U.S. History
Goal 8.03 Notes
1
End of War:
United States financial support
The United States had a strong economy and was politically stable after World War I.
Before the Great Depression, the U.S. government had the ability to lend money to other
countries. The U.S. even had some control of money assets in foreign countries, such as
the German government as well as the new governments of other former Central powers.
Depression and poverty
Europe was unstable between the two World Wars, largely due to economic reasons.
Great poverty led people to accept radical change and the promises of fascist dictators
like Hitler and Mussolini.
Weak League
The League of Nations was set up according to the Treaty of Versailles. Its purpose was
to act as the peacekeeper of Europe. The World Court (the Permanent Court of
International Judgment) was established in 1920 as part of the League as an international
court which would help countries find diplomatic solutions to problems. The court only
ruled in cases brought to it by two or more willing countries. The League of Nations in
general did not have any real power or military strength, and it was very ineffectual due
to the absence of the United States.
U.S. Isolationism
The United States withdrew from European affairs after World War I to focus on
domestic growth and colonial gains. This isolationism left France and Britain vulnerable.
Washington Naval Conference
At the Washington Naval Conference in 1921–1922, the nations attending signed several
disarmament treaties in which they promised not to build huge supplies of weapons or try
to expand their territories. This was a concern because of the arms race which had
happened prior to World War I.
Disappointed victors
Both Japan and Italy had fought alongside the Allies during WWI, but neither was fully
satisfied with their rewards from the Treaty of Versailles. Italy had gained more land
from the victory, but the treaty did not grant all of its claims.
Japan succeeded in gaining control of Germany's former colonies in the Pacific, but
Japan's ultimate goal was to gain control of China, and China did not play a role in World
War I. The first military activity in World War II would involve Japan attacking China to
achieve this goal.
Appeasement policy
European nations thought it was better to appease German fascists who broke treaty
restrictions than to take action. After the terrible World War I, Europe wanted to avoid
more fighting. Therefore, no action was taken when Hitler’s forces entered
Czechoslovakia in 1938.
U.S. History
Goal 8.03 Notes
2
Communism
The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917 had Europeans worried. People feared the
spread of Communism. Fascist dictators promised to prevent this spread.
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom was formed in 1915, with the
goal of uniting women of all different political backgrounds to work towards a common
cause. The League's purpose was to promote peace and freedom throughout the world.
The League has chapters in 37 countries around the world today.
Ch. 16 section 4: The War’s Impact
I. An Economy in Turmoil
 After the war, the soldiers were welcomed home with parades and the American
Legion was created to support the veterans
 Lost generation: World War I produced an entire generation of people who had
gone into a war of great magnitude. This youth had no training in peacetime
careers. Therefore, the "Lost Generation" of German youth played a role in
supporting Nazi rule and the onset of WWII.
 The term "Lost Generation" can also be applied to a set of American writers who
came to age in the time during and after the First World War.
 However, the two million men were without jobs and the economy was shutting
down its production of war materials and going into a recession
 When the war ended, government agencies removed their controls from the
economy
 People went to buy the goods that had been rationed, while the businesses raised
their prices, which then caused inflation
 In 1919 prices rose more than 15 percent causing the cost of living to increase
(the cost of food, clothing, shelter, and other essentials people need to survive)
A. Inflation Leads to Strikes
 Many companies were forced to raise wages during the war, but inflation
threatened to take away the gains workers had made
 In return, workers wanted higher wages to keep up with inflation –
companies refused because inflation was driving up their operating costs
 During the war, unions increased – were more organized and capable of
having strikes by war’s end
 Large wave of strikes in 1919 – by end of the year more than 3600 strikes
involving more than 4 million workers took place
1. The Seattle General Strike: first major strike took place in Seattle,
where 35,000 shipyard workers walked off the job demanding higher wages and
shorter hours – other unions in Seattle joined these workers and organized a
general strike (strike that involves all workers in a community, not just workers
in a particular industry).
