The Brief Reign of Whirl

This chapter examines how Protestant elites responded to the political and cultural turmoil of the 1920s. It argues that while the failure of prohibition and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan shattered Protestantism’s sense of unity, the mainline churches nonetheless emerged from the decade with their core ideals and institutions intact. The 1920s also witnessed the birth of several new ecumenical initiatives, including an extensive network of state and local church councils, that worked to direct believers’ energies toward urgent social problems. The church councils, in particular, would later play an important role in building support for New Deal-era economic programs and postwar civil rights reforms.