C#ruSTETUFB#ft€AL
Azu#LEGATESSUES
Major constitutionaland legal issuesdivided Americans in the
1920s.Many of them reflectedthe sur:gglebeween modern and uaditionai vatrues.They aiso showed how internacionalaffairs affecred
domesticpolicies.
TfueRed Seere
As you read in Unit 3, the governmenttook drastic stepsduring
Worid War I to suppressdissent.Stern measurescontinued through
1919 and into 1920 in a crusadeagarnstinternal enemiesknown as the
Red Scare. Some Communistswere affected, although they made up
only one-half of I percentof the population. However, the crackdown
targeted many other Americans viewed as "un-American," among
them socialists, anarchists,labor leaders,and foreigners.
The crusade was led by U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell
Falrner. It was sparkedby severalevenrsthat took place after the war
ended. There were race rioa in over 25 cities. A seriesof strikes climaxed with a walkout by Boston police. Severalunexplainedbombings added to the hysteria. All these evenrs were seen as part of a
Communistconspiracy.
The Attorney General ordered the first so-cailed Palmer raids
late in 1919. In 33 cities, police (without warrana) raided the headquartersof Communist and other dissident organizations. Eventually
they arrested4.000 people, holding them wirhout chargesand denying
them legal counsel. Some560 alienswere deponed.Palmer'sextreme
actionsand statementssoon turned the public againsrhim. But the Red
Scarehad lingering effects, discouraging many Americans from speaking theii minds freely in open detrate.
SACCO AND VANZETTI
Closely linked to rhe Red Scarewas
the fate of Nicola Sacco and Bartolorneo Vanzetti. These two Italian
immigrants, admitted anarchists.werc convicted of murder in l92l in
connectionwith a Massachusensrobbery. Many people questionedthe
evidence against Sacco and Vanzeni, concluding that the two men
were convicted more for their beliefs and their Italian origin than for a
cnme. In spite of massdemonstraticnsand appeals,the two men werc
executedin 1927. ln L977,50 years later, the Massachusettsgovernor
clearedthe rwo men,
THE KU KLUX KLAN
Anti-foreign attitudesencourageda revival of the Ku Klux Klan. The frst organization,acrive during the
Reconstructionperiod. had died out in rhe late 1800s.A reorganized
Klan, formed in 1915,grew slowly until 1920.[n that year, ir added
100.000members.The KKK of the 1920swas not only anti-blackbut
also anti-Catholic,anti-Semiric,and anti-tbreign.The Klan stood for
" 100 percentAmericanism." which meant that the only tnre Americanswere white. Protestant.and American-born.
FGffiffiEGF€
F#LECY
In 1914 the United Stateswas a dehtor ne6ion, nTeaningrhar ir
owed more money to foreign nations than they owed to rhe United
$tates.in the 1920sthe United staresbecamethe worid's leadlngcnedi6or maEioar,
meaning that other countriesowed more to rhe United
Sutes than it owed them. The nation was aiso the worid's leading
industnal producer,exporter. and financier. These changeswere due
in large part to money fronTthe payrnentof war debts owed this nation
by the former Allies.
The War Debt ControveFsy
During World War I, as you reviewed in Unit 3, the European
Allies borrowed a great deal of money from the United Statesin order
to buy war supplies from American manufacturers. After the war,
thesedebts became a sourceof conflict. Europeannations argued that
rheu debts should be canceledbecause.while the United Stateshad
contributed money, Europe had paid a heavy pnce in lives. But the
United Statesinsistedon repayment.
A factor that made rcpayment difficult was U.S. protectionist
policy. High American nriffs limited Europeantrade with the United
States,and thus reducedearningsthat might have been used to pay off
war debts. These tariffs also led to remliation by 26 natrons which
raisedtheir own tadff rates.
One step aimed at making repaymenteasierwas the Dawes Plan,
adopted in 1924. Under this plan, the United Stateslent funds to Germany so that it could make war reparations-money paymentsit owed
to the EuropeanAllies. The Allies would in turn use the funds to make
payments on the war debts they owed the United States.
The Searchfor Peaceand Arms Control
AithoughtheUnitedStatesfailedto join theLeagueof Nations.it
wasstill concernedwith keepingthe peace.
. In l92l PresidentHardinghostedthe WashingtonNaval Confer'
ence.The UnitedStates.Britain, France.Italy, andJapanagrcedto
setlimits on the numberof warshipseachnationcouldbuild. They
alsopledgedto keepthe peacein Asia andto Protectthe independenceof China. The conference.however,failed to establishany
meansof enforcement.
. tn 1928, 15 nationsmet in Paristo sign the Kellogg'Briand Pact,
provisions
Enforcement
which outlawedwar exceptin self-defense.
weremissingfrom the pact which 60 nationseventuallysigned.
