The main political & social challenges facing America. Why did immigration become such a major issue in US society? Was America a country of religious & racial intolerance ? Was the 1920s a decade of organised crime and corruption? Open door Ellis Island Xenophobia Anarchists Closed door Lit Test (1917) Emergency Quota (1921) National Origins Act (1924)  Red Scare  Industrial Strikes  Palmer Raids  Sacco & Vanzetti Religion Bible Belt Fundamentalism  Darwin’s Evolution  Jonny Scopes  Monkey Trial  Darrow vs. Bryan Race Native Americans Black Americans Reservations Segregation Jim Crow Laws KKK Great Migration NAACP – Marcus Garvey UNIA – William Du Bois Prohibition Organised Crime Gangsters  18 th Amendment  Volstead Act  Speakeasies  Bootleggers  Rumrunners Government corruption o Warren Harding o Ohio Gang o Teapot Dome Scandal o Government Funds  Gang warfare & violence  Al Capone  St Valentines Day Massacre

Why did immigration become such a major issue in US society? Open Door Ellis Island The US followed an Open Door policy to immigration to encourage people from Europe to move to America. Immigrants had to go through control areas like Ellis Island to get in to the US. Push Factors Pull Factors Many people lived poverty in their own country & also suffered religious and political persecution. The USA promised the opportunity to own land, property and make a better life for themselves. Xenophobia Anarchists Many Americans were xenophobic – scared of foreigners & their beliefs. Americans thought that many of the poorer immigrants were anarchists – people who do not believe in government. Red Scare Palmer Raids The revolution in Russia led to a Red Scare in America. Many Americans thought that Eastern European immigrants wanted a communist USA. A bomb at the home of the Attorney General’s, A. Mitchell-Palmer led to him arresting 6000 people. Most hadn’t done a thing. One example of the overreaction to the Red Scare was the case of two Italian immigrants Sacco & Vanzetti. They were arrested and charged with armed robbery and murder, there was little evidence against them, yet they were convicted of the crimes and executed. Sacco & Vanzetti

Was USA a country of religious & racial intolerance ? Bible Belt Fundamentalism The rural south & mid-west of America was called the Bible Belt because religion was still the main feature of society. Many people were Christian Fundamentalists, believed the Bible word for word. Evolution Monkey Trial When Biology teacher Jonny Scopes ignored State Law and continued to teach Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory, he was arrested and put on trial. The Scopes Trial became known as the Monkey Trial. Although Scopes lost, the trial ridiculed fundamentalism. Native Americans Reservations The 19 th century saw Native Americans forced to live on Reservations. Native’s were treated badly and did not have the same rights as White Americans until Even after this most lived in poverty. Black Americans Segregation Black American’s in the South were forced to live in segregation under the Jim Crow Laws. They were supposed to be equal but were not. Racist WASP KKK members lynched and persecuted black people. Marcus Garvey (UNIA) and William Du Bois (NAACP)campaigned for black rights. Garvey said black was beautiful, Du Bois campaigned for equal rights. The Great Migration saw many black people move North for a better life free from segregation, only to wind up in a Ghetto. NAACP UNIA

Prohibition Called the Noble Experiment, the Prohibition era became law in 1919 with the 18 th amendment and the Volstead Act. It was now illegal to make, sell, consume and transport alcohol in the US. It was impossible to enforce and failed miserably. Bootleggers Rumrunners Although alcohol was illegal, many people still continued to make (moonshine), transport (rumrunners), sell (bootleggers) and consume it in illegal bars (speakeasies). Illegal booze became Big Business – organised criminal gangs quickly took control. Organised Crime Gangsters Organised criminal gangs or gangsters were rife in US cities during the 20s. Italian Mafia gangs led by Al Capone controlled the illegal alcohol industry. They bribed & intimidated police, prohibition officers and judges. They were very violent & prepared to kill. St Valentines Day Massacre On 14 th Feb 1929, Al Capone sent some of his men dressed as police officers to arrest men working for rival gang boss Bugs Moran. While Moran’s men faced the wall, they were gunned down by Thompson Sub- machine guns. It was called the St Valentines Day Massacre. Ohio-born President Warren Harding gave important cabinet jobs to his friends and became known as the Ohio Gang. Some of his friends were convicted of corruption for selling government owned oil fields in Teapot Dome, Wyoming. One man Albert Fall was sent to jail. Teapot Dome Scandal Was the 1920s a decade of organised crime and corruption?