The 1920s, known as “The Roaring Twenties”, was a period of great change for post-World War One America. A thriving economy and massive development of technology and arts were not the only changes of the era, there was also many ever evolving social tensions plaguing the country. The common foundations of issues within American Society were Nativism, racism, and religious persecution ("Social Tensions - AP U.S. History Topic Outlines - Study Notes.”). With these problems also came reform movements and whether these movements were successful or not, they resulted in a lasting change for America’s future. The rapid growth of American cities in the 1920s resulted in a great migration from within and out of the country (History.com …show more content…
Once the immigrants arrived they weren’t greeted with the hope they were looking for, but an intense hatred from native born Americans. The rapid spread of Communism through ought Europe “encouraged a widespread nativist, or anti-immigrant, hysteria which ultimately led to government involvement (History.com Staff; Social Tensions-). The Immigration Act of 1924 regulated immigration from southern and eastern Europe and denied entry to Asians. In addition to these discriminatory laws, immigrants faced extreme racism caused by paranoia. This fear of the unknown, which is most common in America near times of war, led to false accusations that ruined the lives of many innocent. The most famous out of these cases of injustice was the Sacco and Vanzetti trial of 1927, in which two Italian immigrants where accused of killing a man. Despite the non-refutable evidence that they were not involved in the crime, an incredibly bias jury ruled them guilty and they were executed (Last Statement of Bartolomeo Vanzetti, 1929). Extreme racism and Nativism in the 20s ultimately led to further tensions within society. In the South, Social tensions reached their highest point; the idea of white supremacy …show more content…
The Large movement of African Americans from the south to the Industrial cities of the north. The “Great Migration” was caused by the harsh Jim Crowe laws in the south and increasingly violent Ku Klux Klan activity. The migrants, like the European immigrants, wanted to pursue a better future. Once they arrived in the prosperous Northern cities, they did not receive the welcome that was expected and were pushed into lower class neighborhoods. Segregation was becoming more and more common and African Americans were not able to work beyond factory laborers, trapping the migrants in severe poverty. The migration later influenced the brief period known as the Harlem Renaissance, producing a new culture the spread across the country (History.com