U.S.loans
($"Germarry)
GermarryPa\rs
reparations
toAlties\-/,
Allies pay
war debts
toU'S'
1920
WarrenG. Harding
electedPresident
1926
U.S.Marinesoversee
Nicaraguaelections
1928
U.S.signs
Kellogg-Briand
Pact
1923
1919
RedScare
breaksout
19A
CalvinCoolidge
succeeds
Emergency
Harding
Ouota Act passed;
Washington
Conferenceheld
THEPOLITICS
OFTHE1920s
The 1920landslideerectionof warren G. Hardingandcalvin
coolidge represented
a desireof manyAmericansto removethemselvesfrom the pressures
of world politicsandthe idealisticgoalsof
the hogressives.Disillusioned,manyAmericanswantedto rerurnto
the tradidonalforeignpolicy of isolationismandto a lesshecticsocial
and polirical life for our narion.Hardingrespondedto this national
moodwhenhe saidthat "America'spresentneed. . . is normalcy."
The Harding Administration
Hardingwasanohio newspaper
publisher,
whohadlittleexperienceor inrerestin politics.To his crcdir,he (a) pardonedsocialist
EugeneDebs,servinga prisontermfor opposingthewar,and(b) supportedantilynchinglegislation.penonally,Hardingwas an honeit
man.He appoinred
someralenred,
dedicated
peopleto office.including charlesEvansHughesassecretary
of state.dut thepresident
also
gavepolitical jobs ro membenof the so-calledohio Gang, conupr
who tookadvanrage
associates
of him. After Harding'sdeathin 1923.
thepubliclearnedof severalscandais
duringhis adminisrration.
These
included:
' Theftin theveteransBureau.Its head,whosoldhospiralsupplies
for
his own profit, wasimpnsonedandhned.
' Fraudby the Alien Properrycustodian.He wasimprisonedfor selling formerGermanpropenyfor privateprofit.
' The TeapotDomeScandal.Secretary
of thelnteriorAlbcrtFall was
convictedof acceptingbribesfrom two oil executives
in exchange
for allowingthemto leasegovernment-owned
petroleumreserves.
One of the oil heldswasar TeapotDome,Wyoming.
1927
Saccoand
Vanzettiexecuted;
U.S.and Mexico
reachcompromise
Electionof 1920
Repr.rblicans
Wanen G. Harding
7f/o ol electoral vote
TE.{E
ECONOMYOF THE ,E92SS
The end of World War I was followed by a recession.causedby
the shift from a wartime to a peacetimeeconomy. hoduction, farm
income, and exports fell. Unemploymenrrose, reaching I2 percent in
1,92L.By 1923, however, a pcriod of economic rccovery had begun.
The Coolidge Administration
vice hesidentcalvin coolidgetrecamehesidentwhenHarding
died in office in 1923.A yearlaterhewaselectedhesidenrin his own
right. He is bestknown for his srong commitmentro businessinrerests.
Coolidge Prosperity
Coolidgereained the financierfuidrew Mellon as Secrctaryof
the Treasury.Mellon continuedto act on the philosophythat government'srole wasto senyebusiness.
The yearsberween1923and 1929wereseenas a time of booming business.The GrossNationalhoduct (GNP)rose40 Percent.Per
capita incomewent up 30 percent.Sincetherewas little inflation,
acrualpurchasingpower, and thercforcthe standardof living, also
increased.Yet when the stockmarketcrashedin 1929pcopleques'
tionedthis "Coolidge prosperity."
Werethe 1920sa Time of BusinessBoom
or FalseProsperity?
In orderto answerthatquestion,let us look at variousaspectsof
the economy.
GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC POLICIES The government's
majoreconomicpolicieshelpedonly cenaingroupsandoftenhun the
big corporations
economyin the long term.SomegrouPs.especially
Endthe wealthy,benefitedgreatlyfrom CoolidgeprosPerity.
' Businesses
and the most wealthywerc helpedby tax laws which
reducedpersonalincometax rates,particularlyfor upper income
groups,removedmostexcisetaxes,and loweredcorporateincome
taxes.
' Reducingthenationaldebtandbalancingthebudgetwerecarried
out
by raisingtariffs anddemandingrepaymenr
of war deba.
' Tariff mteswereraisedin a rcturnto prote*ionism.while Republicansarguedthathighertariffswouldlimit foreignimpora. rhushelping both industryandagriculturc,the actualeffectwils to weakenthe
world economy.
' Regulatoryagenciessuchasthe FederalReserveBoard,theFederal
Tradecommission,andthe lnterstatecomrnercecommissionwerc
snffed with peoplewho sawtheirroleashelpingbusiness
rarherthan
regulatingit.
