Rosenfeld Susan. Encyclopedia of American Historical Documents

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McDonald and men of his stripe from all over the union.

Gathered here are hundreds and thousands of Russian

Bolsheviki who have arrived here during the past two

years. These scoundrels want to take possession of our

American government and try to duplicate the anarchy of

Russia.

The seat of government is the city hall. We swore in

1,000 extra police and hold in reserve citizens armed with

rifles and shotguns. I gave orders to shoot on sight any dis-

turber of the peace. They knew from the experience they

had at the riot a few weeks ago that we meant business and

believe me, we did.

I wanted a showdown. If there is a majority of these

(unprintable) in the United States I don’t want to live here.

They told me the troops were disloyal and would not help

us. I told them that was a lie but even if it was so we would

fight until we were dead before we even allowed them to

turn out one eight-candlepower light.

Chief of Police Joe Warren is a real man who loves his

country. We decided that we would not call in the federal

troops. We won’t be here. The great body of union men

saw the light. Today they are bitterly resenting their false

leadership and will overthrow their officers in many

unions.

This is a test of unionism or I.W.W.’ism. If anyone

owes a higher allegiance to any organization that they do to

this country, they are traitors and should be treated as

such. That is all there is to it. This is a time when every

American must forget all other allegiance and stand by the

government.

The unions of the nation are on trial. They are either

American Federation of Labor loyalists or Bolsheviki

traitors.

This morning the strike is broken. Business is resum-

ing. Strikers are returning to work. Our city no longer lies

prostrate. Ninety per cent of Seattle stands firm for Amer-

icanism. The other 10 per cent will be driven from this

community.

IWW, “General Strike, Or . . . ,” 1919

The profiteers have made millions out of the ships the

workers built. Now they refuse these workers a living

wage. They have forced thirty-thousand men to go on

strike.

All the profiteering employers of Seattle are banded

together in their Employers’ Association. All have a com-

mon interest in driving the shipyard workers back to slave

conditions and smashing their labor organization, The

Metal Trades.

The allied bosses want to smash the shipyard workers

now so that they can have a free hand to smash the rest of

the union men of Seattle later on.

These profiteers hate all unionism. They hate the

longshoremen, the street car men, the electrical workers,

the men of the building trades, the restaurant workers and

all others as much as they hate the Metal Trades organiza-

tion that is conducting this strike.

They want to eat labor piece meal. First the shipyard

workers, then the others. So they can make this an open

shop town and cut wages.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER is the motto of the

bosses.

But we have a better motto. It is TOGETHER WE

WIN!

If sixty thousand union men and women of Seattle go

out on a general strike the bosses will cry for mercy. Capi-

tal is helpless without labor. The business interests cannot

afford a general strike. And we cannot afford to see our

shipyard brothers beaten, because our turn would come

next.

A million workers on the Pacific Coast are ready to fall

in line behind Seattle. We will show them a magnificent

example of solidarity.

All together in the GENERAL STRIKE.

TOGETHER WE WIN! By Solidarity.

Source:

Strong, Anna Louise. “No One Knows Where.” American Public

Address, Department of Speech and Communication, the

University of Washington. Available on-line. URL: http://

courses.washington.edu/spcmu/425. Accessed November

2003.

Volstead Act, 1919

Federal U.S. legislation passed on October 28, 1919, to

enforce the Eighteenth Amendment, establishing Prohibition,

which forbade the sale of intoxicating beverages. Previously, a

number of states had anti-liquor laws, and in 1917 Congress,

over President William Howard Taft’s veto, passed the Webb-

Kenyon Act, named for sponsors Representative Edwin Y.

Webb of North Carolina and Senator William S. Kenyon of

Iowa. It prohibited the interstate shipment of intoxicating li-

quor into states where its sale or use was illegal. The U.S. Su-

preme Court upheld the law January 8, 1917. It represented

the first federal victory of the Anti-Saloon League.

The Volstead Act, introduced by Representative Andrew J.

Volstead of Minnesota and passed over the veto of President

Woodrow Wilson, defined intoxicating liquor as containing

more than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume. It went into effect

on January 16, 1920, and gave federal agents, under the

Bureau of Internal Revenue in the Treasury Department, the

power to investigate violations. It also prescribed penalties.

1302 ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America

Strict enforcement proved impossible, however, and the act

became void after the Twenty-first Amendment repealed the

Eighteenth. Its failure is often cited by opponents of antinar-

cotic legislation.

________________________

_______________________

An Act

To prohibit intoxicating beverages, and to regulate the

manufacture, production, use, and sale of high-proof spir-

its for other than beverage purposes, and to insure an

ample supply of alcohol and promote its use in scientific

research and in the development of fuel, dye, and other

lawful industries.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represen-

tatives of the United States of America in Congress assem-

bled, That the short title of this Act shall be the “National

Prohibition Act.”

Title I.

To Provide for the Enforcement of War Prohibition.

The term “War Prohibition Act” used in this Act shall

mean the provisions of any Act or Acts prohibiting the sale

and manufacture of intoxicating liquors until the conclu-

sion of the present war and thereafter until the termina-

tion of demobilization, the date of which shall be

determined and proclaimed by the President of the United

States. . . .

