How do attitudes towards immigrants, blacks, and other minorities reflect the intolerance of the decade? How does the nostalgia and attitudes from the past conflict with modern ideas of the decade?
The intolerance of the decade was due to the suspicion that
the country had towards immigrants, blacks, and other minorities because of the
things said by groups like anarchists and the KKK. Violence occurred and
arrests were made that discriminated against certain minorities and groups
showing how intolerant people were of those groups at the time.
The nostalgia and attitudes from the past conflicted with modern ideas of the decade through events such as the Scopes Monkey trial where there was conflict between the idea of creationism and Darwinism. People were having many new ideas that conflicted with past ides and this caused may trials where each side fought for their beliefs.
The nostalgia and attitudes from the past conflicted with modern ideas of the decade through events such as the Scopes Monkey trial where there was conflict between the idea of creationism and Darwinism. People were having many new ideas that conflicted with past ides and this caused may trials where each side fought for their beliefs.
What caused Immigration restriction? How was immigration restricted? How strong was Nativism?
During the 1920s, Nativism was especially strong. Immigration restrictions of this time were caused by the lobbying of Nativists, or people who sought to have the country have only native people, and other groups like the KKK. Immigration restriction was caused by the events like the "Red Scare", the Sacco and Vanzetti trial, Palmer Raids, and also the hatred by the KKK. To calm the flow of immigrants into the country, Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924. This act effectively lessened the amount of immigrants from places all over Europe, and a sharp decline in Asian immigration. This act made quotas for each nationality of immigrants to America, each being 2% of the nationality that already lives in America, but there was a minimum of 100 persons. The justification for advocating the act was that immigration had spiked after WWI and too many immigrants would dissolve the "true" American population and thus the term "American" would lose its meaning
What was the KKK? What did the Ku Klux Klan stand for? How did they show the intolerance of the decade?
The KKK of the 1920s was more like progressive reform and
temperance groups. Although people thought the Klan was most active in the
South, it had presence throughout the country, including the North, and
particularly the Midwest. The Klan was involved in some politic, however they were mainly at the local lever and pushed for their morality and temperance ideas. The KKK was also for racial purity. They sought to prevent cultural change and enforced morality through
coercive means, and the Klansmen shared hatred towards blacks, immigrants,
Catholics, and Jews. They did not like Catholics because they felt that Catholics
were not completely loyal to America if they were also loyal to the Pope. They
did not trust the Catholics and were worried that they would somehow get
control of American government and give the country to the Pope. They also disapproved the women in the
1920s. They did not like the women voting, working, smoking and drinking in
public, and their new way of dressing.
They tried to achieve their goals by physically abusing
people. The Klan
lost support for their cause after their leaders were found to be taking much
of the membership fees for themselves and going against the Klan's beliefs by being drunk. This group was a perfect example of the intolerance of the
age because they were not willing to accept all kinds of people, and wished to
have the country be comprised of the native people only.
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What were the Red Scare and the Palmer Raids? How does this fear add to the intolerance of the decade? How was the "Red Scare" an example of suspicion and intolerance?
The "Red Scare" was a fear of the communists, and anarchists that occurred after World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution. The major event that lead to the "Red Scare" was a series of bombings by anarchists in 1919. As a result of these bombings many people in America were very scared of what would happen if these groups came into power. The fear that a revolution like the Bolshevik Revolution was occurring led to many innocent people being put in jail and also civil liberties being ignored. A strong sense of patriotism in America is what led to the "Red Scare" because people were suspicious of anyone who was not a complete patriot or who was not as patriotic as others thought they should be. Union and socialist groups were some of the groups that were thought to be suspicious. The two biggest groups of this kind were the International Workers of the World, which was led by Bill Hayward and concentrated in the North, and the Socialists led by Eugene Debs. These groups were attacked and thought to be suspicious because they were against WWI. In a strike in Seattle in 1919, even though it was not violent, it was labeled as an attempt of the Reds to try to start a Revolution, and to prevent any further damage to the union, the strike was ended. Strikers and many others such as college professors were said to be Reds and the American Legion was even created to try to stop the Reds' attempts. In August 1919, the General Intelligence Division of Bureau of Investigation was created and headed by J. Edgar Hoover. Information was kept on suspected radicals and led to the arrests of thousands of innocent people just for being suspected of radical activity. The Palmer Raids lasted throughout the time period of the "Red Scare" and the raids on suspected communists occurred as a result of the bombings that General Palmer suspected the communists of being involved in. During 1920, the Scare ended almost as quickly as it began.
Looking at the fear created by the "Red Scare", it can be seen that many people, even in government, showed intolerance. For example Palmer's Raids were primarily against foreigners, and many of those who were suspected of being communists were from other countries. The "Scare" was also an example of the reluctance of America to be involved in world affairs because people were fighting to stop communism from spreading by being suspicious of foreigners and those who were not as patriotic as people thought they should be.
