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Social tensions in the 1920s
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Not all Americans welcomed change in the 1920s. Fear of immigrants and radicals, racism and the battle over alcohol divided the country.
The Red Scare
After the Russian Revolution, many Americans feared communists and anarchists.
The Palmer Raids (1919 to 20) arrested thousands of suspected radicals, many of them immigrants.
Sacco and Vanzetti, Italian immigrant anarchists, were convicted of robbery and murder on weak evidence and executed in 1927.
The Palmer Raids (1919 to 20) arrested thousands of suspected radicals, many of them immigrants.
Sacco and Vanzetti, Italian immigrant anarchists, were convicted of robbery and murder on weak evidence and executed in 1927.
The Ku Klux Klan and the 'Monkey Trial'
The Ku Klux Klan revived and grew to millions of members by the mid-1920s, attacking Black Americans, Catholics, Jews and immigrants.
In the 'Monkey Trial' (1925) in Tennessee, teacher John Scopes was prosecuted for teaching evolution, showing a clash between traditional religion and modern science.
In the 'Monkey Trial' (1925) in Tennessee, teacher John Scopes was prosecuted for teaching evolution, showing a clash between traditional religion and modern science.
Prohibition
From 1920 the 18th Amendment banned the making and selling of alcohol.
People drank in illegal bars (speakeasies); gangsters such as Al Capone grew rich from bootlegging and used violence and bribery.
Prohibition was ended in 1933.
People drank in illegal bars (speakeasies); gangsters such as Al Capone grew rich from bootlegging and used violence and bribery.
Prohibition was ended in 1933.
Explain why Prohibition failed.
- Millions of Americans still wanted to drink.
- Gangsters supplied illegal alcohol and bribed police and officials.
- There were too few agents to enforce the law.
Answer: Demand for alcohol stayed high, and gangsters and corruption made it impossible to enforce.
Red Scare: Palmer Raids (1919 to 20), Sacco and Vanzetti (executed 1927). The KKK grew to millions. The Monkey Trial (1925) showed religious tensions. Prohibition (1920 to 33) led to speakeasies and gangsters such as Al Capone.
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