What is the “Strange Fruit” referenced in the song?
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T hanks in part to a resurgence of the KKK, over 2,000 lynchings occurred in the United States between 1900 and 1930. Increased frustration over failed government attempts to stop the horrors of lynching, led to increased support for a federal anti-lynching law. In 1936, a Jewish high-school teacher from the Bronx, New York wrote a poem titled “Strange Fruit” about the lynching of two black men.
Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, lynched in Marion, Indiana, on August 7, 1930. Detail of photograph by Lawrence H. Beitler 
The poem was recorded in song version by jazz legend Billie Holiday in 1939 and became her greatest hit. Often breaking out in tears while singing it, Holiday eventually ended all her shows with the powerful song. Just as the song was about to begin, waiters would stop serving, the lights in club would be turned off, and a single spotlight would illuminate Holiday on stage. . S What is the “Strange Fruit” referenced in the song?
by Lewis Allen Southern trees bear strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Pastoral scene of the gallant South, The bulging eyes and twisted mouth, The scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the sudden smell of burning flesh. Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck, For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop, Here is a strange and bitter crop. 
Americanese Wall 25 Mar 1916 Library of Congress Seeking to screen out "undesirable" immigrants, many nativists urged Congress to adopt literacy testing for all would-be immigrants. Although campaigns for such a law had been mounted since the 1890s, only in 1917 did a literacy requirement pass Congress. The cartoon shown here disparages such exclusionist policies, but in the 1920s, the pressure for even tighter restrictions mounted, to be embodied -- as one Minnesota representative put it -- in a "genuine 100 per cent American immigration law.". What attitudes towards immigrants do this image suggest? CITATION: Raymond O. Evans. "The Americanese Wall, as Congressman Burnett would build it." Illus. in: Puck, v. 79, 1916 Mar. 25, p. 10. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division: LC-USZ62-52584. 1. What image does this cartoon suggest about the attitudes towards immigrants in the 1920s? 2. Look closely at the cartoon. What slogan is printed on the flag in the left-hand corner? How is Uncle Sam depicted? What rests on top of the wall? 3. Who is standing at the bottom of the image? What do they have with them? What are they doing?
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Klan's Fight for Americanism 1926 Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. In this speech, Hiram W. Evans, the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, defended "true" Americans against the threat posed by immigrants, Jews, Catholics, and blacks. The Klan's Fight for Americanism clearly states who the KKK represented and gives the racial definition of what Evans termed "Americanism." This piece was first read by hundreds of thousands of Americans when it was published in the North American Review in 1926; although not all were members of the KKK, many white readers identified with the message that, in some way, the American way of life they had always known was being threatened by increasing diversity. Moreover, since this traditional way of life was under attack, it made sense to those readers that it must be defended. CITATION: Hiram Wesley Evans, "The Klan's Fight for Americanism," North American Review, 1926. Courtesy Copyright Clearance Center. 1. In a part of the speech not shown, Evans refers to "the American race." What does he mean by that? Who was included/excluded in that race and how was it formed? 2. Evans also refers to a "moral breakdown" in American society. What role did World War I play in that breakdown, and in what ways had it affected American society in 1926? 3. What “issues” does Evans have with Catholics? 4. How might an immigrant have responded to this article? 
