How tolerant was American society during the 1920s

1
How tolerant was American society during the
1920s?

• The American Declaration of Independence, 1776
• We hold these truths to be evident, that all men
  are created equal, that they are endowed by their
  creator with certain inalienable rights. Among
  these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
  Happiness.

2
YOUR TASK Intolerance Presentations

• In pairs you are going to spend two lessons
  putting together a presentation about one area of
  intolerance in the USA during the 1920s. Your
  presentations must answer the following
  questions
• Political intolerance What was the red scare?
  Who were Sacco and Vanzetti? Why were they
  important?
• Religious intolerance What was the Monkey Trial
  about? Why was it so important? Why were people
  in the southern states of the USA so opposed to
  Darwins theories?
• Racial intolerance What discrimination did
  black people suffer during the 1920s? (North and
  South) Who were the KKK and what did they do?
  Why did people join the KKK?

3
Political Intolerance

• Many Americans opposed immigrants because they
  feared radical political ideas such as Communism
  (the Reds) and Anarchism.
• Although only about 0.1 of the population
  belonged to these groups fear spread rapidly
  during the 1920s.
• This became known as the Red Scare.

4
Immigration

• As a result immigrants were persecuted some were
  arrested and others deported despite a lack of
  evidence to suggest any wrong doing.
• In 1924 the Johnson-Reid Act fixed a quota of
  150,000 immigrants a year.
• The open door policy of America had been slammed
  shut.

5
Sacco and Vanzetti

• The Red Scare reached its climax with the trial
  and execution of two Italian men, Sacco and
  Vanzetti.
• They were both Anarchists and were arrested for
  the robbery of a shoe factory and murder of a
  guard despite flimsy evidence.
• Even though a man came forward to the police and
  several accounts from witnesses saying these were
  the wrong men, they were executed in 1927.

6
Racial Discrimination

• In 1915 the Ku Klux Klan was reformed in the
  southern states of America.
• It opposed Jews, Catholics, homosexuals and
  particularly hated black Americans.
• By 1924 Klan membership had risen to 5 million.
  Judges, local officials and policemen were all
  members.
• The KKK lynch mobs were feared by black Americans
  in the south. Thousands of black Americans were
  attacked during the 1920s and some were even
  murdered. Most crimes went unsolved as white
  officials were willing to turn a blind eye!

7
Jim Crow Laws

• Black Americans in the south also had to face the
  Jim crow Laws which discriminated against blacks
  by segregating them from the white population
  e.g. different schools, lack of access to public
  facilities.

8
Migration to the north

• Thousands of black Americans migrated to the
  northern cities but were still discriminated
  against although not officially.
• They tended to have the poorest housing, lowest
  paid jobs, poorest education and health services.

9
Religious Intolerance

• Fundamentalist Christians set up the
  Anti-Evolution League in 1924 in an attempt to
  ban the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution.
• Several states in the Bible Belt of the
  Mid-West were persuaded to do this.
• In Tennessee the Johnny Scopes or Monkey Trial
  was a famous case where this law was challenged.

10
Your Task

• Using the information on the Roaring Twenties and
  Intolerance plan and answer the following exam
  question
• It was good living in American during the
  1920s. How far do you agree with this
  statement? (10)