Sec. 2. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, his

assistants, agents, and inspectors, shall investigate and

report violations of the War Prohibition Act to the United

States attorney for the district in which committed, who

shall be charged with the duty of prosecuting, subject to

the direction of the Attorney General. . .

* * *

Sec. 5. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, his

assistants, agents, and inspectors, and all other officers of

the United States whose duty it is to enforce criminal laws,

shall have all the power for the enforcement of the War

Prohibition Act or any provisions thereof which is con-

ferred by law for the enforcement of existing laws relating

to the manufacture or sale of intoxicating liquors under the

laws of the United States.

Title II.

Prohibition of Intoxicating Beverages.

Sec. 1. When used in Title II and Title III of this Act

(1) The word “liquor” or the phrase “intoxicating liquor”

shall be construed to include alcohol, brandy, whisky, rum,

gin, beer, ale, porter, and wine, and in addition thereto any

spirituous, vinous, malt or fermented liquor, liquids, and

compounds, whether medicated, proprietary, patented, or

not, and by whatever name called, containing one-half of 1

per centum or more of alcohol by volume which are fit for

use for beverage purposes. . . .

(2) The word “person” shall mean and include natural

persons, associations, copartnerships, and corporations.

(3) The word “commissioner” shall mean Commis-

sioner of Internal Revenue.

* * *

Sec. 2. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, his

assistants, agents, and inspectors shall investigate and

report violations of this Act to the United States attorney

for the district in which committed, who is hereby charged

with the duty of prosecuting the offenders, subject to the

direction of the Attorney General, as in the case of other

offenses against the laws of the United States; and such

Commissioner of Internal Revenue, his assistants, agents,

and inspectors may swear out warrants before United

States commissioners or other officers or courts authorized

to issue the same for the apprehension of such offenders,

and may, subject to the control of the said United States

attorney, conduct the prosecution at the committing trial

for the purpose of having the offenders held for the action

of a grand jury. . . .

Sec. 6. No one shall manufacture, sell, purchase,

transport, or prescribe any liquor without first obtaining a

permit from the commissioner so to do, except that a per-

son may, without a permit, purchase and use liquor for

medicinal purposes when prescribed by a physician. . . .

* * *

Source:

Statutes At Large, Vol. 41, pp. 305–323.

Marcus Garvey, Declaration of Rights of

the Negro Peoples of the World, 1920

Statement drawn up in 1920 in New York City by delegates at

an international convention of the Universal Negro Improve-

ment Association (UNIA). Black nationalist leader Marcus

Garvey founded UNIA in London in 1914 to “promote the

spirit of race pride.” He rejected the concept of integration and

started a “back to Africa” movement.

His 1920 declaration points out that blacks have suffered

injustices, discrimination, and “inhuman, unchristian, and

uncivilized treatment” in most every part of the world and that

European nations had taken control of nearly all of Africa, “the

Motherland of all Negroes.” All blacks were “free citizens of

Africa,” it states, and they have the right “to reclaim the trea-

sures and possession of the vast continent of [their] forefathers.”

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Garvey’s influential newspaper,

Negro World,

made him

the most prominent black leader of the 1920s. The federal

government, however, considered him a dangerous radical

and tried for years to get him deported. In 1925 the govern-

ment succeeded. Garvey was convicted of postal fraud asso-

ciated with his Black Star steamship company. He was jailed

and, in 1927, deported to Jamaica.

________________________

_______________________

Preamble

Be It Resolved, That the Negro people of the world,

through their chosen representatives in convention

assembled in Liberty Hall, in the City of New York and

United States of America, from August 1 to August 31, in

the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and

twenty, protest against the wrongs and injustices they are

suffering at the hands of their white brethren, and state

what they deem their fair and just rights, as well as the

treatment they propose to demand of all men in the

future.

We complain:

1. That nowhere in the world, with few exceptions, are

black men accorded equal treatment with white men,

although in the same situation and circumstances, but, on

the contrary, are discriminated against the denied and

common rights due to human beings for no other reason

than their race and color.

We are not willingly accepted as guests in the public

hotels and inns of the world for no other reason than our

race and color.

2. In certain parts of the United States of America our

race is denied the right of public trial accorded to other

races when accused of crime, but are lynched and burned

by mobs, and such brutal and inhuman treatment is even

practiced upon our women.

3. That European nations have parcelled out among

them and taken possession of nearly all of the continent of

Africa, and the natives are compelled to surrender their

lands to aliens and are treated in most instances like

slaves.

4. In the southern portion of the United States of

America, although citizens under the Federal Constitu-

tion, and in some States almost equal to the whites in

population and are qualified land owners and taxpayers,

we are, nevertheless, denied all voice in the making and

administration of the laws and are taxed without rep-

resentation by the State governments, and at the same

time compelled to do military service in defense of the

country.

5. On the public conveyances and common carriers in

the southern portion of the United States we are jim-

crowed and compelled to accept separate and inferior

accommodations and made to pay the same fare charged

for first-class accommodations, and our families are often

humiliated and insulted by drunken white men who habit-

ually pass through the jim-cow cars going to the smoking

car.

6. The physicians of our race are denied the right to

attend their patients while in the public hospitals of the

cities and States where they reside in certain parts of the

United States.

Our children are forced to attend inferior separate

schools for shorter terms than white children, and the pub-

lic school funds are unequally divided between the white

and colored schools.

