Post World War I Chaos
After WWI
• 14 million people dead, 7 million permanently disabled
• 600,000 Americans dead from the flu
• War cost $280 billion
In Europe
• Politically– Monarchies overthrown in Russia, Austria-Hungary,
Germany, Ottoman Empire– Bolsheviks rose to power in 1917
• Economically– Devastated European economies, made US #1– Britain lost power of world’s financial center– Reparations imposed on Germany crippled them
• Socially– A whole generation of men died
• Culturally:– France was in ruins
In the U.S.
• Politically:– Wilson failed to join League of Nations
• Economically– Huge increase in demand for consumer goods
• Led to inflation
– Farmers had less demand, big surplus– Available jobs attracted African Americans northward
• Socially– Women went to work– 19th Amendment passed in 1919, ratified 1920– African American population shift caused uneasy race relations
What might happen in the 1920’s?
What problems/opportunities might arise?
Prosperity and Intolerance
PROSPERITY• New products• New industries• New ways of doing
business• Expanded the
economy
INTOLERANCE• Flu - medical crisis• Reduced demand in
farms and factories• Returning soldiers
struggle to find jobs• Hatred towards the
Germans
100% Americanism
• World War I stirred strong patriotic feelings
• Gave rise to 100% Americanism– Celebrated all things
American– Attacked foreign ideas
and people
The Bolsheviks• 1917 Bolsheviks
revolutionized Russia– Led by Vladimir Lenin
• Established communism– No economic classes, no
private property
• Called for the overthrow of capitalism
• Lenin predicted workers would rise up and crush capitalism
How might Americans react?
U.S. Reaction to Communism
• Shock and fear• Fear shifted from
Germans to “The Reds”
• “Red Scare”– Widespread fear of
communism gripped the nation
• Do you think the media had influence?
The Palmer Raids
• A. Mitchell Palmer - Attorney General • Leader in federal government’s anti-communist
campaign• Led attacks on suspected radicals
– “Palmer raids”– Justified his actions with wartime laws
• Aliens, just belonging to certain groups meant deportation
• Arrested thousands of people in suspected radical groups
Labor Strife
• In 1919, over 4 million workers involved in 3,000+ labor strikes
• War ended - economy sank– Demand declined– Hurt many industries– Soldiers returned to lack of jobs– High turnover
• Red Scare made people fear that workers would rise up, overthrow the government
Labor Strikes
• Seattle General Strike, Feb. 6-11, 1919– Nations first major general strike
• Workers of all industries• Nothing gained by workers
• Boston Police Strike, Sept. 9-13, 1919– Police force went on strike
• Governor Calvin Coolidge brought in state militia to end the strike
• Nothing gained
• United Mine Workers Strike, Sept. 1919– Very few gains
• Strikes damaged reputations of Unions
• Connection with communism
• Not the time for laborers to advance their cause
Limiting Immigration
• Scarce jobs, Red Scare did not favor foreigners in the U.S.
• Rise of nativism– Distrust of foreigners– Clash between earlier immigrants and newer ones
• Nativists were often Protestants from N and W Europe immigrated pre-1900
• New immigrants often Jews, Catholics from S and E Europe
• Citizens, laborers favored restrictions
Limiting Immigration
• 1921 - Fed. Gov. established quotes of immigrants to be allowed into U.S.
• National Origins Act - 1924– Set quotas for each country at 2% of the
number of people from that country who lived in the U.S. in 1890
– Huge limitations on E and S Europeans– Almost all immigration from Asian countries
Ku Klux Klan
• Revival in 1920’s• Targeted Jews,
Catholics, all types of radicals
• “Native white, Protestant supremacy”
• Moved beyond the south
Sacco and Vanzetti
• Massachusetts court case in 1920• Two Italian immigrants, Nicola Sacco and
Bartolomeo Vanzetti, arrested for armed robbery and murder– Self proclaimed anarchists
• Very little evidence against them– On trial for political beliefs
• Convicted, sentenced to death • Executed in 1927
Review
• What were the causes and effects of the first Red Scare?
• How did labor strife grow during postwar years?
• How did the U.S. limit immigration after WWI?
For next class…
• Read up on current events
• Read Chapter 9
• Briefing to President Harding