1920s, Immigration &
the Harlem Renaissance

Chapter 10

I. Roaring 20s

How did the U.S. rise as a Global Economic Superpower?

The emergence of Jazz music helped celebrate the culture of mass consumption brought about by 1920s prosperity. Photograph of a Charleston dance contest in St. Louis on November 13, 1925. Digital Public Library of America,

Henry Ford standing next to two Ford vehicles. "First and Ten Millionth Ford" (1924). Detroit Publishing Company photograph collection (Library of Congress)

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrayed the extravagant lifestyle and excessive consumption associated with the prosperous 1920s. Fitzgerald wrote the last line resembled the spirit of many who sought (perhaps hopelessly) to press on with a sense of normalcy after World War I: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” [1]

The 1920s was a vibrant and transformative period in U.S. history spanning the entire decade. Advancements in the economy prompted changes in the social lives of everyday Americans. Following the end of World War I in 1918, the U.S. experienced a period of economic prosperity. The wartime economy pushed the nation’s industrial capacity to its limits. After the war, the accelerated pace remained as Republican-dominated governments endorsed a return to laissez-faire capitalism that in turn boosted ingenuity. The industry that had previously produced wartime products was now mass-producing labor-saving devices such as vacuum cleaners, washers, toasters, and refrigerators.

The automobile industry accounted for the bulk of the industrial manufacturing during this period. Under the leadership of Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company designed the Model T to make car ownership available to the average American. Though his ultimate innovation lay in targeting the middle class, Ford was also innovative for towards his employees by establishing 8-hour workdays and equal pay for both black and white workers.

The industrial output helped place the U.S. as a world economic leader. American foreign investment outpaced any other nation, allowing the U.S. dollar to replace the pound as the most important international currency. During this period, the U.S. produced 40% of the world’s manufactured goods and 85% of the world’s cars.

Such economic prosperity affected the everyday lives of average Americans back home. The boost in the economy prompted higher wages. When combined with the proliferation of labor-saving devices of the era, many Americans had more time to devote to leisure and consumption. For this reason, the entertainment industry grew by leaps and bounds. Movies, “moving pictures,” allowed Americans to consume a new kind of entertainment. Radio stations began broadcasting the news, serial stories, and speeches of all kinds. Recreational activities in the arena of sports, vacations, and camps also advanced throughout this period.

II. Rise of Nativism and Anti-Immigration Law

How did a Conservative Reaction to the 1920s Respond to New Immigrants?

Cartoon shows a middle-class man gesturings towards the arrival of recent immigrants labeled "German socialist," "Russian anarchist," "Polish vagabond," "Italian brigand," "English convict," "Irish pauper," etc.. Meanwhile, a towering Uncle Sam leans against a building, at his feet is a sheet of paper on which is written, "Mafia in New Orleans, Anarchists in Chicago, Socialists in New York." The man (Judge) says to Uncle Sam: "If Immigration was properly Restricted you would no longer be troubled with Anarchy, Socialism, the Mafia and such kindred evils!" New York : Sackett & Wilhelms Litho. Co., 1891 April 4. Library of Congress.

Anarchist trial defendants Bartolomeo Vanzetti (left) and Nicolo Sacco (right). Dedham, Massachusetts Superior Court, 1923. Boston Public Library.

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A conservative reaction to modern social culture and the dire need to return to normalcy after World War I prompted a surge in nativism that only worsened with the rising influx of European and Mexican immigrants in the 1920s. After the Great War, Europeans increasingly emigrated to the U.S. Roughly 800,000 people from southern and eastern Europe entered the U.S. bringing with them their commitments to Catholicism and, in smaller numbers, socialism or anarchism. The fact that these Europeans were darker in complexion only aided in the rising anti-immigrant sentiments.

