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The Great Migration Causes African-Americans to Migrate from the South
- 6 million African-Americans moved out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West.
- This caused better living conditions for African-Americans.
- They also hoped to escape poverty, racial discrimination, and violence
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Automobiles Spark New Dating Opportunities
- Rich people began to buy automobiles and that sparked a newer type of dating
- There were now more opportunities to go to dinner or to a fancy place or even to a fun dance
- Automobiles attracted more of the richer population so money started booming
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Influenza Pandemic Spreads from Europe
- In the spring of 1918, a deadly disease called the Influenza Pandemic started
- 500 million people quickly caught this illness, starting in Western Europe and quickly spreading to Poland
- There were no vaccines so people were isolated. Around 50 million people died, 675,000 people in the United States.
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Red Scare Invokes Fear of Communist-Inspired Radicalism
- Communist-inspired radicalism in the wake of the Russian Revolution
- Caused mainly by the success of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917
- Culminated in the Palmer raids on suspected radical
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Schenck v. United States Convicts Charles Schenck with Espionage Act
- Charles Schenck mass-printed and distributed leaflets opposing the military draft
- Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes argued that during wartime the use of words that present danger is prohibited and punishable through congress
- This led to the suppression of freedom of speech and wrongful punishments
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Palmer Raids Prosecute Radicals
- A. Mitchell Palmer rallied the government to prosecute communists and immigrant radicals
- Over 250 people were deported to Russia and many other hundreds were arrested.
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Supreme Court Limits Free Speech in Abrams v. United States
- Initiated by Schenck v. United States and continued off of 5 anarchists that sought to vilify the US military
- The defendants were sentenced to 10-20 years in prison and the court ruled that this punishment was not violating freedom of speech
- It further limited freedom of speech.
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Assembly Line Spurs Economic Growth
- First used in the automobile industry before WWI
- The assembly line moved the product to a worker who performed a specific task before sending it to another worker and so on
- Saved time and energy by emphasizing repetition, accuracy, and standardization
- Quick production lowered costs which allowed prices to lower
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Recognition of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
- It was founded in 1917 but was renamed in 1920.
- This was an organization to truly defend the civil rights of everyone and not just particular religions or races
- It was formed by pacifists and lawyers that wanted to uphold the bill of rights.
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Andrew Mellon Became a Treasurer Secretary
- Andrew Mellon was a powerful person in the aluminum companies and was a banker
- He believed that the government should stimulate the economy by lowering taxes on the rich. The wealth was meant to trickle down through investments
- This strengthened the interactions between government and business
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Teapot Dome Scandal Highlights Close Relationship Between Big Business and the Federal Government
- Interior Secretary Albert Fall collaborated with the Navy Secretary Edwin Denby to transfer potential oil fields to the Interior Department. Then Fall sold them to companies privately.
- Harry F. Sinclairs Oil Company received a lease to develop the Teapot Dome in Wyoming. This gave Fall $300,000.
- Fall and Sinclair were convicted on numerous criminal charges and sent to jail.