7. We are discriminated against and denied an equal

chance to earn wages for the support of our families, and

in many instances are refused admission into labor unions

and nearly everywhere are paid smaller wages than white

men.

8. In the Civil Service and departmental offices we are

everywhere discriminated against and made to feel that to

be a black man in Europe, America and the West Indies is

equivalent to being an outcast and a leper among the races

of men, no matter what the character attainments of the

black men may be.

9. In the British and other West Indian islands and

colonies Negroes are secretly and cunningly discriminated

against and denied those fuller rights of government to

which white citizens are appointed, nominated and

elected.

10. That our people in those parts are forced to work

for lower wages than the average standard of white men

are kept in conditions repugnant to good civilized tastes

and customs.

11. That the many acts of injustices against members

of our race before the courts of law in the respective

islands and colonies are of such nature as to create disgust

and disrespect for the white man’s sense of justice.

12. Against all such inhuman, unchristian and uncivi-

lized treatment we here and now emphatically protest, and

invoke the condemnation of all mankind.

In order to encourage our race all over the world and

to stimulate it to overcome the handicaps and difficulties

surrounding it, and to push forward to a higher and

grander destiny, we demand and insist on the following

Declaration of Rights:

1. Be it known to all men that whereas all men are

created equal and entitled to the rights of life, liberty

and the pursuit of happiness, and because of this we, the

duly elected representatives of the Negro peoples of

the world, invoking the aid of the just and Almighty

God, do declare all men, women and children of our

blood throughout the world free denizens, and do claim

them as free citizens of Africa, the Motherland of all

Negroes.

1304 ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America

[2.] That we believe in the supreme authority of our

race in all things racial; that all things are created and given

to man as a common possession; that there should be an

equitable distribution and apportionment of all such

things, and in consideration of the fact that as a race we are

now deprived of those things that are morally and legally

ours, we believed it right that all such things should be

acquired and held by whatsoever means possible.

3. That we believe the Negro, like any other race,

should be governed by the ethics of civilization, and there-

fore should not be deprived of any of those rights or privi-

leges common to order human beings.

4. We declare that Negroes, wheresoever they from a

community among themselves should be given the right to

elect their own representatives to represent them in Leg-

islatures, courts of law, or such institutions as may exercise

control over that particular community.

5. We assert that the Negro is entitled to even-handed

justice before all courts of law and equity in whatever

country he may be found, and when this is denied him on

account of his race or color such denial is an insult to the

race as a whole and should be resented by the entire body

of Negroes.

6. We declare it unfair and prejudicial to the rights of

Negroes in communities where they exist in considerable

numbers to be tried by a judge and jury composed entirely

of an alien race, but in all such cases members of our race

are entitled to representation on the jury.

7. We believe that any law or practice that tends to

deprive any African of his land or the privileges of free cit-

izenship within his country is unjust and immoral, and no

native should respect any such law or practice.

8. We declare taxation without representation unjust

and tyran[n]ous, and there should be no obligation on the

part of the Negro to obey the levy of a tax by any law-mak-

ing body from which he is excluded and denied represen-

tation on account of his race and color.

9. We believe that any law especially directed against

the Negro to his detriment and singling him out because of

his race or color is unfair and immoral, and should not be

respected.

10. We believe all men entitled to common human

respect and that our race should in no way tolerate any

insults that may be interpreted to mean disrespect to our

race or color.

11. We deprecate the use of the term “nigger” as

applied to Negroes, and demand that the word “Negro” be

written with a capital “N.”

12. We believe hat the Negro should adopt every

means to protect himself against barbarous practices

inflicted upon him because of color.

13. We believe in the freedom of Africa for the Negro

people of the world, and by the principle of Europe for the

Europeans and Asia for the Asiatics, we also demand

Africa for the Africans at home and abroad.

14. We believe in the inherent right of the Negro to

possess himself of Africa and that his possession of same

shall not be regarded as an infringement on any claim or

purchase made by any race or nation.

15. We strongly condemn the cupidity of those nations

of the world who, by open aggression or secret schemes,

have seized the territories and inexhaustible natural wealth

of Africa, and we place on record our most solemn deter-

mination to reclaim the treasures and possession of the

vast continent of our forefathers.

16. We believe all men should live in peace one with

the other, but when races and nations provoke the ire of

other races and nations by attempting to infringe upon

their rights[,] war becomes inevitable, and the attempt in

any way to free one’s self or protect one’s rights or heritage

becomes justifiable.

17. Whereas the lynching, by burning, hanging or any

other means, of human beings is a barbarous practice and

a shame and disgrace to civilization, we therefore declare

any country guilty of such atrocities outside the pale of civ-

ilization.

18. We protest against the atrocious crime of whip-

ping, flogging and overworking of the native tribes of

Africa and Negroes everywhere. These are methods that

should be abolished and all means should be taken to pre-

vent a continuance of such brutal practices.

19. We protest against the atrocious practice of shav-

ing the heads of Africans, especially of African women or

individuals of Negro blood, when placed in prison as a

punishment for crime by an alien race.

20. We protest against segregated districts, separate

public conveyances, industrial discrimination, lynchings

and limitations of political privileges of any Negro citizen

in any part of the world on account of race, color or creed,

and will exert our full influence and power against all

such.

