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In order to fix the race problem in the United States, the UK Klux Klan was revived. In 191 5, Joseph Simmons revived the UK Klux Klan after viewing D. W. Griffith Birth of a Nation.

The movie was highly controversial because of how African Americans were portrayed. They were portrayed as unintelligent and aggressive towards white women while the Klan was viewed as great heroes. One of Simmons first acts was climbing to a local mountain in Stone Mountain, Georgia and setting a giant cross on fire. He took this idea from Birth of a Nation and this was what marked the rebirth of the UK Klux Klan. Simmons wanted to promote white supremacy, and increase fundamentalism and nativity.

He also changed certain things from the old Klan organization. The new UK Klux Klan was not only going to target African Americans anymore. They were now going to expand their hate to Catholics, Jews, and foreigners too. Joseph Simmons waited until the death of a Jewish child rapist and murderer named Leo Frank to introduce his new ideas to the UK Klux Klan. He used Franks death to put forth his anti-Jewish views and to convince the Klan that the Jewish were bad people.

Unemployment and immigration in the United States after World War I fueled immigration restrictions in the country. In order to restrict immigration in the United States, the Emergency Quota Act was passed in 1921 after Albert Johnson proposed it to the senate. Similar proposals were presented before but none seemed to work. This act was voted 78-1 in the United States Senate. This act only allowed three percent of immigrants from any country to enter the United States annually. It decreased immigration from approximately 800, 000 to 300, 000. The Emergency Quota Act was not being reinforced efficiently because, immigration continued to rise after it had dropped the year it was put into action.

Many people were against this act because it allowed the “ wrong” kind of foreigners into the country. Wrong as in anyone who was not white, Anglo-Saxon, or protestant. In order to reinforce the Emergency Quota Act, Congress responded by creating a new and more drastic immigration law called the Immigration Act of 1924. This act included the National Origins Act which severely restricted immigration by lowering the annual amount quota to two percent instead f three percent. This act was mainly made to restrict immigrants from anywhere in Europe except for Northern Europe. It also restricted immigrants from Asia.

Northern Europe immigrants were allowed because their culture resembled the United States culture more than anywhere else. These acts were established because the American government wanted to protect their culture. Another problem the United States faced had to do with Post War Race Relations.

In 1919 the United States was experiencing race riots all over the country. This was known as the Red Summer. This was caused cause of the tension and competition for Jobs between blacks and whites after World War l.

A lot of the times, whites were the ones that attacked African Americans. This was the first time the American society witnessed how African Americans fought and depended on their rights. One of the most notable riots in the Red Summer was the Chicago riot that took place from July 27, 1919 to August 3, 1919.

This riot began when a black teenager swimming in Lake Michigan drifted towards a white only beach. The teenager was stoned to death by a white man. The tension between whites and blacks escalated when a black man was arrested for the death of the black teenager instead of the white man that caused it. Angry African Americans went into white neighborhoods to fight back. Whites formed bigger crowds and went into black neighborhoods to stab, beat, and murder people. Whites also destroyed black homes and properties. This riot resulted in thirty-eight deaths. Fifteen of the deaths were from whites and twenty-three of them were blacks.

Over five hundred were injured and one thousand people were left homeless. In 1920, the Black Pride movement began. This movement promoted pride in being African American and it was a way for blacks to Join together and speak out against racial prejudice. It also promoted better treatment for not only African Americans but for all races. The movement began because black World War I veterans were viewed as heroes and they served as great inspiration to blacks.

They made them feel that their heroism in war would make whites cease the threats and treat them as equal citizens. Unfortunately their contribution to the war made no impact on whites, but it greatly affected black attitudes. It increased the determination African American’s had to fight for equal rights in America. Marcus Graver attracted poor urban blacks with his view on Black Nationalism. He inspired them to be proud of their achievements and to get more involved in their African heritage.

He argued that they should take pride in their heritage because they were the ones who had the superior race and culture. In order to help, Graver developed the United Negro Improvement Association (UNION). The UNION propelled grocery stores owned by African Americans and pushed for creating black owned businesses. Marcus Graver then began pushing his supporters to return back home o Africa to create their own new and improved society. In the asses the Graver Movement rapidly increased for a brief amount of time. The UNION also became known for their rallies, parades, extravagant uniforms, and for their growing enterprises. In 1923, Marcus Graver was charged for business fraud and was deported back to Jamaica two years later.

Even after his deportation, the lure of Black Nationalism remained in America. After these riots, the UK Klux Klan membership was skyrocketing. In the asses, the UK Klux Klan reached an astonishing number of 8 million members. The Klan now ad a variety of people in it as well. Poor, uneducated, and middle class people joined and ministers, lawyers, and doctors were supportive of the Klan. They were eager to take control of the local and state politics, so they developed a plan called “ the Decade. In this plan, every member of the Klan was responsible for gathering ten people to vote for Klan candidates in the elections. The Klan succeeded in recruiting political members.

This included mayors from Portland, Oregon, and Portland, Maine. The Klan also had enough power to sway the state government. This was known as the “ Invisible Empire. The UK Klux Clan’s presence was now being felt all over the United States. In 1925, the United States had a trail named the Scopes Trial to determine whether evolution should or not should not be taught in government funded schools in Tennessee. An evolutionist and manager of mines in Dayton, Tennessee named George Reapply, saw in a newspaper that the American Civil Liberties Union (UCLA) was looking for a teacher to challenge a law. The Calls plan was to challenge the Butler Act.

The Butler Act prohibited the teaching of evolution in Tennessee public schools. They explained that the Butler Act was unconstitutional because it violated the First Amendment’s separation of church and state. He thought a Dayton trial would bring publicity to the small town of Dayton. He recruited a young teacher named John Scopes with the help of the school board.

Scopes agreed to be indicted for teaching evolution. In this trial the two lawyers were Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan and Attorney Clarence Drown. As the trial progressed, Drown moved away from the Calls plan to challenge the constitutionality of the Butler Act. Drown attacked Bran’s literal interpretation of the Bible and his little knowledge of science. Scopes was found guilty and was given a fine. He was also not allowed to teach evolution in schools. Although, Drown and the UCLA partly won because, Tennessee prosecutors were not allowed to indict anyone under the Butler act. In 1927, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the trail because of a technicality.

The technicality was that the Judge set the fine not the Jury. This trial was significant because it symbolized the conflict between Fundamentalists and Evolutionists in the United States. In the late asses, the UK Klux Klan began declining. The decline also decreased the influence of Joseph Simmons. The New York World exposed the violent and harsh behaviors of the Klan.