Social Tensions In 1920s Flashcards
When was the red scare most intense?
1919 (Red summer)
What was the international context of the 1919 red scare?
Close to the Russian revolution (1917), people feared attempted revolution in USA. In March 1919, 3rd communist international founded. Organisation run from Moscow, which supported communist revolutionairies throughout the world .
What are the USA‘s ideologies and why do they clash with communism?
A capitalist country, that believed in free enterprise, private property and private profits. Communist ideology opposed that, eg. Businessmen scared they would lose everything in revolution.
USA was very religious. Communism is atheist.
What was the national context for the red scare 1919?
Wave of strikes across the USA. Eg. Police in Boston went on strike which led to looting and lawlessness, blamed on communist agitators.
Why were Americans scared of anarchism?
Political ideology which believes in no central government.
Known for political violence.
What event contributed to the Red Scared (anarchism)?
Anarchists launched a bombing campaign, mailing bombs to leading businessmen. They were viewed as similar as communists so this fueled the Red Scare.
What is the anti-radical division and who runs it?
Run by Edgar Hoover, set up by the US justice Department. Carried out the Palmer Raids
What were the palmer raids and what were they?
A series of raids on the homes of communist bombing suspects. 6,000 people arrested and imprisoned.
What act justified Palmer Raids?
Reference to the Sedition Act 1918.
Why did Palmer lose credibility?
He did not have a warrant, many people were released due to lack of evidence, it was not very legal.
What is the radical division?
Spied on suspected radicals, hoping to find evidence that could deport them.
When did several states pass syndicalism laws and what did they authorise?
They restricted free speech and authorised the police it make evidence-gathering raids which led to deportation of real/suspected radicals.
Why did the Red Scare 1920s end?
People reacted against the unconstitutional nature of what Palmer had done.
The press worried abt implications of anti-sedition legislation for censorship of press.
What did big businesses realise as a consequence of the red scare?
They realised that mass deportation of immigrant labour would cause labour shortages, which would be bad for businesses.
What helped calm the mood?
Restricted immigration laws, people needed to move on.
Who were Sacco and Vanzetti and why were they arrested.
They were two working class Italian immigrant anarchists. They were arrested for theft and murder in 1920, and were executed by electric chair in 1927.
What was significant about their trial?
They were not given a fair trial, because they were in an atmosphere of strong anti-communist and anti-anarchist feeling.
Who was the judge and why was he prejudiced?
The judge was Webster Thayer, and he was anti-communist and anti-anarchist.
What does the Sacco and Vanzetti case tell us?
They would have never received a fair trial, due to the temper of the times. They were executed because they were personified as and alien racial and political threat to native-born Americans.
What forms did intolerance towards blacks take form as?
Race riots, lynching, job discrimination and segregation
What were common elements of race riots 1920s?
Always involved a majority of whites attacking a minority of blacks.
Took place in the context of economic hardship and competition for jobs.
White fear of consequences of return of Black troops at end of WW1
What were race riots?
What were race riots?
What was particular about Tulsa, Oklahoma riot?
There was a large element of economic envy, because the neighbourhood was so prosperous.
It had a lot of Black business men and was known as Negro Wall Street
Made it a target in times of economic hardships for Whites
Why and how did the riot (Oklahoma) start?
False accusation of a sexual assault by a young black man on a white girl in an elevator.
Sensationalised in the newspapers.
Man was arrested and to ensure he wasn’t lynched a group of armed blacks rushed to the courthouse.
There was a standoff between two groups, followed by an exchange of shots.
The blacks retreated and were followed.
What happened during the riot?
An armed white mob entered the black residential and business area and attacked the citizens (killing at least 300)
Mob set fire to Greenwood
Fires spread quickly because planes dropped turpentine bomb on roofs.
Police did nothing
Fire brigade didnt act until the next day.
What were the consequences of the riots?
