US History 1920’s Unit 1920’s: DIVISION & INTOLERANCE

FUNDAMENTALISM Modernists vs. Fundamentalists Modernists: were Protestants who sought to adapt their faith to the new scientific theories such as evolution. Did not take the Bible as 100% literal. Fundamentalists: insisted that the Bible should be understood as God’s word. Supported creationism and were troubled by evolution.

SCOPES TRIAL Who is John Scopes? This case revolved around a state law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools. John Scopes, a biology teacher, deliberately broke the law to test its constitutionality. The Trial: The trial drew journalists from all over the country. At the trial, the nation’s most prominent defense attorney, Clarence Darrow, volunteered to help Scopes. William Jennings Bryan, former Secretary of State, assisted the prosecution. Scopes was convicted but was later overturned on a technicality.

NATIVISM RESURGES In The 1920’s: Nativism and racism increased. The influx of immigrants led to cultural tensions. The fear and prejudice of Germans and Communists led them to be mistreated. Immigrants and military men and women competed for the same jobs during a time of high unemployment and a high cost of living. In The 1920’s: Nativism and racism increased. The influx of immigrants led to cultural tensions. The fear and prejudice of Germans and Communists led them to be mistreated. Immigrants and military men and women competed for the same jobs during a time of high unemployment and a high cost of living.

AMERICANIZATION? Millions of immigrants entered the US between the 1880’s and 1920’s. Many feared the “Anglo-Saxon” heritage would be “mongrelized” by all of the Europeans. Italians, Russians, Greeks were viewed as the “others” because many were Catholics and Jews and spoke other languages. Americanization: was defined as the notion that all American immigrant groups should leave behind their old ways and melt into mainstream tradition. Some challenged this idea and supported more of a melting pot and cultural pluralism (the idea that each cultural group should retain its uniqueness and not be forced to change by a restrictive culture).

CONTROLLING IMMIGRATION Emergency Quota Act: In 1921, President Harding signed the Emergency Quota Act, limiting immigration to 3% of the total number of people in any ethnic group already living in the United States. This discriminated heavily against Southern and Eastern Europeans. The National Origins Act of 1924: made immigrant restriction a permanent policy. Lowered the quotas to 2% of each national group living in US. Immigrants from the Western Hemisphere were exempt from these quotas. Eventually limited immigration in 1929 to 150,000 a year. Appeasing Fears: This appeased the widespread fear of the alien during these years, when anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, nativism, and racism influenced so many ideas and politics.

THE RISE OF THE KKK The KKK (Ku Klux Klan): led the movement to restrict immigration. The new Klan not only targeted freed African Americans, but also Catholics, Jews, immigrants, and other “un-American” groups. The New Klan: The Ku Klux Klan, an organization formed to redeem the South after Reconstruction, enjoyed a revival in the 1920’s. Resurgence was inspired by a very famous movie of the time, “Birth of a Nation.” It was overtly racist and idealized the KKK. The Klan of the 20’s saw itself as the embodiment of Protestant and southern values. This Klan, in this new era, enlisted members from the northern states, especially in the big cities. The “New Klan” pledged to defend America from race- mixing, Jews, Catholics….not just African Americans. The new KKK was founded in Georgia in 1915 by a preacher named William J. Simmons. The Oregon Klan: Big time anti-Catholic in West. In Oregon Klan members got themselves elected to the government and outlawed private schools meaning to attack the Catholic parochial school system there. Oregon’s Catholics fought back and eventually went to the Supreme Court. In the case Pierce vs. Society of Sisters, upheld the Church’s right to run its own school system. Decline in Numbers: By 1924, the KKK had over 4 million members and stretched beyond the south into northern cities. Scandals and poor leadership led to the decline of the Klan in the late 1920’s. Politicians who supported them were voted out of office.