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Changes in society in the 1920s - Coggle Diagram
Changes in society in the 1920s
Immigration and the 'Red Scare'
Jan 1920 government did Palmer raids against left-wing newspapers - 6000 arrested
By middle of 1920 - Red Scare died down
Was implemented to investigate socialist and communist activity
1917 Congress overrode the President and passed the Immigration Act
General Intelligence Division of the federal government was created in August 1919
This denied entry into the USA to immigrants who could not read or write
Left wing trade unions like the International of the Workers of the World were causing much of the unrest
Opposition to immigration grew after WWI - 1921 Emergency Immigration Act placed a limit on immigration
Inflation caused industrial unrest - 4 million workers invovled
It was restricted to 3%
Immigrants from Europe came to be feared in the US as being susceptible to un-American ideas
1924 Johnson-Reed Immigration Act made these changes permanent - quotas were introduced to 2% from a region
1917 Bolshevik Revolution was seen as a threat to the US political and economic system
Hispanic workers in California were exempt - this increased bias towards immigrants from British Isles
1929 - Congress declared only 120,000 immigrants could enter each year - US turned its back on unlimited immigration
Rise and decline of the KKK
$10 joining fee got a white robe and a hood - uniform
They wore it at large gatherings where they burnt a large wooden cross - displaying power and intimidating opponents
Edgar Young and Elizabeth Tyler were behind the rise - used public relations techniques to encourage recruitment
By 1924 KKK had 4m members across the USA
1915 - turned against Jews and Catholics
State governments like Indiana (David Stevenson) and Colorado were sympathetic
KKK was seen as a way to defend rural America and WASPS who were threatened by black Americans
KKK declined when it's Grand Dragon, David Stephenson, was convicted of rape and murder of a 28 year old woman - damaged reputation of defending America
Film called Birth of a Nation in 1915 - portrayed old KKK as heroes of white
Other KKK members were guilty of bribery and corruption
Revival was influenced by The Clansman by Thomas Dixon - about the KKK and its activities
By 1929, KKK membership declined to 200,000
KKK was revived in 1915 by William Simmons in Georgia
Both Georgia Senators were Klansmen
Suffering financial problems - kept asking for money
Treasury Clark was in jail for fraud
National prohibition
Large quantities of alcohol was imported from Canada/Mexico
National prohibition had 3000 agents paid $2.5k/year
Irish and Italian Americans had drinking part of their culture - reluctant to stop
Low salary making them susceptible to bribery
Speakeasies were set up - moonshine liquor
Organised crimes was one of the reasons the prohibition failed
Prohibition was ignored - President Harding had alcoholic drinks at White House receptions
Gangs bribed the police, judges and politicians to ensure they made profits from bootlegging - led to gang rivalry
WWI created anti-German feeling with companies like Budwesier, Schlitz - patriotic to support cause
14 Feb 1929 - St Valentines Day Massacre - Al Capone wiped out Irish American gangs - gang violence flared up
Businesses opposed alcohol by workers who operated machinery
After prohibition organised crime was a major feature of US life - control of newspapers, politicians and judges
Biggest support was WASPS - resented new immigrants from Europe and saw drinking a feature from their culture
Hoover set up the Wickersham Commission to investigate the national prohibition - 1931 was reported that it was impossible to enforce
People claimed alcohol ruined lives - men drank away wages
Several states had banned alcoholic drinks before WWI like the Anti-Saloon League
Introduced in Jan 1920 - 1933
Changing role of women
Womens revolution failed to materialise
By 1928, 145 women won seats in state legislatures and two had become governors - politics was still dominated by men
Short skirts and hair was associated with flappers - women wore more cosmetics (beauty shops opened)
Majority of universities were male only - prestige female college Vassar occured courses in 'Wife, Motherhood and the Family'
Thousands of women were able to move to big towns and cities and live independent lives
Flappers were associated with urban living - majority of women were living in small towns and rural areas
Boom provided employment opportunities - secretaries, telephone operators and typists
Attempt to get female equality enshrined in law
Was applied to young, independent minded women who felt that a woman's place was not at home
National Woman's Party (Alice Paul) campaigned to have an Equal Rights Amendment to the US constitution
American flappers was an enduring image in the 1920s
Failed due to the lack of support from congress
1919 American women received the right to vote in federal elections