What Are Some Examples Of Discrimination In The 1920s

Racism was a very common occurrence in the 1920’s. There were many forms of discriminating as well. It ranged from protests to lynchings. It wasn’t just towards African Americans, however. It was discriminating towards all sorts of people. Racism in the 1920’s was widespread and inescapable for African Americans and other races as well as religions as they were terrorized and discriminated against persistently. A prime example of this discriminating was a group called the Klu Klux Klan, or the KKK. The first branch of the KKK was founded in 1866 by a group of former confederate veterans in Pulaski Tennessee. It first started as a social club for the group, but soon spread to over 4 million members across the United States by the mid 1920’s.

Upon this, the Klu Klux Klan chose to dedicate themselves to a campaign of violence against both black and white Republican leaders and voters. They did this as an effort to change the policies of Radical Reconstruction in the South (“Klu Klux Klan”). They wanted to reinstate white supremacy in the South as to how it was back before the Revolution and before Reconstruction. Other groups, such as the Knights of the White Camelia and the White Brotherhood, joined in on this with the Klu Klux Klan. Due to this dedication by these groups and the KKK, at least ten percent of the black legislators that were elected between 1867 and 1868 were subject to violence due to discrimination. During this time, seven of the black legislators were killed (“Klu Klux

Lynching is putting someone to death, especially by hanging, by mob action and without legal authority (Dictionary.com). Between 1920 and 1929, there was an average of 31 lynchings every year in the US. Around 3 of the 31 lynchings were whites (“Lynching Statistics by Year”). Most lynchings were done by shooting or hanging, sometimes both. Often times, however, the lynchings were done by burning at the stake, dismembering, maiming, or castrating the victim in public. The justification from whites for performing lynchings ranged from minor offenses to major crimes. However, many cases were claimed to have happened from plain racial prejudice, so no crime or offense was actually conducted (“The Negro Holocaust”). Lynchings occurred all over the United States of America. They were primarily performed in the Southern and border states, though. The Southern states claimed nine-tenths of the lynchings that were conducted. The states that had the most lynchings were Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi (“The Negro Holocaust”). Almost half of the lynchings that occurred were in these five states. Mississippi had the highest performed lynchings in the South, as well as in the entire nation. However, there are records of lynchings in every state except for Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New