ISOLATIONISM NEUTRALITY NORMALCY POLITICS OF THE 1920S ISOLATIONISM NEUTRALITY NORMALCY

RETURN TO NORMALCY After WWI- America wanted to RETURN TO NORMALCY, Warren G. Harding used this as his political platform He promised to return the nation to the way it was before war consumed the nation

RED SCARE Lenin and the Bolsheviks threatened to spread communism around the globe Americans did not want to lose their independence Americans were terrified of the spread of communism to their country The RED SCARE resulted from this fear.

Schenck vs. US Charles Schenek was convicted during WWI under the Espionage Act. This act made it illegal to spy or speak against the country during wartime. Schenek was sending letters to men letting telling them to NOT report for the draft

Schenk v. United States Clear and Present Danger The Supreme Court ruled that when the country is in “Clear and Present Danger” the freedoms promised in the 1st Amendment can be removed You cannot scream “FIRE” in a crowded theater.

Pure Americanism After the Great War, Americans wanted to return to normalcy and remove anything from their culture that threatened their way of life That included anything that was “UN-American”

What was Un-American? Immigrants– Nativism grew quickly in the country and the KKK quickly jumped at the attack on immigrants Anarchist: people that did not believe in any form of government were not welcomed Atheists

Palmer Raids Attorney general, A. Mitchell Palmer, was allowed to arrest approximately 6000 people that were suspected not proven just suspected of being anarchist Anarchist: people who oppose all government

SACCO & VANZETTI Were accused of robbing a payroll truck and murdering the driver Were they guilty? Was the trial fair?

People argued around the globe that the only things that the two men were guilty of were: Being Italian Being Anarchist Being Atheist All of the things that were unacceptable in the US after WWI

FATE of SACCO & VANZETTI Crowd outside courthouse after sentence. Raised hands signify approval for verdict and death sentence. Jury for Saccao and Vanzetti trial, plus three sheriffs.

Communist promises Equality between the rich and the poor Equal representation in governmental decisions Government ownership of land so ALL own the land

How does Communism effect Union membership? When workers went on strike after WWI, they were labeled as communist when that was not always the case Actually, the cost of living was rising faster than worker’s wages and they needed more money to pay bills Because of the communist label on unions, Union enrollment dropped and so did protection of the worker

Republican Presidents after WWI Warren G. Harding Herbert Hoover Calvin Coolidge

The Republican Presidents believed in supporting Business

businesses get back to work and create jobs for the Americans The government returned to a policy of “Laissez Fair” Coolidge said, “The chief business of American people is business”

Foreign Policy Isolationism was Harding and Coolidge’s stand after WWI and the US Congress supported him The Congress continued to vote NOT to join the League of Nations

Kellogg-Briand Pact In this agreement, 15 nations agreed NOT to use the threat of going to war in dealing with one another OF COURSE, this was a PACT, (a handshake) and there was no way to enforce this pact

Germany owed $33 Billion to Great Britain and France for war damages United States Fordney McCumber Tariff Raised the tariff on goods coming into the US Great Britain and France counted on the sale Of their goods to pay off their war debt The Dawes Plan was a 2.5 billion dollar loan to Germany so that they could pay on their war debt and war could maybe avoided Great Britain & France Germany Germany owed $33 Billion to Great Britain and France for war damages

Harding’s Term was plagued with scandal and corruption!! Harding got America entangled in an economic triangle that would cause us problems Harding placed his untrustworthy friends in high positions in Washington

Teapot Dome Scandal Albert Falls, Sec. of the Interior, secretly sold oil rights on public land in Elk Hills, California and Teapot Dome, Wyoming Harding died from a heart attack in 1923 probably due to stress "I have no trouble with my enemies. I can take care of my enemies all right. But my damn friends. They're the ones that keep me walking the floor nights!"

Why does a slow economy start growing? Wages increasing (28 percent from 1914 to 1926) Advertisements encouraged the consumer to spend, spend, spend Purchasing on credit- if you can’t pay now then you can pay later and still have the goods NOW

TO HAVE A STRONG ECONOMY THE NATION HAS TO HAVE CONSUMER ECONOMY TO HAVE A STRONG ECONOMY THE NATION HAS TO HAVE SPENDING Our economy depends of consumer spending!!

BUYING ON CREDIT Installment plans encouraged the consumer to buy If they could not pay in full they could make partial payments over a period of time until the debt was paid Interest was charged of COURSE to the cost of the item Buying on installment fueled the growth of the economy

Advertising Changed… Consumers worried more about looks that quality Emphasis went from quality to consumer image

Ford’s automobile– A Must Have produced automobile that everyone could afford MODEL T was the answer Ford made assembly line more efficient job is boring, but worker is more efficient The more cars made, the less each vehicle cost The assembly line made the car cheaper

Increase in number of cars caused increase in gas stations, highways, traffic lights, hotels and motels, restaurants People no longer confined to their city or state Between 1908 and 1927 Ford built more than 15 million cars

Some groups suffered in this decade despite the prosperity! The unskilled workers and African Americans remained poor and wages were limited The farmers suffered from prices dropping after the war The demand for food dropped from Europe and the need to supply food to troops was removed Prices dropped drastically after the war Cotton textile workers and steel mill workers suffered after the demand for their product was reduced

Although a few groups of society were having financial trouble, business was still booming when Hoover took office and America expected it to continue

SIGNS OF DANGER UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME overproduction Buying on credit Buying on margin Farm prices low

1920’s stock prices Stock prices continued to rise, despite the warning signs