CHAPTER 22 SECTION 3

A NATION DIVIDED By Clair Kang

1920S

To examine rising racial tensions, the great

northward migration of African-Americans, the

resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, and the emergence of

Garveyism.

OBJECTIVE

“… … He is compelled to go where there is better wages and sociable conditions, believe me … … Many places here in this state … … the black man … … is treated as a slave.”

- Alabama minister, letter to Chicago Defender, April 7, 1917

So even during the 1920’s when slavery was abolished, some of the African Americans were still treated unfairly and were discriminated against. I want you think keep these quotes in mind as I talk to you about Great Migration.

This is a picture depicting the Great Migration. African Americans moved to the North in groups in search of better life.

Migration to the North

During the 1920s, about 800,000 African Americans moved to the north in search of better life.

By 1930, 2.5 million African Americans were living in the North and Midwest part of the United States.

Communities sprang up in Chicago, Detroit, New York City, and other Midwestern and northern cities because African Americans wanted to find economic opportunities by taking factory jobs and other industrial jobs.

As you can see, African Americans moved from southern states such as Texas, Mississippi, Minnesoota, Florida, Tennesee, to northern cities such as Detroit, New York Ciity, Baltimore, St. Louis, etc… The Great Migration happened between 1916 and 1930

SO THEN….. Let’s take a look at …

Why did the Great

Migration happen?

There are 2 main reasons

1. They were searching for more economic opportunities. In the Southern States, it was very hard for them to find jobs because of discrimination. This leads to our second reason.

2. Not only did they want more economic opportunities, they wanted to avoid discrimination and violence that were common for the African Americans. They wanted more social equality

THE CONSEQUENCES

there were quite a lot of consequences. Most of them were concerned with racial tension and

violence. VIOLENCE! Racial tension because of the African Americans migration

to the North One example of racial violence was an incident that

happened in Chicago – July, 1919. An african American boy drowned in Lake Machigan, because a White man threw a rock at him. When, the police decided to ignore the whole incident and not

investigate into the situation, fights broke out between whites and African Americans which lasted for more than week

38 people killed, 537 injured There were also a lot of race riots in which White Americans

tried to injure or kill lots of African Americans at once. But most importantly, the biggest consequence was the

revival Ku Klux Klan

Return of the KKK

Return of the Ku Klux Klan KKK was was revived in 1915 by William

Joseph Simmons Just like post- Civil War days, there were

kidnappings, beatings, and lynching which terrorized African Americans, especially those in the south

• KKK was active also in northern and midwestern towns and cities targeting other racial groups other than African Americans- Jews, Catholics, immigrants, and radicals

• You learned about Red Scare from Grace’s presentation Red Scare led to more members of KKK- And KKK Rapidly flourished during 1920s

Fall of KKK

During late 20’s, the membership for KK dropped from 5 million members to 9,000

There were many reasons why this happened There were economic booming in late 1920s which meant that

Whites decided to let go of the fact that African Americans were taking away their jobs. Things were much better economically, so people were less angry about this.

Anxiety about radicalism declined Publicity about Klan’s terrorism and violence was another

reason. As newspapers and magazines, and other forms of media exposed the merciless violence of the KKK, the organization started losing support.

Suffered from corruption and scandals at the national level David Stephenson who was basically the leader of the clan, was

arrested and convicted for second-degree murder. So after this, members of KKK started to drop out of the organization.

Activity- Video interpretation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Di05OQ_mqg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOhUfdL0ifM&feature=related

First video

1. What did Ku Klux Klan do? How did they spread fear?2. Who were their new enemies in addition to African Americans?3. Why did Ku Klux Klan show prejudice towards African Americans and the immigrants?4. How did the support for Ku Klux Klan decrease?

Second video

What do you think make certain white people think the have such prejudice against African Americans? Refer back to the history (time of slavery) of African Americans and certain racial beliefs that the Whites had.

*Get into pair to come up with an answer

Defending rights and equality

NAACP was an organization for African American people that fought for rights and equality of the colored people NAACP (National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People) Formed Antilynching Committee Put pressure on law enforcement officials

to investigate acts of violence against African Americans

Won lots of support but had limited success

African American Unionization was another organization that fought against discrimination

Unions were formed to fight discrimination in the workplace

As African Americans grew more and more frustrated about the racial discrimination, they now started to support a movement known as black nationalism. African Americans felt like they need to

form a nation of their own So they supported Pan-Africanism

- A movement aimed to unite people of African descent worldwide

- Marcus Garvey - A new leader supporting Pan- Africanism- Supported the belief of Black Nationalism- Founded Universal Negro Improvement

Association- Movement aimed to create a new political state

for African Americans in America

Goals of Garvey

To foster Africa American’s economic independence through establishmetn of black-owneed businesses

Worked to establish an independent blakc homeland in AFrica

Immigration Restrictions

The increasing immigration during 1920’s angered many nativists Immigrants took jobs Many held radical views

Citizens demanded federal limits on immigration

And as the result, Immigration Act of 1924 was passed by the Congress

Immigration Act of 1924 put many restrictions on immigration. Limited the number of immigrants

from each country to quota of 3 percent for each nationality, and later quota of 2 percent

Excluded all Asian immigrants In 1925, total number of new

immigrants from Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe to only 153,000 people

Activity

Use the political cartoon analysis on Mr.Osterweil’s wiki to interpret the political cartoon.

Get into groups of 3 to do this.

Mexican American Migration The restrictive legislation of the

1920s did not affect Mexicans Employers in Southwest liked steady

flow of workers to fill low-wage jobs During the 1920s, some 500,000

immigrants arrived from Mexico Many moved into urban areas

Were drawn to well-paying factory jobs

American Indian Life

During 1920s, American Indians tried to fight laws that tried to “Americanize” Indians or take their tribal alnd away

In 1924, Congress granted citizenship to all American Indians, in recognition of those who fought in World War I

Citizenship, did not eliminate poverty for American Indians