Transcript 1920s wiki
Post War Trends Nativism: Prejudice against foreign-born people Isolationism: a policy of pulling away from involvement in world affairs Economy in a difficult state of adjustment Returning soldiers faced unemployment Took their old jobs away from women and minorities Cost of living doubled Wartime orders diminished Fear of Communism Communism: an economic and political system based on a single-party government ruled by a dictatorship Want to equalize wealth and power Ended to private property Government ownership of factories, railroads, and other business Red Scare Red Scare: name given to the panic in the United States began in 1919, after revolutionaries in Russia overthrew the czarist regime Communists cried out for a worldwide revolution that would abolish capitalism everywhere A Communist Party in the U.S.? 70,000 radicals joined and some of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) Several dozen bombs were mailed to government and business leaders Palmer Raids August 1919, U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer and J. Edgar Hoover with the help of their agents would hunt down suspected Communists, Socialists, and anarchists Anarchists: people who oppose any form of government These raids trampled people’s civil rights, invaded private homes and offices, and jailed suspects without allowing legal counsel Palmer Raids Hundreds of foreign-born radicals were deported without trials Palmer raids failed to turn up evidence of a revolutionary conspiracy Palmer Raids caused a problem in Hollywood Actors or Actresses became Black listed Sacco & Vanzetti Red Scare fed people’s suspicions of foreigners and immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, a shoemaker and a fish peddler Both were Italian immigrants and anarchists Both evaded the draft during W.W.I. May 1920 Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested and charged with murder/robbery of a factory paymaster and his guard in Braintree, Massachusetts Sacco & Vanzetti Witnesses said criminals appeared Italian Sacco and Vanzetti provided alibis and asserted their innocence Evidence against was circumstantial Judge made prejudice remarks Found guilt sentenced to death Died in the Electric chair August 23, 1927 Limiting Immigration “Keep America for Americans” Many new immigrants were willing to work for lower wages in coal mines, steel mills, and textiles After W.W.I. unskilled labor decreased in U.S. so fewer immigrants should be allowed in the U.S. Quota System Congress, in response to nativist pressure and decided to limit immigration from certain countries, especially southern and eastern Europe Emergency Quota Act of 1921 set up the quota system System established the maximum number of people who could enter the United States from each foreign country The goal was to cut sharply European immigration to the United States Quota System Amended in 1924 Law limited immigration from each European nation to 2% of the number of its nationals living in the United States in 1890 Provision discriminated against mostly Roman Catholics and Jews who did not start coming over to the U.S. in large numbers until after 1890 Base year was later shifted to 1920 Law also reduced the total number of people allowed to be admitted in any one year to 150,000 Quota System Law prohibited Japanese immigration Caused ill will between Japan and the U.S. The national origins quota system did not apply to immigrants from the Western Hemisphere Ku Klux Klan The Red Scare and Anti-Immigrant feelings used anticommunism as an excuse to harass any group unlike themselves By 1924, membership reached 4.5 million Believed in keeping blacks “in their place” Destroying saloons Opposing unions Driving Roman Catholics, Jews and foreign-born people out of the country The Klan dominated state politics in many states By late 1920s its criminal activity led to a decrease in power Labor Unrest Severe postwar conflict formed between labor and management During the war, were there any strikes? Labor Unrest During the war, government wouldn’t allow workers to strike because nothing could interfere with the war effort American Federation of Labor (AFL) pledged to avoid strikes Employers didn’t want to give raises nor did they want employees to join unions Employers labeled striking workers as Communists Boston Police Strike Boston police did not get a raise since the start of W.W.I. Among their grievances was they were not allowed the right to unionize Representatives asked for a raise and were fired The rest of the force decided to strike Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge called the National Guard out Strike ended and the police were fired and new policemen were hired Steel Mill Strike Workers wanted the right to negotiate for shorter working hours and a living wage Wanted Union recognition and collective bargaining rights U.S. Steel Corporation refused to meet with union reps Steel companies hired strike breakers and used force Strike breakers: employees who agreed to work during the strike Steel Mill Strike Striking workers were beaten by police, federal troops, and state militias Propaganda campaign labeling striking workers as communists Strike ended January 1920 1923 conditions were exposed and companies agreed to an 8 hour day but workers remained without a union Coal Miners’ Strike Unionism were more successful in the coalfields 1919 United Mine Workers of America got a new leader, John L. Lewis Protested low wages and long workdays Union member strike Attorney General Palmer got a court order to send miners back to work Despite order, coal mines stayed closed Coal miners received a pay raise but not a shorter day until 1930s Labor Movement Loses Appeal Union Membership declined Work force consisted of immigrants willing to work in poor conditions Immigrants spoke a multitude of languages making it hard to organize them Farmers had migrated to cities and were used to relying on themselves Most unions excluded African Americans African American Labor Unions Joined unions such as: Mine workers’ Longshoremen’s Railroad porters A. Philip Randolph founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car unions (1925)