Politics of the Roaring Twenties Honors US History

Section 1: Objectives By the end of this lesson, I will be able to: 1. Summarize the reaction in the United States to the perceived threat of communism. 2. Analyze the causes and effects of the quota system in the United States. 3. Describe some of the postwar conflicts between labor and management.

Section 1: Americans Struggle With Postwar Issues Main Idea: A desire for normalcy after the war and a fear of communism and “foreigners” led to postwar isolationism. Why it Matters Now: Americans today continue to debate political isolationism and immigration policy. Key Terms: Nativism Isolationism Communism Anarchists Quota System Key Names: Sacco and Vanzetti John L. Lewis

Postwar Trends: WW I had left America exhausted. Soldiers returning from war face unemployment The economy was badly bruised ($ for the war) Cost of living had doubled Americans started to become fearful of outsiders (jobs, safety)

Nativism and Isolationism: Nativism – Prejudice against foreign-born people Isolationism – Policy of pulling away from involvement in world affairs. Why do you think these two things caught on in America after the war?

Fear of Communism: People were fearful that Communists were trying to take over America. Communism – An economic and political system based on a single- party government ruled by a dictatorship. A Communist Party formed in the US – 70,000 people joined. Bombs were mailed to government offices and buildings. This time period became known as the “Red Scare”

Palmer Raids: Government officials began hunting down suspected communists, socialists, and anarchists. Anarchist – People who oppose any form of government. In the Palmer Raids, private homes and businesses were raided and hundreds were deported. These raids failed to turn up anything big and were seen as a failure.

Sacco and Vanzetti: A Famous Case In 1920, two Italian immigrants (and anarchists) were accused of murdering two factory guards Witnesses said the criminals looked Italian Sacco and Vanzetti were executed with no solid evidence This is another example of the strong power of nativism.

The Klan Rises Again: By 1924, KKK membership reached 4.5 million – all white male and native born. The Klan believed in keeping black “in their place” and driving foreign born people out of America. They were a radical and violent group D.W. Griffith’s film – A Birth of a Nation was critically acclaimed in Link to article on the film

Limiting Immigration: “Keep America for Americans” became the new slogan. Less unskilled labor jobs were needed. American resentment towards immigration had reached an all time high.

The Quota System: From , the number of immigrants had grown almost 600% (from 141,000 to 805,000 people) Congress decided that things needed to slow down. They passed The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 – This system established the maximum number of people who could enter the US from each foreign country. It worked – but the law prohibited Japanese immigrants and limited other particular groups (Roman Catholics and Jews) This angered many groups

A Time Of Labor Unrest: 1919 saw more than 3,000 labor strikes – 4 million workers walked off the job. Even the Boston Police went on strike (union issues) 300,000 steel workers also walked off their jobs. Coal Miners went on strike as well John L. Lewis led a protest and got them a 27% raise! America was losing faith in it’s economy and presidency.

Did We Meet Our Objectives? Can You: 1. Summarize the reaction in the United States to the perceived threat of communism. 2. Analyze the causes and effects of the quota system in the United States. 3. Describe some of the postwar conflicts between labor and management.

Section 2: Objectives By the end of this lesson, I will be able to: 1. Contrast Harding’s policy of “normalcy” with progressive era reforms. 2. Identify scandals that plagued the Harding Administration.

Section 2: The Harding Presidency Main Idea: The Harding administration appealed to America’s desire for calm and peace after the war, but resulted in scandal. Why it Matters Now: The government must guard against scandal and corruption to merit public trust. Key Terms: Fordney-McCumber Tariff Ohio Gang Teapot Dome Scandal Key Names: Warren G. Harding Charles Evans Hughes Albert B. Fall

Warren G. Harding: Warren G. Harding took the presidency in The public wanted things to go back to “normal” Harding provided words of peace and calm His judgment was not that great though. (we’ll soon find out)

Harding Struggles For Peace: After the war, countries around the world were hurting economically. Harding decided to call the nations to meet in Washington D.C. to figure out what needed to be done. Charles Evans Hughes (Sec. of State) – suggested that the five largest naval powers scrap their warships. (US, Great Britain, Japan, France, Italy) They agreed to disarm (for now)