 Involved more than 60,000 people and caused the city to stop for 5 days
U.S. History
Goal 8.03 Notes

3
The strikers returned to work without making any gains, their actions
worried many Americans because the general strike was a common tactic
used in Europe by communists and other radical groups
2. The Boston Police Strike: most famous strike of 1919 took place in
Boston, where 75% of the police force walked off the job. Riots and looting took
over the city, forcing the governor, Calvin Coolidge, to call in the National Guard.
When the strikers returned to work, the police commissioner then fired the
strikers and hired a new police force instead. Coolidge agreed to the firing of the
employees since he believed there was no right to strike against public safety.
Earned him support and convinced the Republicans to make him their vice
presidential candidate in the 1920 election
3. The Steel Strike: one of the largest strikes in American history began
when an estimated 350,000 steelworkers went on strike for higher pay, shorter
hours, and recognition of their union. Elbert H. Gary, the head of U.S. Steel,
refused to talk to the union leaders and set out to break the union by using antiimmigrant feelings to divide the workers.
 Many steelworkers were immigrants
 The company blamed the strike on foreign radicals and called for
loyal Americans to return to work
 In the meantime, to keep the mills running, the company hired
African Americans and Mexicans as replacement workers.
 Strikes in the steel industry continued and caused failure of the
steel union
 Steel workers were unorganized until 1941
B. Racial Unrest
 Impoverished people were quick to look for easy answers and people to
blame. Jews, Poles, and Chinese all became scapegoats and suffered for
this.
 African Americans were blamed for taking the soldiers’ jobs and racism
produced violence
 In the summer of 1919, 25 race riots broke out across the nation
 African American leader James Weldon Johnson called the summer of
1919, the “red summer” because of the amount of blood that was spilled
 The worst violence occurred in Chicago in July when a group of African
Americans went to a whites-only beach where both sides began throwing
stones at each other
- Whites also threw stones at an African American teenager swimming
near the beach to prevent him from coming ashore, and he drowned
- In the city, African Americans attacked white neighborhoods
- The Chicago riot lasted for almost 2 weeks and the government was
forced to send in National Guard troops to impose order
 Race riots of 1919 were different – for the first time, African Americans
organized and fought against the white mobs. Because of this, many
African Americans dedicated themselves to fighting for their rights
politically
U.S. History
Goal 8.03 Notes
4
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The NAACP increased its membership after the war, and in 1919, it
launched a new campaign for a federal law against lynching.
II. The Red Scare
 The strikes of 1919 led to fears that Communists, or “reds,” as they were called,
might seize power
 Red Scare: nationwide panic against Communism
A. The Palmer Raids: U.S. Attorney General Alexander Palmer initiated
raids, called Palmer Raids. During these raids, approximately 3,000 alleged aliens
were rounded up for deportation. Only a few hundred were deported, and the
majority were released.
 The Red Scare influenced people’s attitudes during the 1920s
 Americans often linked radicalism with immigrants, and that attitude led
to a call for Congress to limit immigration
B. The Election of 1920
 By 1920 Americans wanted to end the economic problems, labor unrest,
and racial tensions, and the memories of World War I
 During the 1920 campaign, Ohio governor James M. Cox and his running
mate, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt, ran on a
platform of progressive ideals
 President Wilson tried to convince the Democrats to make the campaign a
referendum on the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, but the
party chose not to take a strong stand on the issue for fear of alienating
voters
 The Republican candidate, Warren G. Harding, called for a return to
”normalcy.” His vice-presidential running mate, Calvin Coolidge, was
chosen because people admired the way he had handled the Boston police
strike. Harding argued that the U.S. needed was a return to simpler days
before the Progressive Era reforms. Harding won the election by a
landslide margin of over 7 million votes
War’s Aftermath
Dawes Plan
The Dawes Plan was presented to the Reparations Committee of the Allied nations in
1924 by Charles Dawes. The plan provided that Allied troops leave part of Germany
called the Ruhr area and that Germany's reparations payments begin at 1 billion marks for
the first year and should rise over the next four years to 2.5 billion marks a year. German
business picked up and reparations payments began immediately after the plan went to
effect in September 1924.
Kellogg-Briand Pact
The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed in 1928 by 62 countries, including the United
States, and it was a general denouncement of warfare. However, it provided no way to
enforce this restriction or to punish those who declared war anyway.