1920-1945 Social, regional and ethnic divisions: countryside versus city; divisions between North, West and South; African-Americans and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan Flashcards
What were the reasons for the revival of the KKK?
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) had been set up in the 1860s by former soldiers after the American Civil War. It was revived for several reasons:
The release of a film, The Birth of a Nation, in 1915 which was set in the South after the Civil War and showed the Klan saving white families from gangs of African-Americans intent on raping and looting. The film attracted huge audiences and seemed to reinforce the idea of white supremacy.
After the First World War, labour tensions rose as veterans tried to re-enter the workforce. In reaction to these new groups of immigrants and migrants, the membership of the Klan increased.
Increasing industrialisation, which brought more and more workers to towns and cities. The Klan grew rapidly in cities such as Memphis and Atlanta, which had high growth rates in the years after 1910.
Many of these workers were immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe or African Americans migrating from the Southern states to the urban centres of the North.
Southern whites also resented the arming of African-American soldiers during the First World War.
Why did the KKK decline?
The Klan declined after 1925 when one of its leaders, Grand Wizard David Stephenson, was convicted of a sexually motivated murder. When the Governor of Indiana refused to pardon him, Stephenson produced evidence of illegal Klan activities. This discredited the Klan and led to a decline in membership. There were also divisions about tactics among Klan leaders and some politicians, who had originally supported the Klan, were quick to dissociate themselves when public opinion began to turn the other way, against the activities of the KKK.
How did the second world war effect African Americans?
When war broke out, there was increased optimism that things would change among African Americans. After all, if the USA was fighting fascism and racism, how could it continue to discriminate and deny civil rights to large sections of its own population?
in 1940, there were 12.9 million African Americans in the USA. The census of that year showed that there were almost 5.4 million employed, of whom 3.5 million were male. The vast majority of those employed had menial jobs, which were low paid. The average annual wage was $537 for men in 1939 and $331 for women. Both earned less than half that of their white counterparts.
When the war broke out in Europe, unemployment among whites was fourteen per cent and as war-related industries began to seek workers, whites were taken on immediately. Unemployed African Americans did not benefit from this initial boom.
A survey conducted by the US Employment Office in 1940 among the defence industries indicated that more than half would not employ African Americans.
In some cases, it was not simply the companies’ owners who were propounding discrimination, it was their workers. The owners did not wish to fall foul of their employees.
What was the Monkey Trial, 1925?
The Monkey Trial was a famous trial that showed the great differences between the beliefs of rural and urban Americans at the time.
Most people living in the towns and cities of the USA accepted Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, which suggested that over a period of millions of years human beings had evolved from ape-like creatures. However, these views were not accepted by many people in rural areas, especially the so-called Bible belt’ states such as Tennessee. Many in these areas were known as Fundamentalists. They held strong Christian beliefs, including the belief that the biblical account of the creation in which God created humans on the sixth day, was literally true.
Six US states, led by William Jennings Bryan, a leading member of the Democrats, decided to ban the teaching of Darwin’s theory of evolution in their schools. A biology teacher called John Scopes decided to challenge this ban. He deliberately taught evolution in his class in Tennessee in order to be arrested and put on trial.
Both sides hired the best
lawyers for a trial, which took place in July 1925, and captured the imagination of the public. Scopes was convicted of breaking the law. However, the trial was a disaster for the public image of the Fundamentalists. Bryan was shown to be confused and ignorant while the media mocked the beliefs of those who opposed the theory of evolution.
How were African Americans seen within the armed forces during the Second World War?
The war highlighted the racism and discrimination in the armed forces. Many African-Americans enlisted in what became known as the Jim Crow army.
On occasions, African-American soldiers were given inferior training, had few recreational facilities, and endured racial slurs and even serious physical mistreatment. Moreover, many white officers thought that African-American soldiers were undisciplined, morally wanting, mentally deficient and even cowardly in battle.
African-Americans performed the menial non-combat tasks such as cooking, guarding prisoners, delivering supplies and building camps and roads.
They found promotion difficult and the highest rank most reached was first lieutenant. As late as the spring of 1943, only 79,000 out of a total of 504,000 African American soldiers were overseas, simply because white army commanders did not want them.
African Americans had not been allowed to enlist in the developing air force.
However, in 1940, President Roosevelt ordered the air corps to recruit an all-African-American flying unit. By the end of 1945, more than 600 pilots had been trained, although they were not allowed to fly in the same groups as whites. The all-African-American squadron was based in Tuskegee, Alabama. It became known as the Tuskegee Airmen (332nd Fighter Group) and won great acclaim acting as fighter escorts for US bombers.
There had been progress for African Americans during the Second World War in employment and the armed forces, and many African Americans had become more active in campaigning for civil rights. On the other hand, discrimination and segregation remained a way of life in the Southern states.
