Politics of the Roaring Twenties
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Transcript Politics of the Roaring Twenties
Politics of the Roaring Twenties
U.S. History
Chapter 12
Postwar Problems
Divided America over League of Nations
Progressive Era led to changes in American life
Economy adjusting back to consumer goods
Soldiers returning to unemployment,
readjustment to life
Cost of living doubled
Work orders for factories and farmers
dramatically reduced
• Many began to fear outsiders. Led to an
increase in nativism
• Many people pushed for isolationism –
pulling away from involvement in world
affairs.
Fear of Communism
• Communism – economic and political
system based on a single party government
ruled by a dictatorship.
– Put an end to private property, government
ownership of factories, RR, other businesses.
The Red Scare
• Russian revolution led to panic
– “Reds” in Russia - worldwide
revolution.
• Communist party formed in the
US – 70,000 members.
– Bombs mailed to government and business
leaders.
• Public became scared – Red Scare.
• U.S. Attorney General – Mitchell Palmer.
The Palmer Raids
• Hunted down suspected communists
and anarchists – people who opposed any
form of government.
• No evidence of any conspiracy
Sacco and Vanzetti
• Italian immigrants - anarchists
• Arrested and charged with robbery(stole over
$17,000) and murder of factory paymaster and his
guard.
– Provided alibis and said they were innocent
• Jury – guilty, sentenced them to death.
• Led to protests around the world. Many thought
they were sentenced b/c of their radical
beliefs/immigrants.
• They died in the electric chair.
Limiting Immigration
• Need for unskilled labor had decreased, so need
for immigrants decreased. Nativism increased.
• Immigrants – seen as radicals and anarchists.
• Ku Klux Klan - Devoted to “100% Americanism.”
– Anti Everything - against blacks, saloons, unions,
Catholics, Jews. Anti-foreign, anti-Catholic, antiblack, anti-Jewish, anti-pacifist, anti-communist, antiinternationalist, anti-evolutionist, anti-bootlegger, antigambling, anti-adultery, and anti-birth control. It was
pro-Protestant, pro-Anglo-Saxon, pro-“native”
American.
• 1919 – 1920 - # of immigrants increased 600%.
• Emergency Quota Act of 1921 – quota system –
maximum number of people who could enter the
U.S. from each foreign country.
– Goal – cut down dramatically the # of people coming
from Europe.
• 1924 – 2% of # living in the U.S. in 1890.
– discriminated against Catholics and Jews.
• Prohibited Japanese immigration – led to ill will
between the U.S. and Japan.
• Did NOT apply to the Western Hemisphere Mexico and Canada increased a lot.
A Time of Labor Unrest
• War – no strikes. 1919 – 3,000 strikes due to no
wage increases, refusal to allow workers to join
unions (employers determined to halt war-time
gains).
• The Boston Police Strike
• The Steel Mill Strike
• The Coal Miner’s Strike
• Propaganda used to link strikers to communism.
Section 2 The Harding
Presidency
“Return to Normalcy”
Harding Struggles for Peace
• Sec. of State – Charles Evans Hughes
• Washington Naval Conference –major European
powers, except Russia (communism), invited to
Washington.
– No more warships to be built for 10 years, 5 major
powers (U.S., BR, FR, Japan, and Italy) will reduce
battleship tonnage, cruisers, and aircraft carriers.
• Kellogg-Briand Act – renounced war as a
national policy. Couldn’t enforce though,
so really didn’t work! We can reduce our
military.
High Tariffs and Reparations
• FR and GB owed the U.S. $10 billion. Needed to
get the money from Germany.
– Worried that there would be a flood of cheap goods
from recovering Europe, businesses wanted to put a
wall of protection around the U.S.
• Fordney-McCumber Tariff – raised tariffs to 60%.
Made it impossible for FR and GB to sell goods to
the U.S., therefore making it hard for them to raise
money to pay us back.
• They looked to Germany and their reparations.
Germany couldn’t pay
• Dawes Plan - scaled back war debt and reparations
to $250 million/year (would increase as German
economy improved)
• $200 million in loans - money paid to G.B. and
France in reparations payments. The money
would then come to the U.S. as war debt payments
(This will end with the crash in 1929).
• The U.S. never did get it money, but it harvested a
bumper crop of ill will from the French.
Scandal Hits Harding’s
Administration
• Warren G. Harding elected in 1920
• laissez-faire
• Harding had few qualifications for the
presidency. He was in the Senate, but only
because political machine put him there.
Same for President – they wanted someone
they could control.
• “Ohio Gang” - close group of friends
• Cabinet members – Sec. of Commerce –
Herbert Hoover, Sec. of State – Charles
Evans Hughes, Sec. of Treasury – Andrew
Mellon, Attorney General – Harry
Daugherty.
• Charles Forbes – director of Veterans Bureau –
went to prison for swindling the government out
of $200 million in hospital supplies.
• Attorney Gen. Harry Daugherty – faced two
criminal trials for bribery (illegal sale of pardons
and liquor permits), but burned incriminating
documents and did not go to jail.
The Teapot Dome Scandal
• Secretary of Interior Albert Fall
leased critical government oil
reserves to two private oil
companies
• Fall received illegal payments
and so-called loans that totaled
over $300,000
• Went to jail
• WGH depressed, suffered a heart attack in
1923, and died. VP Calvin Coolidge
became president.
Section 3 The Business of
America
• Calvin Coolidge –taxes low,
business profits up, give businesses
more credit to expand.
• Increased tariffs, reduced income
taxes so people would spend more
money.
• Coolidge – supported
business!!!!
The Impact of the Automobile
• 1920 – 8 million on the roads. By 1929 – 27
million.
• Paved roads –Route 66 –
• Architectural styles changed –
Houses now had driveways with
garages/carports.
• New businesses – gas stations, repair stations,
motels, tourists attractions, shopping centers.
• Tunnels – 1st one – Holland Tunnel – NYC to NJ.
• Brought rural people
to the cities.
• Vacations
• Independence for the
young
• Urban sprawl – spread
out of the cities.
Route 66 – Chicago to California
America’s Standard of Living
Soars
• Annual income rose 35%.
• Electricity spreading over bigger distances. # of
houses with electricity increasing. Mid 20s – 60%
of nation’s homes wired for electric power.
– Irons, refrigerators, ranges, toasters – freed women to
do other things.
• Advertising - Played on people’s conscience
– Targeted middle class women the most.
Buying Goods on Credit
• Easy credit – installment plan – buy goods
over an extended period of time with a low
interest rate.
• By 1930 – 15% of all purchases were made
on installment plans