APUSH – Spiconardi

  In 1919, more than 4 million workers engaged in strikes  “Freedom in the Workplace”  Wearing military uniforms, workers denounced employers as “kaisers”  Wartime rhetoric of economic democracy and freedom inspired the strikes Labor Unrest

  Steel Strike of 1919  Roughly 365,000 workers (mostly immigrant) went on strike  U.S. Steel refused to negotiate  Hired blacks and Mexicans as replacements  Propaganda  Workers were associated with  IWW (Industrial Workers of the World)  Communism Labor Unrest

  The strikes and Russian Revolution convinced many Americans that there was a worldwide communist conspiracy  The Palmer Raids (1919 – 1920)  Atty. Gen. A. Mitchell Palmer sent federal agents to raid the offices of radical and labor organizations  5,000 people arrested (most without warrants)  Held for months without charges filed  Hundreds of immigrants deported Red Scare IWW Headquarters after Palmer Raids

 Red Scare

  End of the Scare  Palmer predicted that on May 1, 1920 a radical conspiracy would attempt to overthrow the U.S. government  It didn’t happen  Red Scare abates, but damage was done  IWW and the Socialist Party effectively done with Red Scare

  World War I created a tremendous number of industrial job opportunities for black laborers  Prior to World War I, 90 percent of blacks lived in the South Great Migration

  Aside from jobs, why head north?  Escape lynchings  Voting rights  Educational opportunities for children  However…  More white southerners moved north than black southerners  What do you think blacks found awaiting them in the North? Great Migration



  World War I and its aftermath intensified debates about the nation’s role in the world and how best to achieve national security and pursue American interests. League of Nations Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge (R-MA) and Pres. Wilson argued over America’s role in a post-WWI world