POLITICS OF THE ROARING TWENTIES Americans Deal with Post WW I

The end of WWI hurt the economy: Returning soldiers took jobs away from women & minorities …OR… Returning soldiers faced unemployment themselves.

NATIVISM & ISOLATIONISM People grow suspicious of foreigners and international affairs

Americans saw Communism as a threat to their way of life 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.

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”… 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 Two Italian immigrants who were arrested for robbery & murder in Massachusetts. Admitted Anarchist, but said they did not commit any crime Were convicted and put to death Many protested their conviction Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco (Dedham courthouse, 1923) Death Watch in Union Square, New York

Example was the Ku Klux Klan. Some Americans used the Red Scare as an excuse to act against people who were different. Example was the Ku Klux Klan.

QUOTA SYSTEM: 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. In 1924 Immigration from Japan is banned

(Strikes were not allowed during World War I) 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. (future president)

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 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. 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 Decompressing from WW I Scandal

Washington Naval Conference 1921 President Warren g. Harding invited several major world powers. 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 (US, great Britain, japan, France & Italy) scrap many of their existing warships

64 nations signed that they giving up war as national policy Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928    Frank B. Kellogg, U.S. Secretary of State

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 U.S. loaned $ to Germany to pay its war reparations Also companies in the US invested in German reconstruction Then Britain & France repaid U.S. So….the U.S. ended up getting paid w/its own $! Charles Dawes

TEAPOT DOME SCANDAL 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 new president, Calvin Coolidge said… “The chief business of the American people is business” Big Supporter of business and the economy

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 (Texas and California) prospered

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? More households have electricity in the home Radios, washing machines, & vacuum cleaners became popular. These appliances made housework easier. Women had more time to move to the workforce People had ore leisure time More consumer goods were produced and sold

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: 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: Businesses encouraged customers to buy on the INSTALLMENT PLAN. Banks provided $ at low interest rates. Average Americans were spending more $ than they actually had.