Time of Turmoil: Extreme Ideas?

Was The Golden Twenties a time of Extreme Ideas?

The Golden twenties, also known as the Roaring 20's, was a decade full of extreme ideas and beliefs as well as radical thinkers. Ever since WWI Americans have had the fear that communist groups that were able to overthrow the Russian government would soon be coming to America to do the same here, Americans fear were intensified after the Espionage and Sedition act that limited their freedom of speech and independence. Americans eventually began to have the extreme idea that foreigners and people with different views about society were these radical groups that wanted to take away their system of democracy. Another example of extremists during this era were the Bolsheviks and the anarchists. Bolsheviks wanted to instill communism and destroy the idea of capitalism and anarchists, who were another group of radical thinkers, did not want any government at all. These groups would increase the anxiety of the American people as they would be viewed as a threat to American society and its values of religion, private property, and democracy. However, the spark that would lead to another surge of extreme ideas was the bombings led by anarchists and communists with the goal of attacking and overthrowing the government as well as destroying capitalism. These bombings would fuel American's fears and lead to the Red Scare. It was called the Red Scare because of the extreme fear of communists and the possibility that they could overthrow the government. During this time the government finally began to take action against Communists and other with radical views. To handle the situation they took extreme measures, in which they arrested 10,000 people who were simply thought to be anarchists and Communists. Another extreme approach than was used to control the situation was through the extremely violent Palmer raids in which headquarters of "suspicious" groups were raided, though in reality none of those arrested or raided any connection with these radical groups. The unfair Trial and execution of Sacco and Vanzetti would be proof of the extreme fear Americans had of foreigners and radical thinkers as two innocent men were murdered only because they were anarchists and immigrants. The extreme ways labor unions and strikes were handled is also another example of extreme ideas, because of Americans intense fear of Bolsheviks and anarchists they believed that Bolsheviks and anarchists are the ones that are influencing workers to go on strike and start a revolution in which they will overthrow the government. When steel workers went on strike in Indiana 18 strikers were killed because they believed to be communists. During this time tensions between African Americans and whites were on the rise as African Americans were treated extremely harsh as they were competing for jobs with whites who though factory jobs should be reserved only for them. During this time an extremely radical thinker named Marcus Garvey described how he believed African Americans would never be accepted in America and so should all go back to Africa where they can start their own country. Finally, the last example of extreme ideas would be the KKK who believed in white supremacy and were fanatics that would go to any level to get rid of African Americans. All in all, these examples show that the Roaring 20's was an age full of extreme ideas and beliefs.

The Red Scare

The time after World War I was hard for many American people, Americans were exhausted from the tensions and difficulties they had to face because of the war and were having hard time adjusting to their country's new responsibilities as a global power. Many were longing for things to go back to the way it was, however, because of the war and the alliances that took place during it Americans began to become suspicious of people from other countries and were worried about the influence of people with different idea about society, such people were known as radicals. Americans were mainly concerned about the radical ideas of the Bolshevik, who supported communism, and the Anarchists, who believed that there should be no government at all. To achieve their radical goal of getting rid of the government the anarchists led bombings in many cities in the U.S. The bombings increased Americans' fear of these extremists and this fear led to the "Red Scare". Americans feared that there might be communist groups that came to overthrow the American government which is why it known as the "Red" Scare as "Reds" are another name for communists. During this time thousands of people were arrested as they were thought to be communist and anarchists that had come to overthrow the government.

Bolsheviks

Bolsheviks were seen a radicals because of their extreme belief that workers should overthrow capitalism. Capitalism is a economic system centered on private property and free enterprise. Bolsheviks were communists, which worried many Americans as they were afraid of the Bolshevik movement and saw them as a threat to their democratic society. The Bolshevik movement is originally from Russia, they gained power during the October Revolution in the Russian Republic in November 1917(during WWI), they overthrew the Provisional Government of Alexander Kerensky, and became the only ruling party in Russia. Their success in transforming Russia into a communist country worried Americans of what they would be able to do to America. The picture depicts Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik party.

Anarchists

Anarchists are another example of radicals who believed that there should be no government. In 1919 they set off bombs in New York City, Seattle, and other cities. One of the bombings took place on Wall street and was believed to be done by political radicals, which includes groups like the Anarchists. This event would eventually lead to the Red Scare as many Americans blamed these radical groups for the bombing saying it was an attempt to "shatter the symbols of American capitalism. " During this incident 38 were killed and hundreds more were injured, the explosion damaged many buildings and forced The New York Stock Exchange to close as the bombing was very close to this building.

Mitchell Palmer

Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer also had extreme ideas about the Bolshevik and Anarchists as well as about how to get rid of them.The raids he led against headquarters of groups that were thought to be suspicious were known as Palmer Raids. These raids were "violent and abusive law-enforcement raids" that were led by Palmer with the help of J.Edgar Hoover. During this time Palmer had ordered the arrest of 10,000 people whom they thought were communists and anarchists. However, they did not find the suspicious weapons they though these groups had and many who were arrested were released. Mitchell Palmer also opposed unions and strikes, he thought the strikes were a threat to American values and he also thought that strikes threatened the American values of "religion, private property, and democracy". He describes the idea of revolution as "eating its way into the homes of the American workingman."