Ku Klux Klan Excerpts from the Constitution and Laws of the Ku Klux Klan 1921 THE IMPERIAL PROCLAMATION. To the lovers of Law, Order, Peace and Justice of all nations, People, Tribes and Tongues of the whole earth, Greetings: I, and the citizens of the Invisible Empire through me, make declaration to you: We, the members of this Order, desiring to promote patriotism toward our Civil Government; honorable peace among men and nations; protection for and happiness in the homes of our people; manhood, brotherhood, and love among ourselves, and liberty, justice and fraternity among all mankind; believing we can best accomplish these noble purposes through a mystic, social, patriotic, benevolent association, having a perfected lodge sys tem, with an exalted ritualistic form of work and an effective form of government, not for selfish profit, but for the mutual betterment, benefit and protection of our oath-bound associates, and their loved ones; do physically, socially, morally and vocationally Proclaim to the World We invite all men who can qualify to become citizens of the Invisible Empire to approach the portal of our beneficent domain, join us in our noble work of extending its boundaries, and in disseminating the gospel of "Klankraft," thereby encouraging, conserving, protecting and making vital the fraternal relationship in the practice of an honorable clannishness; to share with us the glory of performing the sacred duty of protecting womanhood; to maintain forever the God-given supremacy of the white race; to commemorate the holy and chivalric achievements of our fathers; to safeguard the sacred rights, privileges and institutions of our Civil Government; to bless mankind and to keep eternally ablaze the sacred fire of a fervent devotion to a pure Americanism. KU KLUX KREED. (Original Creed Revised) We, the Order of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, reverentially acknowledge the majesty and supremacy of Almighty God and recognize His goodness and providence through Jesus Christ our Lord. Recognizing our relation to the government of the United States of America, the Supremacy of its Constitution, the Union of States thereunder, and the Constitutional Laws thereof, we shall ever be devoted to the sublime principles of a pure Americanism, and valiant in the defense of its ideals and institutions. We avow the distinction between the races of mankind as decreed by the Creator, and we shall ever be true to the maintenance of White Supremacy and strenuously oppose any compromise thereof. Citation: Ku Klux Klan. Constitution and laws of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Atlanta: Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, 1921. 2-16. Note: Excerpted from a much larger document. Certain parts of the text have been emphasized for educational purposes. Ku Klux Klan Constitution and Laws 1920s Knights of the Ku Klux Klan The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan first formed during the Reconstruction of the American South in the 1860s and 1870s, following the Civil War. Along with other hate groups, such as the Knights of Camilla, the Klan terrorized southern African-Americans in a time when recently passed Constitutional amendments guaranteed them the same rights as whites. With the waning of Reconstruction, the Klan gradually faded away. It was reformed in 1915 in response to the Communist revolution in Russia and the changing character of American society. The Klan's popularity reached a peak during the conservative, isolationist 1920s. The Klan would wane in the 1930s, only to rise to prominence again during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. CITATION: Ku Klux Klan. Constitution and laws of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Atlanta: Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, 1921. 2-16. 1. Read the text carefully. What does it say are the goals of the Ku Klux Klan?
Paving the Road 1920 Library of Congress This photograph shows an African-American men paving a road in Washington, D.C. Road building was a national craze during the 1920s, as cars became more affordable and businesses identified road transportation as a sure path to economic growth. CITATION: "African American men paving road, Washington, D.C." Between 1910 and 1930. 1 photographic print. National Photo Company Collection at the Library of Congress, ID: LC-USZ62-116217. Original image number: 3c16217. 1. What kind of road was being built? How wide was it?
Ford's Model T c. 1917 Library of Congress In 1914, Ford began utilizing a moving assembly line which allowed them to build cars faster and more efficiently. The Ford Model-T became the first car truly accessible to middle-class America, causing a boom in road building and what historians call "automobile tourism." Thousands of Americans joined auto clubs, but it was the unprecedented freedom people enjoyed in the automobile that led some authorities to call it "the house of prostitution on wheels." CITATION: "Completed product of a great automobile factory ready for delivery, Detroit, Mich." c. 1917. Row of completed "Tin Lizzies" or Model T's come off the Ford assembly line. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, ID: LC-USZ62-63968. Original image number: 3b11564. 1. How did the development of road networks facilitate the growth in popularity of the automobile? 2. Why would the automobile offer greater freedom for the average American? Explain.
 
Around 1900 Around 1920 Women's Fashions 1920 Library of Congress Women's fashions by 1920 were much more attainable for the average woman. As the styles got simpler, it became easier for women to make new dresses at home. Also, as more people flocked to the movies, the fashions of the stars heavily influenced what women wanted to wear. Hemlines rose to calf-length or higher, waistlines dropped, short hair became stylish, and hats became extremely popular. The boyish look was quite popular from 1925-1926 and again from 1928-1929. Straight, curveless dresses were worn with bust flattening brassieres. The waist completely disappeared, and belts were worn around the hips. The chemise type dress was popular from 1925 to 1928 or 1929. The chemise (French for shirt) hung straight down to the knees. 1. How did movie stars influence fashion and why would women want to follow the trends? Does this phenomenon still occur?
