The Western democracies stumble
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Transcript The Western democracies stumble
Chapter 16.2
THE WESTERN DEMOCRACIES STUMBLE
1919- The Western governments (Britain,
France, United States) look powerful
Ruled
Paris Peace Conference
Hopes for democracy among new nations in
Eastern Europe
Problems beneath the surface
PARTY STRUGGLES IN BRITAIN
The Labor Party surpasses the Liberal Party
Labor
Party popular among workers
Promoted gradual move toward socialism
As the Liberal Party falters, the middle class
begins to back the Conservative Party
With
this support, the Conservative Party holds
power for much of the 1920s
IRISH INDEPENDENCE AT LAST
1914- Parliament attempts to pass a home rule
bill- shelved when the war begins
Easter 1916- militant Irish nationalists launch
revolt against British rule
Quickly
1919- Parliament attempts to pass home rule
bill again- fails
IRA
suppressed
begins guerilla warfare against Britain
1922-agreement reached between moderates
“THE RED SCARE” AND ISOLATIONISM IN THE US
The US emerges from WWI in good shape
Late entrant into war=relatively few casualties and little
loss of property
Domestic Unrest
Fear of the Bolshevik Revolution set off the Red Scare
Police rounded up foreign born radicals and a number
were expelled from the US
Sacco
and Vanzetti
The Red Scare let to demands in the limit of
immigration
ARGUING ALLIES
France wanted to secure its borders against Germany
Built Maginot Line along German border
France also strengthened its military alliances with other
countries
Strict enforcement of
the treaty of Versailles
and payment reparations
Kept German Economy
weak - $30 Billion = $2.7 Today
Britain disagrees with this
THE SEARCH FOR PEACE
People worked for peace in the 1920s
1925-Locarno
Treaties signed (settled Germany’s
disputed borders)
Kellogg Briand Pact- the great powers pursued
disarmament
Almost
every independent nation signs
THE LEAGUE’S WEAKNESS
Peace was fragile
The League was powerless to stop aggression
Dictators in Europe noted the League’s
weaknesses and pursued aggressive foreign
policies
POSTWAR ECONOMICS
The war hurt and helped some nation’s
economies
Britain and France owed a lot of money to the
United States
They depended on the reparations from
Germany
These
Reparations hurt Germany
BRITAIN AND FRANCE RECOVER
Britain deeply in debt in the 1920s
Factories
were out of date
Unemployment is severe
Wages remain low
1926- general strike occurs which lasts nine
days
The french economy recovered rapidly
Reparations
a lot
and territories from Germany help out
THE UNITED STATES BOOMS
The US emerges from the war as the leading
economic power
The US is the glue that holds the system
together
FALLING DEMAND AND OVERPRODUCTION
The wealth in the US was not evenly spread
The demand for raw goods during the war was
great
After
demand dwindled, production didn’t
Led to overproduction
Factories began to make less, and cut worker’s jobs
CRASH AND COLLAPSE
Prices at the NY Stock exchange were at an all
time high
People bought stocks through risky means
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates in 1928
and 1929 to slow the growth
In the autumn of 1929, jitters over the economy
caused everyone to sell their stocks all at once
Black Tuesday
Financial panic set in
Stocks crashed
The Great Depression begins
THE DEMOCRACIES REACT TO THE DEPRESSION
The governments of Britain, France, and the
United States try to find ways to life the
depression.
BRITAIN AND FRANCE SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS
Britain sets up a coalition government made of
leaders from all three political parties
By
1931, 1 in 4 workers is unemployed
By the min-1930s France felt the pinch of the
Depression
People
back Leon Blum- a socialist leader
Strikes soon bring down Blum’s government
because he could not solve all of the labor
problems
HOOVER’S POLICY
US president Herbert Hoover believed the
government should not intervene in private
business matters
Did
try limited number of
measures to solve crisis
(Hoover Dam, etc.)
Didn’t help to ease the
financial crisis
ROOSEVELT OFFERS THE US A NEW DEAL
1932- Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected
Said
the government needed to take an active role
in combating the Depression
Introduced the New Deal
Government
became more
involved in people’s lives
Passed legislation
social
TVA
security
THE DUST BOWL
Natural disaster hit many states- created the
Dust Bowl
Migrant
workers went Westward
Grapes
of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Dorothea Lange
Hard Times and Good Times in America
Migrant Mother