21. We protest against any punishment inflicted upon

a Negro with severity, as against lighter punishment

inflicted upon another of an alien race for like offense, as

an act of prejudice and injustice, and should be resented

by the entire race.

22. We protest against the system of education in any

country where Negroes are denied the same privileges and

advantages as other races.

23. We declare it inhuman and unfair to boycott

Negroes from industries and labor in any part of the world.

24. We believe in the doctrine of the freedom of the

press, and we therefore emphatically protest against the

suppression of Negro newspapers and periodicals in vari-

ous parts of the world, and call upon Negroes everywhere

to employ all available means to prevent such suppression.

Postwar Society 1305

25. We further demand free speech universally for all

men.

26. We hereby protest against the publication of scan-

dalous and inflammatory articles by an alien press tending

to create racial strife and the exhibition of picture films

showing the Negro as a cannibal.

27. We believe in the self-determination of all

peoples.

28. We declare for the freedom of religious worship.

29. With the help of Almighty God we declare our-

selves the sworn protectors of the honor and virtue of our

women and children, and pledge our lives for their protec-

tion and defense everywhere and under all circumstances

from wrongs and outrages.

30. We demand the right of an unlimited and unprej-

udiced education for ourselves and our posterity for-

ever[.]

31. We declare that the teaching in any school by alien

teachers to our boys and girls, that the alien race is supe-

rior to the Negro race, is an insult to the Negro people of

the world.

32. Where Negroes form a part of the citizenry of any

country, and pass the civil service examination of such

country, we declare them entitled to the same conside-

ration as other citizens as to appointments in such civil

service.

33. We vigorously protest against the increasingly

unfair and unjust treatment accorded Negro travelers on

land and sea by the agents and employees of railroad and

steamship companies, and insist that for equal fare we

receive equal privileges with travelers of other races.

34. We declare it unjust for any country, State or

nation to enact laws tending to hinder and obstruct the

free immigration of Negroes on account of their race and

color.

35. That the right of the Negro to travel unmolested

throughout the world be not abridged by any person or

persons, and all Negroes are called upon to give aid to a

fellow Negro when thus molested.

36. We declare that all Negroes are entitled to the

same right to travel over the world as other men.

37. We hereby demand that the governments of the

world recognize our leader and his representatives chosen

by the race to look after the welfare of our people under

such governments.

38. We demand complete control of our social institu-

tions without interference by any alien race or races.

39. That the colors, Red, Black and Green, be the col-

ors of the Negro race.

40. Resolved, That the anthem “Ethiopia, Thou Land

of Our Fathers etc.,” shall be the anthem of the Negro

race. (Copy anthem appended.)

The Universal Ethiopian Anthem

Poem by Burrell and Ford

Ethiopia, thou land of our fathers,

Thou land where the gods loved to be,

As storm cloud at night sudden gathers

Our armies come rushing to thee.

We must in the fight be victorious

When swords are thrust outward to glean;

For us will the vict’ry be glorious

When led by the red, black and green

Chorus

Advance, advance to victory,

Let Africa be free;

Advance to meet the foe

With the might

Of the red, the black and the green.

Ethiopia, the tyrant’s falling,

Who smote thee upon thy knees

And thy children are lustily calling

From over the distant seas.

Jehovah the Great One has heard us,

Has noted our sighs and our tears,

With His spirit of Love he has stirred us

To be One through the coming years.

Chorus—Advance, advance, etc.

III

O, Jehovah, thou God of the ages

Grant unto our sons that lead

The wisdom Thou gave to Thy sages

When Israel was sore in need.

Thy voice thro’ the dim past has spoken,

Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hand,

By Thee shall all fetters be broken

And Heav’n bless our dear fatherland.

Chorus—Advance, advance, etc.

41. We believe that any limited liberty which deprives

one of the complete rights and prerogatives of full citizen-

ship is but a modified form of slavery.

42. We declare it an injustice to our people and a seri-

ous impediment to the health of the race to deny to com-

petent licensed Negro physicians the right to practice in

1306 ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America

the public hospitals of the communities in which they

reside, for no other reason than their race and color.

43. We call upon the various government[s] of the

world to accept and acknowledge Negro representatives

who shall be sent to the said governments to represent the

general welfare of the Negro peoples of the world.

44. We deplore and protest against the practice of

confining juvenile prisoners in prisons with adults, and we

recommend that such youthful prisoners be taught gainful

trades under human[e] supervision.

45. Be it further resolved, That we as a race of people

declare the League of Nations null and void as far as the

Negro is concerned, in that it seeks to deprive Negroes of

their liberty.

46. We demand of all men to do unto us as we would

do unto them, in the name of justice; and we cheerfully

accord to all men all the rights we claim herein for our-

selves.

47. We declare that no Negro shall engage himself in

battle for an alien race without first obtaining the consent

of the leader of the Negro people of the world, except in a

matter of national self-defense.

48. We protest against the practice of drafting

Negroes and sending them to war with alien forces with-

out proper training, and demand in all cases that Negro

soldiers be given the same training as the aliens.

49. We demand that instructions given Negro children

in schools include the subject of “Negro History,” to their

benefit.

50. We demand a free and unfettered commercial

intercourse with all the Negro people of the world.

51. We declare for the absolute freedom of the seas

for all peoples.