Sixth Grade Class Mar 1917 Library of Congress In this photograph, seventy-five sixth graders crowd a small classroom. Going into World War I, the Oklahoma oil industry was booming and at least relative prosperity existed for both white and black Americans. This school, located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is just southeast of Tulsa, where race relations turned bitter in 1921. One source of frustration was white fear of growing African-American wealth and influence in Oklahoman culture, economics, and politics. One of the many reasons for this growth was increased education among African-American children. CITATION: Lewis Wickes Hine. "75 Sixth Grade children (colored) crowded into 1 small room in an old store building near Negro High School, with 1 teacher." 1917 March. 1 photographic print. Photographs from the records of the National Child Labor Committee (U.S.), Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. ID: LC-DIG-nclc-00660. Original Image Number: 00660. 1. How does this classroom compare to others with Caucasian students?
Kindergarteners Mar 1917 Library of Congress This photograph of a kindergarten class in the Horace Mann School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, portrays a very different kind of educational experience from that of the sixth grade classroom of African-American children featured in this collection. Taken by Lewis Hine on the same trip as the photograph of the African-American classroom, this photograph clearly shows the large classroom, small number of pupils, and active teaching methods. Hine, a social reformer, used his camera to capture the tragedies of child labor, discrepancies in segregated education, and human labor contribution to modern industry and society. CITATION: Lewis Wickes Hine. "Kindergarten children in Horace Mann School working on doll houses." 1917 March. 1 photographic print. Photographs from the records of the National Child Labor Committee (U.S.), Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. ID: LC-DIG-nclc-05238. Original Image Number: 05238. 1. Examine the children's clothes and mannerisms. What kinds of inferences can be made about the students' backgrounds or lifestyles? 2. In what ways does this classroom differ from the sixth grade classroom in the African American school?
Garter Flask 26 Jan 1926 Library of Congress Passed in 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlawed the manufacture, sale, transportation, importation, and exportation of intoxicating beverages. Yet at the same time that a new austere Protestant piety swept the nation, speakeasies and scandalous clothes were coming into vogue. Thus, there is a real tension in 1920s America. Prohibition reflects this tension: on the one hand, it dramatically decreased the per capita alcohol consumption in America; on the other hand, it gave rise to bootlegging and organized crime. Many consider prohibition the ultimate example of the limits of legislation's ability to control practices and behaviors. Ultimately, prohibition failed. Here, we see a prime example of how prohibition was flaunted in popular culture. Mlle. Rhea, a vaudville dancer, models the newest fashion: a garter flask for discreet drinking. CITATION: Latest thing in flasks. Mlle. Rhea, dainty dancer who is now in the city as part of the Keiths program inaugurates the garter flask fad in Washington. 1926 Jan. 26. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division: LC-USZ62-99952. 1. Why do you think prohibition failed?
Prohibition Raid c. 1921 Library of Congress Passed in 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlawed the manufacture, sale, transportation, importation, and exportation of intoxicating beverages. Yet at the same time that a new austere Protestant piety swept the nation, speakeasies and scandalous clothes were coming into vogue. Thus, there is a real tension in 1920s America. Prohibition reflects this tension: on the one hand, it dramatically decreased the per capita alcohol consumption in America; on the other hand, it gave rise to bootlegging and organized crime. Many consider prohibition the ultimate example of the limits of legislation's ability to control practices and behaviors. Ultimately, Prohibition failed. Here, we see a 1921 photograph of Liquor Commission agents pouring liquor into a drain following a raid in New York City. Prohibition enforcement failed whether it worked or not: when it worked, it inundated the court system beyond its capacity; when it didn't work, covert establishments ("speakeasies") simply took the place of saloons. CITATION: New York City Deputy Police Commissioner John A. Leach, right, watching agents pour liquor into sewer following a raid during the height of prohibition. 1921. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division: LC-USZ62-123257.