' A relaxedanirudetowardcorporatemergerswas supportedby the
executivebranchand by the SupremeCourt, which continuedto
" By 1929about1,300corporarions
applythe l9l 1 "rule of reason.
producedthree-fourthsof all Americanmanufacrured
goods, and
200 companies
ownedhaif the narion'swealth.
Electionof 1g24
Republicans
Calvin Coolirtge
77/o of electoral r,ote
Democrats
John W Davis
2f/o of electoral
Shifting Cultural Values
Thc RoaringTwentiessaw a revolutionin Americanlifestyle,
with a shorterwork weekandwith morepaidvacation,Americans
had
moreleisuretime in whichto pursuepleasure.
LEISURE MoviessuchasThe Ten comrnandmentsandthelust
talking picrure.The Jazz Singer, drew 100miilion peoplea weekto
theaters.Americansidolizedmovie stan like charlie chaplin. They
alsoadmiredsuchsporrsfiguresas BabeRuth andRed Granee.
PopularHeroesof the Twenties
Arnericanseagerfor a god time enjoyedjazz and blues,styles
createdin the Sourhby black musiciansbut sooncarriedall over rhe
country and abroad.This distinctivelyAmericanmusic-to which
peopledancedsuchdaringnew stepsas the charleston-becameso
popularthattheperid of the rwenriesis oftenca[ed the JerzAge.The
nventieswerealsoa timewhenfadssweptthecounury.
Theseincluded
bridge,crosswordpuzzles,andthe boardgameof mah-jongg.
LITERATURE rhe conflictcreatedby changingAmericanvalues
sawexpression
in literatureaswell asin musicandthemovies.American wriren of the twenticscrearcdmanyenduringworks of litcrarure.
severalwritersprotestedthe effectsof technologyandmassconsumption. They criticized the businessmentaliry,the conformity of rhe
times, and Americans'preoccupation
with marerialthings.some,
calledexpatriates,evenleft the unitedstatesto settlein Europe.
LeadingWritersof the Twenties
T.S. Eliot
'
W.ilIiamFaulkner'
TIuESound an^d.
the Frry
F. Scou Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsbv
'
ErnestHemingway
LangstcnHughes
TheWearyBluzr
I Msin Street,Babbitt
Sinclairl*wis
H-L- Merrcken
EugeneO'Neill
A Farewell to Arms
'
,
',
' i;"irdices"
ThcAmerican
Languoge
Desbe Uftde, the EIms
E:ra Pound
Canws
klith Wbarton
The Ageof Innocence
Wamen's Changing Rotes
The conflict benpeenmodernand taditional values,so mucha
partof thetwenties,is particularlyclearwhenthecontradictory
rolesof
womenare exarrrined.
THE woRKFoRCE
women lost manyjob opporrunities
when
world war I endedin 1918.Even so, the numberof womenin the
work forceincreasedthroughoutthe 1920s.By 1930, 10.5 million
womenwereworkingoutsidethe home.They madeup 22 percentof
the work force;this figure, however,represented
an increaseof only
1.4 percentof the total work force.
The influenceof tradition can be seenin m?ny aspecrsof
women'sworkinglives.Mostworkingwornenweresingle,widowed,
or divorced.While more marriedwomenworkedthan ever before.
mostAmericansstill believedthat marriedwomenbelongedat home,
andthatis where90 percentof themwereto be found.Whenworking
womenmarried,they usuallyquit or weredismissedfrom theirjobs.
Most womenwhodid work continuedto holdjobs in traditionally
female-and uaditionallylow-paying,low-starus.andlow-mobiiityoccupationssuch as teaching.clerical work, and retail sales.Fewer
than20 percenrworked in bener-payingfactoryjobs. The numberof
femaledoctorsandscientistsacruallydecreased,
at a rimewhenalmost
a third of graduatedegreeswereearnedby women.
one importantgain for workingwomenwasthecreationin 1920
of the women's Bureau, part of the Departmentof Labor. It tried to
improve conditionsby working inside the governmentfor women
workers,and aisoprovideddataaboutthem.
POLITICS In i920 womenvotedin a nationalelectionfor thefust
time. But their vote had linle effect on rhe outcome.women did not
vote in large numbers,nor did they vote as a bloc. To encourage
womento play a largerpart in politics,theNationalAmericanwoman
SuffrageAssociationreorganizeditself as rhe nonpanisanLeagueof
Women Voters.
