 In early 1919, the sociopolitical atmosphere of Chicago around and near its rapidly growing black community was one of ethnic tension caused by racism and competition among new groups, an economic slump, and the social changes engendered by World War I.With the Great Migration, thousands of African Americans from the American South had settled next to neighborhoods of European immigrants on Chicago's South Side, near jobs in the stockyards, meatpacking plants, and industry.Meanwhile, the Irish had been established earlier, and fiercely defended their territory and political power against all newcomers.