USA 1918-68 (World History)

Question 1

During the period 1820-1880 where did the majority of American immigrants come from?

Answer 1

Old immigration (1820-1880) consisted mostly of Northern European protestants:

• British
• Germans
• Scandinavians

Question 2

From 1880-1920 where did the majority of American immigrants come from?

Answer 2

New immigration (1880-1920) consisted mostly of Eastern and Southern European immigrants:

• Italians
• Polish
• Russians

Question 3

State the three main factors that resulted in the closing of Americas Open Door Policy (1921)

Answer 3

Factors resulting in the closing of the open door policy:

• Economic fears
  (High Unemployment, Immigrant Strike Breakers and Rivalry over Business and Housing)
• Prejudice
  (Racism, Social fears, Isolationist beliefs)
• Short-term events
  (WWI and Political Fears)

Question 4

How did economic fears in America contribute to the end of the Open Door Policy in 1921?

Answer 4

Economic fears and the Open Door Policy:

• Immigrants were often seen as a threat to the working class because they were often used as “strike breakers”, replacing those protesting about low pay
• Immigrants were competition for both housing and business of the poor-white community
• We know economic fears boosted anti-immigrant attitudes because the Emergency Immigration Act was introduced not long after unemployment levels rose in the post-war recession

Question 5

Why could it be argued that WWI did not have a big impact on views towards immigration?

Answer 5

Fears of immigration prior to WWI:

The Anti-Immigration League was founded in (1884)

The Federal Immigration Act (1882)
- Restrictions of convicts, paupers and lunatics entering the US

The Gentlemen’s agreement (1907)
- Attempt to segregate Japanese and White-American schools

The Chinese Exclusion Act (1902)
- Racist attempt to cut down on Chinese immigrants (Began in 1882, became permanent 1902)

The Alien Land Law (1913)
- Prevented immigrants from buying additional land (This was aimed at Chinese and Japanese settlers due to fear that they were out competing the European settlers)

The Literacy Act (1917)
- Introduction of English literacy tests for immigrants entering the US

Question 6

In which year did the American Civil war end?

Answer 6

Slavery was abolished after the US Civil War in 1865

Question 7

State three obstacles that stood in the way of blacks achieving equal rights in America up to 1941

Answer 7

Obstacles to black civil rights:

Social obstacles
(Racism/prejudice and violence/intimidation)

Legal obstacles
(Segregation laws, biased legal system, decision of the supreme court)

Political obstacles
(Divided black community, lack of voting rights, racist Democratic rule in South)

Question 8

Why was racism and prejudice was a significant obstacle to the achievement of black civil rights up to 1941?

Answer 8

Racism and prejudice as an obstacle to civil rights:

Blacks were seen as inferior to whites:

• Racism was present among all classes (lower white classes resented blacks as they were seen as competition for jobs and “Social Darwinism” beliefs were common in the elite society)
• Racist beliefs manifested into the local and wider government (e.g. Jim Crow Laws)
• Racist beliefs lead to the formation of violent racist groups such as the KKK, violence and intimidation was used to scare blacks from voting, acting as a barrier to achievement of political equality

Question 9

State examples of legal obstacles that prevented blacks from achieving civil rights up-to 1941.

Answer 9

Legal obstacles to black civil rights:

Segregation Laws:

• “White only” bathrooms, cinemas, restaurants, busses
• Segregated education system (barrier to political influence due to literacy tests)

“Separate but Equal” status:

• Allowed segregation to continue
• E.g. Plessy vs. Fergusson (1896)
• Black facilities were often poorly funded and far-from equal but no action was taken by the government

Biased legal system:
- White juries, judges and police, who were often racist prevented blacks from achieving justice in court

Question 10

State two examples of how the Supreme Court undermined equality for black people during the 1890’s

Answer 10

Examples of the Supreme Court undermining black rights:

• Plessy Vs. Fergusson (1896)
  Decision of the “Separate but Equal” status
• Cumming Vs. Board of Education (1899)

Question 11

How did political obstacles affect the achievement of black civil rights up to 1941?

Answer 11

The affect of political obstacles to black civil rights:

• The South was ruled by the racist white Democratic Party. This prevented blacks from gaining political rights and was generally allowed to continue by the US presidents as they did not wish to lose support of the powerful Southern Democrats
• The Williams vs. Mississippi Case (1898) saw the introduction of laws to prevent blacks from voting e.g literacy tests and grandfather clauses. The supreme court did not object to this as the laws applied to all voters. This prevented blacks from having a direct political influence

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Question 12

Why could it be argued that the KKK were not a significant obstacle to the achievement of black civil rights?

Answer 12

KKK as an obstacle:

• Most racist laws were already in place before the reformation of the KKK in 1915
• Lynchings peaked in 1890’s before the KKK had reformed

Question 13

State two overall reasons for the growth of the Civil Rights Movement after 1945.

