7.7 1920s: Cultural and Political Controversies

The 1920s saw intense cultural clashes between traditionalists and modernists. Key controversies included the Scopes Trial over teaching evolution, Prohibition's impact on society, and a resurgence of nativism targeting immigrants.

These conflicts highlighted deep divisions in American identity and values. The decade's debates on science, religion, personal freedoms, and immigration set the stage for ongoing cultural and political battles throughout the 20th century and beyond.

Cultural Conflicts of the 1920s

Traditionalists vs. Modernists

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• The 1920s saw a cultural divide between traditionalists and modernists, often centered around issues like religion, science, morality, and personal freedoms
• Other cultural clashes centered around women's roles and behavior, race relations, immigration, and a perceived decline in traditional moral values against the backdrop of the "Roaring Twenties" modernist spirit

The Scopes "Monkey" Trial

• The Scopes "Monkey" Trial in 1925 put evolution and religious fundamentalism in direct conflict
  • High school biology teacher John Scopes was tried for violating a Tennessee law banning the teaching of human evolution
  • The trial pitted famous attorneys William Jennings Bryan (prosecution) and Clarence Darrow (defense) against each other in a highly publicized legal battle that captivated the nation
  • While Scopes was found guilty, the trial highlighted the widening gap between traditional religious beliefs and modern scientific theories
  • It foreshadowed ongoing 20th century debates about science and religion in education, politics and culture

Prohibition and its Consequences

• Prohibition, the nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933, created significant cultural and legal conflicts
  • Proponents, including many progressive reformers, women's groups, and religious leaders, argued alcohol fueled social problems like poverty, vice, domestic abuse and crime
  • Opponents saw Prohibition as an attack on personal liberty and an overreach of government authority
    • Many immigrants viewed it as an attack on their heritage and customs (Italian wine-making, German beer-brewing)
  • Prohibition spurred the growth of organized crime, underground drinking establishments called "speakeasies," and a general disregard for the law among many Americans

Resurgence of Nativism in the 1920s

Anti-Immigrant Sentiment and Legislation

• Nativism, a belief in protecting the interests of native-born or established Americans over immigrants, experienced a resurgence in the 1920s
  • Anti-immigrant sentiment targeted Catholics, Jews, and immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, as well as Asia
    • There were fears these groups would not assimilate into American culture
  • The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the annual number of immigrants and established a national origins quota system that favored Northern and Western European immigration

The Second Ku Klux Klan

• The Ku Klux Klan reached the height of its influence in the mid-1920s, expanding beyond its anti-Black roots to also target Catholics, Jews and immigrants as threats to traditional American society
• The Klan's membership grew into the millions and it wielded significant political influence, especially in the Midwest and South

The Red Scare and its Aftermath

• The "Red Scare" of 1919-1920 fed into 1920s nativist attitudes
  • It was a period of intense anti-communist and anti-anarchist sentiment provoked by the Russian Revolution, post-WWI labor unrest, and a series of bombings in 1919
• The Red Scare led to the Palmer Raids, mass arrests and deportations of suspected radicals, often immigrants, violating civil liberties

Populist Revival and New Progressive Politics

• Farmers, who struggled with debt and low crop prices, found expression in a revived Populist movement that was hostile to banks, railroads and Wall Street
• The 1920s saw the rise of new progressive political forces
  • The Socialist Party led by Eugene V. Debs
  • Robert La Follette's Progressive Party, which criticized the political establishment and called for expanding democracy and economic reforms

Impact of 1920s Controversies on American Society

Defining American Identity

• The cultural battles of the 1920s represented a larger struggle to define American identity that continued through the 20th century and beyond
• The 1920s revealed deep cultural fissures in American life between forces of modernity and tradition, and a battle to define the nation's identity, that were never fully resolved and in many ways continue today

Legacy of the Scopes Trial

• The Scopes Trial was a precursor to later fights over the teaching of evolution, creationism and intelligent design in public schools that persist today
• It remains a symbolic touchstone in debates about the role of religion in education and public life

Lessons from Prohibition

• The failure of Prohibition, with widespread flouting of the law, organized crime, and ultimate repeal, cautioned against legislating morality and restricting individual freedoms
  • But debates over drug and alcohol policy continue (War on Drugs, marijuana legalization)

Evolution of Immigration Policy

• 1920s nativism and the immigration quota system drastically reduced the foreign-born population
  • Immigration policy remained restrictive until reforms in 1965
• But debates over the proper level of immigration and treatment of immigrants remain contentious in the 21st century
• The Ku Klux Klan's 1920s resurgence was short-lived, but the group survived and later revivals show the persistence of nativism, racism and white supremacy in American society

Echoes of 1920s Progressivism

• Aspects of 1920s progressive politics, like direct democracy, economic reform, civil liberties, and a critique of concentrated wealth and corporate power, would echo in later populist and progressive movements (New Deal, Great Society, Occupy Wall Street, Bernie Sanders campaigns)