The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan: Right-Wing Movements and National Politics Rory McVeigh Rory McVeigh provides a revealing analysis of the broad social agenda of the 1920s-era Ku Klux Klan, showing that although the organization continued to promote white supremacy, it also addressed a wide range of social and economic issues, targeting immigrants and Catholics as well as African Americans as dangers to American society. In sharp contrast to earlier studies of the KKK, McVeigh treats the Klan as it saw itself – as a national organization concerned with national issues. Rory McVeigh is associate professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame.