Anaya Nolan
The 1920s saw a variety of laws come into force, many of which were influenced by nativist ideologies and anti-communist sentiments. One of the most notable pieces of legislation was the National Origins Act of 1924, which limited the number of Europeans entering the United States to 150,000 per year and specifically targeted Southern and Eastern Europeans. This law reflected the growing societal tension and nativist attitudes towards immigrants, who were perceived as competitors in the job market and a threat to American culture. The decade also witnessed the rise of Prohibition, which led to widespread corruption in law enforcement and the growth of organised crime, with infamous gangsters like Al Capone controlling bootlegging operations and expanding into other criminal activities. In addition, the 1920s saw the enactment of laws such as the McNary-Haugen Bill, which addressed agricultural concerns, and the Supreme Court's ruling on wiretapping, which allowed federal agents to invade privacy during Prohibition investigations.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Immigration laws | Numbers of immigrants entering the US fell dramatically, with fewer than 700,000 people arriving in the 1920s. Nativist ideologies became more prevalent, and anti-immigration sentiment increased after World War I. |
| Immigration laws | The National Origins Act of 1924 limited the number of Europeans entering the US to 150,000 per year, with a 2% quota for each nation based on the 1890 census. This particularly affected southern and eastern Europeans. |
| Immigration laws | The Immigration Act of 1917 banned immigration from the Middle East and most of Asia, and required immigrants to pass a literacy test. |
| Prohibition | The Eighteenth Amendment brought in Prohibition, which banned the sale and production of alcohol. This led to the rise of criminal gangs and bootlegging operations. |
| Prohibition | The US Supreme Court ruled in 1928 that federal agents could wiretap private telephones during investigations of suspected violations of Prohibition laws. |
| Racial violence | The KKK caused racial violence in Oklahoma, leading to the governor placing the state under martial law in 1923. |
| Racial violence | The US Senate banned all Japanese immigrants in 1924, except for ministers, educators, and their families. |
| Racial attitudes | Racial theorists promoted the idea that white Anglo-Saxon Americans were superior to immigrants of other races and ethnicities, and Congress passed further legislation to restrict immigration. |
| Communism | There were three separate communist parties in the US, and they were blamed for economic downturns and labour disputes. |
| Women's rights | The US Supreme Court ruled in 1923 that the minimum wage law for women and children was unconstitutional. |
| Native American rights | President Calvin Coolidge signed legislation granting US citizenship to all Native Americans in 1924. |
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What You'll Learn
Immigration laws
In 1921 and 1924, the United States enacted restrictive immigration laws for the first time in its history, setting national origin quotas for emigration. The Immigration Act of 1924, also known as the Johnson-Reed Act, was a pivotal piece of legislation that not only prevented immigration from Asia but also imposed quotas on immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe. This act was driven by growing public and political concerns about the country's rapidly changing social and demographic landscape. It established the US Border Patrol and a "consular control system," requiring entry visas from US consulates abroad. The annual immigration quota for the rest of the world was capped at 165,000, an 80% reduction from pre-1914 levels.
The National Origins Act, passed in 1924, further limited annual immigration from Europe to 150,000. This act reduced the quota for each nation to 2% of foreign-born persons from that country residing in the US as per the 1890 census, significantly impacting the number of Southern and Eastern Europeans who could enter. Additionally, the federal government enacted laws during the 1920s to exclude certain groups, reflecting a broader fear of "different" people that persisted throughout the decade.
The immigration restrictions of the 1920s had unintended consequences. They did not lead to higher wages for US-born workers, and in some cases, wages declined due to increased competition from new workers moving into US cities. Immigrant-intensive industries experienced reduced growth and increased reliance on mechanization. However, researchers have also found that immigration improves the economy and that immigrant groups assimilate faster than assumed.
Furthermore, in April 1924, the US Senate unanimously voted to ban all Japanese immigrants, except ministers, educators, and their families. This decision aligned with the broader trend of the time, targeting immigrants as competitors in the job market and contributing to racial violence.
