A nationwide fear of communists, socialists, anarchists, and other dissidents suddenly grabbed the American psyche in 1919 following a series of anarchist bombings. The nation was gripped in fear. Innocent people were jailed for expressing their views, civil liberties were ignored, and many Americans feared that a Bolshevik-style revolution was at hand. Then, in the early 1920s, the fear seemed to dissipate just as quickly as it had begun, and the Red Scare was over.

Sacco and Vanzetti Case

The Sacco and Vanzetti case is widely regarded as a miscarriage of justice in American legal history. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian immigrants and anarchists, were executed for murder by the state of Massachusetts in 1927 on the basis of doubtful ballistics evidence . For countless observers throughout the world, Sacco and Vanzetti were convicted because of their political beliefs and ethnic background.

Demobilization proved to be a very impactful after effect of World War I for America. Millions of troops flooded postwar America, looking for job opportunity. Due to this massive influx of individuals, jobs were often not available. Many jobs and businesses that thrived off of wartime began to decline during peacetime. This dive in business and job opportunity would lead to several economic issues, all contributing to the oncoming Great Depression.