US HISTORY TIMELINE
12 Segments (1776-1918)
US Independence
The Early Years
Louisiana Purchase
War of 1812
Westward Expansion
Industrial Revolution
Civil War
Reconstruction
Populating the West
Industrial Age and Immigration
US Becomes World Power
World War I
In small groups, read from your text to
find out the experience of your
person, place or thing:
• Page 752 (paragraph under “Return
to Peace…)
• Page 753 (last paragraph, left side
and first paragraph, right side)
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Returning soldier
Products
Wealthy Man
Harding
Average Worker
The Economy
The Politics
of the 1920’s…
leading into the 30’s
Republicans
Democrats
A Time of Labor Unrest
• Strikes were
outlawed during
WWI, however, in
1919 there were
more than 3,000
strikes involving 4
million workers.
American Postwar Issues
• The American public
was exhausted from
World War I. Public
debate over the League
of Nations had divided
America. An economic
downturn meant many
faced unemployment. A
wave of nativism swept
the nation.
Isolationism
• Many Americans adopted a belief in
isolationism. This meant pulling
away from involvement in world
affairs.
Communism in the
Soviet Union
Lenin
• In 1917, a revolution in
Russia transformed the
nation into a Communist
state, the Soviet Union.
Vladimir Lenin led the
Bolsheviks and overthrew
the Czarist regime. He
was inspired by Marxism,
a radical form of socialism
that advocates violence. A
Communist party was
formed in America too.
I am new to this country…
• Define for me what our government
is like
What political party
are you…why?
http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm
There are three major types of
governments:
Anarchy: no government
Limited government: constrained by
constitutional law and deriving its power
from the people
Totalitarian government: arbitrary and
unconstrained, deriving its
power by force
**Refer to worksheet
Government
Match
Game
• Communism – (Marxism) “hard core”
Socialism where the economy is controlled by
the government. There is little or no private
property. The rulers are generally dictators
and hold “all” the power.
• Socialism – Government controls means of
production and resource distribution to ensure
all people’s needs are met.
• Libertarianism – Government should be as
limited as possible (extreme form of
liberalism).
Rock, Papers, Scissors
• How did you feel at the start of the game?
• How did you feel when you ran out of cards and had
to sit down?
• What tactics could you have used to get back into
the game?
• Was the game fair?
• What could I have done to make it fair and should I
do it?
Capitalism
• Private ownership of industry
• Freedom of competition
• Results in unequal economic classes
• Class struggles
Socialism
• Government ownership of industry
• Goal is to bring economic equality
• Aims for a classless society
Communism
• Goal of classless society achieved and no
government needed
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MORE
INFO
Sacco & Vanzetti
• Fear of Communism took
the form of a Red Scare
(anti-communist hysteria)
and fed nativism in America.
Italian anarchists Sacco &
Vanzetti, a shoemaker and a
fish peddler, were convicted
of robbery and murder,
despite flimsy evidence.
Their execution was
symbolic of discrimination
against radical beliefs during
the Red Scare.
Immigration
Compare articles
The Harding Presidency
NORMALCY
• Warren G. Harding’s modest
successes include the
Kellogg-Briand Pact which
renounced war as a means of
national policy (signed by
fifteen nations, but difficult to
enforce).
Harding 1920-1924
Scandal Hits Harding
• The president’s main
problem was that he
didn’t understand the
issues and put friends
in high positions.
“I have no trouble with my
enemies, but my friends
keep me walking the floors
at night.”
Teapot Dome
Scandal
• The worst case of corruption
was the Teapot Dome
Scandal. The government
set aside oil-rich public land
in Teapot, Wyoming.
Secretary of Interior Albert
Fall secretly leased the land
to two oil companies. Fall
received $400,000 from the
oil companies and a felony
conviction from the courts.
The Juggernaut
The Business of America
Harding dies of
a heart attack
believed to be
caused by
stress.
President Calvin Coolidge
1924-1928
• The new president, Calvin
Coolidge, fit the probusiness 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”
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.
In 20 words or less…
• How would you
describe the
economy and
politics of the
1920’s?
• Did you notice
any similarities
to the present?
Show me what you remember…
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Isolationism
Bolsheviks
Sacco & Vanzetti
Harding
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Dawes Plan
Teapot Dome Scandal
Coolidge
Hoover
The
1920’s
Did they
ROAR or
YAWN?