Document 21.9 Billy Ireland, “We Can’t Digest the Scum,” 1919

Billy Ireland | “We Can’t Digest the Scum,” 1919

The Red scare stoked fears that radical immigrants were a threat to the U.S. government and America’s capitalist economy. In contrast to the traditional vision of America as a melting pot that would dissolve cultural differences, cartoonist Billy Ireland suggests that not all ideas or people should be assimilated into the American melting pot.

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The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum