Transcript Aim: Towards what groups was intolerance directed to

Aim: Towards what groups was
intolerance directed to during the
1920s?
2. Intolerance and Civil Rights
• World War I made some Americans intolerantnot willing to respect the beliefs, practices or
behavior of others.
• During the 1920s, the feeling of intolerance
was directed at several different groups.
• For many groups, the attempt at equality was
overshadowed by intolerance. The only group
to make significant strides against intolerance
were African-Americans.
2.1 The Red Scare
• One reason for the rise of intolerance during the 1920s
grew out of a fear of communism.
• People who follow communism believe that through
the government, the people own all property.
• The government is suppose to meet the needs of the
people equally. Communists also believe that
competition is the cause of many problems and since
there is no competition, people share everything
equally.
• Under communist rule, there is no other party besides
the Communist Party.
• In 1917, the Communists took over the
Russian government.
• Before 1917, the Bolsheviks, the Communist
Party of Russia, began planning to overthrow
the government of Russia.
• When the Russian Revolution finished, the
Communist Party believed that they could
spread communism all over the world.
• As Americans read about the Russian Revolution,
many Americans began to grow fearful of the
impact of communism in the United States.
• Because communists were called “Reds”, the
period of time where communism was feared
became known as the Red Scare.
• In 1919, many Americans believed that
something had to be done regarding the rise of
the Communists.
• In 1919, the Red Scare forced the Department of
Justice and Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer
to do something regarding the scare.
• During the Red Scare, the Department of Justice
went after people who the government believed
was disloyal to the United States. This included
many people who Americans accused of being
communist.
• By the early 1920s, some 4,000-to-6,000
communists were arrested in Palmer Raids.
Question 1
• What were the beliefs of the Communists?
• People, not the government own all property.
Under communism, there is no private
ownership. The government, under
communism, should address the needs of all
people equally. Communists also believe that
competition is the root of all of society’s
problems.
Question 2
• What actions were taken under the Red
Scare?
• Under Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer,
the US Department of Justice went after those
Americans who were suspected of being
communist or being disloyal to the United
States.
A. Mitchell Palmer-Attorney
General of the US
The Bombing of Palmer’s House
J. Edgar Hoover
Images of the Red Scare
Images of the Red Scare
Images of the Red Scare
Images of the Red Scare
Images of the Red Scare
2.2 Distrust of Immigrants
• The fear of communism helped to bring about
a distrust of immigrants.
• Some Americans thought that immigrants
were spreading ideas that were harming the
way of life in the United States. Because of
this, much of the distrust caused by the Red
Scare was directed at immigrants and their
families.
• In 1920, the Sacco and Vanzetti case
illustrated American attitudes towards
immigrants.
• The case dealt with two Italian immigrants
who were accused of committing a crime in
1920. The two men were convicted of robbery
and murder.
• In 1921, the men were convicted and
sentenced to death.
• The case divided the American public. Many
people believed that since they were anarchists,
their ideas were not viewed with favor by many
citizens.
• Some felt that since the two men were convicted;
that was due to the fact they were immigrants
and with the climate of intolerance, they would
not receive a fair trial.
• Other Americans believed that the two men were
able to receive a fair trial.
• In 1927, Sacco and Vanzetti were executed.
• The growth of intolerance caused the United
States to restrict immigration.
• In 1921, the United States Congress passed a law
that set up a quota (a set number) for people
who wanted to move to the United States.
• This new law stated that the number of
immigrants arriving from Europe would be
limited to 3 percent of the number each
nationality living in the United States in 1910.
• These new laws, however, did not please every
member of the US Congress.
• 1924: Congress cut the quota to two percent for
that nationality group. The number would be
based on the number of immigrants that the
nation sent in 1890.
• Because of the new quota, the number of eastern
and southern immigrants arriving to the US
dropped to three percent of that nationality living
in the United States in 1910.
• This law, however, did not please everyone. Many
members of Congress were upset at the fact that there
were many people from southern and eastern Europe
still living in the United States.
• Because of this, the quota system was instituted in
1921.
• Then in 1924, the US Congress reduced the quota from
3 percent to 2 percent and changed the year from 1910
to 1890. (This allowed fewer people to enter the
United States.)
• In the 1924 quotas, all Asian immigrants were barred
from entering the United States.
• 1929: The National Origins Act was passed. This
act allowed for 150,000 immigrants to enter the
United States. The number of people was based
on the number from the area living in the United
States in 1920.
• The new quota laws seriously affected the
number of workers on the sugar plantations. To
fill the shortage, immigrants from the Philippines
filled the jobs. There was not a problem because
the Philippines were an American possession.
Question 3
• Who were Sacco and Vanzetti? What happened to
them?
• They were two Italian immigrants who were arrested
in 1921 for payroll robbery and murder. Their trial
caused controversy because many believed they
were convicted because they were anarchists and
because their ability of speaking English was limited.
Question 4
• What immigration laws were passed in the 1920s? What were their
terms?
• 1921: 1st quota act limited the number of immigrants from Europe to
three percent of the number who immigrated in 1910.
(100 immigrants in 1910/3 immigrants in 1921.)
• 1924: 2nd quota act limited the number of immigrants from Europe to two
percent of the number who immigrated in 1890.
(100 immigrants in 1890/2 immigrants in 1924.)
• 1929: The National Origins Act limits immigrants to 150,000 based on the
number living in the US in 1920.
(1,000,000 immigrants in 1920, the number goes to 150,000-a decrease of
85%)
Sacco and Vanzetti
Immigration Graph
Political Cartoon Against
Immigration
Article Against Immigration
•
•
•
•
"Guarding the Gates Against Undesirables"
Current Opinion, April, 1924, pp. 400-1.