Madam C.J. Walker Moves to New York City 1916 Born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867 on a Delta, Louisiana plantation, this daughter of former slaves transformed herself from an uneducated farm laborer and laundress into of the twentieth century's most successful, self-made women entrepreneur. During the 1890s, Sarah began to suffer from a scalp ailment that caused her to lose most of her hair. She experimented with many homemade remedies and store-bought products, including those made by Annie Malone, another black woman entrepreneur. In 1905 Sarah moved to Denver as a sales agent for Malone, then married her third husband, Charles Joseph Walker, a St. Louis newspaperman. After changing her name to "Madam" C. J. Walker, she founded her own business and began selling Madam Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower, a scalp conditioning and healing formula, which she claimed had been revealed to her in a dream. Walker herself moved to New York in 1916. In July 1917, when a white mob murdered more than three dozen blacks in East St. Louis, Illinois, Walker joined a group of Harlem leaders who visited the White House to present a petition favoring federal anti-lynching legislation. "This is the greatest country under the sun," she told them. "But we must not let our love of country, our patriotic loyalty cause us to abate one whit in our protest against wrong and injustice. We should protest until the American sense of justice is so aroused that such affairs as the East St. Louis riot be forever impossible."
 
THE BLACK SOX SCANDAL Top Photo: Eddie Cicotte and family (Chicago Tribune archive photo) Eddie Cicotte pitched eight seasons for the White Sox and is one of eight players banned from baseball after accepting gamblers' money to throw the 1919 World Series. In the photo, Cicotte passes a baseball to his daughter, Virginia at Military Day at Comiskey Park, Aug. 23, 1917. It was Cicotte who let gamblers know the fix was in during Game 1 of the 1919 World Series when he hit the first batter he faced. Cicotte won 29 games during the regular season that year, but lost both Games 1 and 4 in the Series. He once explained he went along with the conspiracy to get enough money for security for his family. "I did it for the kiddies," he said. Bottom Photo: “Shoeless” Joe Warming Up 1920 Photo by Charles Conlon After the White Sox unexpectedly lost the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds, eight players, including “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, were accused of throwing the Series to the Reds. In September 1920, a grand jury was convened to investigate. Although he admitted to accepting a $5,000 bribe from the gamblers, during the series, Jackson had 12 hits and a .375 batting average — in both cases leading both teams. The 12 hits was a World Series record. He committed no errors and even threw out a runner at the plate. Jackson and his teammates were barred from baseball and never played again. Jackson currently holds the third highest career batting average ever (.356) but is ineligible for the hall of fame due to the scandal. He spent the rest of his life proclaiming his innocence.
Gym Class Somewhere in the United States 1920 Women's gym class with rows of women throwing balls into air in unison.
Hoover, Ford, Edison, and Firestone. President Herbert Hoover, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone at Edison's 82nd birthday. Ft. Myers, Florida, February 11, 1929.
  
LUCKY LINDY! From Top Left: Charles Lindbergh May 1927 Life Magazine American aviator Charles Lindbergh standing outdoors beside his plane "Spirit of St. Louis" before the start of his pioneering solo transatlantic flight. Cover New York Times May 22, 2009 The New York Times reports the exciting news. Lindbergh arrives in Paris May 21, 1927 Lindbergh lands Crowd surging across Croydon airfield to welcome visiting American aviator Charles Lindbergh in his Ryan monoplane "Spirit of St. Louis" in which he made historic 1st transatlantic flight to Paris.
RED SCARE: Swat the Fly, But Use Common Sense Literary Digest, 3/6/20. Originally from the Newark News (Pease). Shortly after the end of World War I and the Bolshevik (Communist) Revolution in Russia, the Red Scare took hold in the United States. A nationwide fear of communists, socialists, anarchists, and other dissidents suddenly grabbed the American psyche in 1919 following a series of anarchist bombings. The nation was gripped in fear. Innocent people were jailed for expressing their views, civil liberties were ignored, and many Americans feared that a Bolshevik-style revolution was at hand. Then, in the early 1920s, the fear seemed to dissipate just as quickly as it had begun, and the Red Scare was over.
Girls Basketball Team1920-21Decatur High School, Decatur, Indiana
 
Why was Prohibition repealed?
