Was America A Free Society In The

1920s Essay, Research Paper

Was America truly a free society in the 1920 & # 8217 ; s?

Freedom covers many facets of life: human rights, spiritual freedom, economic freedom, freedom of look and political freedom. In America in the 1920 & # 8217 ; s there was an semblance of freedom & # 8211 ; but some people were more free than others and this depended on race, societal category and political belief.

There was a large divide between rich and hapless and this was further exagerrated by the divide between the urban and rural populations.

The smaller husbandmans suffered from low income. The authorities did nil to assist, as it was Republican and believed in non interfering with American peoples lives. This ties in with the thought of economic freedom & # 8211 ; the rural hapless were non free because they could non afford to purchase what they wanted. They hardly had the money to last, allow entirely the chance to gain the excess money to purchase the things that they needed.

The excavation narrative was much the same. As the demand for coal dropped, the rewards were lowered and the hours for mineworkers were longer. A non-union policy was set up in many mines, which prevented any worker from fall ining a trade brotherhood. This meant that they could pay lower rewards and charge less for coal and acquire a bigger per centum of the market, ( 65 per centum in 1926. ) So the freedom to fall in a trade brotherhood was taken off.

As a citizen of the United States of America, you had the right to vote, that is if you were classed as a citizen. Citizenship excluded inkinesss and Indians in most provinces, and even Communists in one. This exclusion was more outstanding in the Deep South where racism was still a acrimonious fact of every twenty-four hours life. The Jim Crow Torahs prevented black people from vote, acquiring a good instruction and even siting on coachs in the place they wanted to sit in. ( Despite this fact, many black people rose to the top and got good occupations such as attorneies ) . The bulk of inkinesss though, were employed in low paid, dirty occupations, such as bin work forces and lavatory cleaners. A batch of industries had an all white hiring policy, doing it even harder for black people to acquire occupations.

The justness system was besides really biased. If person even suspected that a black adult male had committed a offense, he would be put to test ( if he was lucky ) and most likely hanged. Sometimes if, he was sent to prison, or expecting test, lynch rabble would take them off, crush them and kill them.

The Ku Klux Klan were an active, and really barbarous administration, a hater of all that was non White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant. They were largely behind the lynchings, and killed many inkinesss.

The governments did non make any thing about it, because many of them were members of the Klan them selves.

There were besides inquiries of freedom harmonizing to gender. Again, this was non clear cut. Womans in the rural countries were still really dominated by their hubbies and played a traditional function in the place. Undertakings like milking the cattles, doing the nutrient and conveying up the household were what adult females were thought to be for. The state common people saw the & # 8216 ; the liberated, free adult females of the metropolis & # 8217 ; to be corrupt and immoral.

The adult females in the metropolis were non every bit free as many thought though. Their vesture was restricted ( in Chicago, one piece bathing suits were banned ) , and even though they got the ballot in 1920, and started in employment, they still got lower rewards and were exploited as a consequence.

Political freedom was besides in serious inquiry. Communism was banned in some provinces, but the fright of it was exagerated compared to the existent menace.

The Bolshevik revolution in Russia had led to an huge phobic disorder of any thing Soviet, particularly communism – and anything that hinted at extremist left political relations. The fright of nihilists was besides every bit great. One illustration of this fright was the test and executing of Sacco and Vanzetti.

Sacco and Vanzetti were work forces who were executed on political evidences. The fact that they were both nihilists and immigrants, were the grounds for their apprehension and executing. The grounds was inconclusive ( and some say fixed ) , the defence clearly out weighed the prosecution, yet they were still found guilty of slaying and armed robbery. They were put to decease by electric chair on the 24th of August, 1927.The governments were looking for person to fault, and unluckily it was them.

The existent guilty party here, were the WASPs. Anything that threatened WASP domination & # 8211 ; even the slightest thing & # 8211 ; would be immediately crushed, even if it meant disregarding the measure of rights, or the policies of the state. The & # 8216 ; Red Scare & # 8217 ; was devised by the capitalist WASPs, to protect their involvements and money, and it impinged on the freedom of many subdivisions of American society.

The new immigrants moved into ghettos in the large metropoliss, which made the topographic point expression ugly, and was besides thought to be a wellness hazard. Irrational frights about immigrants began to take clasp. The authorities decided to put up an in-migration policy. At the root of this was the thought of non & # 8220 ; fouling & # 8221 ; the WASP communities. The ruddy panic was besides a major factor. If adequate Communists and left flying groups were allowed in, it would be a menace the WASPs.

By this clip, the unfastened door policy was losing popularity as the new immigrants were blamed for lifting offense and force, and jobs in the metropoliss.

The quota act was set up. This lone allowed in 3 per centum of immigrants of the same nationality that were at that place in 1910. This was bit by bit reduced until 1929 when a new quota was brought, saying that merely 150,000 immigrants were allowed in per twelvemonth. There were to be no Asians at all, and northern and western Europeans were allocated 85 % of the infinite.

Religious beliefs were a basis of American life. Christianity was the lone faith, and any one non found practising it would be out dramatis personae. Native Americans were looked down on the most. Even though in 1926, Indians were declared full citizens of the USA, white governments tried to destruct their traditional manner of life and civilization.

Indian kids were made to travel to get oning school, and while they were at that place they were & # 8216 ; reeducated & # 8217 ; . All their traditional values were outlawed, and they were put on reserves and made to change over to Christianity.

The epicenter of spiritual contention was the monkey test.

A adult male called John Scopes taught the theory of development in a school in Tennessee ( where the fundamentalists had it outlawed naming it blasphemy ) . He was brought to tribunal, and fined $ 100. He was pleased with the result, because he knew that he had shown there was an alternate to following the bible word for word, and that scientific discipline was sometimes the reply to life & # 8217 ; s large inquiries.

But the trail did exemplify the reluctance of American society to accept Darwinism & # 8211 ; or a different reading of the Bible & # 8211 ; and hence underlined a reluctance to accept freedom of idea.

So although America was portrayed by the politicians as the land of chance and autonomy, this was merely so for a privileged minority. The thought of freedom had a hollow ring for many sectors of American society.