A Republican Decade

Warren G Harding

• Republican• Elected in 1920• Looked like a President• Promised a “Return to

Normalcy”• Won in a landslide

Return to Normalcy

• Normalcy appealed to Americans

• The world seemed anything but normal– Revolution in Russia– Strikes and bombings at

home– People feared that

political violence was a threat to the U.S.

Russian Revolution

• Czar Nicholas II lost power in 1917

• WWI destroyed his rule• The new provisional

government pledged to stay in the war…even though the people wanted out

• Some turned to a more radical form of government

Russian Revolution

• Vladimir Lenin and his Bolsheviks take power from the provisional government in 1917

• Pulled Russia out of WWI

• Govmt. then takes control of all farms, industries, lands, and transportation

Russian Revolution

• Civil War breaks out in Russia

• Reds (Bulsheviks) v. Whites

• Reds win• The new nation created

is named the Soviet Union (Or USSR)

• Adopted ideology of Communism

Communism• Government owns all land and

property• 1 political party• Needs of the country more

important than the needs of the individual

• Lenin sought to spread communism throughout the world

• After Lenin came Josef Stalin whose brutal policies spread communism and killed tens of millions

American Fears

• Americans feared the spread of Communism

• Feared immigrants coming to the U.S. may be communists and other radicals (like anarchists)

• Communism begins to spread in Europe (Part of Germany, Hungary)

American Fears

• Thousands go on strike in Seattle

• Bombs being sent in the mail to government officials

• Media took advantage of the situation and spread panic

• Created a Red Scare-fear of communism and other radical ideas– Americans wanted

communists jailed and deported

The Palmer Raids

• A. Mitchell Palmer-Attorney General of the U.S.

• Had bomb mailed to his home

• Became convinced that radicals were conspiring to overthrow the government

• Began a campaign to hunt down radicals

The Palmer Raids

• Conducted raids and arrests against suspected subversives

• Targeted Communists, socialists, and anarchists

• Arrested thousands, sometimes without evidence– Many of them eventually

deported

The Palmer Raids

• Palmer said there would be a general strike and widespread bombings on May 1, 1920

• Newspapers predicted a major crisis

• Never happened• Palmer lost influence

and credibility

Sacco and Vanzetti

• 2 men robbed and killed 2 men working at a shoe factory in 1920

• Police arrest 2 Italian Immigrants for the crime

• Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti

• Both men were anarchists

Sacco and Venzetti

• Both men were carrying guns

• Sacco’s gun matched the one used at the crime

• Many suspected that they were only arrested because they were immigrants and their political beliefs

Sacco and Vanzetti

• Both men found guilty• Trial may have been unfair

– Evidence circumstantial– Judge used racial slurs– Both executed

– Note: modern technology proved they committed the crime…so don’t feel too bad

Labor Strikes

• Thousands of labor strikes in 1919

• Boston police went on strike– President Wilson called

this a crime against civilization

• Other notable strike in steel industry and coal mines

Motivation for Labor Strikes

• Higher cost of living• Labor hoped to build on

gains won during the war– Shorter hours– High wages

• More workers than jobs

Strikes Decline• Most Americans

opposed strikes• Saw them as un-

American and prone to violence

• Distrusted labor unions and the immigrants they represented

• Lack of support from the Government

• Economic boom brought higher wages

Republican Leadership

• Red Scare had consequences

• People believed Republicans could restore stability better than the Democrats

• Republicans dominated all 3 branches of government throughout the 20s

The Harding Presidency

• Made some good cabinet appointments

• Herbert Hoover- Secretary of Commerce

• Charles Evan Hughes-Secretary of State

• Andrew Mellon-Secretary of the Treasury

The Harding Presidency

• Also showed some poor judgment

• Gave jobs to a bunch of his friends-The Ohio Gang– Inexperienced– Incompetent– Dishonest

Foreign Policy

• Isolationist- avoid economic and political alliances with foreign countries

• Opposed League of Nations

• Wanted to establish global peace and stability

• Called for disarmament

Foreign Policy

• Promoted expansion of trade

• Passed Fordney McCumber Tariff to protect American business at home

• Scaled back British and French debts so they could better pay them

• The Tariff made it very difficult for European nations to sell products to the U.S., raise money, and pay off their debt

Foreign Policy

• Wanted to help German economy recover

• Approved Dawes Plan– Set a payment schedule– Reorganized German

national bank– Approved a loan to

Germany

Domestic Issues

• U.S. became more Nativist after WWI

• Why

• Patriotism- believed foreigners could never be loyal to the U.S.

• Religion- Protestants, Catholics, and Jews could not see eye to eye

• Urban conditions- urban problems blamed on immigrants

• Jobs-immigrants were taking them

• RedScare

Domestic Policy

• 1921 law passed to restrict immigration

• Placed a quota on immigrants representing certain ethnic groups or nations

Teapot Dome Scandal

• Harding not involved…but his people were

• Albert B. Fall (Secretary of the Interior) secretly gave oil drilling rights on government property to 2 private oil companies

• Fall received $300,000 in illegal payments and gifts in return

Silent Cal

• Harding dies in August 1923

• Calvin Coolidge becomes President

• Believer in business• “The business of the

American people is business.”

Laissez faire

• Did not want government to interfere with business

• Lowered taxes• Did not even support

government relief for disaster victims

• Coolidge was criticized for this, but the economy boomed under Coolidge

Kellogg-Briand Pact

• 15 nations pledged not to use the threat of force in their dealings with other nations

• 60 nations eventually joined the pact

• Basically made war illegal

• Unrealistic and unenforceable

1928 Election

• Coolidge decides not to run

• Herbert Hoover (R) wins the Presidency.