Intolerance and Suspicion
- Essential Question: How do attitudes towards immigrants, blacks and other minorities reflect the intolerance of the decade? How does the nostalgia and attitudes from the past conflict with modern ideas of the decade?
The Scopes Monkey Trial
During the 1920's, many people were starting to have different ideas. There were many Fundamentalists who were against the theory of evolution and saw it as a major threat, and people wanted to get it out of the education system. In 1925, the Butler Law was passed in Tennessee, but it's constitutionality was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union. The Butler Law was a law that would prohibit the teaching of the evolution theory. John Scopes was found and used as the teacher to argue against the law. The trial brought people who were from around the world such as reporters from Hong Kong, and other types of people such as university professors, politicians, and preachers, as well as regular people coming to watch the trial. Even William Jennings Bryan came to be on the side against the teaching of evolution. In the end Scopes lost the trial, and as a result the Butler Law stood without contest. This trial helped show the conflict between the old and the new in the 1920's by the creationism ideas being contested against the newer ideas of the evolutionists.
The "Red Scare" and Palmer Raids
The "Red Scare" was a fear of the communists, and anarchists that occurred after World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution. The major event that lead to the "Red Scare" was a series of bombings by anarchists in 1919. As a result of these bombings many people in America were very scared of what would happen if these groups came into power. The fear that a revolution like the Bolshevik Revolution was occurring led to many innocent people being put in jail and also civil liberties being ignored. A strong sense of patriotism in America is what led to the "Red Scare" because people were suspicious of anyone who was not a complete patriot or who was not as patriotic as others thought they should be. Union and socialist groups were some of the groups that were thought to be suspicious. The two biggest groups of this kind were the International Workers of the World, which was led by Bill Hayward and concentrated in the North, and the Socialists led by Eugene Debs. These groups were attacked and thought to be suspicious because they were against WWI. In a strike in Seattle in 1919, even though it was not violent, it was labeled as an attempt of the Reds to try to start a Revolution, and to prevent any further damage to the union, the strike was ended. Strikers and many others such as college professors were said to be Reds and the American Legion was even created to try to stop the Reds' attempts. In August 1919, the General Intelligence Division of Bureau of Investigation was created and headed by J. Edgar Hoover. Information was kept on suspected radicals and led to the arrests of thousands of innocent people just for being suspected of radical activity. The Palmer Raids lasted throughout the time period of the "Red Scare" and the raids on suspected communists occurred as a result of the bombings that General Palmer suspected the communists of being involved in. During 1920, the Scare ended almost as quickly as it began. Looking at the fear created by the "Red Scare", it can be seen that many people, even in government, showed intolerance. For example Palmer's Raids were primarily against foreigners, and many of those who were suspected of being communists were from other countries. The "Scare" was also an example of the reluctance of America to be involved in world affairs because people were fighting to stop communism from spreading by being suspicious of foreigners and those who were not as patriotic as people thought they should be.
The "Red Scare" was a fear of the communists, and anarchists that occurred after World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution. The major event that lead to the "Red Scare" was a series of bombings by anarchists in 1919. As a result of these bombings many people in America were very scared of what would happen if these groups came into power. The fear that a revolution like the Bolshevik Revolution was occurring led to many innocent people being put in jail and also civil liberties being ignored. A strong sense of patriotism in America is what led to the "Red Scare" because people were suspicious of anyone who was not a complete patriot or who was not as patriotic as others thought they should be. Union and socialist groups were some of the groups that were thought to be suspicious. The two biggest groups of this kind were the International Workers of the World, which was led by Bill Hayward and concentrated in the North, and the Socialists led by Eugene Debs. These groups were attacked and thought to be suspicious because they were against WWI. In a strike in Seattle in 1919, even though it was not violent, it was labeled as an attempt of the Reds to try to start a Revolution, and to prevent any further damage to the union, the strike was ended. Strikers and many others such as college professors were said to be Reds and the American Legion was even created to try to stop the Reds' attempts. In August 1919, the General Intelligence Division of Bureau of Investigation was created and headed by J. Edgar Hoover. Information was kept on suspected radicals and led to the arrests of thousands of innocent people just for being suspected of radical activity. The Palmer Raids lasted throughout the time period of the "Red Scare" and the raids on suspected communists occurred as a result of the bombings that General Palmer suspected the communists of being involved in. During 1920, the Scare ended almost as quickly as it began. Looking at the fear created by the "Red Scare", it can be seen that many people, even in government, showed intolerance. For example Palmer's Raids were primarily against foreigners, and many of those who were suspected of being communists were from other countries. The "Scare" was also an example of the reluctance of America to be involved in world affairs because people were fighting to stop communism from spreading by being suspicious of foreigners and those who were not as patriotic as people thought they should be.
