POLITICS OF THE
ROARING 20’S
Building Background
The American economy boomed during
WWI, as industries raced to produce
weapons & supplies for Allied armies.
With more than 4 million men serving in
the armed forces, there was a shortage
of workers in American factories, and
many people found jobs. When the war
ended, however, conditions changed
quickly, and the economy faced a difficult
adjustment.
SECTION 1: AMERICAN
POSTWAR ISSUES
• The American public was
exhausted from World War I
• Public debate over the League
of Nations had divided
America
• Government no longer needed
supplies, cancelations with
billions of $$ contracts –
downfall of jobs
• An economic downturn meant
many faced unemployment
• Meanwhile, many people who
did have jobs rushed to buy
products they couldn’t during
the war – caused prices to
soar
• Cant afford life = strike for
higher wages
ISOLATIONISM
• Many Americans adopted a belief
in isolationism
• Isolationism meant pulling away
from involvement in world affairs
FEAR OF COMMUNISM
• One perceived threat to
American life was the spread
of Communism
• Communism is an economic
and political system based on
a single-governmental party,
equal distribution of
resources, no private
property and rule by a
dictatorship
• Reds
• Cried out for a world wide
revolution that would abolish
capitalism
SOVIET UNION
COMMUNISM
• Russia was transformed
into the Soviet Union in
1917, a Communist state
• Vladimir Lenin led the
Bolsheviks and
overthrew the Czarist
regime
• He was a follower of the
Marxist (read) doctrine of
social equality
Lenin
Communism vs Capitalism
• Reading the article
• Pro/Con of each: (w/ partner)
– Ownership of Means of Production
– Individual Freedom
– Society
– Anatomy of Power
• Will ask for individuals to share
TAPE EXAMPLE
• A Communist party was formed
in America, too
The Red Scare
Because of growing isolationist attitudes
common after World War I and the Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia, there was a growing fear
that socialism or communism would spread to
the United States. This period of widespread
fear in the early Twenties was called the “Red
Scare”. The Espionage & Sedition Act, which
had been passed during WWI based on fears of
German spies, was now being used to fine and
jail any suspected “subversives” (people who
support a revolution against the government).
The main leader of the Red Scare was
Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. More
than 6,000 people were jailed during the socalled “Palmer Raids”. Many people were jailed
or deported without proper warrants or evidence.
Often those jailed had no direct connection to
radical groups and were forced into false
confessions. Fewer than 10% of those arrested
in the Palmer Raids were actually convicted of
subversive activities.
Isolationism
1920 Election
• As the 1920 presidential election
approached, the economic difficulties
were bad news for the party in power,
WW’s Democratic Party
• Many voters blamed the Ds for the hard
times
• Sensing the public’s anger – Republicans
looked for a candidate who would offer
new hope for American voters.
1920 ELECTION
Warren G. Harding – presidential candidate
with running mate Calvin Coolidge
Harding promised a return to
“normalcy” – returning the country
to stability & prosperity & peace
“America’s present need is
not heroics, but healing; not
nostrums (uncertain cures)
but normalcy (normal times);
not revolution, but
restoration.”
1920 Election
• Dems believed there was still support for
Wilson’s ideas for reform
• They nominated James M. Cox for
President, and Franklin D. Roosevelt for
VP
1920 Election RESULTS
• Harding’s promise of a return to normalcy captured
the public’s mood
• Harding won a landslide victory with about 60% of
the popular vote
SECTION 2: THE
HARDING PRESIDENCY
What He Did:
• Warren G. Harding’s
modest successes include
the Kellogg-Briand Pact
which renounced war as a
means of national policy
(signed by 15 nations, but
difficult to enforce), and the
Dawes Plan which solved
the problem of post-war
debt by providing loans to
Germany to pay
France/Britain who then
paid the U.S.
Harding 1920-1924
What He Did:
• Worked to strengthen the economy:
– Tax cuts for the wealthy as an incentive to
invest in business, create new jobs
– Trickle down theory, arguing that money
would only “trickle down” in small drops to
less-well-off Americans
– Result: an economic boom – new, better
paying jobs
CONGRESS LIMITS
IMMIGRATION
• Congress, in response
to nativist pressure,
decided to limit
immigration from
southern and eastern
Europe
• The Emergency Quota
Act of 1921 set up a
quota system to control
and restrict
immigration
America changed its formally
permissive immigration policy
A TIME OF LABOR
UNREST
• Strikes were
outlawed during
WWI, however in
1919 there were
more than 3,000
strikes involving
4 million
workers
BOSTON
POLICE STRIKE
• Boston police had
not received a raise
in years and were
denied the right to
unionize
• The National Guard
was called
• New cops
were
hired
STEEL MILL STRIKE
• In September of 1919, the U.S. Steel
Corporation refused to meet with union
representatives
• In response, over 300,000 workers struck
• Scabs were hired while strikers were
beaten by police and federal troops
• The strike was settled in 1920 with an 8hour day but no union
COAL MINERS’ STRIKE
Lewis
• In 1919, United Mine Workers led by John L.
