1. Ch 12 Sidetrack: Communism
~You say you want a revolution… and you know it’s going to be alright ~
Ch 12 Sidetrack: Communism

2. Karl Marx
Considered the father of Communism, wrote his Communist Manifesto in 1848
Saw three classes in society:
Aristocrats: upper-class
Bourgeoisie: “middle-class” of business owners & professionals (college educated jobs), very few of them
Proletariat: working-class, poor, often own little property, very little political power, vast majority of the population.

3. Marx’s Steps to Communism
Proletariat recognizes that its poverty is due to the Bourgeoisie
Proletariat (worldwide) bands together to fight for higher wages/better conditions
Proletariat overthrows the Aristocracy/ Bourgeoisie
Proletariat takes over govt. and businesses, starts to take them apart
Communist Utopia; everyone shares the work, no more government.

4. Mr. Phelps’ Definition of Communism
Political system in which the govt. owns all the businesses and property in order to try to make people more equal.
Govt. tells you what job to work & what goods/services you can have

5. U.S.’s “Red Scare”
1917, “October Revolution” makes Russia into a Communist country (Soviet Union)
Some U.S. citizens worried it would happen here
They worried that unions were already in stage 2
The “Palmer Raids” carried out by the govt. did not turn up any major plot for revolution

6. U.S.’s “Red Scare” 1919 was a big year of strikes
The strike against U.S. Steel Corp. was a major setback for unions, which had won many raises during WWI
Brutality against workers was terrible

7. U.S.’s “Red Scare”
The use of force against the striking Boston police gained Calvin Coolidge enough popularity to become VP in 1920