The divisionsof the I920swerereflectedin thefateof two different piecesof legislation.Encouragedby womenreformen, Congress
passedthesheppard-TownerAcitin 1921.wirh rheaim of reducing
infantmortalityrates,the law providedfor publichealthcenrerswhere
womencouldlearnaboutnutritionandhealthcare.The programcame
to an end in L929,largelybecauseof oppositionfrom physicians.An
Equal Rights Amendmentro the constitution,proposedin 1923,led
to biner disagreemenr
amongwomen.Many feministssupportedit.
But othersopposedit becausethey believedit would do away wirh
speciallawsprotectingwomenworken.
DAILY LIFE The "new woman" of rhe 1920swasrheflapperyogng and pretty, with bobbedhair and shortskins. She drank, she
smoked.she was independent-minded,
and she took advantageof
women'snew freedom.Economic,political,and social limits still
restrictedevenflappers,however,and the imageitself meantlittle to
farm and factoryworken, to minorities,andto the poor.
In someways, technoiogymadelife easierin rhe 1920s.With
electricwashingmachines,
vacuumcleanen,stoves,andrefrigerators,
household
choresdid notrequiresomuchtime,andtherewaslessneed
for servants.On the otherhand,the rypicalhomemaker
now hadto
handleaimostall the household
tasks.
Familieschangedduring this period.Therewas a freer sexual
climate,sothatborhdivorceandfamilyplanningbecame
moreacceptable.Familysizedecreased;
only 20 percentof womenwho married
duringthe I920shadf,rveor morechildren.The family,whichin earlier timeshadbeena producingunit-growing andprocessing
muchof
its food-was now a consumingunir. Marketingand advertising
appealsfloodedthemedia.appealing
ro consumers
ro buy moregoods.
Nasre:
Date:
tx
atstud,ies
Seare
. ..cReeS
&IrEngthe R"edSsane?
B,fr,atFypecf peopiewru affiaeked
,
4it*hetlPalmerA&B what dld he do?
\\es
J.
"u*
wastakingplaec?
3jfvh-t **** p,*opteto tiri"e iCata Communisteorrspiracy
4. S/hatwerePahnerRaids?
*a A*i"g the rardsAhlD how manyweredepcrted?
6. What effect did the Red Scarehave on Americans?
7. WhatcrimewereSaccoandVanzettiaccusedof?
g Whatdid manyfeel therealreasonwas for their a.rrest?
to SaccoandVanzetti?
9. Whathappened
Ku Klux Klan form?
10.Whendid the reorgan:zed
What did the new Klan now standfor?
for theU.S.?
t X +lo ttret gZO'secononrically
13.DefineDebtorNation.
14.DefineCreditorNation15. Why did the changeoccur?
@uropeans
not wantto pay theirdebtsto the U.s.?
of the debtsdifficult?
i7. Whatmadetherepayrnent
18.Whatwasthepurposeof theDawesPlan?
19.Whatwasthepurposeof the WashingtonNavalConference?
-
t Whatwasthepurposeof theKellogg-BriandPact?
SocialStudies1l
TheFrliticsof The 1920's
Name:
Da!e:
Vhatdid the electionofWarren Harding indicateaboutAmericanattitudesin 1920?
2. Name hvo positive thrngsHarding did during tns presiOetrcV.
3. Explain what happenedduring the TeapotDome Scandal-
4. DefinethetermRecession(use
a dictionary).
5. Whatis CalvinCoolidgebestknownfor?
6. who wursAndrewMellon AND whatwashis philosophy?
7. Nametwo reasonsfor "Coolidgeprosperity.,'
8. DefineGrossNationalProduct(use
a dictionary).
n DefureInflation(usea dictionary).
lu. Whobenefitedfrom Coolidgeprosperity?
I 1. Whatwasthe purposeof raisingtariffs?Whatwasthe actualeffect?
12. How many companiesownedhalf the nation's wealth?
Societyand Culture
ShiftingCulturalValues
Name:
Date:
1. S/hy did Americanshavemoretinnefor pleasurein the 20's?
2. Whatwasthe film with audibledialogue?
3. How many people were going to the movies on a weekly basesduring the
20's?
4. Whatwasthe new form of musiccreatedjust prior to tlre 20's andw,ho
createdit?
5. Whatwas oneof the new dancescreatedduringthe decade?
6. Namethreefadsfrom the decade.
7. Whatdid somewritersprotestagainstduringthe 20's?
8. Name3 writers andtheir works from the decade.
9. Whatis an expatriate?
10.Whatwasthe percentage
of womenworking by the endof the decade?
Why is this figure misleadine?
11. Namethreecommoncharacteristics
of manyof the workingwomenof
the20's?
12.Whatwasthe purposeof the Women'sBureau?
13.Whatwasthe purposeof the Sheppard-Towner
Act?
14.Describea "Flapper."
15.Describethe changesin fanrily life duringthe 20's-