20.2 “Normalcy” and Isolationism OBJECTIVE: Understand the causes of post-war isolationism and the immigration quota system

The Return to “Normalcy” ELECTION OF 1920 Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge (REP) Vs. James M. Cox and Franklin D. Roosevelt (DEM) OUTCOME: REPUBLICANS WIN BY WIDE MARGIN. WHY? Harding pledges “normalcy” again.

PRESIDENT HARDING “America's present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality...."

Kellogg-Briand Pact 1921: US invites nations to freeze naval construction and begin disarmament. 1929: 64 nations had signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of diplomacy. This is an example of America promoting isolationism PROBLEM: The pact was voluntary and not enforceable.

TARIFFS AND REPARATIONS Allies struggle to pay Back loans Fordeny- McCumber Tariff Allies cannot make a profit or pay loans US demands repayment Allies demand reparations from Germany Germany bankrupt US loans $ to Germany Germany gives $ to Britain and France US paid in its own $ OUTCOME: Bad feelings all around. Unstable economic house of cards.

IMMIGRATION QUOTAS US experience a wave of racism, lynchings, and nativism after WWI. Immigration booms after WWI Quota System enacted in 1921 to slow the flow Quotas discriminate against Southern and Eastern Europeans, Roman Catholics and Jews AND excludes Japanese.

PROBLEMS WITH PROHIBITION 1920: 18 th Amendment comes into effect with Volstead Act Saloons and bars close, but demand does not go away Government does not fund enforcement People make alcohol at home in “stills” or go to “speakeasies.” Bootleggers and mob bosses like Al Capone make millions.

EFFECTS OF PROHIBITION Black market for booze booms Smugglers bring in alcohol from Cuba, Canada and the West Indies Police and judges become corrupt from accepting bribes Cities become violent as mafia and gangs fight for booze market RESULT: By mid-1920’s, only 19% of US supports Prohibition. YET, not repealed until 21 st Amendment in 1933.

American Fundamentalism Movement founded in literal interpretation of the Bible Skeptical of scientific knowledge Rejected Darwinism

The Scopes Trial AKA the “Monkey Trial” 1925: Fundamentalists win battle to make teaching of evolution illegal in Tennessee John Scopes, Biology teacher, arrested ACLU hires Clarence Darrow as defense William Jennings Bryan is special prosecutor Nationwide audience (trial is outside b/c of crowds) Darrow puts Bryan “on trial” Scopes found guilty, pays $100 fine IMPACT: SHOWS GROWING CULTURAL DIVIDE IS THIS AN ISSUE TODAY???

Twenties Women Flapper – emancipated young women who embraced new fashions Women began to act differently, became more assertive, wanted equality with men Began to play sports, viewed marriage as an equal partnership Dating became more popular, but a double standard still existed. ▫This is set of principles granting greater sexual freedom to men ▫Women were expected to observe stricter standards of behavior than men

Harlem Renaissance Great Migration caused many AAs to move North, racial tensions increased NAACP urged blacks to fight against racial violence James Weldon Johnson helped lead the fight, introducing three anti-lynching bills to Congress Universal Negro Improvement Association – black nationalist group, believed that AAs should form their own, separate societies.

Harlem Renaissance Overcrowding, unemployment and poverty existed in urban neighborhoods such as Harlem But a flowering of AA creativity called the Harlem Renaissance, a literary and artistic movement celebrating AA culture eclipsed the problems