Nativism & Prohibition

LaNeetra JamesDuncanville High SchoolDecember 6, 2009http://www.duncanvilleisd.org/ljamesTEKS 1C, 3B-C, 7A, 11B, 12A, 16A-B, 19B, 25C, 26A, 26C-DTAKS Gr10/11: Obj 5: WG21C, WH25C, WH26C, US24

Sacco and Vanzetti Ethnic prejudice was the basis of the Sacco and Vanzetti case, where two immigrant men were accused of murder and theft. They were thought to be anarchists, or against all government. They were sentenced to death and executed.

Nativism Nativists used eugenics, the false science of the improvement of hereditary traits for support. They emphasized human inequalities were inherited and said that inferior people should not be allowed to breed.

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) targeted African Americans, Catholics, Jews, immigrants, and other groups believed to have “un-American” values. In 1924, the Ku Klux Klan had over 4 million members in the South and Northern cities.Scandals and poor leadership led to the decline of the Klan in the late 1920s.

Controlling Immigration The National Origins Act of 1924 made immigrant restriction 2% of each national group in the U.S. in 1890. The act exempted immigrants from the Western Hemisphere. Mexican immigrants moved into the U.S after the Mexican Revolution of 1910.

New Morality A “new morality” challenged traditional ideas. Women broke away from families as they entered the workforce or attended college. The automobile gave American youth the opportunity to pursue interests away from parents.

Women’s fashion drastically changed with the flapper, a young, dramatic, stylish, and unconventional woman.

Fundamentalist Movement Some feared the new morality and worried about America’s social decline, joining a religious movement called Fundamentalism. They believed in creationism, that God created the world as described in the Bible. Tennessee passed the Butler Act, which made it illegal to teach anything that denied creationism and taught evolution instead.

Scopes Trial John T. Scopes, a biology teacher, taught evolution. Scopes was arrested and found guilty, but the case was later overturned. After the trial, many fundamentalists withdrew from political activism.

Prohibition The 18th Amendment legalized Prohibition or made alcohol illegal. The Volstead Act made the Treasury Department enforce it. Most state governments ignored Prohibition, going to secret bars called speakeasies for alcohol. Crime was big business, and gangsters corrupted politicians. In 1933 the 21st Amendment ended Prohibition.

BibliographyAppleby, Joyce. Brinkley, Alan. Broussard, Albert. McPherson, James. Ritchie, Donald. The American Republic Since 1877-Texas Edition; Glencoe, 2003.

Tindall, George Brown, and Shi, David E. America, A Narrative History; Norton, 1992.

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