Intolerance and Suspicion
During this decade, there was not an increase of open arms to those who had been discriminated against in the past. Rather, there was a large intolerance to many ethnic and religious groups. Groups against immigrants, blacks, and specific religious were main reasons why such intolerance spread. This intolerance led to an increase in suspicion based on a person's ethnicity and background. New ideas came with an increase of people to America's melting pot. Many nativists were not to willing to conform to these new "Americans", because they believed the past was where America's "Golden Age" had occurred.
Vocabulary:
Immigrant: a person who leaves a country to settle in another.
Anarchist: a person who finds the government to be undesirable and pushed for society to be based on voluntary measures.
Communism: political theory in which all people hold property in common and work for the common good through organized labor.
Race: group classified by common history, nationality, or skin color.
Bolsheviks: part to initiate a revolution in Russia in which the Czar would be put down and a socialist revolution would begin.
Fundamentalism: demand for sticking to theological doctrines and against the modernism ideas.
Evolution: a process of change and growth or development
Quota: A limited quantity of a particular product that can be produced, exported, or imported
Immigrant: a person who leaves a country to settle in another.
Anarchist: a person who finds the government to be undesirable and pushed for society to be based on voluntary measures.
Communism: political theory in which all people hold property in common and work for the common good through organized labor.
Race: group classified by common history, nationality, or skin color.
Bolsheviks: part to initiate a revolution in Russia in which the Czar would be put down and a socialist revolution would begin.
Fundamentalism: demand for sticking to theological doctrines and against the modernism ideas.
Evolution: a process of change and growth or development
Quota: A limited quantity of a particular product that can be produced, exported, or imported
Thinking like an Historian
Using the past: As we look at the past, we learn many important lessons that impact decisions today. Looking at intolerance and discrimination to others from the past, we can critique the methods and find proper ideals. An example being prejudice against immigrants. This question if still apparent today. In the past, they limited the amount of immigrants in order "protect" the country. Today, we still have a quota. From this, we can take how it caused mass discrimination. It led to unnecessary suspicion but also a controlled population. There is a good and a bad. Therefore, it it important that we learn the cause and effects of different actions. This can lead to the elimination of discrimination for the future.
Immigration
The views on immigration had dramatically changed through the times in America's history. At this point in time, the view was continuing to change. A view that immigration should be reduced for various reasons including fear of dangerous radicals, wages declining, and economic disadvantages. A question of immigration quotas grew. The answer was to make quotas proportional to the population at the time. Therefore, the amount of each ethnic group would not change. In 1924, the immigrants allowed into the U.S. was greatly reduces. Asians were kept away entirely from this deal. Another step to lower immigration was a requirement to pass literacy tests. Thus, nativism in the country was still very much apparent. Any immigrants entering into the country had to deal with means of Americanization, or assimilation to American culture.
Ku Klux Klan
A major example of intolerance during the period was the continuation of the the Ku Klux Klan from the Civil War. Targets of the group included Roman Catholics, Jews, African Americans, and foreigners. This nativist organization resisted any new American change and left no room outside of "pure Americanism." The people involved with this group were a close knit organization with a more forceful and violent edge. There main goal was to return to the "golden age". With much political activity throughout communities, there discrimination was spread & intolerance increased.
Red Scare
The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia led to what is referred to in the U.S. as the Red Scare. This was a nationwide scare which included the fear of socialists, anarchist, communists, and such ideals. When people began expressing views similar, the reaction was to throw them in jail without paying attention to their right of opinions. Strikers against American ideals were labeled as "Red" and fears of a communist revolution spread through the country. Both citizens and government shared this fear. Thus, the U.S. removed themselves from getting involved with foreign political affairs. This fear stuck for a bit. But in quick time though, this fear dissipated and the nation returned more to what it had been.
Sacco and Vanzetti Trial
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were two men accused of double murder. The interest in the trial grew when the evidence appeared to be flimsy and they seemed to be targeted mainly because of their immigrant background (from Italy) and radical beliefs (believed in the overthrow of capitalism.) There was only one piece of evidence that linked the two, but were convicted anyway and electrocuted. The nation was torn on this prejudice driven trial.
Scopes Trial
This famous cause in the U.S. Supreme court case The State of Tennessee vs. Scopes, also know as the Scopes Trial, involved a hot topic at the time. It was the question of what should be taught in school. Many fundamentalists of the time put much effort into returning to the teaching of the bible. A major issue that they quickly found was the teaching of how people came to be. According to the Bible's standards, people derived from God's creation of the first man and women. Being taught in schools at the time was the theory of evolution, or that the human race had developed from apes. This was the creationist standards. In Tennessee, a law was put into place to end these teachings. Challenging this law was John T. Scopes who taught evolution anyways. In the end, he was convicted, because he did break the law. Eventually his conviction was overturned on a technicality. This was one of the first court battles between the new and old age. With more modern ideas advancing, many were taking notice.
APPARTS - "700,000 Years of Progress"
Author- Alfred Frueh, writer for the New Yorker
Place and Time- July 25, 1925 New York. This was a message spread to the country.
Prior Knowledge- The Scopes Monkey Trial had to deal with the question of evolution and its teachings. Creationists believed in evolution from apes. It was an uproar for what should be taught in school.
Audience- The audience is the general public. This is picking fun at how humans are still
"monkeys", but now in way they act. All of the people involved with the question of evolution should look at this and see how others view it.
Reason- People not only derived from monkeys, but still behave like them. The lack of being able to come together shows our animal-like characteristics. There is so much arguing about how people came to be, that we lose what people appear as.
Main Idea- It doesn't really matter where we came from. But the manner in which we regard the topic of evolution turns us back into animals. We look at how we really have not changed much.
Place and Time- July 25, 1925 New York. This was a message spread to the country.
Prior Knowledge- The Scopes Monkey Trial had to deal with the question of evolution and its teachings. Creationists believed in evolution from apes. It was an uproar for what should be taught in school.
Audience- The audience is the general public. This is picking fun at how humans are still
"monkeys", but now in way they act. All of the people involved with the question of evolution should look at this and see how others view it.
Reason- People not only derived from monkeys, but still behave like them. The lack of being able to come together shows our animal-like characteristics. There is so much arguing about how people came to be, that we lose what people appear as.
Main Idea- It doesn't really matter where we came from. But the manner in which we regard the topic of evolution turns us back into animals. We look at how we really have not changed much.