Immigration

• The Red Scare

  The Red Scare in the 1920s was the belief that immigration meant that communists were everywhere in the USA
• The Red Scare

  Number of strikes increase due to the introduction of trade unions

  100,000 members of the boston police force went on strike
• The Red Scare

  1919 - anarchists set of bombs, nearly killing Alexander Palmer

  Palmer raids - around 6000 suspected communists were arrested and put in prison across 33 cities

  Many of these people had no association, showing the unjust treatment of immigrants in USA
• Immigration in the 1920s

  USA was often called a 'melting pot' - it was home to many different ethnic backgrounds

  WASPs - White Anglo-Saxon Protestants

  By 1920 more than 40 million immigrants lived in the USA
• Immigration in the 1920s

  1917 - law was created to keep out any immigrants over the age of 16 who couldnt read over 40 words

  1921 - Immigration Quota Law only aloud 350000 immigrants to enter America each year

  1924 - National Origins Act cut to 150000 immigrants who were allowed to come to America each year
• The Sacco + Vanzetti Case

  Sacco + Vanzetti identified as anarchists and spoke very little English - they were accused of committing armed robbery and murder.
• What did Sacco + Vanzetti's trial show about the USA?

  Many US citizens distrusted immigrants - S and V were immigrants and anarchists which led to the public assuming they were guilty

  Most immigrants did not receive fair legal treatment - the Judge was extremely biased and racist
• The Jim Crow Laws

  African-Americans did not have civil rights. They had to pay a poll tax and take literacy tests to vote.

  African-Americans received more discrimination in the South. By 1929 most African-Americans lived in the south
• The Jim Crow Laws

  Jim Crow Laws forced segregation which included:

  Schools

  Hospitals

  Churches

  toilets

  theatres / cinemas

  Restaurants

  Parks

  Seating in public transport
• KKK

  Preached the idea of 100 percent Americanism and demanded a purification of politics, strict morality and better enforcement of prohibition
• KKK Methods

  Whipping

  Branding with acid

  Castration

  Hot tar and feathers

  Lynching
• KKK methods

  Had their own secret language - 'klonversations'

  Had their own handbook - kloran
• Birth and Rebirth of the KKK

  KKK was founded in the 1860s to terrorise African-Americans in the Southern States.

  Rebirth - In 1915 film Birth of a Nation told the story of a group of Klansmen saving white families from gangs of violent black criminals
• Birth of a Nation - KKK

  Glorified the Klan as an organisation intent on protecting decent, law-abiding citizens.

  Attracted huge audiences since cinema was booming at the time and Klan membership reached around 5 million by 1925
• Appeal of the KKK

  Most members were poor white people, mainly in the Southern and Western states.

  Farmers - blamed the problems of the 'boom' on African-Americans, Jews, Catholics and immigrants.

  Klansmen saw themselves as defenders for their protestant religion

  Also regarded their organisation as a defence against what they saw as decline with moral standards.

  Attacked drunks and gamblers in an attempt to 'clean up' American Society
• Decline of the KKK

  1925 - David Stephenson (Grand Wizard) was convicted of brutal kidnapping, rape and murder of a young woman.

  He exposed many secrets of the KKK in his trial.

  Was sentenced to life imprisonment and within a year, KKK membership had fallen from 5million to 300000
• Pull Factors for Immigrants - Land

  America is a vast country with millions of cheap + fertile farmland

  Also rich in natural resources such as coal, iron, cotton and timber
• Pull Factors Immigrants - Opportunities

  Many new jobs due to thr continuous increase in the car and chemical industry

  America beginning to lead the world in steel, coal and textile production
• Pull Factors Immigrants - Pay + Conditions

  American worker were earning nearly 2x as much as workers in any other country

  Standard of living in the US was the highest it had ever been in the country's history
• Pull Factor for Immigrants - American Dream

  American dream - idea that everyone has the right to achieve success and prosperity
• Pull Factor Immigrants - American Dream

  Declaration of Independence states that 'all men are created equal' with the right to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness'
• Pull Factor Immigrants - American Dream

  Immigrants believed they would be free to live their own lives with freedom, speech and religion
• Push Factor Immigrants - Lack of Opportunity

  Wealthy upper-class tended to own the best land --> very difficult for the lower-class to improve their lives
• Push Factor Immigrants - Poverty

  In 1900s, vast majority of Europeans lived in poverty including poor health, bad diet and an endless struggle to feed themselves
• Push Factor Immigrants - persecution

  People were persecuted for their religious or political beliefs

  Russia - Restrictions for Jews on schools + there were common attacks against jews
• Push Factor Immigrants - Lack of Space

  Many European towns + cities were overcrowded --> land was short in supply and more expensive than in the USA
• What did Communists believe?

  All workers should join together and share all wealth equally
• Red Scare

  America was dedicated to enterprise + business and found communism 'un-American'
• Red Scare 1917

  America had let in around 1.5 million Russians in the past few years
• Red Scare

  American communist party set up in 1919 - created fear that it's member would try and start a communist revolution
• Red Scare

  1820 - 1920: 35 million Immigrants came to America
• Sanco + Vanzetti Aftermath

  People went on strike is support of the 2 men

  23 August 1927 - they were executed on the electric chair

  1977 - Governer of Massachusetts granted them a formal pardon and accepted that it was unfair