Transcript Goal 9 Returning to Normalcy in the 1920’s President Warren Harding’s suggestion that America “return to normalcy” indicated a desire to “return” to more.

Goal 9
Returning to Normalcy in the 1920’s
President Warren Harding’s suggestion that
America “return to normalcy” indicated a
desire to “return” to more traditional values.
This mindset manifested itself in several areas
that helped define the decade.
• Political and economic conservatism:
less government regulation and more
“laissez faire” capitalism
• less internationalism and more
isolationism
• a tendency toward nativism and racism
• rejection of religious modernism in favor
of more traditional/fundamentalist
beliefs
Let’s take them one at a time.
Warren Harding
All three presidents of the
1920’s were conservative and
business-oriented. They tended
to ignore Progressive-Era
regulations such as anti-trust
laws. The stock market and real
estate boomed in the 1920’s,
but without much government
oversight.
Over -speculation and practices
such as “buying on margin”
helped bring about the “crash”
in 1929.
Calvin Coolidge: “The business of
America is business”
Herbert Hoover
• The United States declined to join the League of Nations.
• The United States did not retreat into complete isolationism, but
foreign policy was limited to a handful of initiatives.
At the Washington Naval Conference (1921-22), three
treaties dealing with arms limitations were signed. The
most-important was the Five-Power Treaty that set ratios for
the USA, the British Empire, Japan, France, and Italy for
the building of navies.
The Dawes Plan (1924) was a convoluted scheme for the
collection of war debts owed to the US from WWI.
The Kellogg-Briand Treaty (1928) – 63 nations renounced
wars of aggression.
A “Red Scare” (fear of communism) began around 1919 that lasted
into the early 1920’s.
US Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer led “raids” to round up suspected
communists and radicals. The main group affected by the Red Scare was
immigrants – several thousand were deported.
Sacco and Vanzetti – two Italians charged with murder – became symbolic of
the anti-immigrant atmosphere. Their trial was tainted by prejudicial officials
and their
subsequent guilty verdict and
execution gained international
attention.
Amidst this general intolerance,
nativism flourished and
the Immigration Act of 1924
imposed the first quota system for
immigrants based on nationality.
The “New” Ku Klux Klan
The New Klan considered itself
defenders of WASP culture
and expanded its list of
“enemies” beyond African –
Americans to include
Catholics, Jews, religious
modernists, as well as “UnAmerican” groups like
communists and immigrants in
general.
The Klan reached the peak of
its influence in the 1920’s with
about 3-4 million members
and dozens of openlysupportive state legislators,
governors, and even US
Congressmen.
Klan March in Washington DC, 1928
1915 “blockbuster”. A silent film
based on the book, The Clansman.
It was widely hailed for its
technical innovations, but was also
popular for its positive portrayal
of the Klan.
President Wilson was reported to
have liked it (and perhaps agreed
with its message) though he issued
a (lukewarm) statement to the
contrary.
The Scopes Trial
Held in Dayton, Tennessee in 1925 is
the most notable example of the
tension between religious modernism
and religious fundamentalism typical
of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Scopes was
found guilty of teaching evolution
(which was illegal in Tennessee).
John T. Scopes
Clarence Darrow defended Scopes
and former presidential candidate
William Jennings Bryan served for the
prosecution. Darrow embarrassed
Bryan (and, by extension,
fundamentalism) as he tried to
defend a literal interpretation of the
Bible.
Darrow and Bryan
Prohibition
The 18th Amendment was in effect
from 1920 – 1933. It made all of
American “dry,” or without
alcohol.
Prohibition was a victory for the
century-long temperance
movement.
The Volstead Act was the
enforcement legislation that
implemented the Amendment.
Prohibition is difficult to categorize,
primarily because its effect did not
match its intent. Was it an example
of the conservatism of the decade
or did it encourage wild, lawless
behavior?
Supporters favored it for several
reasons.
(1) Conservative Christians felt that
drinking was sinful.
(2) Some women favored it because
they (and their children) tended
to be the primary victims of
male drunkenness.
(3) Social reformers hoped that
prohibition would make for
better citizens and/or more
productive workers.
On the other hand,
Prohibition is also
associated with behaviors
that were the opposite of
those intended: organized
crime, bootlegging,
speakeasies, and violation
of the law by millions.
Al Capone
A speakeasy
A “flapper” with flask
Prohibition was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.
Though a decade of intolerance and fear, the 1920’s also had
elements of modernism.
The Harlem Renaissance celebrated African-American culture.
Langston
Hughes
Zora Neale
Hurston
Jazz was the music of the 1920’s. It began as an African-American sound, but
was adopted by white bands. In some ways, it broke racial barriers.
Louis Armstrong
Bessie Smith
The 1920’s celebrated youth. Young women (“Flappers”) enjoyed more
freedom than women of earlier generations.
The 1920’s was a prosperous decade for many. Cities grew, the middle class
expanded, the stock market and real estate boomed. Henry Ford’s Model T
was the best-selling US car. Radio was big. Movies were too.
