Racial+Unrest-ch

When World War 1 ended many soldiers found that finding a suitable work and living space was becoming increasingly difficult. As the tension increased so did the blame on African Americans for taking the jobs of American Soldiers. Soon the tension turned to violence. In the summer of 1919 riots broke out all over the United States; all together there was about 25. The first riot happened in Longview Texas where a mob burned down an African American neighborhood. This trigged another riot just in one week from the first,this time in Washington D.C. The worst riot however turned out to be in Chicago. These riots were a big step for African Americans since it was the first time, they had organized and fought back against the mobs. This also reminded them of their lack of political freedom and the NAACP membership went up hugely in numbers as they tried to change that.