Chapter 26 Study Guide

1. The Cancellation of the government military contracts because of demobilization which was the shutting down of the war machine led to hundreds of factory closures. Crop prices fell as overseas demand for farm products dropped. Millions of Americans were thrown out of work, a situation made worse by the return of millions of soldiers. Unemployment combined with inflation, the rise in the price of goods and services, to cause a decline in economic activity and property or a Recession.

2. The Red Scare which was the postwar fear of radicals, reds being communists, in which most Americans viewed them with suspicion was brought about by violent labor strikes, government reaction to social threats and the actions of anarchists and communists. Fears that radicalism was threatening public order when bombs sent by mail to the Attorney General Palmer launched a series of raids on suspected subversives. The raids were conducted by J. Edgar Hoover the Director of the FBI and were directed at the homes of suspected subversives looking for weapons. Critics saw those Palmer raids, the arrests of radicals, and the deportation of foreign born suspects as an affront to civil liberties. The murder trial and conviction and execution of two Italian immigrants Sacco and Vanzetti also raised questions about America’s founding ideals of equality and rights under the law.

3. Nativists and labor union members called for restriction on immigration. In response to fears of radicalism among immigrants and anti immigration pressure, Congress enacted a quota system which put limits on the number of immigrants coming into the country. It could be no more that 3% of current populations already in the country Anti immigration feelings also helped to revive the Ku Klux Klan. Quota System

4. The Klan terrorized African Americans, immigrants, Catholics, and Jews with whippings, kidnappings, cross burnings, arson, and murder. They also worked to elect sympathetic senators and governors and they held massive marches in the nations capital and other large cities. In response the American Civil Liberties Union was founded by pacifists and social activists. The organization defends those it viewed as targeted by the government because of their political or religious beliefs. It opposes the limitations put on individuals rights.

5. African American even though they had served and sacrificed their lives in the war, still faced racism and discrimination at home. Like other African Americans, black veterans had trouble finding jobs, and racial violence saw a comeback. Tensions between blacks and whites erupted into riots. In this climate of violence, Garvey’s Back-to-Africa message was appealing to blacks who had given up hope for equality in the United States. Marcus Garvey created the Back to Africa Movement for blacks to return to Africa because they would never be treated fairly in the U. S. by white males who controlled the government.

6. Strong Anti-Catholic sentiment in many parts of the country hurt the Smith candidacy. Rumors spread that if Smith were elected, the Catholic Pope would run the country. Wherever Smith campaigned, he had to spend time explaining that his Catholicism did not pose a threat to the nation. In response to anti-Semitism, prejudice against Jews, the Anti-defamation League was created to stop the defamation, false accusation, of the Jewish people.