and the two had a ventriloquist show. The show was organized by Benjamin Franklin Keith and has performed in Belgium, England, France and the Netherlands.

In the Ku Klux Klan

Around 1922 Bell became "Grand Dragon" of the Ku Klux Klan in New Jersey and remained in this position until 1940. His wife led the " Women of the Ku Klux Klan " in New Jersey and spoke regularly at clan events. The two clan organizations were considered relatively peaceful compared to the rest of the clan. In 1925 he wrote an introduction to Alma White's pro-Klan book The Ku Klux Klan in Prophecy .

In 1926 he wrote another introduction to the book Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty . As the head of the clan, he was responsible for turning the former Camp Evans military base into a summer camp for the clan. In the same year he was paid US $ 1,596.96 to save the son of "King Kleagle" (a kind of senior officer) from an infidelity charge. In 1928 he attacked New York Governor Alfred E. Smith , calling him incapable of directing the fate of the state.

Bell was also Vice President of the German American Bund . In 1940 James Colescott succeeded in replacing him as clan leader. In the same year the committee for un-American activities under the direction of Martin Dies junior tried to prove to him that he would make common cause with the National Socialists and that he had tried to bring the Klan together with the Nazis. Bell was interviewed by military intelligence and the case was ultimately dropped.

Bell later changed his beliefs and stated in the press that tolerance should be preached as a school subject.

Publications

  • The Ku Klux Klan Or the Knights of Columbus Klan: America Or Rome . 1921.
  • Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty by Alma White (introduction).

Web links

Commons : Arthur Hornbui Bell  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ David Mark Chalmers: Hooded Americanism: The History of the Ku Klux Klan 1987, ISBN 0-8223-0772-3 .
  2. ↑ Michael R. Wild, great-grandson of Arthur H. Bell and Leah: Copy of a poster and the 1920 census in New Jersey, Essex County, Bloomfield.
  3. ↑ Women of the Klan . University of California Press , 1992, ISBN 0-520-07876-4 .
  4. ^ Arthur H. Bell passport application page 2 at Wikimedia Commons
  5. ^ Arthur H. Bell passport application page 1 at Wikimedia Commons
  6. ^ A b Michael R. Wild: Investigation Report of Arthur Bell Army Air Forces . FOI / PA No. 1133485-000, Unclassified September 17, 2009, case # 690F-09
  7. ↑ Entertaining the American Army . Association Press, 1921, p. 251.
  8. ↑ The good of the Klan . Archived from the original on June 30, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  9. ↑ Dragon's Praise , Time Magazine . January 3, 1927. Retrieved June 14, 2008. 
  10. ↑ Alma White : Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty . Pillar of Fire , 1926.
  11. ↑ Klan Has Summer Resort. Buys Old Marconi Radio Station of 396 acre on Shark River. , New York Times . June 20, 1926. Retrieved June 14, 2008. 
  12. ↑ Jersey Klan Head South by Ziegler Kin. Eloping Pastor's Parents Seek $ 1,596 Paid, They Say, to Avert Embezzlement Action. He Was Freed By Court. Couple Declare They Acted Without Advice. Minister and Wife Now in Virginia. , New York Times . March 13, 1926. Retrieved June 14, 2008. 
  13. ^ Klan Dragon Calls Smith Unfit , New York Times . September 8, 1928. Retrieved August 14, 2008. 
  14. ↑ Craig Wade Wyn: The Flaming Cross 1998.
  15. ↑ Jersey Klan Leader Doubts His Dismissal. Grand Giant Says Wizard Sent Message for Bund Rally. , New York Times . August 24, 1940, Friday. Retrieved June 14, 2008. 
  16. ↑ Jersey Klan Leader Repudiates Bund. Declares Imperial Wizard Is Opposed to All Alien Groups. , New York Times . August 23, 1940, Friday. Retrieved June 14, 2008. 
  17. ↑ Klan Official's ouster Decreed , Los Angeles Times . August 23, 1940. Retrieved June 14, 2008. 
  18. ↑ January King: The bedsheets Are Flapping Again , the New York Times . December 30, 1979. Retrieved June 14, 2008. 
personal data
SURNAME Bell, Arthur Hornbui
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American cabaret artist and racist, Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in New Jersey
DATE OF BIRTH February 14, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH March 1973
Place of death unsure: Bloomfield , New Jersey