A Republican Decade
Warren G Harding
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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 PalmerAttorney 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 unAmerican 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 HooverSecretary of Commerce
• Charles Evan HughesSecretary of State
• Andrew MellonSecretary 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.