Nativism-Sacco & Vanzetti

As said before during this time Americans also feared foreigners in their country as they believed that these immigrants could also be part of the Bolshevik or Anarchist group. There were a series of incidents in the 1920s that would give examples of the prejudice immigrants had to face because of this fear. During the Palmer Raids and arrests a few of those thousand people arrested were foreigners, but unlike others that were arrested, these foreigners that were arrested were eventually deported or forced out of the United States while others were released without punishment. The main example, however, of prejudice against immigrants was the trial and execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Sacco and Vanzetti were both Italian immigrants who had admitted that they were anarchists. They were falsely accused of murdering a guard and a paymaster during the April 15, 1920 armed robbery of a shoe company in Massachusetts. In 1921 they were convicted or declared guilty for this crime, however, many believed that Sacco and Vanzetti did not get a fair trial because they had admitted that they were anarchists. Since Americans feared such people and their beliefs they would do anything to get rid of them, many nativists who did not support immigrants being allowed into the country, and many who opposed these extremists wanted Sacco and Vanzetti put to death. In 1927, though the two men were said to be innocent, they were executed after a special committee decided that the original decision for them being guilty was correct. This trial would eventually become a symbol of America's fear towards foreigners and radical thinkers.

Labor & Unions

During WWI labor had become a crucial part of the war effort as there were material shortages and an need for an increased amount of military goods. However, during this time many labor workers were on strike and so to end this and get more production of goods, employers promised to increase wages and improve working conditions for laborers in exchange for them to ending the strikes and going back to work. However, after the war these benefits did not last long and things eventually went back to normal with the 12 hour work days and harsh conditions. Even though the economy was booming during this time and prices were increasing laborers were not seeing an increase in their wages. So workers went on strike again to get better conditions, however, Americans fears eventually focused on these unions and their strikes, they believed that these strikes were the work of Bolsheviks and Anarchists who were trying to overthrow the government and seize private businesses. White Americans also began to get angry with African Americans because they believed African Americans were taking their jobs in factories. Tensions between Africans Americans, extremists, and Americans during this time was higher than ever. One example of an extremely violent and unsuccessful strike was in September 1919 in Gary,Indiana where about 350,000 steel workers went on strike, the steel companies accused them of being communists and so the strike turned violent until eventually 18 strikers were killed. Another unsuccessful strike was in Boston when police officers went on strike, by the end of the strike the governor had fired all of the police officers that had taken part in this strike.

For more on Marcus Garvey

Marcus Garvey

Marcus Garvey was also a radical thinker who had extreme ideas about integration. Garvey was an African American leader in New York's Harlem area and he had also formed the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). During this time tensions between African Americans and white Americans was on the rise. In the south lynchings were becoming more common with 70 African Americans lynched in 1919. In the North African Americans had to face an increased amount of discrimination. Seeing this Garvey felt that integration of African Americans and whites would never be possible and that these to groups could never live side-by-side with each other. He proposed that all African Americans move back to Africa where they can start their own country in which he would be declared their leader.

The Second KKK

The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1866 by ex-confederate soldiers and other Southerners who opposed the Reconstruction movement and the rise of African Americans. However, as the Reconstruction movement ended the KKK also disbanded. Later in 1915 "Colonel" William Joseph Simmons revived the Klan and began to recruit more members for the KKK. In its second resurgence, the Klan broadened its "message of hate" to include blacks, Catholics, Jews and foreigners. The Klan promoted fundamentalism and patriotism along with promoting white supremacy. The KKK claimed that America was “destined” to be a white Protestant nation, and that God had created the Klan in order to stop Catholic and Jewish conspiracies to seize power. The Klan soon began to attack the elites, African Americans, Catholics, Jews and foreigners. Their goals soon became popular, and membership in the Klan increased in the 1920s. By the middle of the decade, estimates for membership in the KKK ranged anywhere from three million to as high as eight million Klansmen. The 1920s became a time when the KKK was extremely popular and widespread. In the 1920s, the Klan moved in many states to dominate local and state politics. The Klan created a strategy called the "decade," in which every member of the Klan was responsible for recruiting ten people to vote for Klan candidates in elections. In 1924 the Klan succeeded in dominating the elections across the country, including place like Portland, Maine, and Portland, Oregon. In some states, such as Colorado and Indiana, they placed enough Klansmen in positions of power to control the entire state government. The Klan soon became known as the "Invisible Empire," for its widespread effects on the entire nation. This second resurgence of the Klan was mainly nonviolent, and was not secret, as well as created a highly successful electoral and legislative strategy to control states across America to achieve their goal.

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