52. We demand that our duly accredited representa-

tives be given proper recognition in all leagues, confer-

ences, conventions or courts of international arbitration

wherever human rights are discussed.

53. We proclaim the 31st day of August of each year to

be an international holiday to be observed by all Negroes.

54. We want all men to know that we shall maintain

and contend for the freedom and equality of every man,

woman and child for our race, with our lives, our fortunes

and our sacred honor.

These rights we believe to be justly ours and proper

for the protection of the Negro race at large, and because

of this belief we, on behalf of the four hundred million

Negroes of the world, do pledge herein the sacred blood of

the race in defense, and we hereby subscribe our names as

a guarantee of the truthfulness and faithfulness hereof, in

the presence of Almighty God, on this 13th day of August,

in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and

twenty.

Source:

Hill, Robert A., ed. The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro

Improvement Association Papers. Vol. 2. Berkeley: Univer-

sity of California Press, 1983–95, pp. 571–580.

Emergency Quota Act, 1921

Emergency legislation enacted by Congress on May 19, 1921,

establishing the first quota for immigrants to the United States.

It supplanted the Immigration Act of 1917, which passed over

President Woodrow Wilson’s veto and increased classifications

for denying admission, the most significant being a literacy test

that lawmakers hoped would deter non-English-speaking im-

migration, particularly Chinese. The 1921 law reflected fears

of a flood of immigration following World War I. Wilson had

refused to sign the original bill in 1920, but President Warren

Harding signed the act at the beginning of his administration.

Sponsored by Senator William P. Dillingham of Vermont,

the 1921 act set a quota, based on the 1910 census, of 357,000

places (aliens); immigrants from a given nation (nationality)

were restricted yearly to 3 percent of the population of that

nation residing in the United States. Immigrants from Asia—

already largely excluded by other agreements—and from the

Western Hemisphere were exempt from this act. The act also

showed evidence of a bias against people from southern and

central Europe, while favoring immigrants from the British Isles

and northwestern Europe. This national origins quota system

set the pattern for American immigration laws for the first half

of the 20th century.

Congress next enacted U.S. immigration legislation on

May 26, 1924. It amended the U.S. Emergency Quota Act by

halving the 1921 quota (placing the number of immigrants at

164,447) and by limiting annual immigration for any group to

2 percent of that group’s U.S. population according to the cen-

sus of 1890. This quota was to apply until 1927, when the

limit on immigrants was to be set at 150,000, apportioned by

national origin according to the 1920 census. Sponsored by

Senator Hiram W. Johnson of California (Roosevelt’s Progres-

sive Party running mate in 1912) and Senator James A. Reed of

Missouri, the act continued to favor immigrants from northern

and western Europe. It aroused so much hostility that it was

not implemented until 1929.

________________________

_______________________

An Act

To limit the immigration of aliens into the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

tives of the United States of America in Congress assem-

bled, That as used in this Act—

The term “United States” means the United States,

and any waters, territory, or other place subject to the

Postwar Society 1307

jurisdiction thereof except the Canal Zone and the Philip-

pine Islands; but if any alien leaves the Canal Zone or any

insular possession of the United States and attempts to

enter any other place under the jurisdiction of the United

States nothing contained in this Act shall be construed as

permitting him to enter under any other conditions than

those applicable to all aliens.

The word “alien” includes any person not a native-

born or naturalized citizen of the United States, but this

definition shall not be held to include Indians of the

United States not taxed nor citizens of the islands under

the jurisdiction of the United States.

The term “Immigration Act” means the Act of Febru-

ary 5, 1917, entitled “An Act to regulate the immigration

of aliens to, and the residence of aliens in, the United

States”; and the term “immigration laws” includes such

Act and all laws, conventions, and treaties of the United

States relating to the immigration, exclusion, or expulsion

of aliens.

Sec. 2. (a) That the number of aliens of any national-

ity who may be admitted under the immigration laws to

the United States in any fiscal year shall be limited to 3 per

centum of the number of foreign born persons of such

nationality resident in the United States as determined by

the United States census of 1910. This provision shall not

apply to the following, and they shall not be counted in

reckoning any of the percentage limits provided in this

Act: (1) Government officials, their families, attendants,

servants, and employees; (2) aliens in continuous transit

through the United States; (3) aliens lawfully admitted to

the United States who later go in transit from one part of

the United States to another through foreign contiguous

territory; (4) aliens visiting the United States as tourists or

temporarily for business or pleasure; (5) aliens from coun-

tries immigration from which is regulated in accordance

with treaties or agreements relating solely to immigration;

(6) aliens from the so-called Asiatic barred zone, as

described in section 3 of the Immigration Act; (7) aliens

who have resided continuously for at least one year imme-

diately preceding the time of their admission to the United

States in the Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, the

Republic of Cuba, the Republic of Mexico, countries of

Central or South America, or adjacent islands; or (8) aliens

under the age of eighteen who are children of citizens of

the United States.

