How widespread was racism and intolerance in America during the 1920s?
… the climate of fear and suspicion some immigrants were treated badly and unfairly. In the case of Sacco and Vanzetti, they were sentenced and executed for murder with very little evidence against them. The judge was even said to have smiled as the verdicts were read out. Sacco and Vanzetti were immigrants and known supporters of communism and anarchism. New immigration laws were also introduced which further contributed to American intolerance. The literacy test, the emergency quota act and the national origins act. The literacy test made sure only people who could read and write entered America, and so made sure that no poor people could enter America. The emergency quotas act in 1921set a limit on the number of immigrants entering America to 357,000. And the national origins Act reduced the limit again but was deliberately deigned to penalize immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. By 1929 the number of …
