Download Effects of the War 19.4

EFFECTS OF THE WAR
19.4
OBJECTIVES
Describe the problems Americans faced
immediately after the war.
 Analyze how these problems contributed to the
Red Scare.
 Understand how the war changed America;s role
in world affairs

KEY PARTS
America Adjusts to Peace
 The Red Scare
 Americans Embrace Normalcy

INTRODUCTION
Read 19.4
 Answer Critical thinking questions 4&5

AMERICA ADJUSTS TO PEACE
World War I produced significant economic,
social, political, and cultural changes in America.
 Another big issue was in 1918 influenza virus
was originally a bird flu that mutated to spread
to humans.
 This virus spread like wildfire and killed millions
worldwide.
 The virus took hold right at the end of the Great
War.

CONT.
Women and African Americans made significant
advances during the war.
 However after the end of the war also spelled the
end of wartime economic opportunities for both
groups.
 The post war recession created a competitive job
market.
 Also race riots began in the cities in one city the
white rioters burned down 35 African American
city blocks to the ground.

CONT..
During the war inflation or rising prices had been
held in check.
 After the war Americans began to buy more
consumer goods rather than war bonds. The
scarcity of these goods coupled with widespread
demand caused inflation.
 Industrial workers felt the pain of this because
their wages no longer bought as much.
 In 1919 4 million or 20% of the work force went
on strike.

THE RED SCARE
The emergence of the Soviet Union in 1917 and
the ideas of Vladimir Lenin of spreading
revolutions and putting and end to capitalism
and rise to communism gave a scare to the
people.
 The Red Scare was a thought that there was
going to be a communist uprising in the United
States.

CONT.
Authorities discovered bombs mailed to
important industrialists and government
officials.
 Radical political groups exploded bombs across
several cities in the United States.
 The leading Law Enforcement Official Palmer,
mounted several raids to put an end to this
radical movement. (Palmer Raids)
 With these raids there were several mistrials
that were based almost solely on race. (Sacco and
Vanzetti)

AMERICANS EMBRACE NORMALCY
With Warren G. Harding running for president
after Wilson, the Wilsonian Ideas were put to an
end.
 He didn’t want any more progressive reforms or
foreign crusades, he wanted to return America to
how it was before Wilson was President.
 He won the 1920 election by a landslide with this
concept.

CONT.
The only problem with this concept was that The
United States had become an economic giant, it
was the richest and most industrious country in
the world.
 European countries counted on American
production of goods and often had to borrow
money from the United States just to buy US
goods.
 We became the largest creditor nation.