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Prohibition
The enforcement of Prohibition proved challenging and corruption in law enforcement became widespread, with criminal organisations bribing officials to turn a blind eye to their activities. Despite the ban, many people continued to drink alcohol, exploiting various loopholes in the law. Pharmacies became fronts for bootlegging operations, selling "medicinal" whiskey with real or forged prescriptions. Industries that were permitted to use alcohol for production purposes often diverted some for drinking, and religious congregations were allowed to purchase alcohol, leading to an increase in church enrollment.
The ineffectiveness of Prohibition in curbing alcohol consumption, along with its detrimental impact on the economy and the rise of organised crime, led to a shift in public opinion. By the end of the 1920s, even some of its former supporters had lost enthusiasm for the policy. The stock market crash of 1929 seemed to increase the country's desire for illegal liquor, but ultimately, Prohibition was repealed in 1933.
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Women's rights
Voting Rights and Political Participation:
The 1920s marked a pivotal moment in the struggle for women's suffrage in the United States. The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on August 18, 1920, guaranteed women the right to vote. This hard-won achievement was the culmination of decades of campaigning, picketing, and even hunger strikes by suffragists. However, it is important to note that discriminatory state voting laws still prevented many minority women from exercising their voting rights. Despite the challenges, the 19th Amendment represented a significant step towards gender equality and empowered women to engage in political life.
Legal and Professional Opportunities:
The 1920s saw some advancements in women's legal and professional rights. The Sex Discrimination (Removal) Act of 1919 opened up professions such as law to women. However, law firms often refused to hire female lawyers or relegated them to support roles. In 1928, legislation brought about equality in inheritance rights and unemployment benefits, further enhancing women's financial autonomy. Additionally, the establishment of the Women's Bureau within the Department of Labor in 1920 aimed to gather information about women's working conditions and advocate for their protection.
Social and Cultural Changes:
The 1920s brought about significant social and cultural shifts. Women's fashion choices, such as rising hemlines and trousers, became markers of liberation and challenged traditional gender norms. The "flapper" stereotype, often associated with short skirts, cigarettes, and cocktails, sparked debates about changing social values. While some viewed the flapper as a symbol of freedom, others, including older feminists, saw her as a concern, fearing that her pleasure-seeking behaviour disregarded the struggles of the suffragettes. Additionally, the 1920s saw a rise in women entering the workforce, driven by the increased demand for labour during World War I. However, workplace restrictions and "protective laws" limited women's employment opportunities, and occupational segregation persisted.
Marriage and Divorce Laws:
Marriage and divorce laws in the 1920s continued to reflect gender inequalities. Women who married non-American men between 1907 and 1922 automatically lost their U.S. citizenship due to the Expatriation Act. This changed with the passage of the Cable Act in 1922, which allowed women to retain their citizenship regardless of their spouse's citizenship status. Divorce laws also began to shift in favour of women, with the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1923 making divorce more accessible.
In summary, the 1920s were a transformative period for women's rights in the United States. While significant milestones were achieved, including suffrage and advancements in legal and professional spheres, societal attitudes and cultural norms continued to shape the landscape of gender equality. The decade witnessed a growing dialogue around gender equality, with women actively advocating for their rights and challenging the status quo.
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Racial violence
The 1920s saw a wave of racial violence in the United States, with African Americans bearing the brunt of the attacks. The early 20th century witnessed the migration of hundreds of thousands of African Americans from the South to the Northeast, Midwest, and West. One of the main causes of this mass migration was the continuing racial violence, including lynching and racial massacres that targeted Southern Black people. The return of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a white supremacist terrorist organization, around 1920, further exacerbated the situation.
