National Tensions Rise over Immigration
It’s a well-known fact that the government has recently been trying to limit the amount of immigrants coming into the U.S., but recent events have caused already high tensions to rise some more. With newsworthy events, such as the Sacco and Vanzetti Trial and the new quotas being placed by the Immigration Act of 1924, as well as an increase in nativism feelings around the country, the tensions about immigration are rising quickly. The Sacco and Vanzetti Trial is happening during a time where anti-immigrant sentiments are high in the U.S. After the revolution in Russia and the events of the Great War, the people of America are beginning to separate themselves from non-natural-born citizens living among them. The murder trial against Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti is egging on some of these feelings. It’s already a bad case, with the two killing an American man and then proceeding to rob him, but the fact that they’re Italian immigrants did not help their case. They were convicted a few years ago, on July 14, 1921. Nativism is also playing a big role in all of the flaring tensions in our country. People believe that they need to protect the interests of the native-born citizens of a country rather than those of the immigrants living in the country. This is becoming a huge problem around our country with things like the rise of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). These acts are making life for foreigners in America dangerous and difficult. Another big point of controversy right now are the laws being passed to restrict the people coming into the country. In the new Immigration Act of 1924, immigrants coming from Asia are completely excluded and other immigrants are only allowed to make up 2% of the population for each nationality in the country. It also excludes all people whose race or nationalities were excluded in the previous acts, which means the Japanese or Filipinos are no longer allowed to move into the U.S. Tensions continue to rise, globally, on the issue, but how far are we willing to go to keep people out of this country simply because they were not native-born? And how many foreign relations will we ruin in the process of setting these boundaries?
Laissez Faire Causes Economic Boom
The Republicans’ policy of Laissez Faire is doing good things for the country at this time. The idea that the government should stay out of its peoples’ lives is allowing for lower taxes and for trusts and super corporations to rise once again. This allows people to have more money, since they are paying less in taxes and goods are being made for cheaper, which is allowing them to buy more things. There are so many more products available in the market at this time for people to buy; cars are one of the biggest sellers at the moment. But there are several new ways to buy that are allowing Americans to buy more. A new program, known as credit, is allowing people to buy things they might not normally be able to afford to buy by paying a down payment and then paying fees each month, including interest, until they pay it off. These are sometimes called “Hire Purchases,” or HP, and they allow common people to be able to buy things they might not be able to under normal circumstances. Time has also brought the upcoming of the chain stores as well as catalog shopping, making it easier to get the goods you need. Peoples’ beliefs are also contributing in this boom. People are beginning to buy things for themselves for their own enjoyment, something that wasn’t common before. Since people are beginning to buy more things, consumer demand is going up, and our country is in a wonderful place economically right now because of this.
The New Age of Courting
Courting has taken on a whole different name recently, quite literally. The new fashion of freedom in seeing other people is being called dating now. But all these new customs are causing some tensions between the older and younger generations. Adolescents today are gaining more and more freedom, which has been greatly aided by the invention of the automobile. Cars are allowing the adolescents far more freedom, as a chance to get away, causing great ripples in the dating world as well. Because of cars, teens have a chance to get away, unsupervised, and get to know each other, making this new dating far different than the formal courting that we seem to be drifting away from. There is also the opportunity for the guys and gals to “go out,” to have their date in a public place, with no adult supervision. This new style of dating, though highly appealing to adolescents because of the new freedoms they’re getting, is highly controversial to the older population of the country. They believe that these new trends in the dating/courtship world are highly inappropriate and unnecessary, such as women who are beginning to dress more skimpily and more and more adolescents participating in affairs that are meant for after marriage. But regardless of these opinions, change is rolling in quick for the love lives of America’s youth!
The Scopes Monkey Trial
Two books by one man created major, large-scale conflict and a division of people in America during the 1920’s. In 1859, Charles Darwin, an English naturalist, published “The Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life” which presented the theory of evolution and “natural selection”. In 1871, Darwin wrote “The Descent of Man” which offered the theory of humans descending from a primitive organism that survived by adapting to its environment. By 1925, evolution became a basic part of curriculum in European and American public schools. Many religious leaders and others known as modernists agreed with evolution. Some students of the Bible felt that Darwin opposed Creation and were convinced that they must stop his theory from being taught in schools. These groups of people are known as creationists. In 1921, Tennessee Representative Butler presented a ban on teaching evolution in schools to the Tennessee Legislature. This was approved as the Butler Act. George W. Rappelyea saw that the Union sought teachers willing to teach evolution in schools to protest the new law and believed that this would promote his town. He and a group of town leaders came together and asked Scopes, a biology teacher, to teach evolution in his class. Scopes was later put on trial which was followed with national interest and found guilty. During the trial, many tensions and conflicts emerged. This included: joint vs. individual rights, and academic vs. parental concerns. Other conflicts included: who had control of society, schools, and if the people or leaders of a town determined its laws. In the end, the Scopes trial emerged as an example of a conflict between various social and intellectual movements.
