Leo Frank: The Cause Of Anti-Semitism In America

In 1915, a Jewish businessman Leo Frank was falsely accused of killing a worker, Mary Phlegem, in the pencil factory he managed. When the Georgia governor reduced Frank’s death sentence to life imprisonment due to lack of evidence, a mob dragged him and lynched him. He was given a posthumous pardon decades later when the evidence pointed to a janitor at the factory. Leo Frank tragedy caused “a ripple effect of fear among Jewish immigrants and Jewish Americans” (Anti-semitism in America). The lynching of Leo Frank was the beginning of two long decades of prejudicsm and hatred towards Jewish Americans in interwar America. In the 1920’s and 1930’s, Jews in America, a minority, suffered much anti-semitism. Anti-semitism is defined as the prejudicism,

His campaign conducted in Henry Ford's Dearborn Independent newspaper from 1920 to 1922 and again in 1924 and 1925. Henry Ford campaign accused Jews of "threatening the capitalist system to undermining the moral value of the nation, and finally even held them responsible for World War 1”.(Anti-semitism in the 1920’s and 1930’s). Henry Ford finally retracted his acccusations after being sued by a Chicago lawyer attacked in one of Ford’s articles. (Anti-semitism in the United States). Henry Ford’s articles, with a circulation of 1.1 million, greatly influenced the American people because Henry Ford was a well-respected, successful CEO that effectively blamed Jews on many American’s

Many Jews felt its effect in their daily life. Jews faced many physical attacks, but also in the media- in television, movies, drama, etc (Anti-semitism). "Newspapers and magazines commonly printed anti-semitic articles and cartoons"(Anti-semitism in the 1920’s and 30’s). Jews were discriminated in employment, social clubs, and sale of land and houses. . Many institutions, including colleges, businesses, Private schools and camps, placed restrictions and quotas against Jews. Many times, the restrictions were blatantly against Jews (The American). It made it particularly difficult for Jews since anti-Semites "held high positions in the federal and state department." (Anti-semitism in the 1920’s and