World War I and Its Aftermath The War’s Impact Chapter 16 Section 4 World War I and Its Aftermath

An Economy in Turmoil Soldiers are returning home to parades and parties But there is a problem. . . Two million veterans need to find jobs but the American economy is going into a recession Once the war was over the government agencies were removed Cost of living rapidly increased

An Economy in Turmoil Inflation Leads to Strikes During the war Labor Union numbers increased but companies wanted to get rid of the unions The Seattle General Strike 35,000 shipyard workers walked off the job demanding more pay Other unions joined the shipyard workers and organized a general strike General Strike – strike that involves the entire community 60,000 people went on strike and paralyzed the city for 5 days Eventually went back to work making no gains

An Economy in Turmoil Inflation Leads to Strikes The Boston Police Strike 75% of the police force walked off the job Governor, Calvin Coolidge called in the National Guard When the strikers returned to work the police commissioner fired the strikes and hired a new police force Coolidge agreed with the decision and earned him widespread support and a candidate for Vice President in 1920

An Economy in Turmoil Inflation Leads to Strikes The Steel Strike 350,000 steelworkers went on strike for higher pay, shorter hours, and union recognition Elbert Gary, head of US Steel, refused to talk to union leaders – he chose to use anti-immigrant feelings to divide the union The company blamed the strike on foreign radicals (immigrants) and urged loyal Americans to return to work Hired African Americans and Mexicans as replacement workers The strike collapsed in early 1920 with no advancements

An Economy in Turmoil Racial Unrest Many African Americans had moved North during the war to take factory jobs Many returning soldiers blamed African Americans for the lack of jobs Summer of 1919 – 25 race riots broke out across America Chicago – July – African Americans went to a whites-only beach Both sides began throwing stones at one another The white threw stones at an African American teenager swimming and caused him to drown

An Economy Turmoil Racial Unrest Chicago Riot Angry African Americans attacked white neighborhoods while whites attacked African American Neighborhoods Riot lasted 2 weeks and the governor was forced to send in the National Guard 38 people were killed – 15 white and 23 black 500 were injured

The Red Scare People believed that the strikes in 1919 were the result of communist Americans saw Lenin’s overthrow of the Russian government and the treaty signing with Germany as an act of betrayal Nationwide spread of panic of Communism became known as the Red Scare

The Red Scare April – the postal service intercepted more than 30 homemade bombs May – union members, socialists, and communists organized a parade in Cleveland to protest the jailing of Socialist Party leader Eugene Debs Parade turned into a series of riots June – 8 bombs in eight cities exploded suggesting a nationwide conspiracy One of the bombs damaged the home of US Attorney General Mitchell Palmer

The Red Scare The Palmer Raids Palmer decided something had to be done General Intelligence Division – led by J. Edgar Hoover (later becomes the FBI) Palmer’s Raids targeted the foreign born Ordered a series of raids on offices of the Union of Russian Workers in 12 cities – 249 immigrants were deported January – Palmer issued another raid where 6,000 people were arrested 32 states passed sedition laws making it illegal to join groups promoting revolution

The Red Scare The Palmer Raids Palmer’s agents ignored the civil liberties of the suspects Officers entered houses without search warrants People were jailed for a long period of time without being able to speak with their attorneys Palmer was seen as a national hero but he was never able to give any hard evidence of the conspiracies Americans began to link radicalism with immigrants and congress began restricting immigration

The Election of 1920 Ohio governor, James Cox and Franklin Roosevelt ran on progressive ideals Republican Candidate Warren G. Harding called for a “return to normalcy” Harding won the election by a landslide The American public wanted to put the country’s racial and labor unrest and economic troubles behind and return to normal