The 1920sI can identify the characteristics
of social conflict and social change that took place in the early 1920s
SpecificsOWhat were the causes and effects of the first Red Scare?
OHow did labor strife grow during the postwar years?
OHow did the United States limit immigration after WWI?
The First Red ScareO 1917- The Rise of the
Bolsheviks (the bigger of the two communist groups vying for power. The other was the Mensheviks) O Headed by Vladimir
LeninO 1922 – The Soviet
Union is formedO Communism is
officially in control of a large nation
What is Communism?
O Why is this economic system so bad that we actually “fear” it?
O What are its principles and beliefs?
O If that is what people choose how could it be bad for America?
SocialismO You have two
cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all the cows. The government gives you as much milk as you need.
Communism (in theory)OYou have two cows. Your
neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.
Communism (in reality)OYou have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk. You wait in line for your share of the milk, but it's so long that the milk is sour by the time you get it.
OAmerican Reaction to CommunismOFeared the overthrow of
capitalism (what are capitalism’s values)
OFear of violent revolutionOShift in American thought
from “fear the Hun” to “fear the Red”
OCommunist parties began to form
OBombs were mailed to some individuals
Labor StrifeOIn 1919 4 million workers too part in 3,000 strikes
OAnd in almost every case labor lost
OWhy the postwar difficulties?OWartime prosperity was goneOSinking demand for war goodsOWilson focused on the peace plan
OReturning soldiers expected their jobs back
ORed Scare connection with labor
Nativism and RacismO http://
www.hippocampus.org/History%20%26%20Government;jsessionid=AD2A745A90CAF485D6CCC182D66B2038
Limiting ImmigrationOBacklash against foreigners in
the postwar eraOCompetition for scare jobsORed ScareOIncrease in nativism
OAll these combined with the ill feelings left after WWI helped create a push for immigration reform
OThe National Origins Act of 1924OOnly 2% of
that nation’s representation in America using 1890 as the base year
Sacco and VanzettiO Nicola Sacco and
Bartolomeo VanzettiO Italian
immigrants and anarchists
O Accused of robbery and murder
O Evidence was weakO http://
law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/SaccoV/s&vevidence.htm
Conflicts over ValuesO The shift from a mostly rural America to an
urban one was highly significantO Rural had meant traditional hard-working,
self-reliant, religious (Protestant), and independent
O http://www.hippocampus.org/History%20%26%20Government;jsessionid=AD2A745A90CAF485D6CCC182D66B2038
O There was a reaction to the changesO Immigration reform was oneO The others. . .
O Rise of FundamentalismO Literal interpretation of the Bible and
the teaching of evolutionO Scopes Monkey Trial – Dayton, TN
O Clarence Darrow v. William Jennings Bryan
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Kdc0LLSW8
ProhibitionO http://
www.hippocampus.org/History%20%26%20Government;jsessionid=AD2A745A90CAF485D6CCC182D66B2038
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8WBjmhHzYY