(b) For the purposes of this Act nationality shall be

determined by country of birth, treating as separate coun-

tries the colonies or dependencies for which separate enu-

meration was made in the United States census of 1910.

merce, and the Secretary of Labor, jointly, shall, as soon as

feasible after the enactment of this Act, prepare a state-

ment showing the number of persons of the various

nationalities resident in the United States as determined

by the United States census of 1910, which statement shall

be the population basis for the purposes of this Act. In case

of changes in political boundaries in foreign countries

occurring subsequent to 1910 and resulting (1) in the cre-

ation of new countries, the Governments of which are rec-

ognized by the United States, or (2) in the transfer of

territory from one country to another, such transfer being

recognized by the United States, such officials, jointly,

shall estimate the number of persons resident in the

United States in 1910 who were born within the area

included in such new countries or in such territory so

transferred, and revise the population basis as to each

country involved in such change of political boundary. For

the purpose of such revision and for the purposes of this

Act generally aliens born in the area included in any such

new country shall be considered as having been born in

such country, and aliens born in any territory so trans-

ferred shall be considered as having been born in the

country to which such territory was transferred.

(d) When the maximum number of aliens of any

nationality who may be admitted in any fiscal year under

this Act shall have been admitted all other aliens of such

nationality, except as otherwise provided in this Act, who

may apply for admission during the same fiscal year shall

be excluded: Provided, That the number of aliens of any

nationality who may be admitted in any month shall not

exceed 20 per centum of the total number of aliens of such

nationality who are admissible in that fiscal year: Provided

further, That aliens returning from a temporary visit

abroad, aliens who are professional actors, artists, lectur-

ers, singers, nurses, ministers of any religious denomina-

tion, professors for colleges or seminaries, aliens belonging

to any recognized learned profession, or aliens employed

as domestic servants, may, if otherwise admissible, be

admitted notwithstanding the maximum number of aliens

of the same nationality admissible in the same month or

fiscal year, as the case may be, shall have entered the

United States; but aliens of the classes included in this pro-

viso who enter the United States before such maximum

number shall have entered shall (unless excluded by sub-

division (a) from being counted) be counted in reckoning

the percentage limits provided in this Act: Provided fur-

ther, That in the enforcement of this Act preference shall

be given so far as possible to the wives, parents, brothers,

sisters, children under eighteen years of age, and fiancees,

(1) of citizens of the United States, (2) of aliens now in the

United States who have applied for citizenship in the man-

ner provided by law, or (3) of persons eligible to United

States citizenship who served in the military or naval forces

of the United States at any time between April 6, 1917, and

November 11, 1918, both dates inclusive, and have been

separated from such forces under honorable conditions.

1308 ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America

Sec. 3. That the Commissioner General of Immigra-

tion, with the approval of the Secretary of Labor, shall, as

soon as feasible after the enactment of this Act, and from

time to time thereafter, prescribe rules and regulations nec-

essary to carry the provisions of this Act into effect. He

shall, as soon as feasible after the enactment of this Act,

publish a statement showing the number of aliens of the

various nationalities who may be admitted to the United

States between the date this Act becomes effective and the

end of the current fiscal year, and on June 30 thereafter he

shall publish a statement showing the number of aliens of

the various nationalities who may be admitted during the

ensuing fiscal year. He shall also publish monthly state-

ments during the time this Act remains in force showing

the number of aliens of each nationality already admitted

during the then current fiscal year and the number who

may be admitted under the provisions of this Act during the

remainder of such year, but when 75 per centum of the

maximum number of any nationality admissible during the

fiscal year shall have been admitted such statements shall

be issued weekly thereafter. All statements shall be made

available for general publication and shall be mailed to all

transportation companies bringing aliens to the United

States who shall request the same and shall file with the

Department of Labor the address to which such statements

shall be sent. The Secretary of Labor shall also submit such

statements to the Secretary of State, who shall transmit the

information contained therein to the proper diplomatic and

consular officials of the United States, which officials shall

make the same available to persons intending to emigrate

to the United States and to others who may apply.

Sec. 4. That the provisions of this Act are in addition

to and not in substitution for the provisions of the immi-

gration laws.

Sec. 5. That this Act shall take effect and be enforced

15 days after its enactment (except sections 1 and 3 and

subdivisions (b) and (c) of section 2, which shall take effect

immediately upon the enactment of this Act), and shall

continue in force until June 30, 1922, and the number of

aliens of any nationality who may be admitted during the

remaining period of the current fiscal year, from the date

when this Act becomes effective to June 30, shall be lim-

ited in proportion to the number admissible during the fis-

cal year 1922.

Source:

Statutes at Large, Vol. 41, pp. 5–7.

Sheppard-Towner Act, 1921

First federal welfare legislation in the United States, cospon-

sored by Senator John Morris Sheppard of Texas and Repre-

sentative Horace M. Towner of Iowa and enacted on Novem-

ber 23, 1921. Responding to new woman voters after the pas-

sage of the Nineteenth Amendment, it provided federal money

to the states for maternal and infant health care and hygiene.

Although firmly in the Progressive tradition, it reflected postwar

emphasis on local governments by authorizing its annual fed-

eral appropriations of $1 million in matching funds to be

apportioned among the states. Nevertheless, opponents con-

sidered it an unwarranted intrusion on state jurisdiction, and

some states refused to accept its provisions. Although it helped

mothers and children where it was in effect, the act lapsed in

June 1929.

________________________

_______________________

An Act

For the promotion of the welfare and hygiene of maternity

and infancy, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

tives of the United States of America in Congress assem-

bled, That there is hereby authorized to be appropriated

annually, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise

appropriated, the sums specified in section 2 of this Act, to

be paid to the several States for the purpose of cooperat-

ing with them in promoting the welfare and hygiene of

maternity and infancy as hereinafter provided.

