Transcript Chapter 21

Unit 7
Chapter 21
The Twenties
(1920—1929)
Chapter 21:
Politics of the Roaring Twenties
Overview
Americans lash out at those who are different while they
enjoy prosperity and new conveniences produced by
American businesses. During the 1920s, rural America
clashes with a faster-paced urban culture. Women’s
attitudes and roles change, influenced in part by the
mass media. Many African Americans join in the new
urban culture.
Section 1 –
Americans Struggle with Postwar Issues
Main Idea:
The Russian Revolution brings a Communist
government to power in the new Soviet Union.
Many Americans fear that a similar revolution will
occur in the United States. Political radicals and
labor leaders meet with increasing opposition.
The Red Scare
Communism –
 An economic and political system based on
one-party rule and society consisting of
complete equality
 Communist theories were based on the
works of Karl Marx (a 19th century German
philosopher) in his Communist Manifesto
(1848).
 Americans feared Communism because it
opposed capitalism and individual freedom
guaranteed by the Constitution.
Karl Marx
The Red Scare
“Red Scare” –
 The fear that the spread of communism
would arrive in the United States.
Palmer Raids –
 Attempt by the Attorney general of the
United States to hunt down suspected
communists, socialists, radicals, and
foreign-born immigrants and arrest or
Mitchell Palmer
deport (1919 – 1920).
The Red Scare
Nicola Sacco & Bartolomeo
Vanzetti –
 Two Italian-born Americans
arrested for a suspected murder.
 Both were accused of being
anarchists (people who oppose
any form of government).
 Their trial brought international
attention when they were found
guilty and executed.
Nicola Sacco & Bartolomeo
Vanzetti
The Red Scare
Quota System –
 Created from the Emergency Quota
Act of 1921 which established a
maximum number of immigrants
allowed from foreign nations.
 Congress passed the National
Protesting Immigration in
the early 1920s
Origins Act in 1924 to limit
immigration from southern and
eastern Europe.
The Harding Presidency
Main Idea:
The Harding Administration appealed to
America’s desire for calm and peace after
the war and a “Return to Normalcy.”
Scandal will plague the Harding
Administration.
Warren G. Harding
29th President
1921 – 1923
Party: Republican
Home State:
Ohio
Vice President:
Calvin Coolidge
Warren G. Harding






Domestic
Conservative Republican.
Former Ohio Senator.
Wanted a “Return to Normalcy”
after the First World War.
Had a Corrupt Cabinet known as the
“Ohio Gang.”
“Teapot Dome Scandal” was an
infamous scandal during his
presidency. Harding’s Secretary of
the Interior gave drilling rights on
govt. land to 2 private oil companies
in return for illegal payments.
Died in office (August 2, 1923) of a
stroke.
Foreign

Supported
European
Reconstruction.
Harding Administration
Isolationism –
 A policy of pulling away from involvement in world affairs.
Pro-business Policies –
 Harding and his Cabinet pushed for laissez-faire policies favoring
business over labor and low taxes.
Harding Administration
Teapot-Dome Scandal –
 Secretary Fall secretly gave
away oil fields to friends of
his in the oil industry.
 Teapot Dome, WY was the
site of the largest oil field.
Albert B. Fall –
Political Cartoon—
“ Teapot Dome Scandal”
 He became the first
American found guilty of a
felony while holding a
Cabinet post.
Secretary of the Interior
Albert Fall
Calvin Coolidge
30th President
1923 – 1929
Party: Republican
Home State:
Massachusetts
Vice President:
Charles G. Dawes
Calvin Coolidge
Foreign
Domestic
 Became president after the
death of Warren G. Harding
 Wanted to bring respect back
to the office of the presidency
 Conservative Republican
 Believed in limited
government and low taxes
 Supported the Dawes Plan of
1924 to help Germany with
its reparation payments to
former Allies of WWI
 President who signed the
Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928
to limit the potential of
warfare
Coolidge Administration
Dawes Plan of 1924–
 Arranged to send low-interest loans to
Germany to help pay back reparations.
 The loans would then be used to pay
back German debt to Britain and
France.
Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 –
 An agreement between the United
States and France (and 60 other
nations) to outlaw war as an
instrument of national foreign policy.
Coolidge Administration

Both Harding and Coolidge refused to use legislation to
make social changes.

Unlike the Progressives, Harding and Coolidge
supported economic policies which favored big business.

Harding and Coolidge maintained an isolationist foreign
policy keeping the United States out of world affairs.
The Rise of Consumerism in the 1920s
Main Idea:
Consumer goods fueled the business boom of
the 1920s as America’s standard of living
soared.
1920s Consumerism
Henry Ford –

Pioneer in the automobile industry
who wanted to make cars affordable
to ordinary people. .

Used the assembly line (efficient way
of using workers to assemble
finished goods) to make cars cheap
and reliable.

Ford’s Model-T was his first mass-
produced automobile.
Henry Ford
1920s Consumerism
Impact of the Automobile –

A paved American road system.

Liberated the rural family who could now travel to the city.

More independence for everyone through increased mobility.

Created urban sprawl outside of cities.

Used as a status symbol among classes.

Invention of the Model T made it possible for more Americans
to afford an automobile.
1920s Consumerism
Charles Lindbergh –
 First to cross the Atlantic in 1927
from New York to Paris.
Airplane Industry –
 Began as a mail carriers for the United
States Post Office, but airlines began
to carry passengers in the 1920s.
 Pan American Airlines created the
first transatlantic flights in 1927.
1920s Consumerism
Buying Goods on Credit –

In addition to advertising the idea of buying goods on credit lured Americans
into buying more than they made.
Installment Plan –

A credit plan which allowed people to buy goods on credit with little down.
Decade of Spending –

Credit and installment plans encouraged people to spend money they didn’t
have, but fueled growth of the consumer economy. Most Americans began to
only worry about the present without any concern for the future— The
decade of an easy life and enjoyment was heading for a paradox.
1920s Consumerism
1920s was known as a decade of economic prosperity and, a
growing popular culture, and widespread consumerism.
The booming economy of the 1920s changed life in the
following ways. . .

The workweek shortened to forty hours allowing for
more leisure time.

Consumers used new credit instruments to buy new
machines and stocks.

Many prosperous Americans relied on cars for
transportation and moved to the suburbs where they
could enjoy more space.