Americans Struggle with Postwar Issues

After World War I, many Americans feared that Communists would take over the country.

1. How did the Justice Department under A. Mitchell Palmer respond to this fear?
Palmer responded by hunting down suspected communist, socialists and anarchists. They invaded private homes and jailed suspects without legal justice.

2. Why did Palmer eventually lose his standing with the American public?
Palmer's tactics did nothing to unearth communist or revolutionary conspiracies and it seemed like he was more focused on becoming president.

3. How did the Ku Klux Klan respond to this fear?
They used this fear as an excuse to harass immigrants. They claimed they were devoted to 100% americanism (native born white males) and used the anti-communism wave to drive different groups of people out of the country.

4. Why did the Klan eventually lose popularity and membership?
The Klan committed many crimes such as burning saloons. They opposed unions and attempted to drive Roman Catholics, Jews and foreign born people out of the country and wanted to put blacks "in their place".

5. Briefly describe how Sacco and Vanzetti became victims of the Red Scare.
Both men were Italian and also radicals who had evaded the war draft. They were convicted of murder on circumstantial evidence and both were executed. It is most likely that the men were treated so unfairly because of their political beliefs and their status os foreigners.


Public opinion turned against labor unions as many Americans came to believe that unions encouraged communism.

6. Why was the strike by Boston police unpopular with the public?
The Boston strike was unpopular with the public because it was believed that, as police officers, they had no right to strike and thus endanger the safety of the public. There was also a fear of strikes leading to communism.

7. Why did Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge become so popular?
He became very popular after ending the Boston strike. The people felt that he had saved Boston form communism.

8. Why was the strike at U.S. Steel unpopular?
Propaganda that linked the strikers with communists was put out, and the fear of communism made the strike unpopular.

9. How did President Wilson respond to the steel strike?
Wilson responded by giving a written plea to the negotiators and ended the deadlock between labor and management.