Lewis called a Strike on November 1
• Lewis met with an arbitrator appointed by
President Wilson
• Lewis won a 27% pay raise and was
hailed a hero
WHAT HE DID WRONG:
Widespread Corruption
Warren G. Harding was President from 1921 until his death in 1923 during one of
the most corrupt & lawless periods in American history. Harding appointed many
of his unqualified friends (the so-called 'Ohio Gang') to important government
jobs. These “friends” used their power steal over $200 million from various
federal agencies and bribe others officials to ignore these actions. The most
famous scandal involved Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall, who was bribed to
transfer a valuable government owned oil field in Wyoming (called the Teapot
Dome) to private businessmen. He accepted large sums of 400,000 and gifts from
private oil companies. In exchange, Fall allowed the companies to control govt
oil reserves. The Teapot Dome Scandal was exposed and eventually led to the
jailing of many of those involved. Furthermore, the recently passed 18th
Amendment that outlawed the manufacture and sale (but not consumption) of
alcohol was weakly enforced by the Volstead Act passed by Congress. This weak
law did little to stop alcohol smuggling (called “bootlegging”) and bribing of
prohibition agents. Many Americans believed the general respect for law and
order was on the decline.
The oil scandal had
the power to crush
the future of
politicians and oil
men alike.
Misconception Alert
• Many people distrusted the government after
the scandal
• Although Harding made a costly mistake by
allowing Albert Fall to control certain
government oil reserves, he did not take the
situation lightly, He spoke to friends about
having been betrayed by those he trusted.
• His health declined because of the strain
• As Harding and his wife crossed the country on
their way to Alaska, he gave eighty-five
speeches, tiring himself further
• He collapsed in San Francisco of a heart attack
and died 4 days later
SACCO & VANZETTI
• The Red Scare fed
nativism in America
• Italian anarchists Sacco
& Vanzetti were a
shoemaker and a fish
peddler
• Convicted of robbery
and murder despite
flimsy evidence, their
execution was symbolic
of discrimination
against radical beliefs
during the Red Scare
THE KLAN RISES AGAIN
• As the Red Scare
and anti-immigrant
attitudes reached a
peak, the KKK was
more popular than
ever
• By 1924, the Klan
had 4.5 million
members
1920s: TOUGH TIMES FOR
UNIONS
• The 1920s hurt the labor
movement
• Union membership
dropped from 5 million
to 3.5 million
• Why? African Americans
were excluded from
membership and
immigrants were willing
to work in poor
conditions
Ford Foundry workers in 1926;
only 1% of black workers were in
Unions at the time
SECTION 3: THE
BUSINESS OF AMERICA
• The new president,
Calvin Coolidge, fit the
pro-business spirit of
the 1920s very well
• His famous quote:
“The chief business of
the American people is
business . . .the man
who builds a factory
builds a temple – the
man who works there
worships there”
President Calvin Coolidge
1924-1928
AMERICAN BUSINESS
FLOURISHES
• Both Coolidge and his
Republican successor
Herbert Hoover, favored
governmental policies
that kept taxes down and
business profits up
• Tariffs were high which
helped American
manufacturers
• Government interference
in business was minimal
• Wages were increasing
THE IMPACT OF THE
AUTO
The Ford Model T was the first car in
America. It came only in black and
sold for $290. Over 15 million were
sold by 1927.
• The auto was the
backbone of the
American economy
from 1920 through
the 1970s
• It also profoundly
altered the
American
landscape
and
society
IMPACT OF THE
AUTO
Among the many changes
were:
• Paved roads, traffic lights
• Motels, billboards
• Home design
• Gas stations, repair shops
• Shopping centers
• Freedom for rural families
• Independence for women
and young people
• Cities like Detroit, Flint,
Akron grew
• By 1920 80% of world’s
vehicles in U.S.
AIRLINE TRANSPORT
BECOMES COMMON
• The airline industry
began as a mail
carrying service and
quickly “took off”
• By 1927, Pan American
Airways was making
the transatlantic
passenger
flights
When commercial flights
began, all flight attendants
were female and white
AMERICAN STANDARD
OF LIVING SOARS
• The years 1920-1929
were prosperous ones
for the U.S.
• Americans owned 40%
of the world’s wealth
• The average annual
income rose 35% during
the 1920s ($522 to $705)
• Discretionary income
increased
ELECTRICAL
CONVENIENCES
• While gasoline
powered much of
the economic
boom of the
1920s, the use of
electricity also
transformed the
nation
Electric refrigerators, stoves, irons, toasters,
vacuums, washing machines and sewing
machines were all new
MODERN ADVERTISING
EMERGES
• Ad agencies no longer
sought to merely
“inform” the public about
their products
• They hired psychologists
to study how best to
appeal to Americans’
desire for youthfulness,
beauty, health and wealth
• “Say it with Flowers”
slogan actually doubled
sales between 1912-1924
A SUPERFICIAL
PROSPERITY
• Many during the
1920s believed the
prosperity would
go on forever
• Wages, production,
GNP, and the stock
market all rose
significantly
• But. . . .
PROBLEMS ON THE
HORIZON?
• Businesses
expanded
recklessly
• Iron & railroad
industries faded
• Farms nationwide
suffered losses due
to overproduction
• Too much was
bought on credit
(installment plans)
including stocks