12-11 Obj: To understand a desire to return to normalcy in America and the fear of Communism.

Americans Struggle with Postwar Issues Chapter 20 Section 1

Terms and Names  communism  A. Mitchell Palmer  anarchist  Sacco and Vanzetti  Calvin Coolidge  John L. Lewis

Trends in American Society After the War  After WWI, Americans wanted to get “back to normal”.  The biggest threat to normalcy was communism  Three trends resulted from this desire for normalcy

American Trends... Isolationism US pulls away from world affairs Nativism Suspicion of foreign born people Political Conservatism Opposite of the Progressive Era

The Russian Revolution  World War I devastated Russia and it’s government  March 15, 1917 Czar Nicholas II abdicated his throne  November 1917, Bolsheviks(Lenin) gained control  Established communism

March of 1919  Third Communist International meeting  Advocated worldwide revolution  Overthrow the capitalist system  Abolish free enterprise  No more private property

The Red Scare in the U. S.  70,000 Americans joined the Communist party  The rest of the nation panicked; thought the “reds” were going to take over

The Palmer Raids  A. Mitchell Palmer  Attorney General  Decided to take action against the “Red Scare”  Felt radicals were undermining American values

The Palmer Raids...  Government agents hunted down suspected Communists, socialists and anarchists  Ignored civil rights; invaded homes and offices without search warrants

The Palmer Raids  Jailed suspects without allowing them to see lawyers, arrested their visitors  Deported hundreds of “suspects” without a trial

The Palmer Raids...  The raids didn’t turn up any evidence, explosives, or plots  American public decided Palmer didn’t know what he was talking about

Sacco and Vanzetti  Italian immigrants, anarchists  Evaded the draft  Were accused of murder and robbery  Not given a fair trial

 Sentenced to death despite circumstantial evidence and worldwide protests(1961 ballistics)

The Klan Rises Again  The Klan revived in 1915 and strengthened in 1920 (b/c rise in Red Scare and anti-immigrant feelings)  Devoted to “100% Americanism”  4.5 million “white male persons, native – born gentile citizens”

The Klan Rises Again  Opposed anyone unlike themselves  Believed in keeping blacks “in their place”  Drove Jews, Roman Catholics and foreign born people out of the country  Opposed union organizations  Enforced prohibition

The Klan Rises Again  Dressed in hooded robes  Used a secret language & rituals  Created an incentive program to recruit members called “kleagling”

The Klan Rises Again  Felt moral values were being attacked  Feared job competition from immigrants  Convinced foreigners were going to overthrow the American way of life  Influenced national state and local politics

Quota System  Emergency Quota Act of 1921 established the max number of people who could enter the U.S. from each foreign country(Pg. 622)  Discriminated against people from eastern and southern Europe(Roman Catholics and Jews)  Total number admitted in one year equaled 150k.  Prohibited Japanese immigration; angered Japanese

A Time of Labor Unrest  During the war workers were not allowed to go on strike  Wages had not kept up with prices, but employers didn’t want to give their workers raises  In 1919, there were more than 3000 strikes

The Boston Police Strike  No raise since the beginning of the war  Asked for a living wage  Everyone that asked was fired  Remaining police went on strike

The Boston Police Strike  Governor Calvin Coolidge called out National Guard to restore order  Boston Police called off the strike

The Boston Police Strike  The police commissioner refused to allow the men to return to their jobs  The newly hired men received what the police had been striking for

The Steel Mill Strike Who:US Steel Corporation When:September 1919 Why:Difficult & Dangerous working conditions Wants:Shorter working day Living wage

The Steel Mill Strike  Steel companies hired strikebreakers and used force  18 workers were killed  Hundreds were wounded and beaten  Other companies said the strikers were Communists

The Steel Mill Strike  President Wilson tried to intervene but was not able to resolve the issues  The strike ended January 1920  A report in 1923 about the working conditions shocked the public and the steel companies agreed to an 8 hour work day  Steelworkers still did not have a union

The Coal Miners Strike Who:United Mine Workers John L. Lewis, president When:November 1, 1919 Why:Low wages Long workdays

The Coal Miners Strike  Defied a court order to go back to work for another month  President Wilson sent an arbitrator  Coal miners received a 27% increase  Did not receive a shorter workday until the 1930’s.

Labor Movement Loses Appeal  Many Americans believed labor unions fostered communism  Most unions excluded African Americans  Except mine workers, longshoremen and railroad porters

Labor Movement Loses Appeal  Membership in unions declined  Immigrants had no choice but to work in poor conditions  Unions had trouble organizing the many languages  Farmers turned factory workers were used to relying on themselves