POST WAR

INTOLERANCE 1. Economy in Turmoil

2. African Americans and politics in the 1920’s

3. The Red Scare

4. Nativism

5. The Ku Klux Klan Rises Again

Economy in Turmoil

• Soldiers coming home needed jobs

• African Americans and women took jobs when soldiers left

• 2 million + soldiers were now coming home from war without jobs

• Many began blaming blacks and turned violent

• Cost of living went up drastically

• Inflation – Prices going up, and the value of money going down

• Workers began striking

• Looking for higher wages to combat inflation

• Wanted shorter shifts

Discussion Point

• With the partner assigned to you, discuss the following

question about Inflation.

1. How can inflation happen?

2. What are the potential negatives of inflation?

Inflation and the economy

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InflationDeflation

NormalRates

Money Value

Cost of Products

Quick Review

• With the partner assigned to you, discuss the following

questions about the economy in the 1920’s and inflation.

1. Why did soldiers struggle to find jobs upon returning from World

War I?

2. Who did much of white America blame for the bad economy?

3. What is inflation?

African Americans and Politics in the

1920’s • Racial Unrest

• NAACP

• Marcus Garvey and the Black Nationalist Movement

Racial Problems in the North

• Economic struggles encouraged racism

• Blacks moved north during the Great Migration in an effort to avoid

southern prejudice and to find jobs

• The Great Migration was the first time many northern whites

encountered blacks

• Blacks got factory jobs and when soldiers came home from the war their old

jobs now belonged to blacks

• Many whites began blaming race for their inability to get jobs

• Some turned violent, and race riots exploded in Texas, Washington D.C & Chicago

NAACP

• National Association for the Advancement of Colored

People

• Black organization that sought to bring attention and justice to

discrimination and maltreatment of blacks

• Fought for integration and improvement in economical and political

atmosphere for blacks

• Lobbied very hard to create a federal law against lynching, but was

unsuccessful

• Still a prominent organization today and is the lead African

American voice in the political spectrum

The Black Nationalist Movement

• Led by Marcus Garvey

• Believed blacks would never be viewed as equals in the

eyes of whites

• Pushed for blacks to separate themselves from white

society

• Called for blacks to move back to Africa

• “Black is beautiful”

• Believed a black society would be better than the American society

• The movement built a strong sense of pride in the black community,

and continues to be a major part of the black culture today

Quick Review

With the partner assigned to you, discuss the following questions

about the African Americans and politics in the 1920’s.

1. What fueled racism against blacks?

2. What does the NAACP stand for?

3. What does the NAACP do?

4. Who was Marcus Garvey, and what was his message?

The Red Scare

• Following the Bolshevik Revolution, Americans became

paranoid that the Communist uprising that swept Russia

would also take over America

• Many believed immigrants would lead the take over

• Workers who went on strike were

rumored to be Communists

• Terrorist acts in 1919 built up suspicion

• 8 bombs went off within minutes

• Post office intercepted 32 mail bombs to

government officials

America responds to the Red Scare

• The government responded by forming The General

Intelligence Division

• This group was in charge of getting rid of any Communist threat

• Immigrants were targeted, and their rights were ignored

• Searched without warrants

• Deported without just cause

• Arrested and not permitted to speak with an attorney

• Group was headed by J. Edgar Hoover

• The General Intelligence Division would eventually transform into

the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Quick Review

With the partner assigned to you, discuss the following questions about

the Red Scare in the 1920’s.

1. What event worried Americans that a Communist revolution might

happen in America?

2. Who did Americans believe would lead the revolution?

3. How did Americans view workers who went on strike during this time

period?

4. How did the government respond to the Red Scare?

Nativism

Definition - A Prejudice against immigrants

1. Swept the nation following World War I

1. Believed that immigrants made it too difficult to get jobs

2. Believed that immigrants and Americans should not mix socially

The Emergency Quota Act (EQA)

1. Immigration in the United States increased from

140,000 to over 800,000 in over 2 years

2. Congress wanted to limit immigration in response to

nativists.

3. EQA was passed in 1921

1. Limited immigration from each country to 2% of members from

each nations population in the United States in 1890.

1. I.E. if there were 100 Germans in the U.S. in 1890, only 2 could come

in each year.

2. Prevented Japanese from immigrating

3. Set a total limit of 150,000 immigrants per year

4. Targeted European immigrants

Did the Emergency Quota Act work? Immigration to the United States by the thousand

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1921 1929

Italian

Polish

Far West Europe

North American

Sacco and Vanzetti

• Two Italian immigrants

• Admitted anarchists

• Charged with murdering two men in MA

• Very little evidence (couldn’t even produce the murder weapon)

• The Judge claimed the trial was too pre-judgmental

• Jury found Sacco and Vanzetti guilty

• Protests were abound throughout the nation and around the world

• Executed by Electric chair

A quote to ponder

“In all my life I have never stole, never killed, never spilled

blood…We were tried during a time…when there was

hysteria of resentment and hate against the people of our

principles, against the foreigner…I am suffering because I

am a radical and indeed I am a radical; I have suffered

because I was an Italian and indeed I am an Italian…If you

could execute me two times, and if I could be reborn two

other times, I would live again to do what I have done

already.”

- Bartolomeo Vanzetti (1927)

Quick Review

With the partner assigned to you, discuss the following questions about

nativism in the 1920’s.

1. What is nativism?

2. How did America reduce immigration during the 1920’s?

3. Who were Sacco and Vanzetti and what happened to them?

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Rises Again

1. A white supremacy terrorist organization

2. Popularity grew drastically in the 1920’s (almost 4 million)

1. Anti Immigration

2. Anti Non-Protestant

3. Anti Alcohol

3. Tries to get its message across by any means necessary

4. A leading voice in politics in the 1920’s

Final Review

With the partner assigned to you, discuss the following questions about Post War Intolerance in the 1920’s.

1. Why did soldiers struggle to find jobs upon returning from war?

2. Who did soldiers blame for their inability to find work?

3. What is inflation?

4. What impact did the economy have on race relations in the north?

5. What does NAACP stand for?

6. What does the NAACP do?

7. Who was Marcus Garvey and what did he represent?

8. What event worried America that a revolution might happen here?

9. What was the Red Scare and how did America respond to it?

10. What is nativism?

11. What policy reduced immigration to the United States in the 1920’s?

12. What does the KKK stand for, and what did they represent in the 1920’s?

Congratulations! You are now masters of

Post-War Intolerance!