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The increased social tensions in the 1920s pt 1 - Coggle Diagram
The increased social tensions in the 1920s pt 1
Attitudes towards immigration
changed:
many immigrants were Catholics or Jews - different cultural and religious background
often poor, illiterate and could not speak English
fear that they brought undemocratic ideas and supported radicalism
fear of communism was strong after Russian revolution in
1917
American workers worried - workers from other countries would accept lower wages and take their jobs
Emergency Quota Act of 1921
limited immigration numbers from outside the western half
palmer raids and 'Red Scare'
Alexander palmer
Attorney General
palmer raids = palmer setting up the General Intelligence Division to spy and secretly join and arrest the members of radial groups
thousands arrests where made and around
600
radicals were deported
they began to take action on
7 November 1919
reputation was ruined - lied about how bad communists where
Red scare
middle class Americans feared communism as it could take away their wealth and power
the
1917 Russian revolution
was perceived as a threat as the idea of a communist government became a reality
Comintern was an international organisation that wanted to spread communism
immigrants from the east and the west brought communist and anarchist ideas with them
in
1919,
concerns increased by an outbreak of unrest and anger from industrial workers
3,600
strikes across USA including a general strike in Seattle of
100,000
workers and police strike in Bostin
in
April 1919, 40
mail bombs addressed to important politicians and industrial workers were found by the postal service.
in
June, 8
cities experienced bomb attacks including alexander palmers house which then lead to the palmer raids
the effects of the scare and raids were:
increases support of restrictions on immigration
weekend the trade union movement as some of the members were communists and had organised the strikes
Attitudes towards African Americans
Jim Crow laws
to
segregate
society
1918
black people still sat in
different parts
of
restaurants, travelled on different railway carriages and used different toilets
educational opportunities was limited
no government support ( did little to protect them)
lives where at risk from racist violence
worst= lynch mob that would kidnap the person they though guilty of a crime, beat and then hang or burn without trial
the police rarely stopped these and sometimes took part
1918
- victims of discrimination
June 1919
, Jacksons local newspaper reported that a black man arrested was to be released by the police who expected that a mob would kidnap and then burn him
events like this happened all over USA but where more concentrated in the south
even after
400,000
black people has served in the first world war
76 w
ere lynched in
1919
around
1.5 million
black people migrated to northern cities to escape racism and to find employment
they did not find equality
most had unskilled jobs, earning low wages which meant they lived in large ghettos
the black population in New York rose from
50,000 in 1919 to 165,000 by 1930
this meant that they where segregated by their lack of wealth
they also faced the anger of white industrial workers whose jobs they where competing for. sometimes turned into violent race riots
racism created a wide range of difficulties
job opportunities: lack of good education = bad job e.g. unskilled factory work
job security: more likely to lose their job when the economy struggles
living conditions: houses in the south lacked basic plumbing and electricity. lower quality
right to vote: southerners tried to stop black people from voting, forcing them to take literacy tests