To What Extent Was the USA a Free and Fair Society in the 1920s

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Fraser Bissett 10L4

To What Extent was the USA a Free and Fair Society in the 1920s?

I don't agree that the USA was a free and fair society in the 'Roaring Twenties'. Not everyone had the rights to get a good job and earn money. Blacks and immigrants were just some of these minority groups that were prejudiced against. Although this was true, the , of Americans could purchase things they never could before, they could watch “Nickelodeons”, they could listen to the radio. In this essay I will explain who didn't benefit, who did and to what extent the U.S. Was a free and fair society and explain who was caught in the middle of these groups.

        

There were a number of groups who weren't being treated with liberty and fairness in the 1920s. Many Americans were experiencing this freedom, many others were facing racism and prejudice. A huge majority of Americans were immigrants or descendants of immigrants. It was the more recent immigrants that got the abuse. There was a hierarchy of these new citizens in the big American cities. At the top, and competing for the best jobs and highest salaries, were the bigger and better established groups of Irish-Americans, German-Americans and French Canadians. These groups scorned the newer Eastern Europeans and Italian immigrants, who in turn held contempt for the Mexicans and blacks, who were at the bottom of this scale.

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        The Russian revolution of 1917, sparked communist ideas in Russia and Eastern Europe. The  new Russian government had usurped the Tsar Nicholas and killed him and his family. With all the communist ideas floating around the countries below Russia, some were bound to come to America via the immigrants. And they did. The period when the U.S. government thought communist ideas were spread around America by anarchists and extremists was known as the Red Scare. Evidence was added to these fears and superstitions in 1919. 400,000 workers went on strike, and then the Boston Police Department striked and all hell ...

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