During the 1920's the Federal Government did little to alleviate poverty and
socio-economic disadvantage amongst its ethnic minorities. However at this
time few Americans would have expected it to intervene in the way it does no
wadays. There were rare instances where President Warren Harding spoke out a
gainst racial segregation, for example in Birmingham, Alabama, heartland of
the racist South. However some cynics have argued that he did so primarily t
o win the electoral support of northern blacks. One historian even claimed t
hat Harding had been inducted into the Ku Klux Klan in the White House durin
g his presidency. Moreover the various administrations throughout the twenti
es seemed to condone racial discrimination. A half-hearted attempt to introd
uce an anti-lynching law in 1921 was defeated, with Southern Senators using
filibustering tactics to prevent the legislation from being passed. Despite
acknowledging the issue of lynching in his first address to Congress in 1923
, Coolidge subsequently did not act on the problem. Moreover, on the 18th Au
gust 1925 the Ku Klux Klan was able to stage a 40,000 man parade down Pennsy
lvania Avenue in Washington D.C with no intervention from state officials. F
urthermore the segregated facilities in government buildings introduced in t
he first decade of the century remained unchanged. The fact that the America
n government during the twenties was seen to be continually ignoring and avo
iding issues related to ethnic minorities did not help to improve the hostil
e attitudes of its people.
The growing spirit of intolerance erupting throughout America can be witness
ed none clearer than in the wartime revival of the secret society, the Ku Kl
ux Klan. The newly re-modelled organisation of the Civil War days claimed to
be fighting to protect native white Protestants from the alien elements wit
hin. They argued that the American way of life was under threat not only fro
m the Negroes but also from Catholics, Jews and all immigrants. It emphasise
d the notion of 100% Americanism. Its appeal was mainly sited in the Souther
n states, where the majority of black people lived, where the powerful idea
of 'white supremacy' went unquestioned. The Klan's appeal also spread to the
western and northern states, where Catholics and Jews became the targets. T
hroughout the 1920's the Klan's membership saw an increase, estimates at the
time ranged from 3-5 million and profits rolled in from the sale these memb
erships, regalia, costumes and rituals. The burning cross became their symbo
l. The Ku Klux Klan used intimidation, threats, beating and even murder in t
heir quest for a "purified America". Klan members, between 1920-27 it has be
en estimated, carried out the lynching of 416 Blacks in the Southern States.
Research by writers at the time indicated that most of the victims were inn
ocent or were only accused of minor offences. The Klan's influence reached i
t's peak in the state of Indian where the 'Grand Wizard', David Stephenson w
as politically powerful. It was also alleged that in 1924 the Klan helped el
ect governor in Maine, Colorado and Louisiana.
There is little doubt that while not all would go to the extremes of the Kla
n in terms of violence, many in rural America supported it's ideology. Howev
er the Klan did not receive as strong a following in the larger cities of th
e north. Despite this, the support and more importantly the tolerance that m
any American people showed for the Ku Klux Klan during the twenties serves a
s evidence to show that attitudes towards ethnic minorities had been very mu
ch altered.
The racial discrimination towards ethnic minorities during the twenties can
also be seen in the job opportunities available to them. Blacks, Mexicans, a
nd the recent immigrants clustered as the bottom of the wage scale. All were
usually the last hired and the first fired and performed menially jobs. Mex
icans were employed as cheap labour on Californian farms. Wherever the minor
ities worked the 'native' Americans saw them as a threat to their livelihood
, as they normally accepted jobs that the whites did not want. Despite emanc
ipation from slavery after the Civil War, the former slaves remained at the
bottom of the social scale in the southern states, where most blacks lived.
They lacked economic independence, since they largely worked in white-owned
land. Many poverty stricken Blacks migrated from the south to the north duri
ng the twenties, to fill the demand for unskilled labour in the North. This
however led to resentment from the white workers who saw them as competitors
. To add to their problem, Blacks were subject to discrimination at work too
. Memberships to unions remained low throughout the twenties. Although the A
merican Federation of Labour officially prohibited racial discrimination, th
e independent unions within the AFL did discriminate against Black. Some had
constitutional clauses limiting membership to whites only; others followed
a de facto exclusion policy. The historian Hugh Brogan refers to black peopl
es problem's: "Trapped on a treadmill of poverty, poor education and discrim
ination, blacks faced formidable obstacles."
During the 1920's various groups of ethnic minorities were discriminated aga
inst through the act of segregation. Most commonly associated with Blacks, w
ho were separated from whites in most public areas including trains, parks a
nd even cemeteries, also extended to other minority groups. Orientals living
in America were compelled to attend segregated schools. Catholics, shunned
by the Protestant majority in organised sport, formed a separate high-school
athletic conference early in the 1920's but was not allowed to merge with t
he public system until forced legislation to do so in 1966. Jews continued t
o be discriminated against in the twenties. They were casually excluded from
large parts of American society. Attempts to restrict Jewish admission to l
aw school began in the twenties, arising from resentment of their success in
various careers. It was at this time that the expression "Five o'clock anti
-Semitism" entered the language. It meant that people would work with Jew du
ring the day (if they must), but wouldn't dream of socialising with them in
the evenings.
In can been said that the 1920's were marked considerably by racial tensions
between the ethnic minorities and those who upheld white Anglo-Saxon values
. Grievances regarding ethnic minorities, that had been simmering throughout
the 'native' American population decades before, got stronger and came to b
e recognised. Tolerance for racist views in the media, literature and in org
anisations like the Ku Klux Klan. Similarly the hostile attitude of the Fede
ral Government during the twenties did not set a good example for its people
regarding ethnic groups. The racial prejudices that had been ingrained thro
ughout American society in the 1920's would only subside with the passage of
time.
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