The struggle continues over the Johnson bill to restrict immigration to two per cent of each national group domiciled here in
1890. The opposition comes mainly from certain groups of Southern and Eastern Europeans, and individuals representing
them. Specifically the opposition comes from Congressmen representing districts in which compact blocks of Italians, Poles,
Russians, Greeks and Slavs now reside.
Against these unassimilated and unassimilable peoples the proposed measure would discriminate. They all represent the
newer immigration. Before 1890 the United States received mainly folk from northern and western Europe. Since 1890 the
majority have come from southern and eastern Europe. By basing quotas upon the 1890 census Italian immigration would
be cut down from over forty thousand to under four thousand, the Russians from over twenty thousand to under two
thousand, and the Poles from about twenty thousand to five thousand, admissible in one year. The new bill would not
greatly reduce the number who would come in from the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France and Germany.
These groups have made no protest against a measure which aims to cut the immigration total approximately in half, from
about three hundred and sixty thousand to about one hundred and eighty thousand persons….
There is no blinking the fact that certain races do not fuse with us and have no intention of trying to become Americans. The
Poles, for example, are determined to remain Polish. No doubt this is good Polish patriotism, but it is very poor
Americanism. The Polish Diet, as the Indianapolis News points out, has adopted a resolution asking the government to
request the Holy See to use its influence with the Catholic hierarchy in the United States to permit the continued use of the
Polish language in Polish Catholic churches and parochial schools. A dispatch from Warsaw declares that the resolution is
part of an effort to stop "the systematic Americanization of the Poles"! Nevertheless, as the News declares, if we are to
permit any Poles to come here in the future, "the systematic Americanization" of them must continue.
2.3 Reaction of Blacks
• Many whites also reacted strongly towards
Blacks during the 1920s.
• During the war, many Blacks had moved from
the south to the northern cities.
• After the war, attacks on Blacks led to riots in
Houston, St. Louis and Chicago. Many were
killed, including hundreds of Black soldiers
returning from the war.
• During the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan reformed. The Klan
spoke out against Catholics and Jews, but their main target
were Blacks.
• By 1924, the Klan had recruited five million members and
had power in some of the state governments in the United
States.
• The Klan used threats and violence against those people
who opposed their ideas. The members wore white and
masks to cover up their identity.
• However, other states passed laws prohibiting masks, so
the Klan lost a lot of their power. These laws, along with
publicity and state investigations led to a decline in the
Klan’s membership numbers.
Images of the KKK
Images of the KKK
Question 5
• Why were their race riots in many cities
following World War I?
• Many northern cities were not fond of the
number of Blacks entering their communities
so they targeted them. Many Blacks were
attacked in Houston, St. Louis, Chicago,
Omaha and Knoxville.
2.4 The Struggle for Civil and
Political Rights
• Even with the growth of an intolerant nation
during the 1920s, some groups were making
progress in regards to achieving civil and
political rights.
• Some groups that made advancements during
the 1920s included women, Indians, Blacks
and Mexican-Americans.
• Women During the 1920s
- Carrie Chapman Catt developed a three-way
plan to get women the right to vote.
a) Pass a constitutional amendment that gave
women the right to vote.
b) Amending state constitutions to give
women the right to vote.
c) Giving women the right to vote in primary
elections.
• During WW1, women’s suffrage lost a little
momentum.
• After the war, President Wilson asked
Congress to amend the Constitution to give
women the right to vote.
• In 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified and
women received the right to vote.
Carrie Chapman Catt
Political Cartoon-19th Amendment
Political Cartoon-19th Amendment
Political Cartoon-19th Amendment
Political Cartoon-19th Amendment
19th Amendment
• Indians During the 1920s
- 1924: Congress passed a law which made all
Indians citizens of the United States.
- This law was written by Senator Charles Curtis,
who was part Native American.
- However, once the Native Americans became
citizens they were not ready for the changes
assimilation brought them.
• Mexican Americans During the 1920s
- Mexican Americans were useful as laborers during
the war.
- When the war was over, however, they found the
jobs that they had, closed to them.
- They also had to face new immigrants entering the
US. This caused Mexican Americans to compete for
low paying and unskilled jobs.
- Groups formed in the US to help assimilate new
immigrants in the US.
• African Americans During the 1920s
- Many were facing the same problems as the
Mexicans and that was the loss of jobs.
- Blacks had groups that were established to
advance their causes during the 1920s.
(1) Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)
was established by Marcus Garvey.
- Blacks should become independent of whites.
- Blacks should research and become familiar with
their history.
- Unfortunately, Garvey was harassed by the United
States Government who arrested him because of
his racist beliefs.
(2) The NAACP was established in 1909 by
W.E.B. DuBois. However, during the 1920s, the
NAACP was able to win court cases and
improve the conditions for African Americans.
Question 6
• What bill was sponsored by Senator Charles
Curtis of Kansas?
• A bill that would make all Indians living in the
United States citizens.
Question 7
• What conditions did Mexican-Americans face after
WWI? What did they do?
• Many Mexican-Americans lost their good jobs after
World War I because they were no longer needed. As
a result of their problems, the Order of the Sons of
America was created to improve the conditions of
Mexican-Americans in the United States.
Question 8
• How were the conditions faced by Blacks the
same as those faced by Mexicans in the years
following World War I?
• Both groups were now losing jobs as a result
of soldiers returning home. This resulted in
higher unemployment for the members of
these communities.
Question 9
• What did Marcus Garvey believe?
• Garvey believed that Blacks should be
independent of whites. Garvey believed that
Blacks should explore their history and linkage
to Africa. Garvey also believed in Black pride
by writing about the good coming from the
Black community.