What Are The Causes Of Racial Tensions In The 1920s

Racial tensions were extremely high in the South in the 1920s due to the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan and the lack of civil rights awarded to African Americans during the time. The Ku Klux Klan originally arose during Reconstruction after the Civil War, however it experienced a resurgence directly after World War I. The Klansmen committed horrific crimes against African Americans such as lynchings and burning them alive. At it’s peak in the 20s, it had 4 million members worldwide. According to Hiram Evans, Imperial Leader of the Klan, the group’s main mission was to “defend Americanism.” In his article he wrote that was published in December 1925, in The Forum, Hiram explains that “[the Klan] holds firmly that America belongs to Americans,
Washington condemned how normalized the lynchings had become and warned the Southerners about inevitable retaliation by the black community. He writes that “if the law is disregarded when a Negro is concerned, it will soon be disregarded when a white man is concerned.” His letter foreshadows the impending civil rights movement. The political cartoon “They Have Ears but They Hear Not” was drawn by Albert Alex Smith in 1920. This cartoon depicts a black man on trial for a crime in a Southern courtroom. He appears to be talking but both the judge and the jury have on headphones. This cartoon shows that there is nothing the man could say to ever make the Southern law be in his favor, because its mind is already made up. The Anti-Lynching Bill proposed by Leonidas Dwyer was directed at punishing lynchings and classified it as a federal felony. The bill stated that ““[Lynching] would be punished by imprisonment not exceeding five years or by a fine of not exceeding $5,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment.” However, Southern Senators strongly opposed the bill and a Democratic filibuster ensured that it did not