1. Politics in the 1920s
How Exciting…

2. Republican Revolution
Warren G. Harding
Former Governor and Senator from Ohio
Elected in 1920
Republican
Appeared to be “Presidential”
Promised in his campaign slogan a “Return to Normalcy”
After World War I, that’s what people were looking for
Harding sought to bring a peaceful and prosperous future to America

3. Germany after WWI “War Guilt Clause”
Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles
Required Germany to take responsibility for the damage done in World War I
Forced Germany to pay reparations for the war ($442 billion in 2017 money)
Germany must disarm
Rampant inflation and political unrest plagued Germany for the next decade

4. Hitler’s rise to power
Germans were alienated by the harshness of the Treaty of Versailles
Poverty and political unrest were the result of the rampant inflation
Adolf Hitler seized upon this upheaval to take control of the German government
Promised to toss out the Treaty of Versailles
Make the German nation proud and strong again

5. Communism and the Red Scare
Russian Bolsheviks gained total control of the government
Overthrew the interim government
Won a civil war challenging their power
Changed the name to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and adopted a communist economic platform
The Bolsheviks marching on Red Square in 1917

6. Communism Type of Economy
Government owns all land and property
A single political party controls the government
The needs of the country always takes priority over the needs of the individuals
Vladimir Lenin, Communist Leader of the USSR believed that and isolated communist country could not survive
Fought for the spread of communism
Americans would resist the spread of communism
Fear of the spread of Communism and the actions taken to protest and undermine it in America became known as The Red Scare

7. Red Scare grips America
Radicals wanted known communists jailed or expelled from the country
Newspapers excited American fears of communism
Schenck v. United States
Anti-war activist during World War I
O.K.’d the silencing of free speech when there is “a clear and present danger to America”
Gitlow v. New York
Bernard Gitlow was an anarchist who called for the overthrow of the American Government
Upheld Gitlow’s state conviction of criminal anarchy while at the same time ruling that the Bill of Rights cannot be violated by the state governments

8. Sacco and Vanzetti
Italian anarchists who were convicted of armed robbery
Most people felt that they were arrested because they were immigrants
Questions about the fairness of the trials
Sacco and Vanzetti were executed in the electric chair for the crime
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti

9. The Harding Presidency
Harding was a below average leader
Doubted his own abilities
Creditability questioned by the opposition
Favored isolationism
Avoiding political and economic entanglements with foreign nations
Red Scare makes this difficult, as well as creating a hostile environment for immigrants
Harding’s policies and practices become increasingly unpopular with the American people

10. Harding the worst? Disorganized and ineffective administration
Many scandals
Many in Harding's administration were convicted of bribery and accepting kickbacks
Many destroyed important papers and then committed suicide
Harding’s administration is filled with political cronies and unqualified people

11. The Teapot Dome Scandal
The most serious and public scandal during the administration
Teapot Dome, Wyoming
Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall sold drilling rights in the Teapot Dome oil reserves to private oil companies
Accepted gifts and kickbacks
Went to prison
Secretary of the Interior
Albert B. Fall

12. Calvin Coolidge Harding died in office
Succeeded by Vice-President Calvin Coolidge
“The chief business of the American people is business”
President Calvin Coolidge
(R – MA)

13. Coolidge tries to avoid war
Favored Harding’s policy of isolationism
Preferred to leave foreign policy decision to his Secretary of State Frank Kellog
Orchestrated the Kellog-Briand Pact
15 nations pledged not to threaten war in their dealings with one another
Secretary of State Frank B. Kellog