The Return to Normalcy

1. The Return to Normalcy America in the 1920s

2. Focus Question • How would you define “Normalcy”?

3. Reaction! • The 1920s were a decade of reaction • America felt exhausted by the war • Many felt that progressive reforms were too fast and too furious • Many wanted a breathing space • Return the U.S. to the way it was before the war.

4. Postwar Fears • Immediate fears led to high anxiety • Red Scare • Labor Unrest • Spanish Flu

5. Red Scare • Communists seized power in Russia • Executed leading businessmen • Established Comintern • Sponsored revolution abroad • Fear of revolt in the U.S.

6. Palmer Raids • Raids by the Bureau of Investigations • Sponsored by the Attorney General • Rounded up and jailed suspected Communists • Targeted labor leaders and socialists • Many deported for viewpoints, not actions

7. Labor Unrest • Wages had not kept up with inflation • Strikes erupted in key areas • 3,000 strikes launched in 1919 • Steel workers gained an 8-hour day • Boston Police went on strike

8. Public Opinion • Public soon turned on the strikers • Violated public safety • Fear of Communist control • Gains soon overturned • Steel workers resumed 12-hour days • Boston police fired en masse

9. The Spanish Flu • Unusually deadly flu virus surfaced • Worldwide epidemic • Struck the U.S. in September 1918 • 50 million to 100 million died worldwide • More than 675,000 Americans died • Led to mass concerns in the U.S.

10. 1920s Census • The U.S. became an urban nation • Majority lived in cities • Major shift in the U.S. • Old prejudice against cities • Countryside holds virtue, wholesome values • Cities are dens of iniquity • What direction will the U.S. take?