Deep Understanding: The FEARS Behind Intolerance
Part of Intolerance and Prejudice — GCSE History
This deep dive covers Deep Understanding: The FEARS Behind Intolerance within Intolerance and Prejudice for GCSE History. Revise Intolerance and Prejudice in America 1920-1973 for GCSE History with 10 exam-style questions and 12 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 3 of 11 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 3 of 11
Practice
10 questions
Recall
12 flashcards
🧠 Deep Understanding: The FEARS Behind Intolerance
Each form of intolerance was driven by specific fears. Understanding these helps you explain WHY, not just WHAT:
🚨 Fear of Communism: The Red Scare (1919-20)
Context: The Russian Revolution (1917) had seen workers overthrow the government and execute the ruling class. American business owners were TERRIFIED this could happen in America.
⛪ Fear of "Foreign" Religions
America had been founded by Protestants. The "new immigrants" from Southern and Eastern Europe (1900-1920) were mainly Catholic, Jewish, or Orthodox Christian.
💼 Fear of Economic Competition
Native-born workers feared immigrants would:
This economic fear combined with cultural prejudice to create powerful anti-immigrant sentiment.
🏡 Fear of Cultural Change
Rural, Protestant America felt under siege from modern, urban culture:
The KKK, Prohibition, and immigration restrictions can ALL be seen as attempts by "traditional" America to resist change.
🔥 The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in the 1920s
The 1920s KKK was DIFFERENT from the post-Civil War Klan — bigger, broader, and more politically powerful:
| Feature | Detail | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Membership | 4-6 million by 1925 | Massive — this wasn't a fringe group |
| Geography | Not just South — powerful in Indiana, Oregon, Oklahoma, Colorado | National movement, not regional |
| Targets | Black Americans, Catholics, Jews, immigrants, "immoral" behaviour | Broader than original KKK |
| Methods | Lynching, beatings, cross-burning, boycotts, intimidation | Violence AND economic pressure |
| Political power | Controlled some state governments; members included police, judges, politicians | Inside the system, not just outside |
| Slogan | "100% Americanism" | Defined "American" as white, Protestant, native-born |
Decline after 1925: Grand Dragon David Stephenson of Indiana was convicted of the rape and murder of a young woman. This exposed the hypocrisy of the KKK's "moral" crusade. Membership collapsed rapidly.