The United States has had a long history with racism, prejudice, and injustice. Many different races have had to struggle to find their place in the United States. From the start of colonization with the first “Americans” there has been racial tensions. Starting with the Native Americans there was plenty of fighting and injustice being shown towards the Native Americans, along with slavery, segregation, and anti-semitism. When considering African Americans and Jews in the 1920’s here in the United States are the first statements of the Constitution true?
Growing up in the 1920’s was a tough situation. Historically it was not one of the best moments of mankind. Along with a world war there was racial inequality, poverty, and let’s not forget
…show more content…
prohibition. The focus of hate in the United States was towards Jewish people and African Americans. At the time immigration was high in the United States. People from all around the world were coming to the United States, but for some reason two groups were frowned upon more than the others. Many people were out of jobs so white Americans did not like the fact that people of other colors or races were going to take their occupation. White Americans tend to look out for other White Americans. Unfortunately the mindset back in the day was so wrong compared to the actuality of the things that were going on. It was thought that many other races were incompetent to do good jobs, lazy, and weren’t good enough to do many of the jobs. This was far from the truth, but people who weren’t white were not given the same chances and opportunity in life. Most people are aware of the mistreatment of African Americans in the United States, but never were given an insight on the struggles that Jewish people underwent. African Americans have been let down by the United States time and time again.
Without realizing it African Americans were the people who built America. There is no logic to the amount of racism that has been shown to blacks living in the United States. The 1920’s was one of the hardest living periods for Africans Americans in the United States. Shortly after a civil war there was still plenty of racism was still going on. The Emancipation Proclamation may have freed the slaves, but it did not give them the same rights as the over privileged whites at the time. The outcome of Emancipation Proclamation caused another huge issue called segregation. Jim Crow laws in the south almost made impossible for Africans Americans to survive. There was so much hate in the south an infamous terrorist group was formed known as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). With the fear of the KKK, Blacks also had to worry about law enforcement along with providing for their families. The majority of the African American population lived in poverty. Segregation prevented African Americans from being able to eat, sit, and even drink at certain places so the chances of them being employed at the time was very difficult. In the 1920’s white hate groups looked for any reason to hurt or even lynch a colored American. African Americans either had to fight back or move. This lead up to the “Black Migration” began where people of color set out north or to less prejudice areas in hope of a better life, jobs, and less …show more content…
violence. The North was a lot more welcoming to these hard working individuals. With the rise of industrialization during the world war workers were needed. Many blacks did find jobs and achieved a better living style. Along the same lines as African Americans, Jews were looked down upon in society all over the United States.
Jewish people were not receiving the best treatment in Europe. Many countries blamed the Jews for several counts of different failures. Instances like the Franco-Prussian war jews were blamed for many of the losses of the land. France almost erupted in a civil war because of the mistreatment of a Jew by the name of ……………….. He was an army general who was accused of feeding Germans information that eventually led to the defeat of France. This was far from from the truth but took years for the whole ordeal to be settled. Over two million Jews dreaming for a better life made their way to United States, the land of the free. This caused a huge influx of anti-semitism. Large portions of the Jewish population were refused certain housing. White Americans did not wants Jewish Americans breaching their solitude. The search for jobs was an even tougher challenge than finding housing. A majority of employers, including Henry Ford, did not see any good in Jews. Ford publicly spoke about how the Jews were to blame for the problems going on in the United States at the time. Ford actually stated this in the New York times,"I know who caused the war-- the German-Jewish bankers." Ford was a dominant and much liked public figure so expressing this suaded much of the U.S population. The KKK at the time became very hostile when in it came to Jews living in the U.S. “At the time
membership in the Klan ballooned in the 1920s. By the middle of the decade, estimates for national membership in this secret organization ranged from three million to as high as eight million Klansmen,”said a pbs article. It was easy to say KKK members outnumbered Jewish Americans. In the United States people of many different races have been persecuted even though the Constitution is supposed to protect everyone’s rights. It should not matter what color a person is, who they worship (if they worship any), or their ethnicity. Society gives groups of people bad names, even though the matter of the fact is that a certain race is not bad. There are good and bad people in every race. Usually the bad person is glorified and is giving stereotypes to the rest of the people. The treatment certain groups has been unfair throughout the times. As we age and the world gets wiser there is less racism and prejudice going on in the world.