Back to Africa Movement
Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican-born, black nationalist who created the Back to Africa Movement in the U.S. While in Jamaica, Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association or UNIA which attracted followers throughout the Caribbean, Africa, South America, and Great Britain. When Garvey moved to Harlem in 1919, UNIA thrived and became the largest mass movement in African American history. Garvey went across America urging African Americans to be proud of their race and return to Africa, their familial home ground. Through his speeches he gained thousands of supporters who mainly came from the lower end of the financial scale. In these speeches, he expressed his idea of black nationalism which was that African Americans’ quest for equality was delusional. He argued that African Americans were fated to be a permanent minority who could never assimilate because whites would not allow them to. In 1919, Garvey founded the Black Star Line, a shipping company, consisting of 3 steamships, black officers, and a crew. This would serve as the transportation to facilitate the return to Africa for African Americans. Also, Garvey attempted to convince the Liberian government to give African Americans land for free. Although, this ship carried passengers on several journeys from New York to Central America and the Caribbean it never actually reached Africa, its final destination. This is because, the line faced financial bankruptcy from shady dealings by UNIA officials, and Garvey failed to persuade Liberia to give out free land. In 1922, Garvey was arrested for mail fraud and was sent to jail and later deported back to Jamaica. Garvey attempted to help African Americans by sending them back to Africa where he believed that they would receive equal rights and treatment unlike here in America. But, his good intentions did not go very far and it was a plan that seemed doomed from the start.
Unions and Strikes
In 1917 a series of strikes encouraged the Wilson Administration to set up a mediation commission which later established the War Labor Board. This occurred in early 1918 where the union gained over 1 million new members. By 1920, the union had 5 million members and the treasuries increased from the large intake of dues payments. After the Great War, the Labor Management Corporation did not last. From 1921 to 1930, the Department of Labor, headed by Davis, followed a neutral course toward organized labor and was less involved in problems than during the Wilson Administration. The Department focused on responding to isolationism and other pressures such as the administration of immigration laws, and emphasizing the Children’s Bureau activity. Also, labor unions were decreasing as firms promoted company unions and provided increased benefits to workers called “welfare capitalism�. Strikes also declined after the post-Great War strike wave. The Conciliation Service reduced labor strikes by managing tensions through diplomatic mediation. This contributed greatly to labor peace of the period. Until the Great Depression, strikes and unions were uncommon and that period was known as the Golden Decade.
People had more leisure time, so one of the ways they spent it was watching sports. Babe Ruth was the most well know sports figure of the time. Babe learned baseball from a monk. He went on to win 7 championships for the Yankees after being traded from the Red Sox. Babe holds lots of records and his #3 is retired. Babe was also known for being undisciplined and he earned and spent thousands of dollars. When the Yankees built a new stadium Babe was the first one to hit a homerun in it and the stadium was dubbed the house that Ruth built. Babe set tons of records and at one point only 5 teams combined hit more home runs in a year then Babe hit.
The 19th amendment was passed by congress on June 4th, 1919 and was ratified on August 18th, 1920 when Tennessee passed it. The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote and have a say in the government. The struggle began in the mid-19th century and few of the early supporters lived to see when they got there right to vote. Supporters had to endure a lot , such as torturing and other methods. It gave women more confidence and a greater sense of equality. Women began working more, getting an education and having less children. However women still couldn’t participate in jury duty and other political privileges. The 19th Amendment help progress the U.S economy, because of the fact that there were more workers. The 19th Amendment is a good thing for the U.S. and will help us.
Henry Ford and The Assembly Line
The assembly line changed the nature of work for Americans. Henry Ford came up with the assembly line on a mass production level and made the Model T for the masses. Ford was inspired by the slather houses and grain mills in the Midwest. His assembly line worked by having one person doing the same job over, and over, while another person keeps their supplies stocked so they didn’t have to waste any time. Ford was also a generous man, he nearly doubled the standard wages to 5 dollars an hour. Ford’s Model T only cost 260 dollars allowing his workers to buy it along with most other Americans. Cars changed how people worked, lived, and enjoyed free time. Ford produced more cars then all of the other car company’s combined.
Impact of Music
The impact of the jazz age and the Harlem Renaissance on theblack community is very important, because they are finally given a voice in the world and they are expressing their culture and problems to other races. One example of this would be Langstone Hughes who sings about how hard it is for a young black man in this day and age in his songs, for example The Weary Blues he says Quote “ain’t got nobody in all this world, ain’t got nobody but ma self. I’s gwine to quite ma frownin and put ma troubles on the shelf,” this song makes people understand what goes through the mind of a black man. The Harlem Renaissance also gave blacks a way to express their views on politics, equality, and slavery. It also gave blacks a place to be: for example the night clubs that came up during the renaissance. These places were like a home to blacks and anyone else who enjoyed jazz and blues. The Renaissance and jazz didn’t just impact blacks it also impacted other races like whites which gave them a new trend and since the new generation likes more upbeat music and new types of fashion the Harlem renaissance impacted them as well. It gave the younger generation something to do such as a new style of dancing. As well as, a place to go; like one of the popular night clubs called the cotton club where you can enjoy an amazing meal and see amazing performances .
