Racism in America
Part two
America 1919 to 1939
Aims of the lesson
By the end of this lesson you will
• Understand what we mean by lynch law
and assess its importance
• Describe the main features of the Ku Klux
Klan
• Evaluate the importance of the Klan in
understanding America in the 1920s
Background
• After World War One America followed a
policy of isolationism
• She withdrew from world affairs
• Foreign goods had tariffs charged on them
• The US government started to restrict the
number of people coming into the country
• As a result immigrants and non white
people began to be blamed for all
Americas troubles
Lynch Law
• Many racist people were willing to
use violence in order to get over
their views
• Lynching – where a mob kills
someone because they think they
have committed a crime
• Would beat their targets before
killing them
• Only black people targeted
• Mainly in the south – easier to
escape punishment
The Ku Klux Klan
• A racist group
• Argued that the only true
Americans were White Anglo
Saxon Protestants (WASPs)
• Any others – Jews,
Catholics, blacks and
immigrants were not proper
Americans
• 100 000 members in 1920
• 5 000 000 members in 1925
Who joined the KKK?
• A secret society – members
dressed in white robes and wore
masks
• Spoke in secret codes –
Klonversations
• Poor whites – blamed blacks for
taking jobs
• Wealthy politicians
• People in the south with a
history of hatred towards black
people – even the police
What did the KKK do?
• Tortured and killed non WASPs
• Burned down homes and churches even
with people in them
• Beat up or lynched anyone who annoyed
them – 1882 to 1968 there were 3400
lynching of black people
• Set up burning crosses as their symbol in
order to intimidate people or to say “we did
this”
Was the Klan punished?
• Many policemen, politicians,
lawyers and Judges were
members of the Klan
• Most crimes were not even
reported let alone punished
• Some people were punished
in areas that the Klan did not
control
• After 1925 its numbers fell but
it still exists today