Mr. Snyder 11th Grade U.S. History Ch. 22: Politics of the Roaring 20 Mr. Snyder 11th Grade U.S. History 1 1

Section 1: America’s Postwar Issues After WWI, most Americans wanted to be isolationist Remain distant from issues of the rest of the world, especially Europe Unemployment increased in 1919 Nativism swept through America Conservative backlash in govt. occurred Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress and presidency 2 2

The Soviet Union Russia became Soviet Union (USSR) in 1917, a Communist state USSR stands for United Soviet Socialist Republic Vladimir Lenin led Bolsheviks (group of communist workers) who overthrew the Czar Communist party was formed in America in 1919 After WWI, communism grew across the world Communism is a part of socialism and was founded by Karl Marx 3 3

The Red Scare Americans felt threatened by the spread of communism due to the Russian Revolution Communism is an economic and political system based on equal distribution of resources, no private property and rule by dictatorship 4 4 4

The Red Scare Contd. Communism is a threat to capitalism Americans feared their way of life would be taken over by communists Post WWI, featured much Nativism in America in form of laws and other actions 5 5 5 5

The Palmer Raids Attorney Gen. A. Mitchell Palmer led raids in 1920 to prevent all communists and anarchists from meeting -Arrested suspected radicals without warrants -used reason of national security to ignore the 4th Amendment -Palmer fueled Red Scare Nativism 6 6

Sacco and Vanzetti Italian anarchists Sacco & Vanzetti convicted for murder during an armed robbery Evidence against them was suspect, but they were immigrants with ties to communism both were sentenced to execution execution was symbolic of discrimination against radical beliefs during Red Scare 7 7

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The KKK Rises Again Due to the Red Scare and nativism, the KKK was more popular than ever in 1920s By 1924, the Klan had 4.5 million members frequently held rallies in the middle of Washington, D.C. The KKK focused on removing all Catholics, immigrants, Jews, and African-Americans from influence in American society KKK believed these were groups that consisted of communists and anarchists 9 9

Congress Limits Immigration Congress limited immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe in early 20s A reaction to the Red Scare and isolationist policies The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 set up a quota system to control and restrict immigration Only a certain number of immigrants from each country would be admitted every year based on the percentage in the previous year’s census 11 11 11 11

1919 Labor Unrest Many strikes took place after WWI -after the war, many workers embraced socialist views and wanted better working conditions and pay Boston Police Strike Boston PD officers went on strike demanding raises and benefits U.S. Steel Workers Strike-Sept. 1919 United Coal Miners Strike-Nov. 1919 *Only time government took side of workers in strike was in coal strike. 12 12 12 12

Union Difficulties in the 1920s The 1920s hurt organized labor Union membership dropped by 1.5 mil. Conservative views hurt labor unions and increased anti-union views Blacks excluded from membership, and immigrants were willing to work in poor conditions without unions Only 1% of African-American workers were in unions in 1926 13 13

Section 2: The Harding Presidency In 1920, Warren G. Harding from Ohio was elected president Harding’s foreign policy goal was to return America to “normalcy” and help rebuild Europe after World War I Two ways he did this: 1. Kellog-Briand Pact denounced war as a national policy 2. Dawes Plan provided loans to Germany to pay France/England who then paid the U.S. 15 15

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Scandal Hits Harding Harding was very laissez-faire towards business and his own administration Most times he didn't know what appointees were doing In Teapot Dome Scandal, Sec. Of Interior Albert Fall received illegal money from two oil companies as bribes Fall was tried for corruption and sent to jail, Harding was not punished 17 17

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Section 3: The Business of America is Business In 1923, Harding died while in office, and VP Calvin Coolidge from Massachusetts became president Coolidge was reelected in 1924 New president, Calvin Coolidge, was even more pro-business than Harding Extremely laissez-faire and continued many of the same policies as Harding Nicknamed “Silent Cal” because he did not say or do much 19 19 19 19

Scientific Management In order to increase efficiency in factories, -engineer Frederick Taylor devised ideas of: assembly lines specific roles given to each employee Practices perfected by Henry Ford in his Ford auto plans in Michigan Ford's workers maximized production during 8-10 hour work days and were also given days off too 20 20 20 20

The Impact of the Automobile The auto was the backbone of the American economy from 1920 through the 1970s changed American landscape and society increased transportation across state lines and allowed people to move further away from jobs and commute The Ford Model T was the first car in America. Over 15 million were sold by 1927. 21 21 21 21

The Impact of the Automobile Contd. The auto also created a movement of the population called urban sprawl -movement to outside of city but travel to city for work Among the many changes were: Paved roads, traffic lights, shopping centers Freedom for rural families Independence for women and young people By 1920 80% of world’s vehicles were in U.S. 22 22 22 22

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The American Standard of Living Grows The 1920s were prosperous for the U.S. Rich and middle class lived well Americans owned 40% of the world’s wealth The average annual income rose 35% during the 1920s Discretionary (money to spend, not just money to pay bills), income increased 24 24 24 24

New Household Conveniences While gasoline powered much of the economic boom of the 1920s, the use of electricity also transformed the nation Electric refrigerators, stoves, irons, toasters, vacuums, washing and sewing machines were all new By the end of the 1920s, the majority of American homes had electricity Only rural areas did not have easy access to electricity 25 25 25 25

American Economic Prosperity Many during the 1920s believed the prosperity would last forever Wages, production, Gross National Product, and the stock market all rose significantly From 1924-1928, taxes were down and business profits up Tariffs were high which helped American manufacturers, but hurt farmers Government interference in business was minimal 26 26 26 26

Problems on the Horizon? Businesses expanded recklessly Consumers spent money at will Called conspicuous consumption Means to spend money without a care Too much was bought on credit using installment plans, including stocks Plans were set up to be paid back, but many consumers just accumulated debts Debts were ignored due to economic boom 27 27 27 27