Transcript American Postwar Struggles and the Harding

20.1 & 20.2 - Americans Struggle
with Postwar Issues & The Harding
Presidency
1918 – 1928
Remember this?
• The End of World War I (Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soFhWkxSZ
AY
Postwar
• Americans had historically been an Isolationist country,
wishing to keep to itself and not get dragged into
Europe’s problems (a continent plagued by warfare
throughout its history).
• In response to these stressful conditions many Americans
became fearful of outsiders. A wave of nativism swept
the nation.
• Nativism - prejudice against foreign-born people
• Isolationism – a policy of pulling away from involvement
in world affairs.
The Red Scare
• In Russia, a group of revolutionaries called the
Bolsheviks overthrew the Czar and
established a military dictatorship. They called
themselves “communists” in an attempt to
appeal to the common person in their society,
drawing on the ideas of Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels.
Some important Marxist terms:
• Bourgeoisie – Refers to the people in society
who own the means of production. This
includes large factory and business owners as
well as wealthy capitalists who invest and live
off their wealth (“Rich” vs “Wealthy).
• Proletariat – Basically everyone else. The
“working class” that must sell their labor in
order to survive.
The Communist Manifesto
• Karl Marx argued that capitalism was an
inherently flawed economic system because
the bourgeoisie exploited the proletariat.
• Because of this exploitation, Marx theorized
that the working class would eventually
overthrow the capitalist class and establish a
new utopian society…
New Society:
Marxist Communism – An economic system in
which all citizens are equal. In order for
communism to exist three things must occur:
1. The abolition of capital (money)
2. The abolition of a strong centralized
“state”/government
3. A classless society in which all are equal and
direct democracy is the rule of law
Russian Communism
• The Bolshevik Party used Marxist ideas to
appeal to the common people. Once they
were in power, they failed to deliver on their
promises and instead established a
dictatorship.
Aspects of Russian Communism:
• Political rule: Strong, centralized government
with a popular military dictator at its head.
• Political dissent was not allowed.
• One political party.
• State ownership of the means of production
(factories, industries deemed important to
national interests).
• Capital (money) and personal property allowed.
People asked to “invest in society” instead of
themselves.
End of Part I: In Your Notes…
• Writing Activity (Choose one): Respond in at
least one paragraph to one of the following…
1. Describe the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 –
how did the party come to power?
2. What is the difference between Marxist
Communism and Russian Communism?
Communism in America?
• In America, a communist party was established
after the war, and when several bombs were
mailed to government and business leaders,
the public began to grow fearful of the spread
of communism.
• This is important because the fear of
communism will play an enormous role in
United States foreign policy until 1991 – and
some would argue until the present date.
Responses to the fear of
“Communism” in America
• In 1919, President Palmer appointed J. Edgar
Hoover to be in charge of hunting down
suspected Communists, socialists, and
anarchists.
• They trampled people’s civil rights, invading
private homes and offices and jailing suspects
without allowing them legal counsel.
Hundreds of foreign-born people were
deported without trials.
Responses to the fear of
“Communism”
• The Ku Klux Klan – Membership in the bigoted
nativist group soared as a result of the Red Scare
and the Klan became politically dominant in
many states.
• “Keep America for the Americans” – A prevailing
attitude that argued that because there was less
of a need for low-skilled jobs in America, there
was no longer a need for immigrants to come into
the US and take them.
Fear of Immigrants
• The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 –
Established a maximum number of people
who could enter the U.S. from each foreign
country in order to protect domestic jobs and
national security.
Connection to today
This debate goes on today. You may have
heard discussion of “immigration reform”,
“national security”, “the war on terror”, and
other types of socio-political discussions.
Labor Unrest: Economic Problems
• The Progressive Era (1890-1920) saw sweeping
protests by workers against bad working
conditions, child labor, low pay, and what they
believed to be a corrupt and unfair system.
• Democrats won many elections because of this
cultural movement
• 1919: More than 3,000 strikes occurred (4 million
workers)
• However…a new era of Republican Presidents
was about to begin…
President Harding
• Warren G. Harding (29th President) – A goodnatured man who “looked like a president
ought to look.” He was elected based on his
promises of “normalcy”, referring to the
“simpler days” before the Progressive Era and
the Great War.
Harding’s Problems
• He didn’t understand many of the problems the
country faced. He listened to people and always
felt like they were right.
• He trusted his friends that he put into powerful
positions and they often acted corruptly.
• This all contributed to his death (Heart attack or
stroke)
• He was always stressed out about issues that his
corrupt friends created.
The Dawes Plan
• American isolationism led to policies that
placed heavy taxes on goods coming from
Europe.
• This made it difficult for European nations
trying to rebuild their countries to make
money.
• When Germany defaulted (failed to make)
payments on its war debt, French troops
marched in.
The Dawes Plan cont’d
• In order to prevent war, American banker
Charles Dawes was sent in to negotiate.
Essentially, the U.S. lent Germany 2.5 billion
dollars so that they could pay off France and
Britain.
• Once France and Britain collected the money,
they had to pay it back to the United States.
This fueled resentment between all of the
countries involved.
Writing Activity
• On a sheet of loose leaf paper, please respond
to the following prompt:
• What problems did people in the United
States face following WWI? How did they
respond to them?