How far was the USA a divided society in the 1920s?

How far was the USA a divided society in the 1920s?

1. Rich vs. poor

   • In early 1929, about one-third of the nation's wealth was shared by 5% of the population
   • Blacks
     • Seen as inferior; poor living conditions in the South; Ku Klux Klan
   • Immigrants
     • If they weren't WASPS, they were seen as a threat to American culture
   • Native Americans
     • Secluded on reservations
   • Workers in old industries
     • Shipbuilding, textiles, coal mining
     • Didn't benefit from the boom and were exploited with bad working conditions and low wages
     • Children were also exploited
   • Farmers
     • Struggled due to overproduction and consequent low prices
     • With tariff barriers and more competition, many lost their land due to debt
     • New synthetic fibres (rayon) reduced the demand for cotton

2. Immigration controls

   • Before WW1 there were no restrictions on immigration, however some Americans became alarmed at the growing number of immigrants
     • This led to the growing feeling that they were inferior
   • 1917 - a law was passed which imposed a literacy test on immigrants
     • Favoured WASPS
       • Fairly ineffective
   • 1921 - Emergency Quotas Act
     • Number of people admitted into the USA each year was limited to 3% of all emigrants from that country who were resident in the USA in 1910
       • Favoured Northern and Western Europe
   • 1924 - National Origins Act
     • 3% figure was reduced to 2%
       • Year of residency moved back to 1890
         • In the quarter-century before WW1 there had been many immigrants from Italy, Russia, Turkey and Greece

3. Ku Klux Klan

   • With segregation still legal in southern states, black people had the worst jobs and houses, couldn't eat/travel with whites, and couldn't expect fair treatment in court
   • In 1986, the US Supreme Court legally approved the Jim Crow laws - treating blacks as inferior, second class citizens
   • With industrial expansion in the 1920s, many moved to the north but there was still racial discrimination
     • Ghettos grew in some cities
   • Preached intolerance and spread fear among blacks, while claiming they were standing up to traditional American values
   • Reformed in 1915, now opposed to Catholics, Jews and all foreigners too
   • Members included judges, policemen and local politicians
     • This increased the power of the group and caused more people to join out of fear
   • Klansmen met in secret at night, wearing white sheets and hoods, carrying lit burning crosses
   • Blacks suffered beating, rape and lynching
   • Popularity decreased in 1925 when a leader, David Stephenson, was found guilty of the kidnapping, rape and murder of a woman on a train

4. Prohibition

   • Brought into force by the Volstead Act in January 1920
     • Prohibited the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors (more then 5%)
   • The movement started in the late-19th century because many poverty-stricken homes suffered through the alcoholic activities of the father of the house
     • Women's Christian Temperance Union and Anti-Saloon League
       • By 1914, 12 states were dry
     • During WW1 alcohol caused absenteeism from work and 2 of the leading firms supplying beer were German, which was unpatriotic
       • By the end of the war, 75% of states were dry
   • Groups against Prohibition formed in 1918, claiming the medicinal benefits of alcohol
     • Association against the Prohibition Amendment
       • More support in North
   • The week before the law was passed, huge quantities of alcohol were bought, however the law came into force without any major protests
     • Many churches held thanksgiving prayer meetings, saying their success would cut down on social abuse and absenteeism from work, and that the money saved could now be spent on education
   • Prohibition agents were appointed but their were far too few (Izzy and Moe)
     • Speakeasies began to appear, disguised as jazz clubs - by the end of the decade there were over 200,00 across the USA
       • Each year, 5000 people died from drinking home-made moonshine
         • Bootleggers smuggled alcohol across USA borders with Mexico and Canada, selling it at high prices
   • Organised crime
     • Gangsters from cities supplied booze, set up speakeasies and ran 'protection rackets', threatening to damage property unless they received money to protect it
       • Gangsters were generally immigrants from poorer backgrounds, poorly educated, however they were also clever and ruthless
         • They fought viciously to control the liquor trade
     • Al Capone
       • Gained control over Chicago by bribing local officials, politicians and the police
         • Didn't fear arrest so he operated openly
       • Employed up to 1000 men
         • Business activities worth between $60 million and $100 million per year
           • 227 murders in 4 years
       • St Valentine's Day Massacre, 1929
         • Some of Capone's gang, disguised as policemen, shot down 6 members of rival Bugs Moran gang
   • End of Prohibition
     • Became clear that Prohibition wasn't working and it was argued that the drinks industry would provide jobs for some of the unemployed after the Great Depression
     • In the 1932 election, Roosevelt promised to repeal the Prohibition law
       • This involved another amendment to the constitution - the 21st Amendment, which came into force in 1933

5. Flappers

   • Women gained more freedom, and greater wealth provided more opportunities for leisure
   • Fashions changed and the conduct of some young middle-class girls shocked their parents
     • Short hair, smoked in public, wore rouge, lipstick, short skirts.
       • Stayed out late dancing, were keen to cast aside social restraints and were a symbol of the boom
   • However, not every woman