Saturday, 11 December 2010

How far was the US fair and free in the 1920s?

In the 1920s there were a variety of different classs social statuses and racial backgrounds they were all treated differently and their freedom or lack of it depended on which category they fell under. Some factors that affected the amount of freedom in the US were the revitalising of the KKK the 19th amendment to the US constitution which made it legal for women to vote and the 18th amendment which made it illegal to make and sell alcohol. One factor that greatly influenced the amount of freedom black people had been the revitalising of the Ku Klux Klan. In 1915 the Klan was revitalised by William j Simmons who had been inspired by the film the birth of a nation which portrayed black people as vicious bloodthirsty upstarts. The KKK was stronger and more active in the south were most of the black population worked. The KKK made it their job to terrorise not only black people but Jewish catholic communist and immigrants in short anyone who was not a white Anglo Saxon protestant. They performed public murders encouraged boycotts of black peoples shops and broke the unions of everyone as they believed they were communist plots that were going to take control of the US. Some black World War 1 veterans who did not want to return to their second class statuses were lynched still in uniform returning from overseas service. But the numbers of lynching were not as large as it seems in 1921 there were only 7 lynchings. When the Klan declined in 1925 segregation continued in the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws prevented black people from voting, getting a good education and even riding on buses in the seat they wanted to sit in. A lot of industries had an all white hiring policy, making it even harder for black people to get jobs. Life in America was hard for immigrants when they arrived they were sent to Ellis Island for a medical examination Ellis Island was known as the Isle of tears looking for signs of disease or handicaps. Usually immigrants were only detained 3 or 4 hours and then free to leave. If they did not receive stamps of approval they were sent back to their country. The reasons these new immigrants made the journey to America were to escape religious, racial, and political persecution but when they arrived they realised the harsh reality of life as an immigrant in America. Most new immigrants got jobs in factories on assembly lines as they required unskilled workers they worked in hazardous conditions and earned very low wages. They were often labelled as anarchists and communists especially the Italians. Those who were anarchists were discriminated against more so like in the case of Sacco and

Saturday, 11 December 2010

Vanzetti who were self confessed anarchists suffered the consequences of a un fair racist judge and were sentenced to death in the face of overwhelming evidence that would of vindicated them if it had not come from other Italian immigrants. They were put to death by electric chair on the 24th of August, 1927. Before the 1920s, native Americans were treated badly, forced to live in poor housing, and their children were sent to boarding schools where there traditional values were forced out of them. However, in 1924, Native Americans gained the right to vote An example of fairness and liberation in the US was the liberation of women in the 1920s the were allowed to smoke openly the 19th amendment made sure they were allowed to vote they could drink openly and drive they possessed new appliances that quickened their household cleaning and had more leisure time. Their old clothes fashions which were hot long done up hair styles and stuffy undergarments gave way to new more figure hugging lighter and freer clothing their hair styles changed to short hair with crimped edges. But not all of womens roles changed .Women in the country side were still very dominated by their husbands and played a traditional role in the home. Tasks like milking the cows and bringing up the family were still what country women did. The women in the city were not as free as many thought though. Their clothing was restricted, in Chicago one piece bathing suits were banned .they started to work but they still got lower wages and were exploited. They also when they banded together had the ability to establish laws a major cause of prohibition being introduced was the outcry of women and the leading cause of what took prohibition out of effect was also women. Low prices and good credit made cars affordable in the beginning of the 1920s by the end they were practically necessities. Meanwhile Businesses like service stations and motels sprang up to meet drivers needs .Cars also gave young people the freedom to go where they pleased and do what they wanted. What lots of people wanted to do was dance the Charleston the cake walk and the black bottom. Black liberated Jazz bands played at dance halls radio stations and phonograph records carried their music to listeners across the America. Many in the younger generation loved the freedom they felt on the dance floor. I have analysed the different aspects of freedom and fairness and have come to the conclusion that the amount of freedom you possess greatly relies on your racial background social class and gender every one didnt enjoy fairness and freedom because of the

Saturday, 11 December 2010

discrimination and the attitudes and ideals of the people at the time and in some categories such as women only a small percentage of people were affected by the changes. Although the situation did improve greatly for some, it lacked seriously in others I think that he freedom and fairness did improve but the improvement beckoned others like immigrants to come to the country which subsequently resulted in the taking away of freedom and fairness.