Transcript POLITICS OF THE ROARING TWENTIES

POLITICS OF THE
ROARING TWENTIES
Chapter 12
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The popular image of the 1920s, as a decade of
prosperity and riotous living and of bootleggers
and gangsters, flappers and hot jazz, flagpole
sitters, and marathon dancers, is indelibly etched
in the American psyche. But this image is also
profoundly misleading. The 1920s was a decade
of deep cultural conflict. The pre-Civil War
decades had fundamental conflicts in American
society that involved geographic regions. During
the Gilded Age, conflicts centered on ethnicity
and social class. Conversely, the conflicts of the
1920s were primarily cultural, pitting a more
cosmopolitan, modernist, urban culture against a
more provincial, traditionalist, rural culture.
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The decade witnessed a titanic
struggle between an old and a new
America. Immigration, race, alcohol,
evolution, gender politics, and sexual
morality all became major cultural
battlefields during the 1920s. Wets
battled dries, religious modernists
battled religious fundamentalists,
and urban ethnics battled the Ku
Klux Klan.
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The 1920s was a decade of profound
social changes. The most obvious signs of
change were the rise of a consumeroriented economy and of mass
entertainment, which helped to bring
about a ‘revolution in morals and
manners.’ Sexual mores, gender roles,
hair styles, and dress all changed
profoundly during the 1920s. Many
Americans regarded these changes as
liberation from the country's Victorian
past. But for others, morals seemed to be
decaying, and the United States seemed
to be changing in undesirable ways. The
result was a thinly veiled ‘cultural civil
war.’
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•What are the defining characteristics of
the years 1917-1918?
•How did the events that led to American
involvement in World War I impact the
role of the United States on the world
stage?
•What is the significance of the years
1914-1918 in U.S. history?
•How did industries in the United States
change to prepare for war?
•How did American spending change to
prepare for war?
AMERICANS STRUGGLE
WITH POSTWAR ISSUES
Section 1
How did World War I
affect America?
The end of WWI hurt the
economy:
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Returning soldiers took jobs away
from women & minorities …OR…
Returning soldiers faced
unemployment themselves.
NATIVISM &
ISOLATIONISM
Swept over America as people
became suspicious of foreigners &
wanted to pull away from world
affairs
FEAR OF COMMUNISM
Americans saw Communism
as a threat to their way of life
Communists came to power
in Russia through violent
revolution:
Communism is an economic &
political system that supports
government control over property.
WWI created economic &
political problems in
Russia…
1917, the Russian czar (Nicholas
II) stepped down & a group of
revolutionaries called Bolsheviks
took power.
Bolshevik Revolution 1917
New Leadership in
Russia (Soviet Union)…
Vladimir I. Lenin
This new government
called for worldwide
revolution..
Communist leaders wanted workers to
seize political & economic power
They wanted to overthrow capitalism.
The “RED SCARE”
In the U.S., about 70,000 people joined
the Communist Party.
Still, the ideas of the communists, or
“Reds”, frightened many people
“PALMER RAIDS”…
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Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer
set up an agency in the Justice Dept.
to arrest communists, socialists, &
anarchists (later became FBI).
Palmer’s raids trampled on people’s
rights…especially radicals.
Many were sent out of the country
w/out trial.
SACCO & VANZETTI
Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco (Dedham courthouse, 1923)
Two Italian immigrants who
were arrested for robbery &
murder in Massachusetts.
Sacco & Vanzetti were
admitted anarchists but…
JUDGE WEBSTER THAYER
Denied committing any crime.
The case against them was weak
& they were convicted anyway
Many protested the conviction…They believed it
was based on a fear of foreigners.
Sacco & Vanzetti executed in
1927
Sacco and Vanzetti death masks
Funeral Procession
Death Watch in Union Square, New York
LIMITING
IMMIGRATION…
Immigrants at Ellis Island
How did Americans show their
Nativist feelings?
Some Americans used the Red Scare
as an excuse to act against people
who were different.
Example was the Ku Klux
Klan.
QUOTA SYSTEM:
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Congress passed the Emergency
Quota Act of 1921.
Set a limit on how many immigrants
from each country could enter the
U.S. each year.
In 1924, a new quota limited
immigration from Eastern & Southern
Europe…mostly Jews & Roman
Catholics.
1924, Immigration from
Japan banned.
3 MAJOR STRIKES IN
1919
(Strikes were not allowed
during World War I)
1) Boston police officers
strike for a living wage.
The cost of living had doubled since their last
raise.
Mass. Governor Calvin Coolidge used force to
put down the strike.
2) Steelworker strike at U.S.
Steel Corporation.
Workers demanded right to join unions.
1923, report revealed harsh conditions
in steel mills.
Public opinion turned against steel
companies & workers were given an 8
hour day….Still had no union.
