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Aftermath of WWI

Aftermath of WWI. Unstable Economy. Returning soldiers expected jobs Need for goods lessened after the war Unions fought to preserve wartime gains Strikes throughout the nation were meet with hostility By 1920 the USA faced severe economic depression. African-Americans.

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Aftermath of WWI

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  1. Aftermath of WWI

  2. Unstable Economy • Returning soldiers expected jobs • Need for goods lessened after the war • Unions fought to preserve wartime gains • Strikes throughout the nation were meet with hostility • By 1920 the USA faced severe economic depression

  3. African-Americans • Service in the armed forces did little to change attitudes of whites at home • Service did give blacks a voice and increased their determination to fight for rights

  4. Great Migration • During the war Northern industrial towns were in need of labor • Many African American families moved north in search of jobs • Nations demographics drastically changed • 1919 produced numerous race riots throughout the nation (Red Summer)

  5. The Red Scare • 1917 Russian Revolution produces a communist government • Comintern announced plans to continue the revolution throughout the world • America feared a radical revolution at home • Jan. 1, 1920 Attorney General Mitchell Palmer arrested over 6000 in communist raids • Fear soon subsided but anti-immigrant feelings strengthened

  6. Election of 1920 • Wilson was too sick to run for re-election • Democrat James Cox ran hoping to continue Wilson’s ideas • Republican Warren Harding opposed internationalism and promised a return to isolationism – ‘return to normalcy’ • Harding won with the largest popular vote margin in 100 years

  7. Isolationism • America attempted to reduce immigration • Literacy tests • Quotas • America imposed high tariffs on foreign goods • Created a boom for American businesses • Isolated America economically

  8. New Technologies • Radio • Westinghouse started commercial broadcast radio shows in 1920 • Shows gave people an idea of different lives • Spurred growth of advertising • Automobile • Ford’s assembly lines made cars more affordable for many families • Removed limitations for people • Spurred growth of other businesses

  9. New Attitudes • 120,000 Americans died in WWI and over 200,000 wounded • Wilson had imposed severe restrictions on many Americans during the war • After the war many Americans wanted to forget about the war and its costs

  10. 18th Amendment • Though prohibition had been largely ignored in presidential campaigns it was crucial to congressional races • 1919 Dries outnumbered Wets in Congress by a 3:1 margin • Congress proposed an amendment and was ratified by 36 of the 48 states thus becoming law

  11. The Roaring Twenties • Prohibition • Religious/Political Debate • Dries – Most Protestants (Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterian, etc.) • Wets – Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians • Dries believed saloons led to political corruption and that drinking was a sin • Wets believed the government should not legislate morality

  12. Enforcement • Though support for the amendment was widespread enforcement became a problem • A total of 1500 agents were placed in charge of enforcement throughout America • Led to the growth of speakeasies and bootlegging

  13. By the Numbers • 1919 Cleveland had 1200 legal bars • 1923 Cleveland had approximately 3000 illegal speakeasies • An estimated 30,000 residents sold liquor of some sort during Prohibition

  14. Corruption/Gangsters • Al Capone – Chicago gangster made over $60 million in 1927, reportedly had ½ of the city’s police on his payroll

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