From: "Strong, Lee" <StrongL at MTMC.ARMY.MIL>
To: "'WSFA members'" <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Who Was That Masked Man?
Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 07:53:06 -0400
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

	The New York State anti-mask law was probably aimed at the
Antirenter protests of the early 19th Century rather than the Know-Nothings.
I recall seeing pictures (reproduced lithographs) of Antirenters in masks
with deer antlers attached.  I believe that the latter wore ordinary
civilian clothing of the period and merely denied knowledge of their
movement in public.

-----Original Message-----
From: ronkean at juno.com [mailto:ronkean at juno.com]
Sent: Monday, April 08, 2002 10:32 PM
To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Who Was That Masked Man?

On Mon, 08 Apr 2002 11:22:33 -0400 "Michael Walsh"
<MJW at mail.press.jhu.edu> writes:
> The anti-mask law dates from 1845.
> See:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1793000/1793540.stm,
> =
> http://shadow.autono.net/sin001/kkk.htm ,
> http://www.cnn.com/US/9910/23/kla=
> n.03/#1
> for various reference to the law.
>
> mjw

Perhaps, then, the law was originally aimed at the 'Know-Nothings', a
political faction of that era.

Ron Kean