3) United Mine Workers Strike
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Led by John L. Lewis, president of the United
Mine Workers.
President Wilson tried to help settle the dispute
b/w miners & mine owners.
Miners got higher wages, but didn’t get shorter
hours.
John L. Lewis
Overall, the 1920’s was
a bad time for unions.
Union membership declined
from 5 million to 3.5 million.
WHY?
1)
2)
3)
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Immigrants were willing to
work in poor conditions
Language barriers made
organizing people difficult
Farmers who had migrated to
cities were used to relying on
themselves
Most unions excluded African
Americans.
THE HARDING
PRESIDENCY
Section 2
Personal:
• First Lady: Florence "Flossie" Mabel Kling Harding, Wife
• Number of Children: 1
• Education Level: College
• School Attended: Ohio Central College
• Religion: Baptist
• Profession: Teacher, Insurance Salesman, Reporter, Publisher
Washington Naval
Conference
1921
President Warren G. Harding
invited several major world
powers.
DISARMAMENT:
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At the Conference, Secretary of State
Charles Evans Hughes urged that no
more warships be built for 10 years.
Hughes also urged that the 5 major
naval powers (U.S., Great Britain,
Japan, France & Italy) scrap many of
their existing warships
Kellogg-Briand Pact
1928
Frank B. Kellogg, U.S. Secretary of State
64 nations signed that they
giving up war as national
policy
U.S. still wanted France &
Britain to repay $ borrowed
during WWI
Fordney-McCumber
Tariff of 1922
Tariff protected American business from
foreign competition.
But the tariff made it impossible for
Britain & France to sell their goods in
the U.S.
The DAWES PLAN
Under the Dawes Plan….
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U.S. loaned $ to Germany to pay
back Britain & France
Then Britain & France repaid U.S.
So….the U.S. ended up getting paid
w/its own $!
Scandal Hits Harding’s
Administration…
Some of his cabinet appointments
caused problems…… They were
part of the so-called “OHIO
GANG”
TEAPOT DOME SCANDAL
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Involved pieces of land called Teapot
Dome & Elk Hills
Was owned by the government &
held large reserves of oil.
Harding’s secretary of the
interior, Albert B. Fall, secretly
leased the land to 2 oil
companies
He received $ & property in
return.
President Harding wasn’t
charged w/corruption
himself….
He suddenly died in 1923 &
Calvin Coolidge became
president.
THE BUSINESS OF
AMERICA
Section 3
The new president,
Calvin Coolidge said…
“The chief business of the
American people is business”
The AUTOMOBILE
changed the American
landscape….
New roads were built. New
businesses sprang up like gas
stations, repair shops, public
garages, motels, tourist camps &
shopping centers.
Cities in Ohio & Michigan grew as
major centers of automobile
manufacturing.
States that produced OIL
such as California & Texas
also prospered.
The automobile also became a
status symbol.
Everyone wanted to have one.
1920 ROLLS-ROYCE
By the late 1920’s, about 80% of
all the cars in the world were in
the U.S.
URBAN SPRAWL
(Cities spread out in all directions)
Cars ended isolation of rural families &
gave young people & women more
independence.
Cars also made it possible for people to
live farther from their jobs.
The airline industry also
grew.
Planes carried the nation’s mail.
Passenger service began.
AMERICA’S STANDARD
OF LIVING SOARS!!!
How did the American
household change?
Spread of ELECTRICITY
caused a major change.
In the 1920’s, electric power
stretched beyond big cities to
the suburbs.
Americans began to use all kinds of
electrical appliances….
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Radios, washing machines, &
vacuum cleaners became popular.
These appliances made housework
easier.
Resulted in more leisure
time for families and….
Nursing in the 1920’s
Increase in the number of women
working outside the home.
More consumer goods appeared on
the market.
Businesses used advertising to sell
goods. They used Psychology…tried to
use people’s desire for youth, beauty, &
popularity to sell products.
Business people formed
organizations to do charity
work.
They also formed
organizations to promote
business.
The National income rose
from $64 billion in 1921 to
$87 billion in 1929.
Most businesses seemed to make
fortunes.
The stock market reached new
heights.
THE SUPERFICIAL
PROSPERITY OF THE
1920’s
What hidden problems did the
economy have?
1) Business wasn’t as healthy as
it seemed:
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Large businesses bought up or
merged w/smaller ones.
But as businesses grew, business
managers made much more $ than
workers did.
Also, mining companies, railroads, &
farms weren’t doing well.
2) Consumer debt rose to high
levels:
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Businesses encouraged customers to
buy on the INSTALLMENT PLAN.
Banks provided $ at low interest
rates.
Average Americans were
spending more $ than they
actually had.
COMING UP NEXT!!!!
THE ROARING LIFE OF
THE 1920’s