Transcript " Red Scare “ 13. 1920s, union membership did

12. The panic surrounding the threat of communism in the early 1920s was called
the " Red Scare “
13. 1920s, union membership did what? It dropped considerably due in large part
to the “ red scare.”
14. To protect their own interests, employers often accused striking workers of
being Communists
15. What fear was most closely tied to the public's negative reactions to organized
labor in the 1920s? fears of communism
16. Who are the men in the cartoon?
radicals
17. In this cartoon, what bigger idea does the "light" represent?
the truth about America
18. According to the cartoon, which of the following is an example of the kind of
ideas that shut out the light?
Soviet doctrines
19. What is the main difference between the two men in the cartoon?
One is a leader
20. Come up with a statement that you feel best expresses the main idea of this
cartoon? Radicals use foreign and communist propaganda to block the good,
honest ideals of America. Radicals use the ideas of foreign and Communist
countries to block the truth of the American way of life.
21. According to the cartoon, where do American radical leaders get their ideas?
The cartoon implies that radical ideas come from foreign lands, especially
communist Russia.
22. How are the two men in the cartoon different? What statement might this
cartoon be making about their roles? While both men are radicals, one man is
labeled as a leader. Because the leader is doing all the work and is offering more
radical propaganda ("Sunlight is unhealthy anyhow!"), the radical leaders are the
most dangerous because they lead others astray.
23. How do you think the cartoonist felt about radicals? Support your opinion with
details from the cartoon. The cartoonist opposes radical ideals. The "light" that
the radicals are shutting out represents positive things like truth, Americanism,
and public opinion. The cartoon suggests that radical leaders are liars who
encourage others to believe that American ideas are "unhealthy." The statement
about sunlight is ironic; the artist believes that "American" ideals are healthy and
radical ones unhealthy.
24. What are some of the reasons that membership in labor unions dropped
during the 1920s?
1. Many Americans had come to believe that labor unions fostered communism.
2. Much of the American work force consisted of new immigrants who were
unwilling to threaten their survival by fighting for their rights.
3. Unions had difficulty organizing workers who spoke a variety of languages.
Farmers who had recently become industrial workers were used to relying solely
on themselves and had no interest in joining unions.
4. Most unions excluded African Americans and women.
Strikes such as the Boston police strike and the steel strike threatened, or
appeared to threaten, the public safety and American way of life.
25. Why were workers not allowed to strike during World War 1?
Nothing was allowed to interfere with the war effort.
26. Why did so many strikes occur after the war?
Wages had not kept pace with rising prices.
Section 2
27. The Kellogg-Briand Pact rejected war as an instrument of national policy. It
provided no means of enforcing the "no war" agreement. Because of this it was
considered useless.
28. The main goal of the Washington Naval Conference was to reduce the threat of
what? war
29. This tariff (60%) raised taxes on goods entering the United States. As a result
of this tariff, Britain and France were not able to sell enough goods to pay off their
war debts. Fordney-McCumber Tariff
Traditional American protectionism triumphed after the electoral victory of the
Republicans. The Fordney–McCumber Tariff (September 1922) was the highest in U.S.
history and angered the Europeans, whose efforts to acquire dollars through exports
were hampered even as the United States demanded payment of war debts. In raw
materials policy, however, the United States upheld the Open Door....
Hawley-Smoot-The act brought retaliatory tariff acts from foreign countries, U.S. foreign
trade suffered a sharp decline, and the depression intensified.
30. What plan arranged for loans to be made to Germany so that it
could pay war reparations.
The Dawes Plan
31. What gang consisted of various
friends or associates, (personal friends
that President Harding put into his
cabinet) who took advantage of their
political positions to gain wealth and
influence.
The Ohio gang
32. What scandal involved the secret
leasing of oil-rich lands owned by the
United States government to private oil
companies. The Teapot Dome scandal
His secret shortcomings would pale in
comparison to those of his powerful
handlers. "I have no trouble with my
enemies," he said after taking office.
"[It's] my . . . friends . . . that keeping me
walking the floors nights!" His closest allies
in government
would be implicated in the Teapot Dome
scandal, and his secretary of the interior
would become the first executive cabinet
member ever convicted and sent to prison.
Section 3
34. The first practical peacetime use of airplanes was for:
carrying mail
35. The main factor causing urban sprawl in the 1920s was the:
automobile
36. A dollar down and a dollar forever" represents a form of credit called the:
installment plan.
37. List three results of the growing popularity and availability of the automobile
1. changes in American landscape
2. urban sprawl
3. changes in American architecture
Economic Effects of the Automobile:
1. Promoted growth of other industries. Especially petroleum,
rubber, and steel.
2. Helped fuel the creation of a national system of highways.
Automobiles required better roads. After WWI, federal funds became
available for building highways and a major industry was born.
3. Created new service facilities. Filling stations, garages, and roadside
restaurants sprang up across the nation. Motels (the word itself is a blend of
'motor' and 'hotel') catering to the needs of motorists began to replace hotels.
Social Effects of the Automobile:
1. Created a more mobile society. Cars broke down the distinctions between
urban and rural America. With the automobile came the new tradition of the
"Sunday drive," and many city folks got their first chance to tour the rural
countryside. Rural Americans, on the other hand, drove into cities to shop and to
be entertained.
2. Broke down the stability of family life. Now it was
far easier for individual family members to go their own
way.
There were four major ways in which the
Federal government supported big business.
1. High tariff policies. The Fordney-McCumber Act (1922) and the Hawley-Smoot
Act (1930) created the highest-ever schedule of tariffs for foreign-made goods.
2. Andrew Mellon. Secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932. In response to his
demands, Congress repealed the excess profits tax and reduced the rates for
corporate and personal income taxes. Mellon provided business leaders with a list
of tax loopholes which the IRS had drawn up at Mellon's request.
3. Cutbacks in the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The federal government had
created the FTC to regulate big business and to look into unfair trade practices,
but the commission did less and less of this in the 1920s.
4. Herbert Hoover, as Secretary of Commerce and as President, Hoover
encouraged price-fixing and believed that the government was responsible for
helping businesses profit.
38. Although the 1920s were prosperous years for the United States, why is this
prosperity considered superficial? Can you see any similarities between the
United States in the 1920s and today?
There were several signs that the prosperity of the 1920s was superficial.
1. First, companies were producing great quantities of goods, which led
to expanding businesses.
2. But with this expansion, the income gap between workers and
managers grew.
Wealth was not being distributed evenly. Also, some "backbone"
industries, like the iron and railroad industries, were not a part of the
prosperity of the 1920s. Mining and farming also suffered losses
during this time
3. Americans everywhere were living above their means-buying goods on
credit. Similar situations can be found today. As some industries rise
(especially information and computer services), others fall. Americans are
still buying many goods on credit and going into debt as a result.