“Politics of the 1920’s”

Renewed isolationism: U.S. began to pullaway from involvement in foreign affairs. EX.Wouldn’t join League of Nations

Resurgence of Nativism: suspicion of foreign-born people

Political conservativism: return to laissez-fairephilosophy. Opposite of active gov’t duringProgressive Era

Red Scare: 1919-1920. An intense fear ofcommunism. Fear that “reds” or communistswould take over America

WHY did we have a Red Scare?

BolshevikRevolution

Led by VladimirLenin

Seized power fromCzar Nicholas

Establishedcommunism inRussia

Karl Marx Class struggle

between “haves andhave nots”

Struggle between theowners and workers

Workers would seizepower and overthrowthe Capitalists

Communist partywould control govt,land , property

Then only one politcalparty

Individuals wouldhave no rights

Govt. would even outsociety (no rich orpoor)

Only 70,000 membersof Communist Partyin U.S. (1/10 of 1%)

A. Mitchell Palmer Demagogue Spread fear that

“reds” were goingto take overAmerica.

What evidence didhe have toconvince people?

3,000 strikes 4 million workers High costs, low

wages Many believed

communists werebehind numerousstrikes

Boston Police Strike 1919: no raise since 1914.$21.00 week. 75% of police force on strike.Gov. Coolidge called off the strike. Replacedall workers.

Steel Strike 1919: 350,000 walked off job.Wanted shorter hours/higher wages.Company hired scabs. 18 killed. 100’s injured

Coal Strike 1919: low wages/long hours.Ordered to return to work. Did get a raise.

J.Edgar Hooverappointed to head FBI

Hunt down suspectedcommunists,socialists, anarchists

Conducted “PalmerRaids” to rid Am. Ofradicals

Nov 1919-Jan.19206000 arrests; 500deported

Emma Goldman Anarchist, political

activist, wellknown for herwritings/speeches

Came to Am. 1885 Deported back to

Russia

Palmer Raids failed to turn up any evidence tosupport a communist conspiracy in Am.

Died out after May 1, 1920 --Why?? Palmer predicted a national strike to occur on

that day, signaling a communist plot tooverthrow the government.

What happened??

Xenophobia Nativism Two most famous victims of the Red Scare: Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti Italian immigrants, anarchists, draft dodgers,

poor (represented everything Ams. Hated)

Braintree, Mass. 1920 2 men shot, killed $15,000 payroll stolen Arrested Sacco and

Vanzetti 3 weeks later Had alibis;

circumstantialevidence

Found guilty;sentenced to death

1910-1930 Black population more than doubledin the north (Great Migration)

Job competition following WWI. Led to renewal of KKK 1924--4.5 million members Devoted to 100% Americanism

Race riots common in Am. Cities in 1919 No longer limited to the south 25 cities had riots Chicago Race Riot-6 days, 15 whites and 23

blacks killed, 500 injured Gov’t. did nothing to stop activities of hate

groups like KKK 70 reported lynchings in 1920

Republicans had the advantage. Why? Warren G. Harding: Senator Ohio, Rep. VP Running mate: Calvin Coolidge, Gov.

Mass. Remember him? Ran against James Cox, Gov. Ohio, Demo. And

Eugene Debs, Socialist, in prison Harding’s campaign slogan “Return to

Normalcy”

Appointed some wise, able men Andrew Mellon (Sect. of Treasury) Herbert Hoover (Sect. of Commerce) Charles Evans Hughes (Sect. of State) Some positions filled by incompetent,

dishonest men from Ohio. What was their nickname??

Isolationism: foreign policy reflected ourdesire to avoid political and economic allianceswith foreign countries.

Disarmament: give up our weapons and getother countries to do the same.Washington Naval Conference: got 5 nations to scrap

many battleshipsKellogg-Briand Pact: 64 nations agreed to outlaw war

Fordney-McCumber Tariff: raised tax onimport to highest level ever (60%). Designed toprotect Am. Businesses. Many Europeancountries could not pay back war debts to U.S.

Limiting Immigration: Nativism growing inAm. (strikes, Red Scare, job competition)

1919-1920: 1 million immigrants came to Am. 1905-1907: peak years of immigration. 11,000 a

day entering through Ellis Island 1920’s called for strict new immigration laws

Emergency Quota Act: yearly immigration setat 350,000 year and quotas set on immigrantsfrom each country

National Origins Act: 150,000 per year. NoAsians, strongly discriminated againstSouthern and Eastern Europeans. Why?

Quotas remained in place until 1960’s

1923 country began to bounce back fromrecession. Economy growing.

Multiple scandals broke out in 1923 involvingbribery, fraud, stolen govt. funds.

Harding died in office Aug. 2 whilevacationing in Alaska; some suspected suicide

Was Harding involved in the scandals??

Veteran Affairs Scandal: V.A. hospitalsovercharged govt. 250 million.