Quote B - “Smuggling from Mexico and Canada has been successful on a large scale because it is an utter impossibility to patrol the thousands of miles of border…. Bootleggers…maintain large fleets of trucks and automobiles running on regular schedules between Mexican and Canadian points and cities… On the Atlantic Coast the smugglers are so numerous and so active that there is at all times…a rum fleet standing off or anchored outside the 3-mile limit near New York and New Jersey. …they bring their cargoes (of alcohol) from the Bermudas or the West Indies… As long as they remain outside the 3 mile limit, this government cannot interfere with them and they are able to make their deliveries to bootleggers that slip out to them under cover of darkness in motor speed boats.” -Frederic Haskin, The American Government, Washington D.C., 1923
Quote C - “Before prosperity can return in this country the budgets of local and national governments must be balanced. If the liquor now sold by bootleggers was legally sold, regulated, and taxed, the (tax) income would pay the interest on the entire local and national (debt) and leave more than $200,000,000 for …urgently needed purposes.” -Leslie Gordon, The New Crusade, Cleveland 1932
1920s and Postwar America Name ____________________ “Using primary and secondary documents to investigate a historical era” Period ______ STRANGE FRUIT
AMERICANESE WALL 1. What image does this cartoon suggest about the attitudes towards immigrants in the 1920s? 2. Look closely at the cartoon. What slogan is printed on the flag in the left-hand corner? How is Uncle Sam depicted? What rests on top of the wall? 3. Who is standing at the bottom of the image? What do they have with them? What are they doing?
1. In a part of the speech not shown, Evans refers to "the American race." What does he mean by that? Who was included/excluded in that race and how was it formed? 2. What “issues” does Evans have with Catholics? KKK CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 1. Read the text carefully. What does it say are the goals of the Ku Klux Klan?
PAVING THE ROAD 1. What kind of road was being built (gravel, paved, dirt, etc)? How wide was it?
FORD MODEL T 1. How did the development of road networks facilitate the growth in popularity of the automobile? 2. Why would the automobile offer greater freedom for the average American? Explain.
WOMENS FASHIONS 1. How did movie stars influence fashion and why would women want to follow the trends? Does this phenomenon still occur?
SIXTH GRADE CLASS 1. How does this classroom compare to others with Caucasian students?
KINDERGARTEN CLASS 1. Examine the children's clothes and mannerisms. What kinds of inferences can be made about the students' backgrounds or lifestyles? 2. In what ways does this classroom differ from the sixth grade classroom in the African American school?
GARTER FLASK 1. Why do you think prohibition failed?
PROHIBITION RAID 1. Why did Prohibition “enforcement fail whether it worked or not”? 2. How might the enforcement of Prohibition have actually increased the crime rate in many major cities?
BLACK SOX SCANDAL 1. Why do you think the 1919 Chicago World Series team is often referred to as the Black Sox? 2. Should Shoeless Joe Jackson be allowed into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Can you think of any recent sports heroes that have disappointed their fans with scandal? 3. Why did attendance to baseball games and other spectator sports dramatically increase in the 1920s GYM CLASS 1. How does this gym class compare to a current high school gym class? What’s the same and what’s different? HOOVER FORD EDISON FIRESTONE 1. Identify the people in the photograph and explain why they are famous. 2. Hoover and his Republican predecessors (Coolidge and Harding) believed in a “hands off” (lassiez-faire) approach to big business. How might this approach have helped the men in this photograph?
LUCKY LINDY 1. What did Charles Lindbergh accomplish?
RED SCARE: SWAT THE FLY… 1. Who is the man in the cartoon? What does he represent? 2. The fly in the cartoon is labeled “reds”. Who or what are “reds” and why does the man in the cartoon want to get rid of them?
3. How would you summarize the meaning of this cartoon? GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM
WHY WAS PROBITION REPEALED? QUOTE A 1. What government position does the author hold? 2. What is the author most upset about? 3. How does this document help explain why the 18th amendment was repealed? QUOTE B 1. During Prohibition, what was the significance of the 3-mile limit? 2. What evidence is there that the smuggling of alcohol into the United States was large in scale? 3. How does this document help explain why the 18th amendment was repealed? QUOTE C 1. Why didn’t the federal government collect a tax on alcohol during Prohibition? 2. How does this document help explain why the 18th amendment was repealed? Directory: ourpages -> auto -> 2010 auto -> Extended learning modules language Arts/Reading 2010 -> Ap us history free response questions since 1971 2010 -> Foshay Learning Center 3751 S. Harvard Blvd. Los Angeles, ca 90018* Phone: (323) 373-2700 *Fax: (323) 733-2120 2010 -> #35 & 36 (will be collected) 2010 -> Remarkable Rome Document Based Question 2010 -> March 18, 1877 January 3, 1945) 2010 -> Chapter summary Download 124.84 Kb. Share with your friends:
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