History - A nation of contrasts

• Government legislations

  • The literacy act, 1917
  • The Emergency quota act, 1921
  • The national origins act, 1924
  • The Immigration act, 1929
• The literacy act, 1917


  Immigrants were required to read a short passage in english, and pay a fee of $8
• The Emergency quota act, 1921


  Immigration was limited to 357,000 per year. This particularly reduced the number of immigrants from eastern europe
• The national origins act, 1924


  The quota was reduced to 2% of the 1890 census. This further penalised immigrants from southern and eastern europe
• The Immigration act, 1929


  Limited immigrants to 150,000 per year. Asian immigration was banned. Northern, and western European immigrants were allocated 85% of immigrant places
• By 1930, immigration from Japan, China, and Eastern Europe had virtually ceased
• The government attempted to americanise immigrants. The Federal Bureau of Nationalisation organised naturalisation proceedings and patriotic "Americanization Day" rallies
• The Red Scare


  An almost hysterical fear of communism
• The growth of communist parties in the US alongside the increase in immigrants from Eastern Europe convinced many Americans a communist revolution in the USA was possible
• The Red scare was made worse by industrial unrest 1919-1920. There were 3,600 strikes in 1919 against poor working conditions
• Some thought these strikes were an indication of a communist revolution
• The press claimed the bombing of Mitchell Palmer's home was evidence of an oncoming communist revolution
• Palmer organised illegal raids against left wing groups. Over 6,000 were arrested across 36 cities, including: immigrants, trade unionists, jews, and black people
• Several hundred Russian immigrants were deported on the "soviet ark"
• Sacco and Vanzetti case

  May 5th 1920, arrested, and charged with the murder of Fred Parameter, with a trial lasting 5 weeks, starting in May of 1921
• Evidence for the prosecution

  • Anarchists who hate capitalism
  • Vanzetti was an armed robber (in 1919)
  • 61 witnesses
  • Carrying guns
  • Told lies in their statements to the police
  • Forensic evidence matched the gun that killed the man to Sacco's gun
  • Vanzetti refused to take stand at trial
• Evidence for the defence

  • Vanzetti refused to take stand because he feared his political activities would be the focus
  • Lied because they feared discrimination
  • 107 witnesses swore they saw them someplace else (many were italian immigrants with poor english)
  • The 61 witnesses changed their stories
  • Guns evidence could've been rigged
  • Several others confessed
• In the 1970's the governor of Massachuettes granted Sacco and Vanzetti a formal pardon, and agreed a mistrial had taken place
• Religious fundamentalism & the bible belt

  Rural areas, like Alabama, and Tennessee, church attendance remained strong. This was the bible belt - many were christian fundamentalists and protestants
• Beliefs of religious fundamentalists


  • The bible word for word
  • Banning indecent bathing suits
  • Disliked jazz and lively lifestyle of cities
  • Banning gambling on sundays
  • Alcohol- makes people more likely to sin
  • They also disliked the behaviour of some women
• Aimee Sample McPherson


  One of the most famous fundamentalist preachers. She toured the US in the early 1920's raising money. She raised more than $1.5 million for the building of her Angelus Temple
• The monkey trial


  In 1925 six states, including Tennessee, banned the teachings of Darwin's theory of evolution
• Johnny Scopes, a biology teacher in Tennessee, purposefully ignored the law and was arrested
• Clarence Darrow defended Scopes (Who was also supported by the Civil Liberties Union) and the anti-evolution case was put forward by fundamentalist lawyer William Jennings Bryan
• The trial became a renowned debate. Scopes was found guilty of breaking the law and fined $100
• Treatment of Native Americans

  During the late 19th century, the US government introduced laws to force Native Americans to live like the white settlers, and assimilate them. Reservations were put aside for them with poor quality, lacking enough game to hunt. Insufficient rations, and makeshift housing was provided - harsh lives
• Eugenics project


  Social planning, education, and reproductive control
• Native Americans were forced to reject their own culture , and merge fully into a white society
• Missionaries tried to convert them to christianity. Native American children were sent to boarding school where they were forced to learn English, and the lifestyle of the white people
• In 1928 the Meriam report for the government stated that the boarding schools were underfunded, understaffed, and too harsh. It recommended that the curriculum be changed
• In 1924, Native Americans were granted US citizenship, allowing them to vote, and have protection by the legal system, but they were still belittled and called "indians" in the act
• Segregation & Jim Crow laws

  In 1900, 12 million black people lived in the USA. 75% of whom lived in the south. White supremacy grew due to the history of slavery. Black people were segregated under the Jim Crow laws: different housing, education, transport, hospitals, etc…
• Fewer jobs opportunities, and lower wages for black people
• 360,000 black americans served in the armed forces but returned to racism
• The KKK


  The Ku Klux Klan was set up in the 1860's following the American Civil war , with a belief in white supremacy , and an aim to terrorise black people newly freed from slavery
• The KKK revived in 1915 when a film "the birth of a nation", reinforced racist stereotypes
• Industrialisation meant that more workers were moving to cities, such as: Memphis, and Atlanta. Many of these workers were "new" immigrants or black americans, this, coupled with resentment of the arming of Black Americans during ww1 led to a growth in the membership of the KKK
• By the mid-1920's it had 5 million WASP members. The KKK also discriminated against and attacked Catholics, Jews, and Mexicans
• The KKK carried out: lynchings, killings, tar and feathering, and brandings
• KKK members were rarely brought to justice as they often had members or friends in the police or court systems who also believed in white supremacy