Looking at the fear created by the "Red Scare", it can be seen that many people, even in government, showed intolerance. For example Palmer's Raids were primarily against foreigners, and many of those who were suspected of being communists were from other countries. The "Scare" was also an example of the reluctance of America to be involved in world affairs because people were fighting to stop communism from spreading by being suspicious of foreigners and those who were not as patriotic as people thought they should be.
What was the Sacco and Vanzetti Trail? Why was this an example of suspicion and intolerance?
The Sacco and Vanzetti Trial was trial to decide whether two Italian men, Nicola Sacco and Bartolemeo Vanzetti, were guilty of a murder of a paymaster. They were known to have radical anarchist beliefs, and admitted so in the trial. At the time of their arrest, they were carrying guns and were accused of being involved in the murder and other crimes. During trial, they were found guilty after having many witnesses agree to the story. However, the majority of the witnesses were Italians and their accounts had to be translated. Sacco and Vanzetti's arrest had to do with suspicion because they were known to be involved with labor strikes and antiwar propaganda, as well as supporting people who supported revolutionary violence. When questioned by the police, they lied about involvement in radical activities, and this caused the police to be suspicious of them and blame crimes on them. In 1921, Sacco and Vanzetti were both said to be guilty, even after an attempt to show that the attack on them was purely political, and in 1927 were sentenced to death. The Sacco and Vanzetti trial was an example of suspicion and intolerance because they were mainly thought to be guilty because of their involvement in anarchistic activities, and were found to be guilty largely because of their Italian witnesses, which showed intolerance of other nationalities by the jury.
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Scopes Trial - fundamentalism/creastionism vs. evolution. Why is this trial indicative of the conflict of old vs. new in the 1920's?
The Scopes Trial brought up the issue of evolution vs creationism. It all began when William Jennings Bryan started a crusade against the theory of evolution, and by 1925 it had legislation against evolution pending in 15 states, including Tennessee. Tennessee then passed the Butler Act of 1925, which prohibited the teaching of evolution because it contradicted the teachings of the Bible. John Scopes, a general science teacher from Dayton, Tennessee, believed that biology could not be taught without evolution and decided to press charges. After days of testimonies and bickering, Darrow, the leader of the defense team, convinced the jury to support the state in its verdict rather than himself in hopes the Supreme Court would appeal the case. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Scopes, and the anti-evolution movement was crippled. This trial showed the conflict between the old and new in
the 1920s by the creationism ideas against the newer ideas of the evolutionists
and the increasing modernism of the 20s.
Vocabulary
- Immigrant - A person who migrates to another country
- Anarchist - a person who rebels against any authority, established order, or ruling power. Using violence as a means to overthrow the established order.
- Communism - a way of organizing a society in which the government owns controls all economic and social activity, eliminating ownership of private property.
- Race - a classification system used to categorize humans based on color, religion, geographical, or social affiliation.
- Bolsheviks - members of the more radical majority of the Social Democratic Party, 1903-1917
- Fundamentalism - a movement in American Protestantism that arose in the early part of the 20th century in reaction to modernism and that stresses the infallibility of the Bible not only in matters of faith and morals
- Evolution - any process of formation or growth
- Quota - the share or proportional part of a total that is required from, or is due or belongs to, a particular district, state, person, group
APPARTS - The Immigration Act of 1924
Author: US Government
Place and Time: passed by the federal government in 1924
Prior Knowledge: Immigration was increasing because of America's prosperity and restriction had been proposed in 1909
Audience: US citizens and anyone around the world who planned or had thoughts of immigrating to the US
Reason: immigration to America spiked after WWI and many nativists feared that immigrants would overcome the native-born population
The Main Idea: limit immigration of people based on nationality
Significance: It limited the number of immigrants that could be admitted into the US from any country, which lead to the end of mass immigration.
Place and Time: passed by the federal government in 1924
Prior Knowledge: Immigration was increasing because of America's prosperity and restriction had been proposed in 1909
Audience: US citizens and anyone around the world who planned or had thoughts of immigrating to the US
Reason: immigration to America spiked after WWI and many nativists feared that immigrants would overcome the native-born population
The Main Idea: limit immigration of people based on nationality
Significance: It limited the number of immigrants that could be admitted into the US from any country, which lead to the end of mass immigration.
"Thinking like a Historian"
Through Their Eyes: People in the 1920's were intolerant. The general public was extremely tense throughout the decade: Nativists felt that immigrants were invading America and threatening the native-born Americans as a society, people couldn't trust their neighbors if they had certain views, and people who had old beliefs were reluctant to accept new ideas. Some of these people took militant action to defend their beliefs, while others pushed for governmental support.