The 1920s or the roaring twenties was post World War I and before the Great Depression. Unfortunately, not everything was pleasing for the 1920s, as this time period experienced social, economic, and cultural alterations that affected the lives of Americans. One reason I would not enjoy living in the 1920s was because during this time a law prohibition was passed abolishing the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol and liquors which led to bootlegging and high crime.The 20’s were a very time changing era. Personally, I think things were to uncontrolled and especially for young women living the cities of America. They could now
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of production, it was the age of destruction, it was the epoch of nativism, it was the epoch of racism, it was the season of skepticism, it was the season of anti-communism, it was the spring of gain, it was the winter of loss – in short, it was the 1920's. Indeed, the decade of the 1920s was a truly “roaring” and prosperous time, but at the same time, it was a period of chaos and conflict. The events that happened during this decade influenced the world as we know it today. More importantly, the thought that the 1920’s was an era of major change in the United States, both positive and negative, is indeed fascinating and it deserves thorough examination.
Blacks were treated unjustly due to the Jim Crow laws and the racial stigmas embedded into American society. Under these laws, whites and colored people were “separate but equal,” however this could not be further from the truth. Due to the extreme racism in the United States during this time period, especially in the South, many blacks were dehumanized by whites to ensure that they remained inferior to them. As a result of their suffering from the prejudice society of America, there was a national outcry to better the lives of colored people.
The 1920's was a time of great social change with new prosperity, new ideas but most importantly a time of heroes. These so called heroes defined the era and were the role models for the people of this time period. They brought on hope and enlightenment after the horrific times that they had gone through with the depression and the war. The role of women changed, sports and entertainment stars were celebrated and modern technology changed America's landscape. The twenties were a time when people laughed more often than cried, partied more often than worked, and dreamed more often than faced reality.
There have been traces of racism throughout America since the country was founded. Blacks, along with other races, were constantly fighting to be treated equally. Even though the slaves were freed in 1863, they still faced many racial and prejudice issues. However, in the early 1900s, it seemed as if African Americans were flourishing in the town of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The thought of African Americans prospering disgusted most whites to the point they wanted to do something about it. These thoughts and actions caused a horrific event known as Tulsa Race Riots that not only affected everyone in the time period, but will continue to affect us and live in our memory.
Back in the early 1800’s, America was having a hard time accepting others. The Americans did not like having immigrants living in the same area, and they really hated when immigrants took their jobs. Many Americans discriminated against African Americans even if they were only ⅛ African American. Americans were not ready to share their country and some would refuse to give people the rights they deserved. This can be seen in the Plessy vs Ferguson and Yick Wo vs Hopkins. In Plessy vs Ferguson, Plessy was asked to go to the back of the train because he was ⅛ African American.
The decade of the 1920's was an era of intolerance. Labor strife, government repression of political radicals, anti-foreign paranoia, intensified by war and legalized in the racial quotas of the 1924 Immigration Act, were only a few examples of this intolerance. For American blacks, it was axiomatic that any measurable shift to the right in social and political opinion, would bring with it increased difficulties for their race. The 20's were no exception.
The 1920’s was a period of extremely economic growth and personal wealth. America was a striving nation and the American people had the potential to access products never manufactured before. Automobile were being made on an assembly line and were priced so that not just the rich had access to these vehicles, as well as, payment plans were made which gave the American people to purchase over time if they couldn't pay it all up front. Women during the First World War went to work in place of the men who went off to fight. When the men return the women did not give up their positions in the work force.
