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Chapter 19 World War 1 and Its Aftermath. Section 4 The War’s Impact. An Economy in Turmoil. After WWI ended, rapid inflation resulted when gov’t agencies removed their controls from the economy.
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Chapter 19World War 1 and Its Aftermath Section 4 The War’s Impact
An Economy in Turmoil • After WWI ended, rapid inflation resulted when gov’t agencies removed their controls from the economy. • Inflation increased the cost of living – the cost of food, clothing, shelter, and other essentials people need.
Inflation Leads to Strikes • While workers needed higher wages to keep up with the cost of living, companies wanted lower wages due to an increase in operating costs. • Number of members in unions increased greatly. • Unions were better organized than before leading to more strikes.
The Seattle General Strike • General Strike – involve all workers living in a certain location. • 1st major general strike – Seattle – 35,000 shipyard workers walked off the job. • Soon other unions joined. • Involved more than 60,000 people and paralyzed the city for five days
1919 – 75% of the Boston Police went on strike. Gov. Calvin Coolidge sent in the National Guard to stop looting. The Boston Police Strike
The Boston Police Strike • When the police tried to return to work, Coolidge fired them, and a new police force was hired to replace them. • This helped Coolidge gain the vice-presidency in 1920.
The Steel Strike • One of the largest strikes in American history. • 350,000 steel workers went on strike. • Elbert H. Gary, head of U.S. Steel, refused to talk to union leaders.
The Steel Strike • Riot in Gary, Indiana killing 18 strikers. • The failure of the strike set the union cause back in the steel industry until 1937.
Racial Unrest • Summer of 1919, race riots occurred in many Northern cities. • Caused by the return on hundreds of thousands of American soldiers who needed to find employment. • Great Migration caused competition for jobs in the North. • Worst violence happened in Chicago.
The Red Scare • After WWI, Americans associated communism with disloyalty and unpatriotic behavior. • The numerous strikes in the U.S. in 1919 made Americans fear that Communists or “reds” might take control.
The Red Scare Begins • The USPS intercepted 30 parcels addressed to leaders in the business and political arena that were to set to explode upon opening. • One bomb damaged the home of U.S. Attorney Gen. A. Mitchell Palmer.
The Palmer Raids • Palmer set up a special division in the Justice Department called the General Intelligence Division, headed by J. Edgar Hoover. • Today this is known as the FBI. • Palmer organized raids on various radical organizations, mostly rounding up immigrants who were to be deported.
The End to Progressivism • Warren G. Harding won the election in 1920 with a campaign that called for a return to “normalcy,” or a return to the simpler days before the Progressive Era reforms. • Harding won the election by a landslide. • The American people liked the idea of returning to a simpler time.
End of Chapter 19 Next: Test on Sec 2 & 4