The nativist sentiment influenced Congress to pass two restrictive immigration laws that were intent to lower the number of immigrants. The first was the Emergency Immigration Act of 1921. This law introduced numerical limits on immigration by reducing the number of visas to 3% of the 1910 census data. Three years later, congress issued a law restricting the migrants even further. By dropping the number of visas issued from 3 to 2 percent and by using the census data of 1890 (not 1910), the US accelerated the flow of eastern and southern Europeans since their numbers were far lower during the period. The law also limited African migration to 1,000 per year and banned nearly all immigrants from Asia. Meanwhile, no restrictions were placed on countries from the Western Hemisphere to ensure to meet the demands for low-paid laborers from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba by lobbyists for railroads and commercial farm owners. As he signed this into law, President Calvin stated that, “America must remain American.” [2]

The anti-immigrant sentiment fueled the controversy over the widely publicized trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. On May 5, 1920, Sacco and Vanzetti, two Italian immigrants, were arrested outside of Boston in connection to two murders at a shoe factory. Although both men were confessing anarchist revolutionaries armed with a loaded pistol at the time of the arrest, multiple testimonies from witnesses revealed the weaknesses of the charges brought against them. Regardless, the height of the nativist sentiment stood against them. In July 1921, Saco and Vanzetti were convicted and sentenced to death by electrocution on August 23, 1927. Many insisted on their innocence decades after their death. On the 50th anniversary of their death, Massachusetts Governor Michael S. Dukakis issued a proclamation based on a report reinvestigating their case declaring that “there are substantial, indeed compelling, grounds for believing that the Sacco and Vanzetti legal proceedings were permeated with unfairness.” [3]

The Ku Klux Klan resurged between 1915-1925 with more gusto responding in part to the perceived immigration crisis but also to the new negro addressed below. The catalyst for the resurgence was D. W. Griffith’s popular film Birth of a Nation (1915). Son of a Confederate army officer, Griffith used the film to portray racial stereotypes of black Americans during their high positions in public office during Reconstruction. The film depicted Klansmen as saviors of white southerners from the clutches of black politicians and republicans. Wilson praised the film and even hosted a special viewing at the White House, prompting it to become the most popular film up to that time.

With more than 4 million members during its peak in 1924, klan continued to champion white supremacy and strict adherence to racial hierarchy, they extended their targets to include immigrants, Catholics, Jews, and progressives. Additionally, new chapters emerged across the country in states such as Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Georgia, contrasting their previous dominance in the Deep South. An application for interested candidates required them to be native-born citizen of the U.S., confessing Christian, committed to “the maintenance of White Supremacy and the principles of a ‘pure Americanism.’ [4]

Theatrical release poster for Birth of a Nation (1915)

III. The Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance

What Factors Led to the Rise of the Harlem Renaissance?

Duke Ellington playing piano with other jazz musicians. Columbia Aslumni Association.

Paul Thompson, Members of the Harlem Hellfighters relax abroad ship as they return home after World War I. New York Public Library Digital Collections.

Photo of a young Alain L. Locke, n.d. Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University.

Marcus-Garvey-session-Universal-Negro-Improvement-Association-1924.webp

Marcus Garvey at a session of the University Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), 1924. Library of Congress.

From the Civil War to the mid-twentieth century, southern black Americans began migrating northward to escape segregation and oppression associated with Jim Crow laws. World War I accelerated this trend since many white workers enlisted in the Army and immigrants, who had previously taken up factory jobs, were less likely to traverse the torpedo-filled Atlantic. However, the industries had to produce wartime products and turned to southern Black Americans for employment. Estimates of black migrants during this period are in the millions.

The return of black veterans prompted a deep resilience to fight racism. Having fought for democracy overseas, the soldiers were determined to reap the benefits at home. At the same time, returning white veterans felt uneasy over the black presence in their neighborhoods and workplaces. The situation combined and gave rise to a series of race riots throughout urban locations, the most prominent being in Chicago.

Du Bois provided a rationale for the new pattern of race riots in The Crisis. He highlighted the U.S. as the country for which “soldiers of democracy return.” He assured his readers that black war veterans would be considered cowards if after fighting for democracy overseas “we do not Marshall every ounce of our brain and brawn to fight a sterner, longer, more unbending battle against the forces of hell in our own land.” [5]

The Great Migration as well as the renewed resilience of black Americans against racism worked together to celebrate black culture with pride. Due to its cosmopolitan nature, Harlem became a vibrant cultural hub and epicenter of Black life and creativity providing space for artistic expression, intellectual discourse, and the exploration of African American identity and heritage. The movement encompassed literature, music, visual arts, theatre, and politics which reflected a newfound send of pride and self-determination.

