Unit 7: The Roaring 20s (1918 – 1929)
A Difficult Transition!
Review: The Five Themes of the
Roaring 20’s
1. Liberation?
2. Creativity?
3. Pop Culture?
4. Consumerism?
5. Fear?
DLT: I can describe the problems the U.S. faced after
World War I and discuss the causes and effects of
the Red Scare of 1919-1920.
A DIFFICULT TRANSITION!
Influenza!
• Sept. 1918 – early 1919
• Pandemic bird flu kills 550,000
Americans (50,000 Soldiers)
• Probably killed 50-100 Million
Worldwide.
• It probably originated in the U.S.
though it was called the Spanish
flu.
• Strangely, it hit men and women
in their 20s & 30s the hardest.
Women Face New Problems
• Gains made by both groups
were off set due to a
recession – an economic
slowdown.
• The slow economy saw fewer
women working in 1920 than
in 1910
• The job market was more
competitive after the war
African-Americans Face Racial Violence
• Due to the Great Migration and
returning soldiers there was a
shortage of jobs and housing in
Northern cities.
• 25 Riots during the summer 1919.
• Chicago (Summer 1919) – 13 days
of violence left dozens dead &
hundreds injured.
• Tulsa, OK (1921) – 10 whites & 13
Af-Am dead & 35 blocks burned in
Af-Am neighborhood.
Inflation Leads to Post-War Labor Strikes
• Rising prices were capped during the war by
government controls.
• After the war, people wanted goods, which
were scarce, and not Liberty Bonds.
• Scarcity = Inflation Why?
• Farmers suffered from falling farm prices and
industrial workers suffered due to inflation.
• 1919 saw 4 million workers (20% of the
workforce) struck at one time or another for
higher wages and better working conditions.
• The strikers usually lost and some turned
violent.
• Union leaders and radicals were blamed for
the disorder.
The Boston Police Strike of 1919
• In Boston, MA the
entire police force
went on strike in
Sept. 1919.
• The wanted to create
a police union and
the mayor said no.
• Governor Calvin
Coolidge (MA)
became a national
hero for stopping the
strike.
The Red Scare! 1919-1920
• V.I. Lenin, dictator of the U.S.S.R.
(Russia) promoted the spread of
communism across the world.
• Many Americans thought the labor
strikes of 1919 were incited by the
U.S.S.R & radical, communist union
leaders in the U.S.
• Numerous bombings across
America in 1919-1920 seemed to
confirm there was a revolution
brewing here.
• Wall Street bombing (Sept. 16,
1920) killed 38 and injured 143!
The Palmer Raids
• A. Mitchell Palmer, U.S. Attorney
General, countered by going after
suspected radicals (anarchists,
socialists, and communists)
• 1000s were arrested & most were
never charged with a crime
• Many were innocent recent
immigrants from S & E Europe
• 100s were deported to the U.S.S.R.
via a ship known as the Buford which
was called the “Red Ark”
The Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti
• April 15, 1920 – S. Braintree, MA 2 men at a shoe factory were
robbed and murdered
• 2 Italians – Nicola Sacco &
Bartolomeo Vanzetti were arrested
& charged with the crime
• There was little evidence against
them; most feel they were victims
of their ethnicity and ideology
• August 23, 1927 – they were
executed in the electric chair
Exit Slip – The Red Scare
1. What disease killed millions around the world in 1919-1920?
a. Influenza b. Cholera c. Pneumonia
2. Race riots occurred in each city EXCEPT ______ during 19191921.
a. Tulsa b. Chicago c. Phoenix
3. Police officers in this large U.S. city were heavily criticized for
striking in 1919?
a. New York b. Boston c. Philadelphia
4. During the Red Scare of 1919-1920, many persons of foreign
descent were deported because they were suspected of
being ___________.
a. Communists b. Criminals c. Jews
Bell Ringer – The Red Scare
• What were some things that caused
Americans to be fearful in the years
immediately following World War I?
1.
2.
3.
4.