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Nativism Resurges. Why Does Nativism Resurface in the 1920s?. A . World War I (The fear of Communism) 1 . The fear of Germans and Communist after World War I led many Americans to view all immigrant groups as negative. (Eastern Europeans in particular were seen as inferior - Eugenics)
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Why Does Nativism Resurface in the 1920s? A. World War I (The fear of Communism) 1. The fear of Germans and Communist after World War I led many Americans to view all immigrant groups as negative. (Eastern Europeans in particular were seen as inferior - Eugenics) 2. Effects of the Russian Revolution in the U.S. (The Red Scare) - 70,000 Americans join the Communist Party and fear overtakes the American public and government. 3. The Palmer Raids: Government agents hunt down suspected Communists. The Government jailed suspects for weeks without a lawyer, searched locations without a warrant and deported hundreds of foreign-born individuals. B. Large number of immigrants entering the country 1. People are worried what type of impact this many immigrants will have on the United States.
Why Does Nativism Resurface in the 1920s? C. Depression 1. Many Americans are out of work and struggling financially, so they view these immigrants as a threat to take jobs they desperately need. 2. The fear of a race of “mutts” was prevelant .Some eugenicists separated the "fit" and "unfit" classes along racist and nativist lines. Under this eugenics model, those considered most worthy of rearing children were couples who were middle class or upper class Nordic-Teutonic whites. Racial minorities and ethnic immigrant groups were typically classified as unfit… Eugenics supporters pushed middle and upper-class "native" whites to have large families. In some circles eugenicists went as far as declaring birth control selfish and a form of "racial suicide." The same people believed that blacks and other minorities should not reproduce. Although eugenicists did not promote contraceptive use, fearing that the "unfit" would not use the methods properly, sterilization was often promoted as the best option to limit their numbers. Margaret Sanger (birth control advocate) however did use these ideas to help her cause.
What Does Nativism Look Like in the 1920s? A. The Sacco-Vanzetti Case 1. On April 15, 1920 two men robbed and murdered two employees of a Massachusetts’ shoe factory. 2. 3 weeks later Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were arrested for the crime. Both were Italian immigrants and anarchists. 3. Both men gave alibis and evidence was questionable at best. However, a jury of their peers found them guilty and they were sentenced to death. “In all my life I have never stole, never killed, never spilled blood…we were tried during a time…when there was hysteria of resentment and hate against the people of our principles, against the foreigner…I am suffering because I am radical and indeed I am radical; I have suffered because I am Italian and indeed I am Italian…If you could execute two times, and if I could be reborn two other times, I would live again to do what I have done already.” - Bartolomeo Vanzetti
How did the Klan Adapt? 1. Klan’s Reason for Foundations in the 1860s - Born and flourished in the South. Its goal was to use threats and violence to intimidate newly freed African Americans 2. The Klan’s targets in the 1920s - Blacks -Catholics – Jews - - Immigrants - Other groups said to be “Un-American” 3. The Klan Grows Using professional promoters Klan membership grew exponentially. By 1924 membership had reached 4 million and had spread far beyond the South into Northern cities. What “hate” groups” do you know of today and what should be done about their existence? Should these groups be protected by the 1stAmendment’s freedoms?