Post War Isolationism
The United States is going into isolationism. Isolationism is when a country doesn’t interfere or involve themselves in other countries affairs. There are several reasons why America chose to do this. One of the reasons would be the war to end all wars: many Americans think that war was unnecessary and that America didn’t have to get involved in foreign affairs and seeing the casualties that occurred during the war. They do have a point, America could of found a peaceful way to end the war. The other reason would be that America’s economy is doing great. Everything is booming there is more time to do activities like going to sporting events and night clubs and mostly everyone is employed even women can now work in factories. The last reason why America is going into isolationism is because at this time of it was is the right thing to do. The majority of all Americans agree with it and there’s no reason not to. We don’t need to trade with other countries, and we don’t need them so there is no reason to be involved with them.
Post-War Economic/ Unemployment
This article is going to view the recession that is going on right now and explain some of the reasons why it is happening. This recession is happening because in these past years the interest rates are rising. Do you know that it rose from 4.75% to 7%? This is making it harder for regular Americans to provide for their family’s and so the result of this is that they’re not buying as much. This effects the government because if we don’t buy then they don’t get as much money as they did when we did buy. The next problem, is that banks are falling apart, bank credits and paper failing so people who invested in that are not getting their money back. This also affects the regular American. The last reason is labor unions. During the war, they were doing a good job making sure all the rules are followed but after everything fell apart workers were not getting the respect they deserved so workers started going on strikes 1.4 million workers went on strike which made unemployment rates rise and that resulted in the depression.
Cars and Planes
Cars and planes are the biggest technological breakthrough since electric lighting and heating. Cars are nothing new. They have been around for forty years with Carl Benz’s invention of the Motorwagen in 1884. Henry Ford made the automobile more accessible to more people in 1908 with the invention of the Model T and the production line. Everyday more and more improvements are made to these cars making them safer, looking nicer, and cheaper than ever before. There are almost no drawbacks to this way forward except for automobile accidents but these mostly occur when a driver is being careless. Everyone should invest in cars and the more it becomes a part of our life, there will be less accidents. Planes are even more impressive with cars. Since Ancient Egypt man has been trying to fly with weird flying contraptions such as bird wings designed for wear by humans. It wasn’t until twenty years ago that man was able to successfully fly with the Wright brothers in 1906. Since then, planes have become dramatically more advanced. With advancements such as the biplane, air travel/recreation is easier and more exciting than ever before. People will always be trying to find better ways to travel and I believe that if we all invest even just a little bit, faster advancements will be able to be made. Henry Ford was able to make the car available to almost everyone; maybe someone could do the same with planes. Maybe someday in the future, everyone will be able to own their own plane like they own a car. The more we invest, the quicker this will be able to happen.
Impact of the Modern Celebrity
As we begin to see the innovations such as the cinema and even cinema with sound now, there is an emerging new form of celebrity and fashion and fads on a national scale. News that happened in New York can now be heard by almost everyone in San Francisco in a single day. This new way of communicating has now created a more national “pop culture� and at its point are the celebrities of this new invention. Celebrities such as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are of course inspirational to young boys wanting to become big shot baseball players. There are however celebrities that inspire us in small ways such as the way we dress and act or dance like when Bee Jackson made the Charleston famous. Women such as Bee Jackson are also the reason why women have been dressing so masculine and weird lately and I am afraid, with all these new up and coming celebrities it is only going to get worse unless the youth can think normally once again.
Prohibition
Prohibition is a sinkhole for America. All prohibition has brought us is powerful organized crime families, corrupt police, waste of tax dollars, and a hypocritical government. Men like Alphonse Capone and Bugs Moron make millions off of prohibition while the government drinks themselves, and, waste our tax dollars on funding failing Law Enforcement agencies such as the Bureau of Prohibition. Prohibition was a noble idea but it has magnified almost all the problems it has set out to get rid of. People said that prohibition would greatly reduce crime but instead it has created more crime tenfold. Prohibition has made many criminals from petty moonshiners making low grade hooch to Sicilian gangs. When you look at Chicago in particular, it becomes obvious that prohibition has not decreased murder but made it a part of everyday life. The police offer little help against the Mafia families since they are so corrupt by the money they get from them by keeping quite. I think Prohibition was a great idea but I believe it is time we get rid of it, we just got out of a recession and prohibition threatens to send us into a more violent one.
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Ashley McMahon: Dating Patterns, Immigration Tensions, and Economic Boom Jordan Amelon: Impact of Sports, 19th Amendment, and the Assembly Line Fallon Ratner: Back to Africa Movement, Scopes Trial, and Unions/Strikes Harrison Fairfeild: Impact of Celebrities, Prohibition, and Cars/Planes Lucky Bah: Impact of Music, Isolationism, and Unemployment