Answer 13

Reasons for growth of Civil Rights:

• Changing attitudes (Black servicemen, continued racism and discrimination)
• Campaigning (Black organisations, black leaders)

Question 14

How did changing social attitudes contribute to the growth of the Civil Rights Movement?

Answer 14

Changing Social attitudes and growth of Civil Rights:

WWII

• Hitler gives racism a bad name and people begin to change their views
• Black servicemen are exposed to non-segregated units in other countries like Britain
• The “Double V” campaign was started, spreading the message of victory in the war but also victory “at home” i.e. achievement of equality in US

Continued racism

• During the war racism continued e.g. there were 75 lynching incidents and Race Riots in places like Chicago and Detroit
• The Emmett Till case (1955)
• The Little Rock school protest (1957)
• All such incidents were published and were directly visible to the public, showing the true horror of racismv

Question 15

How did campaigning contribute to the growth of the Civil Rights Movement?

Answer 15

Campaigning and growth of Civil Rights:

Black organisations
- a number of effective black organisations were formed after WWII (e.g. SCLC) and others simply became for effective (NAACP)

• These organisations were more effective than they were prior to the war for two key reasons 1)They were more united in their aims than they had been 2)Black servicemen had grown from their experience at was and were more determined to gain equality
• The NAACP helped to organise legal cases against segregation such as Board of Education Topeka (1954) and the “Little Rock 9” school campaign
• The NAACP and SCLC helped with the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955) and other organisations assisted with peaceful protesting like the sit-ins and freedom rides

This links to the emergence of effective black leaders

Question 16

What is the significance of the Brown v. Board of Education Topeka (1954) case?

Answer 16

Brown v. BOE:

• Linda Browns father filed a case against BOE Topeka after she was denied access to the elementary schools.
• The case claimed that schools for black children were NOT equal to white schools
• Segregation in schools was ruled unconstitutional
• Even though this case did not provide a solution to the integration of segregated schools, it encouraged further civil rights action e.g. The “Little Rock 9” (1955)

Question 17

What is the significance of the Plessy v. Ferguson case (1896)?

Answer 17

Plessy v. Ferguson:

• The case in which the Supreme Court upheld the decision that racial segregation was constitutional under a “separate but equal” status
• Black facilities were often far from equal and this case legally permitted the continuation of Jim Crow laws in the South of America

Question 18

How did effective black leadership contribute to the growth of the Civil Rights Movement after 1945?

Answer 18

Black leadership and the growth of CRM:

• It should be noted that the invention of TV played a big part in the expansion of the CRM, as focus was often put of key figures such as…

Martin Luther King
- Helped directly with a lot of peaceful campaigning e.g. set up the SCLC and lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955

• Organised events such as the March on Washington (1963) and the Selma-Montgomery March (1965)
• Gave many inspirational speeches (which often featured in the media). His words appealed to all races, they were not just designed for blacks
• His advocation of non-violent protesting gave the CRM positive attention in the media but at the same time highlighted the horror of racism e.g. the Birmingham campaign (1963) publicised the brutality of racist police chief “Bull Connor”
• His peaceful protest methods inspired many others to use similar non-violent methods of protest e.g. sit-ins

Malcom X
- Was an advocate of black power and helped to gain support from more radical parts of the black community

• X was most effective in the Northern states, where blacks had little to gain from protests against the segregation that existed in the South but faced economic problems

Question 19

What was the name of the racist police chief in Birmingham?

Answer 19

“Bull Connor”

Question 20

What was so significant about the Birmingham, Alabama campaign (1963)?

Answer 20

Birmingham (1963):

• Birmingham was known as one of the racist capitals of America
• MLK and others targeted this area as a result of the racism that existed there
• Women and children alike marched in the peaceful protest and were met with firehoses and police dogs
• So many protestors were locked up that the prison became full and they had to start putting people in the fairgrounds
• This gained a lot of media attention and highlighting the brutality of racism
• The campaign was victorious and local officials agreed to desegregate and release the jailed demonstrators
• In particular, the participation of children in this campaign inspired many black and white Americans to join the movement
• This also prompted President Kennedy to introduce new Federal Civil Rights Legislation

Question 21

Why could it be argued that Margin Luther King was not very significant in the growth of the Civil Rights Movement?

Answer 21

Evaluation of MLK and the CRM:

• MLK did not become well known until 1955, by which time progress was already being made e.g. the Board of Education Topeka judgement had been made

Question 22

Give three pieces of evidence that suggest the Civil Rights movement was successful in achieving equality for blacks up to 1968. (Include dates)

Answer 22

Success of the Civil Rights Movement (successes):

• Brown v. Board of Education Topeka (1954); ruled segregation in schools unconstitutional. Also helps with economic prospects
• Desegregation in Birmingham after the protest (1963)
• Civil Rights Act (1964); banned all petty segregation (washrooms, retraunts, parks etc.)
• Voting Rights Act (1965); removal of bias in the legal system + introduction of requirement for evidence from Southern States
• Housing Riots in the mid/late 60’s lead to the Fair Housing Act (1968); this banned discrimination in the selling and renting of property

Question 23

Give three pieces of evidence that suggest the Civil Rights Movement was unsuccessful in achieving equal rights for black Americans up to 1968.

