1. 12.1 Americans Struggle with Postwar Issues
How did Americans adjust to the end of the war?

2. Postwar Trends and Fears
Much of the American public was divided about the League of Nations
The end of the war hurt the economy; returning soldiers took jobs away from many women and minorities
Waves of nativism and isolationism swept over Americans who were suspicious of foreigners and who wanted to pull away from world affairs

3. Fear of Communism
Americans saw communism, or an economic and political system that supports govt. control over property to create equality, as a threat to their way of life
Communists came to power in Russia through violent revolution, and the new govt. wanted to overthrow capitalism
In America, about 70,000 people joined the Communist Party, or the “Reds”
A fear of communism, or a “red scare”, swept over the U.S.

4. Continued
Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer set up an agency in the Justice Department to arrest communists, socialists, and anarchists, who opposed all forms of govt.
This agency later became the FBI
Palmer’s agents trampled on civil rights; most radicals were sent out of the country without trial
One case involved two Italian immigrants who were arrested for murder and robbery in Massachusetts

5. Continued
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti admitted they were anarchists, but denied committing any crime
The case against them was weak, but they were convicted anyway
Many believed they were convicted based on a fear of foreigners
The two were executed in 1927

7. Limiting Immigration
Some used the Red Scare as an excuse to act against any who were different
The Ku Klux Klan saw a revival during this time that targeted African Americans, Jews, Roman Catholics, immigrants, and union leaders
They used violence to keep these groups ‘in their place’

8. Continued
As a result of nativism, Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, which established a quota system, which set a limit on how many immigrants from each country could enter the U.S. every year
This limited mostly immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe as well as Japan; people from the Western Hemisphere still entered the U.S. in large numbers

9. Labor Unrest
Strikes were not allowed during WWI because they may have hurt the war effort
Three main strikes in 1919 revolutionized workers, the most successful of which was led by John L. Lewis, the president of the United Mine Workers
When Lewis’ workers closed the coal mines, President Wilson tried to help end the dispute and the workers got higher wages

10. Negative Times for Workers
Overall, the 1920s was a bad time for unions
Union membership declined from 5 million to 3.5 million for the following reasons:
Immigrants were willing to work in poor conditions
Language barriers made organizing people difficult
Farmers who had migrated to cities were used to relying on themselves
Most unions excluded African Americans
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