Atmosphere and Issues
The public was disillusioned after war ended. The cost of living soared: job opportunities disappeared, and factories reduced production as wartime orders ended. Farmers, who thrived during wartime shipping food to the allies, saw European markets dry up, and high tariffs were applied to their goods. In 1919 alone, over four million workers from all industries went on strikes for wage increases, shorter working hours and better working conditions. The police struck in Boston; the actors in New York; steel workers and coal miners in the Midwest and a general strike in Seattle. The nation was also dealing with the devastating “Spanish influenza” a global epidemic that killed over 675,000 Americans.
The public was disillusioned after war ended. The cost of living soared: job opportunities disappeared, and factories reduced production as wartime orders ended. Farmers, who thrived during wartime shipping food to the allies, saw European markets dry up, and high tariffs were applied to their goods. In 1919 alone, over four million workers from all industries went on strikes for wage increases, shorter working hours and better working conditions. The police struck in Boston; the actors in New York; steel workers and coal miners in the Midwest and a general strike in Seattle. The nation was also dealing with the devastating “Spanish influenza” a global epidemic that killed over 675,000 Americans.
Image provided by Donna Davis click for website.
The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 26, 1920 providing women full voting rights. Yet, only one-third of the eligible women voted in the Presidential Election that year. Mississippi and Georgia closed voter registration prior to the ratification so women had to wait until the 1924 Election. In addition, spouses had a big influence on if their wives voted combined with community acceptance. Interesting Fact -In 1916, Jeannette Rankin, was the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress. |
The National Prohibition Act -Volstead Act
U.S. Immigration Act of 1917 reduced immigration from particular countries, required literacy tests and barred certain individuals. 
Click photo for more information.
The Ku-Klux Klan was revived enlisting millions in its crusade not just against blacks, but Catholics, Jews and foreigners. Anyone was considered “subversive” who was not “100 per cent American”. Dubbed the "Red Summer of 1919", race riots across the country killed hundreds. |
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Each slide links to additional information.
Considered the "un-American" strikes, in 1919 alone, over four million workers from all industries struck.
Before 9/11...Each slide links to additional information.
People were in a state of shock over the headlines in the news: the June 2, 1920 targeted bombings and the September Wall Street explosion by anarchists, the Palmer raids, and the “Red Scare”.
In 1917, the American Protective League was established consisting of neighbors spying on each other in the name of patriotism. |
Additional ResourcesThe American Presidency Project website provides a quick access to the Democratic and Republican Platforms.
1920 Farmer-Labor Party Platform The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920's and the American Political Tradition by Linda Gordon. 1920 The Year of the Six Presidents by David Pietrusza. The Great Influenza - The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry. The Atlantic - Photos of the 1918 Flu Pandemic. |