USA 1918-1968 Key Issue 1 ‘ - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

USA 1918-1968

Key Issue 1 ‘

Why did attitudes towards immigration change?’

Slide2

Factors

Isolationism

Fear of Revolution

Prejudice and Racism

Social Fears

Economic Fears

Slide3

Context

‘Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these the homeless, tempest tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door’ Emma Lazarus

America’s Motto: E Pluribus Unum = Out of Many, Comes One.

Initially, immigrants came from

northern Europe.

These became known as

‘OLD’ immigrants

.

Also known as WASPS, White Anglo- Saxon Protestants

Slide4

Context

By the

20th Century

, there were more coming from

eastern and southern Europe

, who became known as ‘

NEW’ immigrants

They were often

poor

,

uneducated

and didn’t speak

English

. Many were Jewish/Catholic and looked ‘un-American’

Between

1901 and 1920

, the

population

of the USA

grew by 39%

to over 105 million. This was

largely the result of increasing immigration

Almost

80%

of this new wave of immigrants came from

southern and eastern Europe

This was seen as a threat to the traditional WASP way of life

However, due to the use of

slaves

on American plantations from the 16th century, there was also a

significant Black population

.

Many Blacks chose to

leave the south for better lives in the north

after the American Civil War ended in

1865

.

Racial tensions were building

Slide5

Isolationism – Knowledge

(BG) Isolationism: A policy of remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other groups, especially the political affairs of other countries

(K1) WW1 was a

catalyst

in changing attitudes towards immigrants

(K1) Having joined the war in

1917

, the American army experienced the horrors or WW1, suffering heavy losses in battles such as the

Meuse-Argonne

offensive

(K1) Following the end of the war in 1918, Americans regretted their involvement in a ‘

European

’ war

(K1) Many felt hostile towards

anything

foreign

(K1) The Senate refused the ratify the ‘

Treaty of Versailles

’

and subsequently refused to join the ‘

League of Nations

’

Slide6

Isolationism – Knowledge

(K2)

1924 National Origins Act

– extended 1921 Act by reducing Eastern European immigrant quota to just

2%

of the existing population of Eastern Europeans already in the U.S. per year according to 1890 census

(K2)

(e.g. if there were 100 Eastern Europeans in America in 1890, then only 2 people from Eastern Europe could immigrate to the U.S. in 1925)

(K2) These Acts and the President’s unwillingness to be involved in external affairs such as the League of Nations

encouraged Americans to believe that immigration should also be reduced to help this policy

Slide7

Isolationism – Knowledge

(K3) Life for foreign born Americans was not an easy one. They were accused of being loyal to their motherland.

(K3) Germans, Austrians and Italians were suspected of being loyal to the Kaiser

(K3) Irish immigrants were seen as anti-British and anti-America because they were Catholics

(K3) Eastern Europeans were suspected of being communists or anarchists

Slide8

Isolationism – Analysis & Analysis Plus

(A3) These isolationist ideas spread to a desire to curb immigration, avoid ‘alien contamination’ and remove the threat towards ‘American stock’

(A+2) These acts

only limited Asian and Eastern European immigration

, no limits were placed on WASP immigrants

(A+2) Talk of life in Scotland, for example, was perfectly acceptable

(A+2) Therefore, Isolationism did not impact on all immigrants

(A3) This suspicion was a double standard as many Americans were of ‘immigrant stock’

Slide9

Isolationism- Evaluation

(EV2) Susan-Mary Grant:

“From an asylum for the oppressed, America, with this single act [National Origins Act], transformed itself into a glorified gated community”

(EV3) Hugh Brogan:

there was a concern over ‘eugenics’ – that certain races weren’t desirable enough to be ‘American’

(EV3) M.A. Jones:

“The adoption of a quota system…all but slammed the door on the southern and eastern Europeans who had formed the bulk of the arrivals in the pre-war and immediate post-war periods”

Slide10

Prejudice and Racism – Knowledge

(BG) Traditionally, immigrants to America had come from Western and Northern Europe. These immigrants were largely White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (Britain, Scandinavia, Germany).

(K1) Throughout the 1880s, immigration numbers shifted to largely Southern and Eastern Europe- Italy, Turkey, Russia

(K1) Dillingham Commission:

Formed in 1907, discovered that since 1880s immigrants came from mainly eastern and southern Europe

(K1) The Commission recommended literacy tests be introduced to weed out ‘inferior’ immigrants (write a short passage in English)

Slide11

Prejudice and Racism – Knowledge

(K2) The

physical

appearance of some immigrants

frightened

Americans.