300 killed and many wounded
Centre of wealth for the black community was completely destroyed
10,000 blacks made homeless
Public safety committee (250 white men) patrolled streets.
No whites prosecuted
Riot hushed up
KKK membership rose in Oklahoma
What was lynching and why did it happen?
Hanging someone without a trial, triggered due to accusations of violence by black men, occurred as a tradition in the south,
What is job discrimination and why did it happen?
Blacks struggled to find work due to discrimination despite there being no artificial labour shortage. Could not compete for skilled jobs, due to a discrimination in education.
Why was segregation rife in USA?
Due to Jim Crow Laws, segregation in education, workplace and in social situations was rife. They could be used against blacks: eg. Literacy tests and politic tests.
How did Blacks respond to intolerance?
By fighting back with peaceful campaigning
What were features of Blacks fighting back to intolerance?
Blacks took advantage of 2nd amendment (arms)
They had military experience due to WW1
Fought back, but were outnumbered and enraged whites.
Who were the NAACP and what were its beliefs?
National association for the advancement of coloured people. Blacks should tolerate their exclusion from political power and their social segregation if whites allow them equality.
What were the NAACPs 5 agendas?
Anti-lynching laws : legal protection
Due process under the law : proper legal procedures
Improved voter registration : political leverage
Employment : reduce negative discrimination
Improved education : employment prospects
What did the NAACP do and how successful was it?
Took a long, hard slow route:
1922, mob murder a federal offence (lynching)
1923, Supreme Court ruling overturning 12 death sentences by an all white jury
NAACP magazine, circulation of 100,000
Education efforts had a limited success
What was the radical alternative to NAACP and why was he important?
Marcus Garvey, he had a separatist solution.
He thought there was no point staying in America
Founded UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) ; this was seen as a threat by Hoover(FBI)
Why did Marcus Garvey separation plan fail?
Lost momentum when sentenced to 5 years in prison for fraud. And deported in 1927
He could not convince government of Liberia to give the Americans land
What is the KKK
Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist organisation formed after the American civil war
Why was there a rise in KKK membership in 1920s?
WW1 had fuelled patriotism
Scared White southerners with the thought of what black soldiers would do when they returned
Techniques of advertisement, joining fee
What did the KKK do in the 1920s?
Violence and intimidation, political and physical. Rose to political office in states and could abuse their power. Pass laws promoting white Protestant supremacy
What forms of violence did the KKK take?
Lynching and castration and rape of black women
Why was there a decline in Klan membership and when?
Credibility destroyed my multiple scandals, many WASPS did not feel threatened by immigrants. By 1929, Went from 4 million to 200, 000
What did Congress do that affected the KKK?
Created restrictions on immigration in 1919, 1924 and 1929, this led to a decline in KKK members.
What and when was the monkey trial?
1925, took place in a rural town called Dayton, in Tennessee.
What was the wider context of the Scopes trial?
A rise in religious fundamentalism.
What is the immediate context of the Monkey trials?
The decision of the state legislature to outlaw the teaching of evolution in public schools and colleges.
What did the Monkey Trials attract?
Nationwide coverage, in the form of radio
What did the scopes trial reveal in certain regions of the USA?
How widespread and intense the climate of religious intolerance was in certain regions of the USA.
What is prohibition?
It prohibits the manufacture and sale of alcohol.
Why was Prohibition introduced and by whom?
As a result of long-term campaigns of pressure groups. Introduced by congress.
Was prohibition successful?
No, it criminalised ordinary citizens, this reduced the respect for the law.
What were major consequences of prohibition?
Crime wave in the USA
Murderous gangsters were glamourized
Violence and murder increased
Level of alcoholism rose
Millions of people did not respect the law
Loopholes found, eg. Medicine
200,000 speakeasies by 1933. (hidden saloon)
Who repealed prohibition and why?
President Roosevelt (newly elected) 1933, because he could see that it had failed and only led to bad cons