Sec. 2. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions

of this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated, out of

any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,

for the current fiscal year $480,000, to be equally appor-

tioned among the several States, and for each subsequent

year, for the period of five years, $240,000, to be equally

apportioned among the several States in the manner

hereinafter provided: Provided, That there is hereby

authorized to be appropriated for the use of the States,

subject to the provisions of this Act, for the fiscal year

ending June 30, 1922, an additional sum of $1,000,000,

and annually thereafter, for the period of five years, an

additional sum not to exceed $1,000,000: Provided fur-

ther, That the additional appropriations herein authorized

shall be apportioned $5,000 to each State and the balance

among the States in the proportion which their popula-

tion bears to the total population of the States of the

United States, according to the last preceding United

States census: And provided further, That no payment out

of the additional appropriation herein authorized shall be

made in any year to any State until an equal sum has been

appropriated for that year by the legislature of such State

for the maintenance of the services and facilities provided

for in this Act.

So much of the amount apportioned to any State for

any fiscal year as remains unpaid to such State at the close

thereof shall be available for expenditures in that State

until the close of the succeeding fiscal year.

Postwar Society 1309

Sec. 3. There is hereby created a Board of Maternity

and Infant Hygiene, which shall consist of the Chief of the

Children’s Bureau, the Surgeon General of the United

States Public Health Service, and the United States Com-

missioner of Education, and which is hereafter designated

in this Act as the Board. The Board shall elect its own

chairman and perform the duties provided for in this Act.

The Children’s Bureau of the Department of Labor

shall be charged with the administration of this Act, except

as herein otherwise provided, and the Chief of the Chil-

dren’s Bureau shall be the executive officer. It shall be the

duty of the Children’s Bureau to make or cause to be made

such studies, investigations, and reports as will promote

the efficient administration of this Act.

Sec. 4. In order to secure the benefits of the appro-

priations authorized in section 2 of this Act, any State shall,

through the legislative authority thereof, accept the provi-

sions of this Act and designate or authorize the creation of

a State agency with which the Children’s Bureau shall have

all necessary powers to cooperate as herein provided in the

administration of the provisions of this Act: Provided, That

in any State having a child-welfare or child-hygiene divi-

sion in its State agency of health, the said State agency of

health shall administer the provisions of this Act through

such divisions. If the legislature of any State has not made

provision for accepting the provisions of this Act the gov-

ernor of such State may in so far as he is authorized to do

so by the laws of such State accept the provisions of this

Act and designate or create a State agency to cooperate

with the Children’s Bureau until six months after the

adjournment of the first regular session of the legislature

in such State following the passage of this Act.

Sec. 5. So much, not to exceed 5 per centum, of the

additional appropriations authorized for any fiscal year

under section 2 of this Act, as the Children’s Bureau may

estimate to be necessary for administering the provisions

of this Act, as herein provided, shall be deducted for that

purpose, to be available until expended.

Sec. 6. Out of the amounts authorized under section 5

of this Act the Children’s Bureau is authorized to employ

such assistants, clerks, and other persons in the District of

Columbia and elsewhere, to be taken from the eligible lists

of the Civil Service Commission, and to purchase such

supplies, material, equipment, office fixtures, and appara-

tus, and to incur such travel and other expense as it may

deem necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

Sec. 7. Within sixty days after any appropriation

authorized by this Act has been made, the Children’s

Bureau shall make the apportionment herein provided for

and shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the

amount estimated by the bureau to be necessary for

administering the provisions of this Act, and shall certify to

the Secretary of the Treasury and to the treasurers of the

various States the amount which has been apportioned to

each State for the fiscal year for which such appropriation

has been made.

Sec. 8. Any State desiring to receive the benefits of

this Act shall, by its agency described in section 4, submit

to the Children’s Bureau detailed plans for carrying out

the provisions of this Act within such State, which plans

shall be subject to the approval of the board: Provided,

That the plans of the States under this Act shall provide

that no official, or agent, or representative in carrying out

the provisions of this Act shall enter any home or take

charge of any child over the objection of the parents, or

either of them, or the person standing in loco parentis or

having custody of such child. If these plans shall be in

conformity with the provisions of this Act and reasonably

appropriate and adequate to carry out its purposes they

shall be approved by the board and due notice of such

approval shall be sent to the State agency by the chief of

the Children’s Bureau.

Sec. 9. No official, agent, or representative of the Chil-

dren’s Bureau shall by virtue of this Act have any right to

enter any home over the objection of the owner thereof, or

to take charge of any child over the objection of the par-

ents, or either of them, or of the person standing in loco

parentis or having custody of such child. Nothing in this

Act shall be construed as limiting the power of a parent or

guardian or person standing in loco parentis to determine

what treatment or correction shall be provided for a child

or the agency or agencies to be employed for such pur-

pose.

