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Explore the intolerance towards various groups in the 1920s, including African-Americans, immigrants, and Communists, and its impact on civil rights movements like the Red Scare and immigration restrictions.
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Aim: Towards what groups was intolerance directed to during the 1920s?
2. Intolerance and Civil Rights • World War I made some Americans intolerant-not 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.
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%)
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.
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.
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.
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.
