a clash of values chapter 20, section 1. nativism the 1920s opened with an economic recession,...
TRANSCRIPT
A Clash of Values
Chapter 20, section 1
Nativism
• The 1920s opened with an economic recession, influx of immigrants, and racial and cultural tensions
• Triggered a rise in racism and nativism
Nativism
• Immigration dropped during WWI, but sharply rose again after the war
• Majority of immigration came from southern and eastern Europe
Nativism
• Many Americans viewed immigration as a threat to stability and order
Sacco and Vanzetti Case
• Exemplified prejudices and fears of the 1920s
• Two Italian immigrants executed for a murder in which there was no real evidence against them
KKK
• Revival of the KKK during the 1920s• Targeted groups that threatened “un-
American” values• Spread to Northern cities, grew to over 4
million by 1924• Began to decline due to scandals
involving Klan leaders
Controlling Immigration• After WWI, American policies changed in
response to the recession and nativist pleas• 1921---President Harding signed Emergency
Quota Act, established a temporary quota system limiting immigration
• Discriminated against southern and eastern Europe
Controlling Immigration
• National Origins Act of 1924 made immigration restriction a permanent policy
• Limited immigration to 150,000 a year• Discrimination against southern and
eastern Europe was strengthened
Controlling Immigration
• National Origins Act of 1924 exempted nations in the Western Hemisphere
• Demand for labor in California contributed to a large wave of immigrants from Mexico
The New Morality
• Many groups that wanted to restrict immigration also wanted to preserve traditional values
• They feared a “new morality” was taking over the nation that glorified personal freedom and free thinking
The New Morality
• Challenges---• 1. Women in the workforce and college• 2. Automobile
Women in the 1920s
• Fashion changed in the 1920s• Women shortened their hair and wore
shorter clothes• The flapper became the symbol of the
American woman of the 1920s, although represented only a small number
The Fundamentalist Movement
• Religious movement that started due to fear of the “new morality” that was sweeping the nation
• Billy Sunday was the leading evangelical preacher of the 1920s
The Fundamentalist Movement
• Fundamentalist believed:• 1. Bible was true and without error• 2. Darwin’s theory of evolution was not
true• 3. In creationism
The Scopes Trial
• Historic court case where evolutionists and creationists will clash
• Also referred to as “The Monkey Trial”
The Scopes Trial• Fundamentalists
successful in passing laws that outlawed the teaching of evolution in schools
• John T. Scopes a biology teacher in Dayton, Tennessee will teach evolution and be arrested
The Scopes Trial
• Scopes set to go on trial in summer of 1925
• Turns into a media circus• William Jennings Bryan
will be the prosecutor and represented the creationists
The Scopes Trial
• Clarence Darrow, an atheist and one of the country’s most celebrated lawyers, will defend Scopes
The Scopes Trial• Parts of the trial
broadcasted over the radio
• After eight days of trial, Scopes found guilty and fined $100
The Scopes Trial
• Fundamentalist causes severely hurt though by Darrow’s cross-examination of Bryan
Prohibition• Fundamentalists able to get support for
prohibition with passage of 18th Amendment
• Prohibition lasts 1920-1933
Prohibition
• During the 1920s, many Americans ignored the laws
• People flocked to speakeasies• Organized crime developed in America
centered around bootlegging
Prohibition• Gangsters had enough
money to corrupt local politicians and judges
• Al Capone was the most successful and violent gangster
• 21st Amendment passed in 1933 to repeal the 18th