Charles Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927.
Babe Ruth was the hero of America’s pastime: Baseball.
To an extent, the economic “boom” of the 1920’s was an illusion. Many
people had made a lot of money in real estate and stock market speculation.
Business had benefited from the growing habit of people to buy on credit.
In the natural cycle of “boom” and “bust” that tends to characterize a free
market system, the growth stopped and a contraction began.
Growth
Contraction
Recession/
Correction
The contraction was triggered by a sudden drop
in stock prices starting in October, 1929. This is
sometimes called the Stock Market “Crash.”
The terms “Black Thursday” (October 24),
“Black Monday” (October 28) and “Black
Tuesday” (October 29) are associated with the
dramatic drop in stock prices.
It is important to note two things:
First, the “crash” triggered an economic
decline, but did not cause the depression that
followed.
Second, the term “crash” makes it seem as
though the entire economy “crashed” suddenly.
That was not the case. It took four years of
steady decline for the depression to reach its
worst year (1933).
The term Great Depression
eventually came to refer to the
economic downturn that began in
1929, reached its worst year in
1933, and did not entirely
disappear until the US ramped up
industrial production during World
War II (1939 – 1945).
The Great Depression had a
profound impact on American
society and on the relationship
between the people and the
federal government.
Herbert Hoover was president from 1929 – 1933. He did not cause the
depression, but did not respond very vigorously to it either.
Hoover believed that the business cycle, if left alone, would correct itself.
Meanwhile, unemployment began to rise, banks failed, farms and homes
were foreclosed, businesses closed, and a dangerous hopelessness set in.
The Election of 1932 was about little except the economy. Herbert Hoover sought
re-election. He ran against Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR).
FDR promised a “New Deal” for the “forgotten man.” He won the election.
In the first “Hundred Days” of his presidency, FDR and Congress were busy. A
“bank holiday” was declared. Banks closed and were audited by the government.
Sound banks reopened. The Glass-Steagall Act created the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that insures bank accounts. Bank failures dropped
to almost zero.
FDR’s New Deal eventually grew into a huge federal program made
up of hundreds of government agencies. They were known as
“Alphabet Agencies” because they were often referred to by their
initials.
The programs of the New Deal fall into three main categories:
Relief, Recovery, and Reform.
Major Relief Agencies
FERA – gave direct money to the needy.
CWA – Money to states to build 225,000 miles of roads, 30,000
schools, 3700 athletic playing fields.
PWA – Loans to private industry to build public works like dams,
ports, bridges, power plants, airports, etc.
FCA – helped the 40% of farms that were mortgages by providing
low-interest loans.
CCC – jobs for young men who worked in rural areas cutting fire
trails, planting trees, draining swamps, etc.
WPA - public works – gave jobs to millions of unemployed
Major Recovery measures:
NIRA: National Industrial Recovery Act –
Created the National Recovery Administration
(NRA) to foster fair business practices. Symbol was the Blue
Eagle.
AGRICULTURAL ADJUSTMENT ACT [AAA]: 1933 -- limited farm
production to help raise prices. Declared unconstitutional by
Supreme Court – a second AAA was passed that endured.
FEDERAL HOUSING ACT [FHA]: 1934 -- helped repair, rebuild,
and insure older homes.
Major Reforms
GLASS/STEAGALL ACT –government oversight of banks – FDIC
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [SEC]: regulates stock market
WAGNER ACT created NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD [NLRB] which reaffirmed
labor's rights to bargain for wages, hours, and working conditions, to strike, and to
arbitration of grievances.
FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT [FLSA]: 1938 -- set minimum wages and maximum
working hours.
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY [TVA] and RURAL ELECTRIFICATION
AUTHORITY [REA]: helped to bring electricity to rural "pockets of poverty" that could
not afford lines.
SOCIAL SECURITY: Forced savings for old-age pensions. Also provides for the
unemployed, widows with dependent children, and the handicapped.
The New Deal had many critics, but
the majority of Americans
supported it. FDR was re-elected in
1936.
FDR was angry when the Supreme
Court struck down several key New
Deal laws, so he devised a scheme
to “pack the court” – a plan that
was not approved by Congress and
proved unpopular with the public.
FDR’s attempts to scale back
government programs in 1937
resulted in a reversal of the
economic improvement.
The New Deal relied heavily on
the ideas of economist John
Maynard Keynes. Keynes
argued that, during a
recession, the government
must spend money to
counteract the contraction,
even if it must deficit spend
(borrow) to do so.
To one extent or another,
Keynesian solutions have been
the way all presidents since
FDR have dealt with periods of
recession.
The New Deal
significantly enlarged
the role of the federal
government. It created
a large government
bureaucracy, many new
regulatory agencies, and
gave direct help to the
poor and unemployed.
Since the 1930’s,
Americans have tended
to look to the
government for
solutions to large
problems.
Goal 10
During the 1920’s and 1930’s, a totalitarian
form of government called fascism had
taken control of Italy, Germany, and Spain.