The post-World War I period was marked by a spike in racial violence, often directed at African American veterans returning from Europe. The bloodiest incident occurred in Elaine, Arkansas, where it is estimated that over 100 African Americans were killed. This period of heightened racial violence was termed the "'Red Summer'." The presence of racial hostility in the North was partly a reaction to the large influx of African Americans into Northern cities during the Great Migration.
Lynching, a form of violent mob justice without a trial, was a particularly ritualistic form of murder that frequently involved the majority of the local White community. While the number of lynchings in the United States dropped from the 1880s to the 1920s, there were still an average of about 30 lynchings per year during that decade. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), formed in 1909, actively lobbied for a federal anti-lynching law in the 1920s and 1930s, but these attempts failed to gain traction.
The fear of "different" people, including immigrants, also pervaded public opinion throughout the 1920s. Immigrants were seen as competitors in the postwar job market and as radical outsiders. Racial theorists promoted the idea that white Anglo-Saxon Americans were superior to the mix of immigrants of various races and ethnicities. Influenced by these theories, Congress passed the National Origins Act in 1924, which restricted immigration further. This Act limited the number of Europeans entering the United States to 150,000 per year and lowered the quota for each nation to 2% of foreign-born persons from that country living in the United States as per the 1890 census.
In conclusion, the 1920s in the United States were marked by racial violence, with African Americans and immigrants facing attacks, discrimination, and exclusion. The legacy of this violence persisted, shaping societal attitudes and legal frameworks that continued to impact communities of color in the decades to come.
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Communism
The 1920s saw a rise in anti-communist sentiment in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In the US, anti-communism came to prominence during the First Red Scare of 1919-1920. Following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, there was a series of strikes, bombings, and revolutionary rhetoric that led to a crackdown on suspected communists. The 1920s, however, saw a period of "normalcy", which put the domestic communist issue on the back burner. Despite this, anti-communist fervor was still prevalent among conservatives, monarchists, fascists, liberals, and social democrats.
In Europe, right and far-right activists, including conservative intellectuals, capitalists, and industrialists, were vocal opponents of communism. In the early 1920s, the Nazis were one of many nationalist and fascist political parties vying for leadership of Germany's anti-communist movement. They rose to dominance during the Great Depression, organizing street battles against German Communist formations. In the United Kingdom, anti-communist sentiment was widespread among the British foreign policy elite in the 1930s, particularly in the upper-class Cliveden set.
In Asia, Imperial Japan and the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) were the leading anti-communist forces. In the Soviet Union, anti-communists played a major role in the wartime Resistance but were distrusted by the key leader, Charles de Gaulle.
Despite the anti-communist sentiment of the 1920s, the Communist Party continued to grow and organize during this decade. The Communist Party of America added shop nuclei (branches based on the place of work) to their geographical branches. After 1924, efforts were made to "Bolshevize" the Party, moving away from electoral politics and shifting towards factories and unions to obtain closer contact with workers in major industries. The Trade Union Educational League (TUEL) was formed to coordinate these activities, led by William Z. Foster. The International Labor Defense (ILD) and the American Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born were also established to defend the civil rights and civil liberties of minorities, recent immigrants, and the foreign-born.
Communists in the 1920s worked to build inclusive industrial unions, fighting for the rights of oppressed groups such as Black rural and urban workers, recent immigrants, and the foreign-born. Many working people in factories and farms, as well as journalists, teachers, writers, and artists, participated in the struggles of the 1920s and learned to respect Communists for their words and deeds, their courage, and commitment.
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Frequently asked questions
In 1924, the National Origins Act was passed, which limited the number of Europeans entering the United States to 150,000 per year. This especially affected southern and eastern Europeans.
Prohibition led to widespread corruption in law enforcement as criminal organisations bribed officials. It also gave rise to organised crime gangs, who smuggled liquor and controlled local chains of bootlegging operations.
The Agricultural Marketing Act was signed into law by President Hoover, following his guidelines for self-help for farmers. The Civil Service Commission announced in 1928 that it would install fingerprinting systems in 250 cities "to keep the crooks out" of government employment.
