Politics of the Roaring 20s Mr. King Central Cabarrus HS

NATIVISM

The Russian Revolution and Communism  Russians drop out of WWI - US suspicious because it seemed to help Germany  Russians overthrow Czar Nicholas II (1917) – Vladimir Lenin becomes leader of the Communist Party  Communists overthrow capitalism (U.S. way of life!)  70,000 radicals in U.S. join Communist Party - this becomes known as the Red Scare

The Russian Revolution and Communism (continued)  Palmer Raids- A. Mitchell Palmer appointed U.S. Attorney General – combat communists in US  J. Edgar Hoover hunts down suspected Communists/Anarchists  Hoover’s division would later become known as the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)

The Russian Revolution and Communism (continued)

Anti-Immigrant Sentiment  Nicola Sacco & Bartolomeo Vanzetti – both were Italian immigrants & anarchists  Charged with murdering a paymaster & stealing $15,000  Evidence circumstantial – found guilty & sentenced to die by electric chair on Aug. 23, 1927

The Ku Klux Klan  Rise of nativism & communism gives them power  By 1924 – 4.5 million members  Supported prohibition  Opposed unions  Hated Roman Catholics, Jews, foreigners  Believed in 100% Americanism  Declined by late 1920s

The Ku Klux Klan

Limiting Immigration  Emergency Quota Act (1921): establish minimum number of immigrants from any one country  EQA discriminated against immigrants from southern/eastern Europe & Japan  No discrimination against Western Hemisphere immigrants  1920s: 1 million Canadians – 500,000 Mexicans enter US  National Origins Act (1924) set limit at 2% for each country

Emergency Quota Act

ISOLATIONISM

Impact of Isolationism  U.S. becomes world power after WWI (wanted to be left alone)  Warren G. Harding: runs for president – motto becomes “return America to simpler days”  Kellogg-Briand Pact (1929): renounces war as an instrument of national policy  Harding pursues an isolationist policy

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1929)  15 nations dedicated to outlawing aggression and war as tools of foreign policy.  Problems  lack of enforcement and gave Americans a false sense of security.

Washington Naval Conference (1921)  President Harding invites major powers to Washington - except Russia  U.S., British, Japan, France and Italy agreed to scale back their navy and scrap large warships  Charles Evan Hughes (Sec. of State) – No more warships built for 10 years

POLITICS

Poor President Harding  President Harding: good man but surrounded by bad people (Grant – 50 years ago)  Bad Appointments: Ohio Gang – Harding’s buddies from back home  Teapot Dome Scandal – oil in Wyoming/California – Harding’s friends pocket $400,000 in bonds  Harding goes on tour of Alaska – became ill and died on Aug. 2 nd, 1923

Teapot Dome Scandal Harding: “ I have no trouble w/ my enemies… But my damned Friends… They’re the ones that keep me walking the floor at nights!”

Economic Turmoil  Rapid inflation  Businesses raised prices after WWI  Cost of living rose 15%  Returning WWI soldiers needed work  African-Americans competing for jobs – Great Migration  Frustration + Racism = RIOTS!!!

Unions and Labor Unrest  Strikes not allowed during WWI  1919 – 3,000 strikes; wages not keeping up with prices  Boston Police Strike- 75% of police walked off job  The Steel Mill Strike – 350,000 workers walked off job – got 8 hour workday  The Coal Miners Strike – got 27% wage increase and John L. Lewis became national hero  1920 – union membership was 5 million  1929 – union membership was 3.5 million

Boston Police Strike (1919)

Steel Mill Strike (1919)

WEALTH

President Coolidge “The business of America is business.” QQuiet, frugal man BBelieved in little government interference ““Rugged Individualism” PProsperity rested on leadership in the business sector

The Impact of Automobiles  Let Americans take vacations to new areas  Construction of paved roads such as the famous Route 66 gave rise to homes with garages, gas stations, motels, and repair shops popping up everywhere

Impact of Automobiles (continued)  Allowed workers to live miles from their jobs  creating urban sprawl  By late 1920s – 80% of all registered vehicles in the world were in the US

1927: First underwater tunnel- Holland Tunnel

1929: Woodbridge Cloverleaf in NJ– first cloverleaf intersection

The Airplane Industry  Ended isolation of rural life  Cause of growth: carried mail for U.S. government  Two big companies - Lockeed - Pan American  By 1928, 48 airlines serving 355 U.S. cities  Charles Lindberg – first solo flight across Atlantic Ocean (“Spirit of St. Louis”)

Rise of Modern Advertising  Companies hired psychologists to study how to appeal to people’s desires  Preyed on anxieties and fears - weight - status  Had to let Americans know they needed “new products”

Consumer Economy

Superficial Prosperity  National income grew from $64 billion to $87 billion by 1929  Three factors for superficial prosperity  income gap be/ workers & managers  iron/railroad/farmers not doing well  installment plan: people buying on credit *** would be one cause of Great Depression