African Americans migrated to escape racism and prejudice in the south, as well as to seek jobs in industrial cities and resulted in a major shift in where African Americans lived in the United States. Many blacks went north during the great migration due to the fact of believing that they would get better jobs and fair treatment in the north. The Chicago race riot caused by hatred for one another of members of different races in the same community. The black people had suffered the worst of the bloodshed, they had also been arrested by police twice the rate of whites. Many blacks viewed the migration as a well inspired deliverance from the land of suffering. The south could be hostile, but the north could be careful, cold, and lonely. The reason why the Chicago race riots was ludicrous was because of the Eugene Williams situation and doing that time thirty-eight people died 23 (African American and 15 white) and over five hundred were injured. You can relate this back to what’s going on in present time with the police brutality how they are killing African American teens for no reason just because they believe they are up to no good. The Eugene Williams situation really set things off that’s why Chicago had that big riot just like the one in Baltimore with the Mike Brown brutality and
African Americans suffered from racism during Jim Crow system for many years. “Racism is the belief that the physical characteristics of a person or group determines their capabilities and that one group is naturally superior to other groups”(United Nations Human Rights). On other words, racism means anyone has different physical characteristics such as color skin or gender is lower than the majority or another group. Slavery in the United States began after English colonists settled and continue for many years (Kenion, 1912). During slavery years, The Americans transferred African men and women to the US to work in farms, housekeeping and serve white people. After many years, the African Americans demanded for their freedom and equality with white people. As a result, the white Americans created Jim Crow system. The Jim Crow laws were racial segregation laws and used from 1876 to 1965 in the United States. The laws used to organize life between African Americans and white people. The system was dealing with African Americans as second level citizenries and withe people as first citizenries. African American could not get the simple rights such as qualified education and health care. For example, North Carolina schools were racially segregated because Jim Crow system say’s that, African American and white students should study in separate and equal schools. In fact, schools in North Carolina were separate, but not equal. By 1875, “public education in North Carolina was a legally ordained system” (Kenion, 1912). Every thing was separate such as facilities, teachers, resources, and students. In North Carolina, African American and white students had been attended segregated public schools. However, the schools were unequal. The whi...
Although they needed African Americans for their factories and work ethics they did not agree with them having the same rights or sharing any rights with them. They wanted them just to work for them and have authority over African Americans. The more Africans Americans populated their living area, the more whites felt upon to call for action. For example whites wanted to feel much superior...”African Americans had to step off the sidewalk when a white person approached”(Digital Collection for the Classroom). This quote illustrates how whites did anything in their power to feel superior. The Great Migration caused whites to fear and enable them to more injustice actions. Although the Great Migration did benefit many African Americans in certain aspects it also crated unintended consequences. Due to the large growth of the African-American population there was an increasing competition amongst the migrants for employment and living space in the growing crowded cities of the North. Besides, racism and prejudice led to the interracial strife and race riots, worsening the situation between the whites and the African Americans. Racism became even more of a national problem. The Great Migration intensions were to let African Americans live a better life style economically wise and help them from poverty not cause even more issues with racism or become competition against others. Because many white people did not want to sell their property to African Americans, they began to start their own exclusive cities within that area of sell. These exclusive cities were called the “ Ghetto”(Black, 2013). The ghetto was subject to high illness, violence, high crime rate, inadequate recreational facilities; lack of building repairs, dirty streets, overcrowded schools; and mistreatment from the law enforcement. Although the ghetto cities helped unify African Americans as
The 1920's was a time of change in the United States. “The Roaring Twenties” had an outstanding impact on the economy, social standards and everyday life. It was a time for positive results in the industry of consumer goods and American families, because of higher wages, shorter working hours, and manufacturing was up 60% in consumer goods. But it was also a time of adversity and opposition for others, such as immigrants and farmers. Immigrants had lots of competition when they were looking for work and they weren't treated fairly by Americans, depending on where they came from and what they believed. Farmers were paid very little because the price of food kept going down, they also had the Dust Bowl to worry about. African Americans became further infused with mainstream America during the Harlem Renaissance. They were also able to organize and elect officials who would make life better for them. The Roaring Twenties was a very exciting time to live in and we can all learn what the real world is like, and how we can prepare to be ready for it, today and in the future.
African Americans have a history of struggles because of racism and prejudices. Ever since the end of the Civil War, they struggled to benefit from their full rights that the Constitution promised. The fourteenth Amendment, which defined national citizenship, was passed in 1866. Even though African Americans were promised citizenship, they were still treated as if they were unequal. The South had an extremely difficult time accepting African Americans as equals, and did anything they could to prevent the desegregation of all races. During the Reconstruction Era, there were plans to end segregation; however, past prejudices and personal beliefs elongated the process.
Throughout history, African Americans have encountered an overwhelming amount of obstacles for justice and equality. You can see instances of these obstacles especially during the 1800’s where there were various forms of segregation and racism such as the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan terrorism, Jim- Crow laws, voting restrictions. These negative forces asserted by societal racism were present both pre and post slavery. Although blacks were often seen as being a core foundation for the creation of society and what it is today, they never were given credit for their work although forced. This was due to the various laws and social morals that were sustained for over 100 years throughout the United States. However, what the world didn’t know was that African Americans were a strong ethnic group and these oppressions and suffrage enabled African Americans for greatness. It forced African Americans to constantly have to explore alternative routes of intellectuality, autonomy and other opportunities to achieve the “American Dream” especially after the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were passed after the Civil War.