(K2) Many of the new arrivals were

malnourished

, and with

deformities

caused by vitamin deficiencies and poor diet.

(K2) Immigrants sometimes continued to wear their own native

clothing

and were regarded as out of place on America’s ‘

modern

’ streets

(K2) Cultures/ethnicities living together

(K2) Melting Pot Theory

: all the different immigrant backgrounds ‘melted’ together to create one America.

“a

melting

of cultures and intermarriage of ethnicities…cultural

assimilation

…can also occur without intermarriage”

(K2) Salad Bowl theory:

That all the different backgrounds came together – BUT

remained distinct

(like vegetables in a salad) – also called a ‘cultural mosaic’. Means immigrants still held on to some of their own cultures from home – didn’t fully assimilate

Slide12

Prejudice and Racism – Knowledge

(K3) Californian laws against Asian immigrants were clearly racist in outlook -

Alien Land Law

of

1913

forbade ‘aliens’ (immigrants)from owning any land in California.

(K3) Most immigrants had left non-democratic societies and tended to view the law and Government as institutions that always catered to the powerful and therefore were not to be trusted.

(K3) Many of these new immigrants were Catholic or Jewish and kept a strong sense of their religion in America

Slide13

Prejudice and Racism – Knowledge

(K4) The KKK, having been set up to target Blacks, now included anti-Catholic, Jewish and Immigrant views

(K4) They experienced a revival in their membership at the start of the c.20

th

(K4) The KKK championed the views of ‘proper Americans’

(K4) This was known as

NATIVISM

(K4) People spoke out about the immigrant menace, wrote books and tried to find scientific proof of inferiority

Slide14

Prejudice and Racism – Analysis

(A1) Southern and Eastern European immigrants- These ‘new’ immigrants were seen as a threat to traditional, WASP ways of life

(A2) Immigrants who continued to wear their native clothing and keep their traditions- This was seen as rejecting the idea of being an American – ‘

Salad Bowl Theory

’

(A3) Most immigrants left non-democratic societies and distrusted the gov. As a result, they were viewed with suspicion by Americans who saw this attitude as an attack on the American constitution

(A3) Catholic or Jewish immigrants kept religious beliefs - These led to a belief that traditional Protestant ways of life would be lost

(A4) America’s experience during a war led to a surge of support for these nativist ideals

Slide15

Prejudice and Racism – Analysis Plus

(A+) However, many Americans were of immigrant stock themselves and rejected these ideas

(A+) They believed in the idea of American as ‘Land of the Free’

(A+) Political parties saw the importance of gaining immigrant votes in elections and many were protected from harm

Slide16

Prejudice and Racism - Evaluation

(EV1) M.A. Jones:

“…it was not the increased numbers, but the changing nature of the immigrants which led to calls for tighter controls and immigration restrictions in the early 20th century”

(EV1) Hugh Brogan on the Dillingham Commission

: “In this way official support was given to the ever-more-popular farrago of racist nonsense that was then masquerading as anthropology”

(EV4) Hugh Brogan:

“An upsurge of passionate nationalism…the peoples [of the USA]…clung to each other for reassurance and cemented their union with hatred, fear and contempt of foreigners.”

Slide17

Fear of Revolution- Knowledge

(K1) Americans were fiercely proud of their capitalist and

democratic

ideals. Immigrants were associated with

anarchy

and

insidious

ideals.

(K1) With the

Russian Revolution

in 1917, the government had been violently

overthrown

and a

Communist

one set up in its place

(K1) Communist ideas are the

exact opposite

of what most Americans believe in –

free enterprise

,

competition

and

hatred of government interference

(K1) Many communists were fiercely anti-war and were considered

unpatriotic

at a time America was involved in fighting the First World War

(K1) Since many immigrants had left undemocratic countries, immigrants were seen as a threat to the American Constitution

(K2) In January 1920, raids were conducted in 33 cities, arresting 6,000 ‘radicals’ and detaining them without trial

(K2) Many were beaten and forced to sign confessions. 600 were deported

Slide18

Fear of Revolution- Analysis

(A1) America feared that an influx of immigrants would led to the same events in America –

the Red Scare

(A2) The raids highlighted the fear towards immigrants held by many WASPs and showed how they attempted to isolate themselves further

Slide19

Fear of Revolution- Analysis Plus

(A+1)

HOWEVER:

It is estimated that there were approximately

150,000 anarchists or communists

in the USA in

1920

which represented

only 0.1%

of the overall population of the USA.

