Post-WWI Trends

Mr. KochUS History B

Forest Lake High School

Post-WWI Trends• “Red Scare”

• intense fear/paranoia of Communism in U.S.

– Russian Revolution• March 1917 – Czar Nicholas II

forced from throne• Nov 1917 – Vladimir Lenin &

Bolsheviks take power• 1918 – Civil War – “Reds” vs.

“Whites” – US backs “Whites”• Reds win and Communism

established (becomes USSR)

Post-WWI Trends

• Palmer Raids– Att. Gen. Palmer conducts

arrest raids of “subversives” • Targeted Communists,

socialists, anarchists• 5,000 arrested• Deported many immigrants

Post-WWI Trends

• Sacco and Vanzetti– Italian immigrants convicted

of robbery/murder • Executed

– Guilty? Or easy targets?

Post-WWI Trends

• Strikes increase, fear of Communist influence

• “Nativism” grows and immigration quotas established

• “laissez-faire” (hands off)

Post-WWI Trends

• Growth of “consumer economy”

• Based on a lot of buying by individuals

– More people buying on credit – installment plans

– Electricity & electric products boom in cities

– Automobiles become more common• Ford’s “Model T”

– Assembly line improved efficiency & cost