FDR began to see the danger posed by
fascism and suggested as early as 1937 that
the US should oppose the “aggressors” of
Europe. FDR’s speech, known as the
Quarantine Speech, was not well-received
by Congress or the America public.
America was not ready for another
European war.
In 1936, 1937, and 1938, Congress passed
Neutrality Acts to ensure US noninvolvement.
When World War II began in Europe in
1939, a majority of Americans wished to
remain neutral.
By 1940, the Axis Powers
(Germany, Italy, and Japan) were
advancing. In Europe, all the
democratic nations “fell” except
Great Britain. In the Pacific, Japan
invaded China and was advancing
into southeast Asia.
Americans were increasingly
alarmed and willing to provide aid
to nations fighting the Axis. The
most important law was the LendLease Act of 1941. The law
authorized the production of war
goods for the Allies.
The Japanese attack
of Pearl Harbor, a US
naval base in Hawaii,
brought the US
formally into the war
on the side of the
Allies. (December 7,
1945)
The US would fight
the war in two large
Theatres of
Operation: Europe
and the Pacific.
The European Theatre consisted of four fronts. The US would be
involved in three of them.
The North Africa Front
Patton (US) and Montgomery (UK) v Rommel
(Germany – Afrika Korps)
The Italian Front
Allies advance up the “soft underbelly” of Europe.
Brought the surrender of Italy
The Western Front
Opened at D-Day – the Normandy Invasion.
Liberated France and led to Germany’s defeat.
The Eastern Front was fought between Germany and the Soviet
Union. It was the deadliest of the fronts.
Hitler committed suicide
on April 30, 1945.
Germany surrendered on
May 8, 1945 – V-E Day
The European Theatre
was over.
The Pacific Theatre was fought between the US and Japan.
Two “turning point” battles in 1942: Battle of Midway and the Battle
of the Coral Sea. Stopped the Japanese advance.
Island-hopping cleared the way for eventual invasion of Japan.
Island battles were brutal.
The Japanese rarely
surrendered.
Kamikazi attacks on US
ships revealed the nature
of the Japanese fighting
spirit.
Iwo Jima
The war against Japan
ended with two atomic
bombs.
The US “Manhattan
Project” had produced the
bombs. One was dropped
on Hiroshima on August 6,
1945. A second bomb
dropped on Nagasaki on
August 9 ended the war.
WWII on the Home Front
Internment of Japanese-Americans
Rationing of food and fuel
Massive
industrial
productivity
Women in industry (Rosie the Riveter)
FDR won two more elections: 1940 and 1944. (He
died early in his fourth term – Vice President Harry
Truman succeeded him.)
His four election victories broke the two-term
tradition that had been followed since George
Washington.
The 22nd Amendment (1951) limits presidents to two
terms or ten years.
The Cold War began almost as soon as
World War II ended.
Winston Churchill sounded the alarm with his
“Iron Curtain” speech in 1946.
From Stettin in the Baltic
to Trieste in the Adriatic,
an iron curtain has
descended across the
Continent. Behind that
line lie all the capitals of
the ancient states of
Central and Eastern
Europe. Warsaw, Berlin,
Prague, Vienna,
Budapest, Belgrade,
Bucharest and Sofia, all
these famous cities and
the populations around
them lie in what I must
call the Soviet sphere…
The division of
Germany into East
Germany (Soviet
dominated and
communist) and
West Germany (US
dominated and
democratic) was the
beginning.
The
Marshall Plan
followed…
Then the Berlin Airlift, 1948-49
The Soviets got “the bomb” in 1949
The US
formed NATO
The Soviets
answered
with the
Warsaw Pact
President Truman
announced the US policy of
containment: the US would
aid any nation fighting
communism. This is also
known as the Truman
Doctrine.
Communism seemed to
making gains all over the
world. It was scary…
China became communist in 1949
The US and the
United Nations
fought against
communists in
Korea.
The Korean War
lasted from 1950 –
1953.
The Korean War Memorial in Washington
DC
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) held
hearings to find communists in America.
They particularly targeted Hollywood.
Senator Joseph McCarthy held hearings in the Senate. He was so
influential, the post-WWII “Red Scare” is sometimes called McCarthyism
or the McCarthy Era.
From 1948 – 1991, the Cold War dominated and defined US foreign policy.
The struggle between communism and capitalism / totalitarianism and
democracy would be waged with war, propaganda, spies, a nuclear arms
race, a space race, assassinations, and money.
Some Cold War highlights of the Eisenhower-Kennedy years:
The US commits to the
protection of South Vietnam
The Soviet launch of
Sputnik panics the US
The U-2 Incident
A nuclear arms race… and a new
nuclear vocabulary: massive
retaliation… more bang for the
buck… brinksmanship… mutual
assured destruction
Disaster at the Bay of Pigs
Berlin
Wall is
built
Kennedy v Khrushchev face off during
the Cuban Missile Crisis