1. Conservative Reaction in the 1920s
Women of the Klan Marching in Front of the Broome County Court House

2. Historical Context: The Twenties
What comes to mind when you think about the 1920s?
Changing Gender Roles
New Styles & Behaviors
Rapid Economic Expansion
Cultural Renaissance
Political Corruption
The “Roaring Twenties”

3. Conservative Reactions to Rapid Change
Nativism
Political Intolerance
Temperance
Christian Fundamentalism
Racial Tensions
A Temperance Poster
The Twenties Were Also an “Age of Conservatism”

4. Nativism Nativism: Anti-immigrant feeling
Quota Acts (National Origins Act)… set strict limits on immigration, especially from Eastern & Southern Europe
Based on scientific racism
Reflected growing nativist & anti-radical sentiment by groups like the KKK

5. The Second Ku Klux Klan
Founded at Stone Mountain, GA 1915 by former minister William Simmons
Release of film “Birth of a Nation” in 1915 popularized & glamorized the KKK
Targeted not just African-Americans but also Jews, Catholics and immigrants in general
By mid-1920s national membership reportedly reached 4.5 million

6. The Klan Arrives Broome County
Klan activity in Broome County first noted on St. Patrick’s Day 1923 when KKK pamphlets were left on doorsteps
20,000 workers (many of whom were immigrants) in the Triple Cities during the 1920s, including 12 E-J factories
Local KKK was partly a reaction to this immigration

7. Binghamton as State Klan Headquarters
1923 Binghamton chosen as NYS headquarters for the KKK
State-wide conventions held, including cross-burnings and rallies in Endicott & Whitney Point
In 1924 George F. Johnson received anonymous letter from a Klan member threatening a boycott of EJ Shoes unless he fired foreign workers
New York State Klan Headquarters Henry & Wall Streets, Binghamton

8. Klan Rally at Stow Flats Fairgrounds
July, 1924

9. Local Klan Meetings

10. “Sister” Aimee McPherson
Religious Revival
1920s Marked a Rise in Religious Fervor
Rise of Fundamentalists
“Sister” Aimee, Billy Sunday, and Other Radio Evangelists Reached Mass Audiences
“Sister” Aimee McPherson

11. The Scopes “Monkey” Trial
-High School teacher John Scopes is tried for teaching evolution in Tennessee
-Became a debate on evolution & religious fundamentalism
-First major trial to reach a mass audience as it was broadcast live on the radio
Clarence Darrow & William Jennings Bryan

12. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
-Groups like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) fought to outlaw alcohol, prostitution, and other vices
-Also pushed for some liberal reforms like Women’s Suffrage
-In Broome County, appeared to ally with the local KKK

13. Prohibition
-Despite ratification of 18th Amendment, “bootlegging” remained common
-“Speakeasies” like P.J. Clarke’s in New York City continued to sell alcohol
Detectives Posing in Front of a Confiscated Distillery during Prohibition in Broome County

14. Race Riots
WWI sparked the “Great Migration” of African-Americans to northern cities
This led to conflicts with whites over jobs and housing, esp. as white soldiers returned
Chicago, 1919

15. A. Mitchell Palmer, U.S. Attorney General
The Red Scare
A. Mitchell Palmer, U.S. Attorney General
-Response to Russian Rev. & Bombs Sent Palmer & Other Gov. Officials
-10,000 Suspected Communists & Anarchists Arrested
-249 Deported to Soviet Union
-Labor Unions like IWW targeted

16. Sacco & Vanzetti Trial -Italian Immigrants & Anarchists
-Convicted of Murder w/out Much Evidence
-Reflects both Nativism & Anti-Radicalism
-Controversial Execution
Sacco & Vanzetti