Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumSocial and Political Controversies of the 1920s

Read the passage below and answer the following question.

"If it had not been for these thing, I might have live out my life talking at street corners to scorning men. I might have die, unmarked, unknown, a failure. Now we are not a failure. This is our career and our triumph. Never in our full life could we hope to do such work for tolerance, for justice, for man's understanding of man as now we do by accident. Our words—our lives—our pains—nothing! The taking of our lives—lives of a good shoemaker and a poor fish-peddler—all! That last moment belongs to us—that agony is our triumph."
— Bartolomeo Vanzetti, statement to the court, 1927

Which of the following historical developments of the 1920s best explains the public controversy surrounding the trial and execution of the author of this statement?

  1. A
    The implementation of containment policies to prevent the spread of Soviet influence in Western Europe.
  2. B
    The diplomatic shift toward absolute isolationism and the rejection of all international trade agreements.
  3. The growth of nativism and fear of radical political ideologies following World War I.Answer
  4. D
    The rise of the Populist Party and its advocacy for free silver to assist debt-ridden western farmers.

Answer

The growth of nativism and fear of radical political ideologies following World War I.
The execution of Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco in 1927 reflected the intense nativism (anti-immigrant sentiment) and anti-radicalism (Red Scare) of the 1920s. As Italian immigrants and anarchists, they became symbols of the cultural and political anxieties of many Americans who feared that foreign-born radicals were undermining American institutions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus passage and identify the speaker and context.
The speaker is Bartolomeo Vanzetti, speaking in 1927, referring to his impending execution alongside Nicola Sacco.
To ground the analysis in the specific historical actors and their background.
2
Connect the speaker's background and the trial's context to broader 1920s historical trends.
Sacco and Vanzetti were Italian immigrants and anarchists, whose case mobilized both nativist anxieties and anti-radical fears of the post-WWI era.
To identify the historical developments that drove the controversy.
3
Evaluate the options to find the one that matches this historical context.
The option highlighting the growth of nativism and fear of radical political ideologies directly corresponds to the nativist and Red Scare dynamics of the 1920s.
To select the correct historical explanation for the trial's significance.

Key Concept

Sacco and Vanzetti trial, nativism, and the First Red Scare
Rate this question

Topics

Social and Political Controversies of the 1920s

More questions from this topic