Alain LeRoy Locke served as the leading intellectual of the Harlem Renaissance. Often dubbed the “Godfather” of the movement, Locke persuaded black artists to write about the black experience creatively. The first African American Rhodes Scholar and a philosophy Ph.D. from Harvard University, Locke popularized the term “New Negro”, in an essay, “Enter the New Negro” where he described Black Americans engulfed in a “new vision of opportunity.” Locke explained, “The Old Negro…was a creature of moral debate and historical controversy…something to be argued about, condemned or defended…to be worried over, harassed or patronized, a social bogey or a social burden.” The “New Negro,” for Locke, “seems suddenly to have slipped from under the tyranny of social intimidation and to be shaking off the psychology of imitation and implied inferiority…achieving something like a spiritual emancipation.” When the attitude is applied to the black community at large, they are “bound to enter a new dynamic phase.” [6]

Locke’s prophetic predictions of a new “dynamic phase” included all dimensions of artistic expression. Duke Ellington popularized Jazz as one of the genre’s leading performers. The style integrated a wide range of influences long associated with black culture, including African rhythms, blues, spirituals and even European musical traditions. Such integration mirrored the diversity within the black American tradition and highlighted the richness of its cultural heritage. With the innovative creativity of other musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith, Ellington and fellow artists pushed the boundaries of musical expression, creating new sounds and styles that captivated both black and white audiences, helping to break down racial barriers and fostering a sense of unity and solidarity among people of different racial and ethnic communities.

Langston Hughes played a vital part in the movement as one of the most prominent literary figures. HIs literature poetry, short stories and essays vividly depicted the everyday experience of black Americans, celebrating all aspects of the human experience including resilience, humor, and humanity of ordinary black people. In “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Hughes exemplifies many of the themes and contributions of black history. The poem begins with a line that places black history from its origins, “I known rivers; I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flor of human blood in human veins; My soul has grown deep like the rivers.” Hughes continues to reference ancient rivers such as the Euphrates, the Nile, the Congo, and the Mississippi and thereby connects black people to the very foundational civilizations of the world, highlighting the richness and longevity of black identity and culture. [7]

Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican-born political leader, made significant contribution to the Harlem Renaissance through activism and political ideology. A staunch advocate for black pride and black nationalism (which promoted black separatism), Garvey encouraged African Americans to embrace their African heritage with pride. Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1914 with the intention of uniting people of African descent worldwide to promote racial equality and economic independence. In his “Back to Africa” speech, Garvey rallied “Africa for the African” and championed the UNIA as the organization that would serve the purpose of uniting African Americans worldwide toward the purpose of “bettering their condition” through “bringing together in one fold four million organized Negroes who are scattered in all parts of the world.” Seeking prove that “what other men have done, Negroes can do,” Garvey envisioned a modern and industrialized African commonwealth so that those of black heritage can rise “from the lowest to the highest position.” [8]

Although Garvey boasted 4 million UNIA members and 800 officers by 1923, his fame fell into ill repute. Some felt uneasy about Garvey labeling himself the “provisional president of Africa” in his ambitions to build an all-black empire on the continent. Garvey also alienated bi-racial couples when he expelled members who married a white person. His most vocal critic was Du Bois who labeled Garvey as “the most dangerous enemy of the Negro race.” Du Bois had sought an integrated society convinced that black Americans had earned their right to be accepted as full citizens, whereas Garvey had sought to undermine the idea by encouraging African migration. What made matters worse for Garvey was his mismanagement of funds for his Black Star Line, a shipping company founded by the UNIA to facilitate transportation of goods and people between Africa and the African diaspora. Garvey was sentenced to serve a five-year prison sentenced but obtained a presidential pardon by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927 on the grounds that he would be deported back to Jamaica. Garvey faded into obscurity after his return to Jamaica but his emphasis on black empowerment and black nationalism would reemerge with black radicalism in the 1960s and 70s.

Notes