1920s

1
1920s

• Nativism
• Isolationism
• Communism
• Palmer Raids
• Anarchism
• Sacco Vanzetti
• Quota System-KKK
• John L. Lewis

2
Nativism Isolationism

• Rise of Nativism
• Prejudice against foreign born peoples
• After the war isolationism rose too
• Desire to be isolated in all foreign affairs
• Not involved with any dispute outside our borders

3
Red Scare

• 1919 Red Scare
• Communists had joined labor unions
• Communists believed in community ownership of
  resources and means of production
• Antithesis of capitalism
• Being a communist was seen as being anti-American

4
Palmer Raids

• Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer created a
  squad of men to destroy communists and anarchists
  who were trying to take over the government.
• Led by a young J. Edgar Hoover
• Raided union headquarters looking for communists
• Made people suspicious of foreigners

5
Sacco Vanzetti

• May 1920
• Italian immigrants and anarchists
• Arrested for robbery and murder
• Witnesses only identified suspects as Italians
• SV were arrested
• Evidence was circumstantial
• They were convicted and executed

6
S V cont.

• Large public outcry over this case
• SVs conviction was clearly based on race
• 1961 ballistics did show that the gun found on
  Sacco was the murder weapon

7
Immigration

• 1921-American instituted a quota system for
  immigrants
• of immigrants rose 600 between 1919 and 1921
• 141,000-805,000
• Limits on immigration
• 2 of of a nations immigrants that were in the
  U.S. in 1890

8
Immigration cont.

• Discriminated against Eastern Southern
  Europeans
• Mostly Roman Catholics and Jews
• Also limited Japanese immigration
• Later the base year was shifted to 1920

9
(No Transcript)
10
KKK

• Red Scare and anti-immigration sentiment led to a
  rise in Klan membership
• 1924 4.5 million members
• 1925 60,000 members marched in Washington

11
Labor

• Labor strikes were not allowed during the war
• Led to unrest once the war was finished
• 1919 3,000 labor strikes
• Pay
• Ability to join unions
• Some employers labeled union workers as communists

12
John L. Lewis

• Leader of the United Mine Workers
• Led a coal miners strike
• Ended up getting 27 pay increase
• Later would go on to fight for 5 day work week
  and shorter work day
• End of 20s saw a drop in unions
• More immigrants
• Excluded African Americans