Sacco and Vanzetti Trial
In 1919, two Italians, Nicola Sacco and Bartolemeo Vanzetti fell into a trap set up by police to catch criminals involved in the murder of a paymaster and his guard in South Braintree Massachusetts. Since they were carrying guns at the time of the arrest, they were accused of being involved in the murder and also for other crimes as well. During Vanzetti's trial he was found guilty after having many witnesses agree to his story. However, a majority of the witnesses were Italians and their accounts had to be translated. Another example of bias that was shown early on was Vanzetti's very harsh sentence of ten to fifteen years in prison, which was especially harsh for a first offense where nobody was injured. Sacco and Vanzetti's arrest had to do with suspicion because they were known to be involved with labor strikes and antiwar propaganda, as well as supporting people who supported revolutionary violence. When questioned by the police, they lied about involvement in radical activities, and this caused the police to be suspicious of them and blame crimes on them. In 1921, Sacco and Vanzetti were both said to be guilty, even after an attempt to show that the attack on them was purely political, and in 1927 were sentenced to death. The Sacco and Vanzetti trial was an example of suspicion and intolerance because they were mainly thought to be guilty because of their involvement in anarchistic activities, and were found to be guilty largely because of their Italian witnesses, which showed intolerance of other nationalities by the jury.
In 1919, two Italians, Nicola Sacco and Bartolemeo Vanzetti fell into a trap set up by police to catch criminals involved in the murder of a paymaster and his guard in South Braintree Massachusetts. Since they were carrying guns at the time of the arrest, they were accused of being involved in the murder and also for other crimes as well. During Vanzetti's trial he was found guilty after having many witnesses agree to his story. However, a majority of the witnesses were Italians and their accounts had to be translated. Another example of bias that was shown early on was Vanzetti's very harsh sentence of ten to fifteen years in prison, which was especially harsh for a first offense where nobody was injured. Sacco and Vanzetti's arrest had to do with suspicion because they were known to be involved with labor strikes and antiwar propaganda, as well as supporting people who supported revolutionary violence. When questioned by the police, they lied about involvement in radical activities, and this caused the police to be suspicious of them and blame crimes on them. In 1921, Sacco and Vanzetti were both said to be guilty, even after an attempt to show that the attack on them was purely political, and in 1927 were sentenced to death. The Sacco and Vanzetti trial was an example of suspicion and intolerance because they were mainly thought to be guilty because of their involvement in anarchistic activities, and were found to be guilty largely because of their Italian witnesses, which showed intolerance of other nationalities by the jury.
Immigration Restriction
In the early 1900's people started pushing for restrictions of immigration by the government, and in 1917, a literacy test was required for immigrants coming to the U.S. Immigration restriction was caused by the events like the "Red Scare", the Sacco and Vanzetti trial, Palmer Raids, and also hatred by the KKK. Actual limits on immigration started to occur in the early 1920's. The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 limited immigration from each country to three percent of the amount of immigrants from that country living in the U.S. in 1910. The stricter Immigration Act of 1924 restricted immigration to only two percent of foreign born residents according to the 1890 Census. This caused almost a complete stop in immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, and a sharp decline in Asian immigration. Nativism was so strong that groups like the KKK, American Protective Association, and others started to try to prove that other nationalities were inferior.
In the early 1900's people started pushing for restrictions of immigration by the government, and in 1917, a literacy test was required for immigrants coming to the U.S. Immigration restriction was caused by the events like the "Red Scare", the Sacco and Vanzetti trial, Palmer Raids, and also hatred by the KKK. Actual limits on immigration started to occur in the early 1920's. The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 limited immigration from each country to three percent of the amount of immigrants from that country living in the U.S. in 1910. The stricter Immigration Act of 1924 restricted immigration to only two percent of foreign born residents according to the 1890 Census. This caused almost a complete stop in immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, and a sharp decline in Asian immigration. Nativism was so strong that groups like the KKK, American Protective Association, and others started to try to prove that other nationalities were inferior.
Response to Essential Question
Attitudes towards immigrants, blacks and other minorities reflect the intolerance of the decade because groups like the KKK tried to show that immigrants, blacks, and other minorities were inferior, and they attacked these groups. Also, violence occurred and arrests were made that discriminated against certain minorities and groups showing how intolerant people were of those groups at the time. The nostalgia and attitudes from the past conflict with modern ideas of the decade through events such as the Scopes Monkey trial where there was conflict between the idea of creationism and Darwinism. People were having many new ideas that conflicted with past ideas and this caused many trials where each side fought for their beliefs.
Attitudes towards immigrants, blacks and other minorities reflect the intolerance of the decade because groups like the KKK tried to show that immigrants, blacks, and other minorities were inferior, and they attacked these groups. Also, violence occurred and arrests were made that discriminated against certain minorities and groups showing how intolerant people were of those groups at the time. The nostalgia and attitudes from the past conflict with modern ideas of the decade through events such as the Scopes Monkey trial where there was conflict between the idea of creationism and Darwinism. People were having many new ideas that conflicted with past ideas and this caused many trials where each side fought for their beliefs.