Att. Gen. Harry Daugherty used his position toprotect men who violated prohibition

Teapot Dome Scandal: U.S. naval oil reservesin Wyoming and California leased to privateoil companies by Sect. of Interior. Received$325,000

Calvin Coolidge becomes the new presidentfollowing Harding’s death on Aug. 2, 1923.

Coolidge ran in Election of 1924 and won by alandslide.

“Keep Cool with Coolidge” -- campaign slogan Very conservative: “gov’t. works best when it

governs the least”

Number of millionaires in Am. Rose from 4,500in 1914 to 11,000 in 1926.

Low interest rates for borrowing money Construction booming Electricity reaching more Americans New inventions (technology boom) Consumer goods replacing capital goods

Consumer Goods: Electric refrigerator Electric range Toaster Vacuum Cleaner Air conditioner Radio

Emphasis on materialism: Rise in standard of living (indoor plumbing, central

heat) Installment plan -- buying on credit. Allowed

people to live beyond their means (sound familiar?) 40% of U.S. families had incomes under $1500 a year

(poverty range) Advertising and marketing (Pre WW1: $300-400

million a year. 1927: $1.5 Billion a year)

Rise in per capita income for top 1% ofpopulation from 1920-1929: 75%

Rise in per capita income for nation as a whole:9%

Percentage of American families with nosavings: 80%

Percentage of savings held by top .1% of Ams:34%

Percentage of savings held by top 2.3%: 67%

New goods flooding the market Businesses begin to rely on advertising to sell

products Advertising became a “big business” (3 billion

dollars by 1920’s) Agencies began to study “what sells”?

Mass Circulation Magazines

Radio Broadcasting

Motion Picture industry

The automobile (nation’s biggest industry bythe end of 1920’s) Landscape, roads, driveways, garages, steel, rubber,

glass, gas stations (400,000 miles of roads built1920’s)

Liberated rural families Mass production (assembly line so good, by 1925,

made 9,000 cars a day) 1925: Model T cost $290.00 Ford cleared $25,000 a day. He paid his workers

$5.00 day for eight hour day.

1922- 2millionautos

1929-5 millionautos

1910- $750.00 1914- $490.00 1915- $390.00 1929- Avg. 1 car

per every family

Prohibition (1920-1933)

The Nobelexperiment

Volstead Actpassed byCongress 1919

18th Amendmentenacted Jan. 1920

Drinking was a sin (churches led to crusade toabolish alcohol)

Government should protect public’s health Drinking led to crime, abuse, accidents on job,

poverty W.W. 1 created a strong anti-German sentiment

(beer associated with Germans)

Disrespect for the law Smuggling and bootlegging evident;

impossible to enforce New source of income for criminals Organized crime grew significantly

1920 Census: first time more than half ofAmericans lived in urban areas

America was divided between rural and urbancultures and values

Rural Am. Represented: small towns, close tiesto family, hard work, strict morals

Urban Am. Represented: big cities, anonymouscrowds, money-makers, pleasure seekers,immigrants, liberal views and ideas

Prohibition (anti-saloon league, WCTU)

Religion (fundamentalists vs. modernists)

Social life (flapper, jazz music, sport events)

Popular culture (movies, fads, mass media,fashion, etc)

Flapper: emancipated young woman whoembraced the new fashions and urban attitudesof the day.

1920’s female: more assertive; smoke anddrank in public. Learned to play sports likegolf.

Double standard: still expected women tofollow traditional values. Vast majority ofmarried women remained homemakers.

By 1930, only 24% of workers were women

Fundamentalism: Protestant movementgrounded in literal interpretation of Bible.Resisted the ideas of scientific theoriesregarding evolution (Darwin)

Some states had laws to prohibit the teachingof evolution

Butler Act: Tennessee forbade the teaching ofevolution in public schools

Created in 1920 as an organized that calleditself the defender of peoples’ rights

Promised to defend any teacher who broke thislaw

John Scopes: young substitute Biology Teacherread a passage in class relating to evolution.Arrested. No question of quilt or innocence.He broke the law to try and get rid of it

Clarence Darrow: Defense attorney for Scopes

William Jennings Bryan: Prosecuting attorneyand three time democratic candidate forpresident. Devout fundamentalist

The court upheld the Butler Act and Scopeswas fined $100.00. Law remained in place formany years

Modernism: can accept Darwin’s theory ofevolution without abandoning their religiousfaith

Fundamentalists: Every word of the Biblemust be accepted literally.

1920’s saw many popular “preachers” whoused the radio to preach fundamentalistmessage. Religious tent revivals popular

School enrollment: 1914—1 million attendedH.S. 1926—4 million attended H.S.

Prior to 1920’s, formal education ended after 8th

grade. Only college bound students attendedH.S.

During 1920’s, H.S. offered broad range ofcourses including vocational training.

Big challenge teaching immigrant children Americans became better educated in 1920’s

Radio: By 1930. 40% of households had one.

Magazines: (Time, Reader’s Digest, SaturdayEvening Post, Ladies Home Journal)

Newspapers and Tabloids: more available;beginning of the associated press (AP).

The public was better educated and readingmore