POLITICS OF THE ROARING 20’S

Building BackgroundThe American economy boomed during

WWI, as industries raced to produce weapons & supplies for Allied armies. With more than 4 million men serving in the armed forces, there was a shortage of workers in American factories, and many people found jobs. When the war ended, however, conditions changed quickly, and the economy faced a difficult adjustment.

SECTION 1: AMERICAN POSTWAR ISSUES

• The American public was exhausted from World War I

• Public debate over the League of Nations had divided America

• Government no longer needed supplies, cancelations with billions of $$ contracts – downfall of jobs

• An economic downturn meant many faced unemployment

• Meanwhile, many people who did have jobs rushed to buy products they couldn’t during the war – caused prices to soar

• Cant afford life = strike for higher wages

ISOLATIONISM

• Many Americans adopted a belief in isolationism

• Isolationism meant pulling away from involvement in world affairs

FEAR OF COMMUNISM• One perceived threat to

American life was the spread of Communism

• Communism is an economic and political system based on a single-governmental party, equal distribution of resources, no private property and rule by a dictatorship

• Reds• Cried out for a world wide

revolution that would abolish capitalism

SOVIET UNION COMMUNISM

• Russia was transformed into the Soviet Union in 1917, a Communist state

• Vladimir Lenin led the Bolsheviks and overthrew the Czarist regime

• He was a follower of the Marxist (read) doctrine of social equality

Lenin

Communism vs Capitalism

• Reading the article

• Pro/Con of each: (w/ partner)– Ownership of Means of Production– Individual Freedom– Society– Anatomy of Power

• Will ask for individuals to share

TAPE EXAMPLE

• A Communist party was formed in America, too

The Red Scare

Because of growing isolationist attitudes common after World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, there was a growing fear that socialism or communism would spread to the United States. This period of widespread fear in the early Twenties was called the “Red Scare”. The Espionage & Sedition Act, which had been passed during WWI based on fears of German spies, was now being used to fine and jail any suspected “subversives” (people who support a revolution against the government). The main leader of the Red Scare was Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. More than 6,000 people were jailed during the so-called “Palmer Raids”. Many people were jailed or deported without proper warrants or evidence. Often those jailed had no direct connection to radical groups and were forced into false confessions. Fewer than 10% of those arrested in the Palmer Raids were actually convicted of subversive activities.

Isolationism

1920 Election

• As the 1920 presidential election approached, the economic difficulties were bad news for the party in power, WW’s Democratic Party

• Many voters blamed the Ds for the hard times

• Sensing the public’s anger – Republicans looked for a candidate who would offer new hope for American voters.

1920 ELECTIONWarren G. Harding – presidential candidate

with running mate Calvin Coolidge

Harding promised a return to “normalcy” – returning the

country to stability & prosperity & peace “America’s present need is

not heroics, but healing; not nostrums (uncertain cures) but normalcy (normal times); not revolution, but restoration.”

1920 Election• Dems believed there was still support for

Wilson’s ideas for reform

• They nominated James M. Cox for President, and Franklin D. Roosevelt for VP

1920 Election RESULTS• Harding’s promise of a return to normalcy captured

the public’s mood • Harding won a landslide victory with about 60% of

the popular vote

SECTION 2: THE HARDING PRESIDENCY

• Warren G. Harding’s modest successes include the Kellogg-Briand Pact which renounced war as a means of national policy (signed by 15 nations, but difficult to enforce), and the Dawes Plan which solved the problem of post-war debt by providing loans to Germany to pay France/Britain who then paid the U.S.

Harding 1920-1924

What He Did:

What He Did:• Worked to strengthen the economy:

– Tax cuts for the wealthy as an incentive to invest in business, create new jobs

– Trickle down theory, arguing that money would only “trickle down” in small drops to less-well-off Americans

– Result: an economic boom – new, better paying jobs

CONGRESS LIMITS IMMIGRATION

• Congress, in response to nativist pressure, decided to limit immigration from southern and eastern Europe

• The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 set up a quota system to control and restrict immigration

America changed its formally permissive immigration policy

A TIME OF LABOR UNREST

• Strikes were outlawed during WWI, however in 1919 there were more than 3,000 strikes involving 4 million workers

BOSTON POLICE STRIKE

• Boston police had not received a raise in years and were denied the right to unionize

• The National Guard was called

• New cops were hired

STEEL MILL STRIKE• In September of 1919, the U.S. Steel

Corporation refused to meet with union representatives

• In response, over 300,000 workers struck• Scabs were hired while strikers were

beaten by police and federal troops• The strike was settled in 1920 with an 8-

hour day but no union

COAL MINERS’ STRIKE

• In 1919, United Mine Workers led by John L. Lewis called a Strike on November 1

