Archives West Finding Aid

This is one double-sided 17x23 cm. sheet, folded to form four pages. It is attributed as “No. 6,” which likely refers to a series of circulars, and was published by A.H. Beach of St. Paul, Minnesota. The sheet prints a purported Knights of Columbus fourth order oath, citing it as being from the Congressional Record, and then a Nov. 23rd, 1914 to a W.H. Snowderly, pseudonymously signed by a purported Knights of Columbus member as “A Notime Friend.”

The Knights of Columbus oath is a notable fake, used by the KKK against the Knights of Columbus (a Catholic organization), and used against Catholic political candidates from the early 20th century all the way up into John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign. It was indeed published the Congressional Record, although that dates from its being used as evidence into an investigation into campaign irregularities; it is designated in that Congressional Record as “the spurious Knights of Columbus oath, a copy of which is appended to the paper.”