1. The 1920s: Values in Conflict

2. Religion
Modernists- took historical/critical views of certain passages in the Bible; believed they could accept Darwin’s theory of evolution and still maintain their faith
Fundamentalists- believed every word in the Bible must be accepted as literally true
Creationism was the foundation of fundamentalism
Fundamentalists blamed modernists for a general decline in morality across the country

3. Revivalists on the Radio
Religious revivals swept through America periodically since the Great Awakening
1920s revivalists preached a fundamentalist message, but did so for the first time using mass media (the radio)

4. The Scopes Trial
Highlighted the debate between fundamentalists and modernists
Tennessee outlawed the teaching of Darwin’s theory of evolution in public schools
ACLU wanted to challenge the constitutionality of these laws
Convinced biology teacher John Scopes to teach evolution to his class
Scopes was arrested and tried in 1925

5. The Scopes Trial Scopes was defended by Clarence Darrow
William Jennings Bryan represented the fundamentalists, and testified as an expert on the Bible
Scopes was convicted, but it was later overturned
Throughout the trial, Darrow and the modernists had thoroughly discredited fundamentalism as fact
Questions about the relationship between religion and public schools remains highly controversial

6. Prohibition
The adoption of the 18th Amendment and a federal law to enforce it was the culmination of many decades of work by the temperance movement
Prohibition did not stop people from drinking
Became fashionable to go to clubs/bars known as speakeasies where bootleg liquor was sold
Police, judges, and politicians often looked the other way

7. Prohibition
Rival groups of gangsters often fought for control of the lucrative bootlegging trade
Organized crime became a huge business
Millions made from the sale of booze led gangs to expand other enterprises
Prostitution, gambling, narcotics
Prohibition directly contributed to the rise of organized crime and a black market for alcohol

8. Repeal of Prohibition
Supporters of the 18th Amendment pointed out the decline in alcoholism and alcohol-related deaths
Growing public resentment against prohibition and the rise of organized crime, plus economic arguments in the early years of the Great Depression led to the repeal of prohibition in 1933
The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment- prohibition was over

9. Nativism Immigration shot up after the end of WWI
Over a million foreigners entered the U.S. between 1919 and 1921
These newer arrivals were mainly Catholics and Jews from eastern and southern Europe
Nativist prejudices came back in full force
Job competition, fears of socialist or communist revolutions
Congress responded to public pressure by passing a number of quota laws

10. Quota Laws
First Quota Act of a maximum of 375,000 foreigners could enter the country
Second quota act of set even more quotas, mainly aimed at groups considered “undesirable”
1927- quota for all Asians and eastern and southern Europeans had been limited to 150,000
All Japanese immigrants had been barred
Canadians and Latin Americans were exempt from these quotas
500,000 Mexicans migrated legally to the Southwest during the 1920s

11. The Sacco and Vanzetti Case
Two Italian immigrants convicted of robbery and murder in 1921
Liberals protested the trial
Claimed the two men were accused, convicted, and sentenced to death because of their Italian and anarchist background
After six years of appeals and debates over the fairness of the trial, Sacco and Vanzetti were executed in 1927

12. The Ku Klux Klan
Most extreme expression of nativism was the resurgence of the KKK
This new Klan used modern advertising techniques to attract members
5 million by 1925; mostly middle-lower class white Protestants
Also focused their hostility on Catholics, Jews, foreigners, Communists

13. The Ku Klux Klan Dressed in white hoods
Burn crosses, apply vigilante justice
Whips, tar and feather, lynching
Developed a strong political influence
Political officials and law enforcement did little to stop violence

14. The Ku Klux Klan Many native-born white Americans tolerated the Klan
It vowed to uphold high standards of Christianity
Fraud and corruption were rife in the KKK
Leader of Indiana’s Klan was convicted of murder in 1925
Influence and membership declined rapidly
Continued to advocate for white supremacy throughout the 20th Century
Only small, splinter factions of the KKK remain scattered throughout the country

15. ? What was the difference between modernists and fundamentalists?
Give a brief timeline of what happened during the Scopes Trial
What were some unforeseen consequences of prohibition?
How is the Sacco and Vanzetti case related to nativism?
What became the most extreme form of nativism in the 1920s?