Sec. 10. Within sixty days after any appropriation

authorized by this Act has been made, and as often there-

after while such appropriation remains unexpended as

changed conditions may warrant, the Children’s Bureau

shall ascertain the amounts that have been appropriated

by the legislatures of the several States accepting the pro-

visions of this Act and shall certify to the Secretary of the

Treasury the amount to which each State is entitled under

the provisions of this Act. Such certificate shall state (1)

that the State has, through its legislative authority,

accepted the provisions of this Act and designated or

authorized the creation of an agency to cooperate with

the Children’s Bureau, or that the State has otherwise

accepted this Act, as provided in section 4 hereof; (2) the

fact that the proper agency of the State has submitted to

the Children’s Bureau detailed plans for carrying out the

provisions of this Act, and that such plans have been

approved by the board; (3) the amount, if any, that has

been appropriated by the legislature of the State for the

maintenance of the services and facilities of this Act, as

provided in section 2 hereof; and (4) the amount to which

1310 ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America

the State is entitled under the provisions of this Act. Such

certificate, when in conformity with the provisions

hereof, shall, until revoked as provided in section 12

hereof, be sufficient authority to the Secretary of the

Treasury to make payment to the State in accordance

therewith.

Sec. 11. Each State agency cooperating with the Chil-

dren’s Bureau under this Act shall make such reports con-

cerning its operations and expenditures as shall be

prescribed or requested by the bureau. The Children’s

Bureau may, with the approval of the board, and shall,

upon request of a majority of the board, withhold any fur-

ther certificate provided for in section 10 hereof whenever

it shall be determined as to any State that the agency

thereof has not properly expended the money paid to it or

the moneys herein required to be appropriated by such

State for the purposes and in accordance with the provi-

sions of this Act. Such certificate may be withheld until

such time or upon such conditions as the Children’s

Bureau, with the approval of the board, may determine;

when so withheld the State agency may appeal to the Pres-

ident of the United States who may either affirm or

reverse the action of the Bureau with such directions as he

shall consider proper: Provided, That before any such cer-

tificate shall be withheld from any State, the chairman of

the board shall give notice in writing to the authority des-

ignated to represent the State, stating specifically wherein

said State has failed to comply with the provisions of this

Act.

Sec. 12. No portion of any moneys apportioned

under this Act for the benefit of the States shall be

applied, directly or indirectly, to the purchase, erection,

preservation, or repair of any building or buildings or

equipment, or for the purchase or rental of any buildings

or lands, nor shall any such moneys or moneys required

to be appropriated by any State for the purposes and in

accordance with the provisions of this Act be used for the

payment of any maternity or infancy pension, stipend, or

gratuity.

Sec. 13. The Children’s Bureau shall perform the

duties assigned to it by this Act under the supervision of

the Secretary of Labor, and he shall include in his annual

report to Congress a full account of the administration of

this Act and expenditures of the moneys herein autho-

rized.

Sec. 14. This Act shall be construed as intending to

secure to the various States control of the administration of

this Act within their respective States, subject only to the

provisions and purposes of this Act.

Source:

Statutes at Large, Vol. 42, pp. 224–226.

H. L. Mencken, “The Monkey Trial”:

A Reporter’s Account, 1925

Tennessee v. John Scopes,

the so-called Monkey Trial, chal-

lenged state laws prohibiting the teaching of Charles Darwin’s

theory of evolution in public schools. Evolution is defined as a

change in the gene pool of a species. According to Darwin, all

species, including humans, evolved from a common biologi-

cal ancestor. Although Darwin’s theory of evolution has been

refined over the past century and a half, its general outline has

been demonstrated through scientific method, and it is

accepted by almost all reputable biologists. However, to those

who adhere to a literal interpretation of creation as occurring

within six 24-hour days, Darwin’s theory appears to refute the

Bible. His theory was popularly—and according to the latest

discoveries, erroneously—characterized as saying that

humans evolved directly from monkeys or apes.

In Chapter 27 of the Acts of 1925 (also known as the But-

ler Law), Tennessee forbade publicly funded schools from

teaching theories that denied the biblical account of human

origins. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wanted to

challenge this law and recruited John Scopes, a public high

school teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, for the purpose. In the

resulting trial, which took place in Dayton from July 10 to July

25, 1925, the fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan (former

presidential candidate and secretary of state) argued for the

prosecution, and the famous, if controversial, Clarence Dar-

row argued for the defense. The jury found Scopes guilty, and

the judge fined him $100.

The trial became a cause célèbre and a media circus. For

the northern press, it became an opportunity to ridicule south-

ern Bible-Belt culture. The most scathing articles came from

the acerbic but influential

Baltimore Sun

journalist H. L.

Mencken. With colorful language and an irreverent tone,

Mencken provides a dramatic account of the proceedings and

the main players, capturing aspects of the trial beyond the

debate between science, religion, and the First Amendment.

Characterizing Dayton as a small, zealously Christian town,

and Daytonians as ignorant and unsophisticated, he mocks

their desire for the publicity the trial will bring them.

In 1955 the trial reentered American culture through

Inherit the Wind

, a play written by Jerome Lawrence and

Robert E. Lee; it was shortly thereafter made into a movie. The

play has been revived countless times on Broadway and in

regional, community, and even high-school theaters. Its con-

tinued resonance reflects a revival of the debate over “cre-

ationism,” which purports to use scientific evidence to refute

Darwin. Most, but not all, scientists dispute creationism

because, they contend, it is not based on scientific method.

Nevertheless, Christian fundamentalists in many parts of the

country, not just the South, continue to lobby school boards to

give at least equal weight to either creationism or “intelligent

Postwar Society 1311