• Lewis met with an arbitrator appointed by President Wilson

• Lewis won a 27% pay raise and was hailed a hero

Lewis

Widespread CorruptionWarren G. Harding was President from 1921 until his death in 1923 during one of the most corrupt & lawless periods in American history. Harding appointed many of his unqualified friends (the so-called 'Ohio Gang') to important government jobs. These “friends” used their power steal over $200 million from various federal agencies and bribe others officials to ignore these actions. The most famous scandal involved Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall, who was bribed to transfer a valuable government owned oil field in Wyoming (called the Teapot Dome) to private businessmen. He accepted large sums of 400,000 and gifts from private oil companies. In exchange, Fall allowed the companies to control govt oil reserves. The Teapot Dome Scandal was exposed and eventually led to the jailing of many of those involved. Furthermore, the recently passed 18th Amendment that outlawed the manufacture and sale (but not consumption) of alcohol was weakly enforced by the Volstead Act passed by Congress. This weak law did little to stop alcohol smuggling (called “bootlegging”) and bribing of prohibition agents. Many Americans believed the general respect for law and order was on the decline.

WHAT HE DID WRONG:

The oil scandal had the power to crush

the future of politicians and oil

men alike.

Misconception Alert• Many people distrusted the government after

the scandal • Although Harding made a costly mistake by

allowing Albert Fall to control certain government oil reserves, he did not take the situation lightly, He spoke to friends about having been betrayed by those he trusted.

• His health declined because of the strain• As Harding and his wife crossed the country on

their way to Alaska, he gave eighty-five speeches, tiring himself further

• He collapsed in San Francisco of a heart attack and died 4 days later

SACCO & VANZETTI

• The Red Scare fed nativism in America

• Italian anarchists Sacco & Vanzetti were a shoemaker and a fish peddler

• Convicted of robbery and murder despite flimsy evidence, their execution was symbolic of discrimination against radical beliefs during the Red Scare

THE KLAN RISES AGAIN

• As the Red Scare and anti-immigrant attitudes reached a peak, the KKK was more popular than ever

• By 1924, the Klan had 4.5 million members

1920s: TOUGH TIMES FOR UNIONS

• The 1920s hurt the labor movement

• Union membership dropped from 5 million to 3.5 million

• Why? African Americans were excluded from membership and immigrants were willing to work in poor conditions

Ford Foundry workers in 1926; only 1% of black workers were in

Unions at the time

SECTION 3: THE BUSINESS OF AMERICA

• The new president, Calvin Coolidge, fit the pro-business spirit of the 1920s very well

• His famous quote: “The chief business of the American people is business . . .the man who builds a factory builds a temple – the man who works there worships there”

President Calvin Coolidge 1924-1928

AMERICAN BUSINESS FLOURISHES

• Both Coolidge and his Republican successor Herbert Hoover, favored governmental policies that kept taxes down and business profits up

• Tariffs were high which helped American manufacturers

• Government interference in business was minimal

• Wages were increasing

THE IMPACT OF THE AUTO

• The auto was the backbone of the American economy from 1920 through the 1970s

• It also profoundly altered the American landscape and society

The Ford Model T was the first car in America. It came only in black and sold for $290. Over 15 million were

sold by 1927.

IMPACT OF THE AUTO

Among the many changes were:

• Paved roads, traffic lights• Motels, billboards• Home design• Gas stations, repair shops• Shopping centers • Freedom for rural families• Independence for women

and young people• Cities like Detroit, Flint,

Akron grew • By 1920 80% of world’s

vehicles in U.S.

AIRLINE TRANSPORT BECOMES COMMON

• The airline industry began as a mail carrying service and quickly “took off”

• By 1927, Pan American Airways was making the transatlantic passenger flights

When commercial flights began, all flight attendants

were female and white

AMERICAN STANDARD OF LIVING SOARS

• The years 1920-1929 were prosperous ones for the U.S.

• Americans owned 40% of the world’s wealth

• The average annual income rose 35% during the 1920s ($522 to $705)

• Discretionary income increased

ELECTRICAL CONVENIENCES

• While gasoline powered much of the economic boom of the 1920s, the use of electricity also transformed the nation

Electric refrigerators, stoves, irons, toasters, vacuums, washing machines and sewing

machines were all new

MODERN ADVERTISING EMERGES

• Ad agencies no longer sought to merely “inform” the public about their products

• They hired psychologists to study how best to appeal to Americans’ desire for youthfulness, beauty, health and wealth

• “Say it with Flowers” slogan actually doubled sales between 1912-1924

A SUPERFICIAL PROSPERITY

• Many during the 1920s believed the prosperity would go on forever

• Wages, production, GNP, and the stock market all rose significantly

• But. . . .

PROBLEMS ON THE HORIZON?

• Businesses expanded recklessly

• Iron & railroad industries faded

• Farms nationwide suffered losses due to overproduction

• Too much was bought on credit (installment plans) including stocks