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Henry Ford Engages in the American Plan
Henry Ford gave workers higher wages and lower hours to lower unions' appeal and save money. This method was the American Plan, a voluntary program initiated by businesses in the early 20th century to protect worker welfare and keep people out of unions. -
African Americans Migrate Away from the South
A large population shift of more than 400,000 African Americans left the South beginning in 1917–1918 and headed north and west to escape poverty and racial discrimination. During the 1920s another 800,000 black people left the South. -
The First Red Scare Causes Terror in America
The fear of Communist-inspired radicalism began because of the Russian Revolution where the Bolsheviks overthrew the czarist rule. The Red Scare culminated in the Palmer raids on suspected radicals. -
The Influenza Pandemic Hits the United States
The worldwide flu pandemic, also known as the “Spanish Flu,” followed the end of World War I. The pandemic ultimately killed an estimated 50 million individuals, approximately 675,000 of whom were Americans. -
The Case of Schenck v. United States Rules Against Schenck
The Supreme Court ruling upholding the conviction of the Socialist Party general secretary Charles Schenck under the Espionage Act for disseminating anti-conscription pamphlets. The Supreme Court had ruled in favor of suppressing speech during the Great War. -
The Nineteenth Amendment was Passed Through Congress
The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. This amendment proved that America was gradually moving away from traditional views and coming into a new age. -
A. Mitchell Palmer Initiates Raids of Suspected Communists
Government roundup of some 6,000 suspected alien radicals, ordered by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer and his assistant J. Edgar Hoover. The raids resulted in the deportation of 556 immigrants. -
The Ruling of Abrams v. United States Limits Free Speech
The Supreme Court sustained a guilty verdict of five anarchists who distributed leaflets denouncing U.S. military efforts to overthrow the Bolshevik regime—this limited free speech by announcing that the Communists could not share their opinions. -
The Creation of the American Civil Liberties Union
Although the first iteration was founded in 1917 and called the National Civil Liberties Bureau, it was focused on opposing WWI by protecting the speech of those who spoke out against it. The ACLU was founded to protect the civil rights of all individuals. The creation of the ACLU was a direct cause of the Palmer Raids, which outraged many as it violated the rights of American citizens. -
The Teapot Dome Scandal Causes the Public to Lose Faith In Warren Harding
Oil and land scandal that highlighted the close ties between big business and the federal government in the early 1920s. Although Warren Harding was not found to have been involved in the scandal, he had appointed the man who was. This tainted his presidency because the public did not trust him.