The Transition to Peace

1. The Transition to Peace Section 1 Chapter 23

2. Focus Questions • How did the 1920s bring greater independence to many American women? • How did the end of World War I affect American workers? • What types of social problems did the United States face after World War I?

3. A Changing Society • For many Americans the 1920s brought greater independence • More than half the nation’s population lived in urban areas that offered new economic and cultural opportunities • Some young people enjoyed their new freedom by attending parties and dances, listening to popular music, and driving fast cars

4. A Changing Society • Women were given more social, economic, and political freedom • The number of working women rose by 2 million during the 1920s • The nineteenth Amendment passed in 1920 gave women the right to vote • By 1928 two women had been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives

5. A Changing Society • Some young women used their freedom to challenge traditional dress and behavior (they were known as flappers) • These were signs that the 1920s were dramatically changing social traditions

6. The Peacetime Economy • Some economic troubles came with the end of the war • 4.5 million soldiers returned home and found that their jobs were filled • The government also cancelled its huge contracts for war materials • Prices and unemployment rose during this time period and a severe recession took hold

7. The Peacetime Economy • A strike in Seattle was blamed on Communists (government to own all property) and anarchists (want to rid society of government) • The state militia were called in but no body was injured and the strike ended in five days • Unions took serious blows after strikes in several cities failed either by governmental work or by strikebreakers

8. Fear and Violence • The strikes of 1919 scared some Americans (worried that a communist revolution was going to take place) • The fears led to the Red Scare– wide spread fear of political radicals like Communists (called reds) • This fear grew as businesses were bombed

9. Fear and Violence • The Palmer Raids took place in January of 1920 and hundreds of immigrants were eventually deported • Xenophobia– was the fear and hatred of foreigners

10. Fear and Violence • Authorities arrested Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti– and they were charged with robbing a shoe factory and murdering the payroll clerk and guard • Some people felt they were innocent and were being punished because they were anarchists • The two were convicted and sentenced to death

11. Fear and Violence • American Civil Liberties Union (civil rights organization) joined in the protest of the conviction of these two men • They were executed on August 23, 1927

12. Fear and Violence • During the 1920s many African Americans relocated from the south to the north and this became known as the Great Migration • Many whites feared competition for housing and jobs and this led to urban race riots

13. Fear and Violence • One of the worst race riots took place in Chicago in 1919 and as a result 38 people died and more than 500 were injured • By the end of 1919, twenty-five race riots had taken place through out the nation

14. Focus Questions • How did the 1920s bring greater independence to many American women? • How did the end of World War I affect American workers? • What types of social problems did the United States face after World War I?