Answer 23

Effectiveness of the CRM (failures):

• 58% of Southern schools remained segregated in 1968 despite the ruling of the Brown v. BOE case
• Blacks in the North of America gained very little from the Civil Rights Act as segregation was not a big issue in the North
• Black participation in politics remains lower than whites overall

Little economic progress was made and in 1968:

• 40% of blacks were still living jin poverty
• Blacks were 2x more likely to be unemployed
• Blacks were 3x more likely to be in low pay work

Question 24

How did short term events influence the closing of the “open door” policy?

Answer 24

Short term events and the Open Door Policy:

Political fear
- Immigrants were associated with radical political ideas like communism and anarchism. WWI reinforced these fears alongside other events such as..

• The Russian Revolution, which lead many people to think that immigrants, particularly from Russia or Southern Europe, intended to overthrow the government
• Postbox bombings carried out by self-proclaimed anarchists lead to biased beliefs towards Southern Europeans and the unfair trial of Sacco and Vanzetti (1920)

WWI
- Created tension between races, particularly the Germans, who were the enemy during the war

• Irish were viewed as disloyal as the IRA fought for independence from Britain and opposed American participation in the war
• Increase in economic fear as jobless soldiers came home looking for work + the decline in wartime industry

Question 25

How did underlying prejudice contribute to the closing of the “open door” policy (1921)?

Answer 25

Underlying prejudice and the Open Door Policy:

• The “old immigration” immigrants (WASPs) were prejudiced against immigrants with alternative beliefs..
• Often discriminated against Catholics (Irish and Italian immigrants) e.g. the KKK reformed (1915) to attach Catholics, Jews and other immigrant groups
• Laws were targeted at the Asian community e.g. the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) and the Alien Land Law (1313)
• Isolationism (the idea that America must be separate and unique from other countries) lead to fear that immigrants might ruin the “American Way of Life”, especially because many new immigrants did not speak English..
• The Literacy Act (1917) saw the introduction of English literacy tests to immigrants entering the US
• Immigrant ghettos (e.g. the Bronx) were seen as high crime areas, this lead to more negative stereotyping

Question 26

Why could it be argued that economic fear of immigrants was not that influential to the closing of the open door policy?

Answer 26

Evaluation of economic fears towards immigration:

• Fears were not true among all Americans. Big businesses tended to support immigration, while the working class were prejudiced towards immigrants as they were viewed as competition for jobs and housing
• Although the post war recession escalated economic fear, a number of restrictions on immigration had been introduced prior to this e.g. (1917) Immigration Act which saw the introduction of literacy tests

Question 27

Evaluate the importance of prejudice in the closing of the open door policy.

Answer 27

Evaluation of prejudice and attitudes to immigration:

• Racism and prejudice had existed long before the changes to the laws around immigration so cannot be solely accountable for the closing of the “open door”
• It can be argued that the growing numbers of immigrants in the late 19th century increased the racial tension and thus made restrictions more likely to be pushed
• Isolationism alone was simply a by-product of racism and alone would not have been very significant, however it can be argued that it did increase the pressure to take action on immigration

Question 28

State three post-WWI events that influenced attitudes towards immigrants in America.

Answer 28

Short-term events and restrictions on immigration:

• (1917) The Russian Revolution
• (1919) The ‘Red Scare’
• (1920) The Post-War Recession

Question 29

State 3 pieces of evidence that demonstrate significant obstacles to black civil rights (prior to 1941)

Answer 29

Evidence of obstacles to black civil rights:

• (1890) Southern Voting Act
  (Literacy tests)
• (1896) Plessy v. Ferguson (segregated railroads are constitutional - “separate but equal”)
• (1898) Williams v. Mississippi
  (Restrictions on voting to stop violence)
• (1899) Cumming v. BOE
  (Segregated schooling is constitutional)

Question 30

State three key events that supported the growth of the Civil Rights Movement.

Answer 30

Evidence for growth of CRM:

• (1954) Brown v. BOE Topeka
  (Segregated schooling ruled unconstitutional)
• (1955) Montgomery Bus Boycott
  (Gained publicity, popular emergence of MLK and united black organisations, black and white cooperation)
• (1955) The Emmet Till Case
  (Negative publicity of racism)
• (1957) Little Rock 9
  (Demonstrates National enforcement civil rights + negative publicity of racism)
• (1963) Birmingham campaign
  (Negative publicity of racism)