Unit 4: WWI and the “Roaring 20’s” 4-4: Political and Economic changes of the Roaring 20’s

The First Red Scare Pg. 102 Russia had fallen to Communist leadership during WWI Because of this, many Americans were afraid of communism spreading to the U.S., and this was known as the first “Red Scare” A. Mitchell Palmer was the head of the Justice Department, and began to conduct raids on businesses and homes to look for evidence of communist infiltration, in warrantless searches known as the Palmer raids

Nativism and The National Origins Act The fear of communism led many in the country to stick close to nativist (nativism) beliefs (only natural born Americans should be allowed in the country—keep immigrants out!) This fear contributed to Congress passing the National Origins Act (1924), which set quotas for who could come into the U.S. (ADD TO NOTES) The Quota was set at 2% of the number of people from a country, who were already in the U.S. in 1890 Example: 25,735 Portuguese in the U.S. in 1890 means that 515 Portuguese were allowed in the U.S. per year, after 1924

Sacco and Vanzetti The nativist fear directed towards immigrants was highlighted by the trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (ADD TO NOTES) The two men were Italian immigrants who were accused of murder, convicted on sparse circumstantial evidence, and executed 7 years later Many historians believe the men were easy to blame because they were immigrants and adhered to the belief of anarchism, which called for relentless violence against government

Trying to Outlaw War Pg 106 In the wake of WWI, the U.S. and other nations tried to prevent the outbreak of another “Great War” by agreeing to limit their armed forces At the Washington Naval Conference the U.S. proposed that they, along with Great Britain, France, and Japan agree to limit the size of their navies, an even scrap some of the ships they had (ADD TO NOTES) Under the Coolidge administration the U.S. went even further issuing the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which renounced war as a tool of foreign policy

Economic Slumber, then prosperity Pg 104 Immediately after the war the U.S. experienced a slight recession, but within a few years the economy ramped up Farmers were initially prosperous, providing grain to war-torn Europe, but then fell on hard times as they produced too many crops for consumption A consumer economy (consumerism) emerged as new inventions provided convenience to everyday life Refrigerators, appliances had huge effect on lives of average American housewife, made life easier A new middle class was extended lines of credit by stores, and people would even buy goods in installments, putting a little money down on something every month (THINK: Rent-A-Center) Americans also began to play the stock market and engaged in a practice known as buying on margin Example: you put only a portion of the money down to buy 50 shares of stock, taking out a loan for the rest. You depend on the stock going up in a time of prosperity, so that you can eventually pay off the loan WHAT’S THE RISK?

Henry Ford’s Model-T and Financing Europe Pg. 104, 106 Henry Ford also contributed to consumerism through his perfecting of the moving assembly line, which made making a car more efficient, which lowered the price and made the model T affordable for the average family During this time of economic prosperity the U.S. banks thought it would be a good idea to extend loans to Germany to help them pay their war debts Germany could pay their debts, Britain and France would then repay loans owed to the U.S. treasury, and this was part of what was known as the Dawes Plan This cycle could continue as long as the U.S. prospered, but…

Comprehension Question Who were Sacco and Vanzetti--what happened to them--and explain the attitude of the country that resulted in this episode.