(A+1) Palmer warned of a ‘May Day’ demonstration and organised riot police, but the riot never happened

(A+ 2) In reality, the

Communist threat was greatly exaggerated

, and the Palmer Raids led to the

discovery of just three guns

.

(A+ 2) Most who were arrested had to be released due to lack of evidence.

Slide20

Fear of Revolution- Evaluation

(EV1) Alistair Cooke:

“The country was seized with the fear that the last great wave of immigrants had brought the revolutionary spirit with them”

(EV2) Susan-Mary Grant:

For many in the U.S., the Palmer Raids went too far. Even after the Wall Street bomb, while shocked, these kinds of events ‘no longer sent them running to check for reds under the bed’.

(EV2)Higham:

“Never before had anti-radical nativism stirred the public mind so profoundly.”

Slide21

Economic Fears- Knowledge

(BG) Many immigrants were unskilled and looked for employment in America’s booming industry in cities

(K1) After the war, unemployment more than doubled from

5.2% to 11.7% by 1921

(K1) Employers could pay immigrant workers

less

because they were

desperate

for work and were willing to

accept lower wages

than WASP workers

(K1) Many were employed as strike breakers and seen as stealing American jobs

Slide22

Economic Fears- Analysis

(A1) As a result of competition, there was increased

anger

towards the seemingly endless pool of

cheap labouring immigrants

as they were blamed for ‘

stealing jobs

’

(A1) When wages were low and work was difficult to find, immigrants were used as

scapegoats for unemployment

and

reduced availability of work

Slide23

Economic Fears- Analysis Plus

(A+) There was political opposition to some restrictions as big business relied on these immigrant workers

(A+) Furthermore, conflict existed between immigrants' groups for work - Italians fought Irish for work in NYC

Slide24

Social Fears- Knowledge

(K1) Many of these new immigrants settled in American cities, rapidly increasing populations. Americans experienced overcrowding, housing shortages and rising rents as the demand for housing rose

(K1) Immigrants had little money and low wages so could only afford the

cheapest housing

in the

worst areas

(K1) Whole families sometimes

10 or 12 people

had only one room to live in

(K1) They were

damp, dark and filthy

with

no water supply, toilets or drains - rubbish and sewage

was thrown into backcourts or streets

(K2) Immigrants were also blamed for crime, drunkenness and disease with high rates of crimes in ghettos held as evidence

(K2) Al Capone – The Original Gangster

Slide25

Social Fears- Knowledge

(K2) Radical Italian immigrants accused of double murder in Massachusetts

(K2) Both had alibis (inc. a work time-card)

(K2) Many defence witnesses spoke in broken English and were manipulated by the prosecution

(K2) Hat apparently belonging to Sacco found at the scene did not fit him

(K2) Executed 1927 – many believed it was due to their nationality and politics rather than hard evidence

(K2)

‘I am suffering because I am a radical. Indeed I am. I have suffered because I am Italian. Indeed, I am.’

Bartolomeo Vanzetti

(K2) Nicolas Vanzetti was tried in Massachusetts twice, first for bank robbery and then for murder. In the first trial, Webster Thayer, who was the judge in both cases, told the jury: ‘This man, although he may not have actually committed the crime.., is nevertheless morally culpable, because he is the enemy of our existing institutions.’

(K2) The trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti linked crime, immigration and ‘un-American’ political ideas in the American mind

Slide26

Social Fears- Analysis

(A1) Immigrants tended to settle together (Little Italy, Chinatown), further increasing suspicion towards them in American minds. They were seen as eroding the integrity of a ‘moral’ America

(A1) Landlords could still put rents up due to the

high competition

which resulted in natives becoming

hostile

towards immigrants

(A2) Statistics of soaring crime rates, drunkenness and riots in immigrant neighbourhoods was held up as proof of their undesirability and furthered calls for immigration limits

(A2) Trial of Sacco and

Batolomeo

- Their trial furthered the idea of ‘immigrants’ as ‘criminals and undesirables’

Slide27

Social Fears- Analysis Plus

(A+2) Charities, however, recognised that the true causes of crime were out with immigrant control

(A+2) Most immigrant crimes were for petty offences – petty theft, drunkenness, vagrancy

(A+1&2) These crimes showed immigrants were having to resort to small crimes, owing to their appalling living conditions

(A+1&2) Many unsavoury establishments (brothers, gambling dens) could only exist in less controlled immigrant neighbourhoods, drawing in undesirable people from wide areas