Adjusting to Peace 11/9 – 11/10

Who are these guys? How do you know? Warmup Who are these guys? How do you know?

War Over! Americans must transition from wartime to peacetime Transition brings with it some problems and concerns…

Working Conditions Following the War 2 million returning soldiers looking for work End of wartime production led to closed factories and less jobs Women pushed out of the workforce Blacks, who moved north for jobs, lost their jobs Mexicans, who moved north to take jobs, now unemployed (and being deported) Competition for jobs led to class/racial tension and violence

Post-War Economic Downturn Economic Downturn Caused By: Labor surplus following the war No more government regulation of industry Rise in prices following the war Cancellation of government contracts at the end of the war No more need for war time production levels

Labor Unrest No jobs = labor unrest Over 3,600 strikes in 1919 Strikers faced violent opposition from companies, government, and the public People scared of economic revolutions (like the communist revolution in Russia) In reality, most American communists wanted to make conditions better, not completely change the system

Radicals and Bombs There WERE radicals who wanted to promote anarchy In 1919 and 1920, a series of bombings took place across the country Targeting industrialists and politicians Hundreds killed, thousands injured Attorney General A Mitchell Palmer promises to end organized crime in the US

The Red Scare Attorney General Palmer began a series of attacks against communists and radicals (Palmer Raids) About 10,000 radicals jailed (without cause) Building were ransacked, records were seized, and people began to snitch on their neighbors Immigrants especially targeted in Palmer’s raids Immigration limited by law ACLU formed to “protect the rights of individuals”

Bartolomeo Vanzetti Nicola Sacco

Sacco and Vanzetti Post-war tensions + labor unrest + anti-immigrant feelings = Sacco and Vanzetti Trial Sacco and Vanzetti accused of robbing payroll and killing guard They had alibis and witnesses that said they didn’t do it There was a gang of payroll thieves in operation in the area Prosecution witnesses could not positively identify them Sacco and Vanzetti were immigrants and admitted anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti found guilty, and executed in electric chair

Rising Intolerance Nativism = dislike of foreigners by native born Americans The nativism of the early 1900s (plus the unrest after the war) led to the rise of the “new” KKK The new Klan claimed to be a patriotic organization Not anti-black; now pro-American “Hidden enemies” would lead to America’s downfall Blacks, Catholics, Jews, immigrants, homosexuals, “wild women,” the Pope, Franklin Roosevelt About 4 million members in 1924

Intolerance Leads to Violence As the Klan gathered support, violence broke out across the nation 1919 saw 20 major racial disturbances 1920 saw 53 blacks and 8 whites lynched Victims captured “surgery below the belt” Hanged or burned Then shot

Fun Time!

Verbage What does “swipe left” mean? What does “selfie” mean? What does “text” mean? What does “tweet” mean? What are “kicks”? What’s a “snap”? These words are all in our everyday vocabulary!

Keen Talk in a Swanky Age You will pick 10 different terms out of this grab bag Each of the terms are listed, followed by a definition Use all 10 words correctly in a letter/story/conversation/etc. on the lines on the back of the worksheet Pretend like your grandmothers are reading this! (Keep it PG-13).