High Tariffs and Reparations: France and Britain owed $10 billion to America for the war. Germany owed France and Britain for the damages In 1922, the US adopted the Fordney-McCumber Tariff – raised taxes on US imports to 60%! American investors loaned Germany $2.5 billion to pay back France and Britain. (Dawes Plan) Then France and Britain paid the US (with interest) Follow this? – The US was making money on the financial problems of others. Charles Dawes

Harding’s Cabinet: Harding surrounded himself with good people (Charles Evans Hughes, Herbert Hoover, Andrew Mellon) He also had some not so good ones. The Ohio Gang – The President’s poker playing cronies that liked to cheat/bribe others (including the tax payers) out of money.

The Teapot Dome Scandal: The government owned oil- rich land in Teapot Dome, Wyoming. Teapot Dome Scandal – Albert B. Fall (US Navy Secretary) leased the land to private oil companies in return for a “cut” of the action. He received more than $400,000 in loans, bonds, and cash. He became the first American to be convicted of a felony while holding a cabinet post.

Harding Dies: “I have no trouble with my enemies…But my friends...they’re the ones that keep me walking the floor at night.” On August 2, 1923, Harding died suddenly from either a heart attack or a stroke. Calvin Coolidge assumed the presidency and the next year was elected.

Did we Meet our Objectives? Can You? 1. Contrast Harding’s policy of “normalcy” with progressive era reforms. 2. Identify scandals that plagued the Harding Administration.

Section 3: Objectives By the end of this lesson, I will be able to: 1. Summarize the impact of the automobile and other consumer goods on American life. 2. Explain how prosperity affected different groups of Americans. 3. Explain in what ways the country’s prosperity was superficial.

American Industries Flourish: Calvin Coolidge focused hard on improving the American business. He aimed to keep taxes down and business profits up. We wanted to keep the government influence (in business) to a minimum and allow private companies to flourish. Wages (and productivity) started to rise because of new technology.

The Impact Of The Automobile: (Part1) The automobile allowed rural families to travel to cities for shopping and entertainment. Paved roads were created everywhere Route 66 was created to connect Chicago with California. Gasoline stations, repair shops, and shopping centers popped up all over the place

The Impact Of The Automobile: (Part12) People moved further away from their jobs – urban sprawl The automobile was considered a status symbol as well About 1/5 people had a car Automobile factories sprung up in places like Detroit and Akron.

The Young Airplane Industry: The US Post Office started the first mail carrying service. (by plane) The first cargo and commercial airlines also began during this time. Passengers started enjoying the speed of being able to travel by air. ($$)

America’s Standard Of Living Soars: was a very prosperous time for America. Americans owned around 40% of the world’s wealth. The average American income rose more than 35% (from $522-$705) People started spending there money freely.

Electrical Conveniences: Gasoline powered most everything prior to this time period. Now, electricity started to become much more efficient. Electricity was able to be transmitted over long distances. Privileged homes had electric irons, refrigerators, stoves, and toasters

A Superficial Prosperity: During the 1920’s most Americans believed this prosperity would go on forever. National income was up Most companies were making a fortune The Stock Market was reaching unprecedented levels

Producing Great Quantities Of Goods: As productivity increased, businesses expanded. Companies merged, chain stores opened, farms produced excess crops. Problems: 1. Excess crops drove food prices down 2. A huge income gap was being created between managers and workers

Buying Goods On Credit: Big companies allowed consumers to buy things without paying for them in full. They borrowed money from the banks at very low interest rates. Installment Plans – buying goods over an extended period, without having to put down much money at the time of purchase.

Parallel To Today: 1920 and Zero Down home buying / 0% financing Home Equity loans During both periods of time, consumers were borrowing at extremely high levels. So, what happened? That’s what we’ll find out next chapter.

Did We Meet Our Objectives? Can You: 1. Summarize the impact of the automobile and other consumer goods on American life. 2. Explain how prosperity affected different groups of Americans. 3. Explain in what ways the country’s prosperity was superficial.