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Politics of the
Roaring Twenties
Chapter 12, Section 1
Warm up

What do you think is isolationism?
Postwar Trends

Nation divided over the League of Nations debate

Nativism – prejudice against foreign-born people

Isolationism – policy of pulling away from
involvement in foreign affairs.

Returning soldiers faced unemployment or took old
jobs from women and minorities.
Fear of Communism

Communism – economic and political system based
on single-party government ruled by a dictatorship.

The Red Scare
 Vladimir Lenin estab. Communist state in Russia
 Symbolized by a Red Flag
 Communist Party formed in the United States
 Several dozen bombs were mailed to government
and business leaders, the public grew fearful
Communists were taking over.
Fear of Communism

US Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer took
action against “Red Scare”
The Palmer Raids

August 1919, Palmer begins to
hunt down suspected Communists,
socialists, and anarchists



Anarchist – people who oppose
any form of government.
Trampled the civil rights of those he suspected.
Soon, the public decided Palmer didn’t know what he
was talking about.
Sacco &
Vanzetti




Nicola Sacco and Bartoleomeo Vanzetti
Both were Italian anarchists
Arrested and charged with robbery and murder
Found guilty and sentenced to death with
circumstantial evidence.
 “Suspects
appeared to be Italian”
Bartolomeo Vanzetti

Before execution on August 23, 1927
The Klan Rises Again


Used anti-communism as
excuse to harass different
groups.
KKK was devoted to
“100 percent Americanism”
 Keeping blacks “in their place”
 Opposing Unions
 Driving out Catholics, Jews, &
foreigners

Klan parade. Richmond, VA 1920s
The Klan Rises Again

Controlled some
state governments

Criminal activity
led to decrease in
power.
Limiting Immigration

Nativist sentiment:
“Keep America for Americans”


Immigrants worked for lower wages
Fear they were bringing Communism to the U.S.
The Quota System



Emergency Quota Act, 1921
Quota System – maximum number of people who
could enter the US from each country.
Did not apply to Western Hemisphere
Labor Unrest


Employers didn’t want to
give raises or let
employees join unions.
Employers labeled
strikers as Communists in
an effort to decrease
public support of unions.
Boston Police Strike





Police who asked for a raise were fired.
Remaining police decided to strike.
National Guard called
Mass governor, Calvin Coolidge said: “There is no
right time to strike against the public safety by anybody,
anywhere, any time.”
New police hired and strike ended.
Steel Mill Strike




Wanted to negotiate for shorter hours, living
wage, and union representation.
300,000 workers go on strike
Striking workers were beat by police and military
Ended Jan 1920, 3 years later a report about
working conditions shocked the public.
Steel Mill Strike Propaganda

Companies had
started propaganda
campaign calling
strikers communist.
Labor Movement Loses Appeal

Union membership dropped in the 20’s
1. Many immigrants willing to work in poor
conditions
2. Multiple languages hard to organize
3. Farmers who migrated to cities were use to
relying on themselves
4. Most unions excluded African Americans
The Harding
Presidency
Chapter 12
Section 2
Warren G. Harding


President 1921
Campaigned for “normalcy” of simpler
days before Progressivism and the Great
War
 America had been rapidly
transforming over the past twenty
years, Harding’s ‘Normalcy’ campaign
was very attractive to Americans
Harding Struggles for Peace

1921 Washington Naval
Conference

Invited major world powers (excluding
Russia) to Washington Naval
Conference, where Charles Evans
(Secretary of State) urged that no more
warships be built for at least ten years


Charles Evans Hughes,
Secretary of State
Urged disarmament at the
Conference
The idea being that, a world with less
military weapons is a safer world for
everybody
Delegates (England, France, Japan, Italy,
and USA) agreed to partially disarm and
scrap many of their largest warships.
High Tariffs and Reparations





Fordney-McCumber Tariff – raised
taxes on US imports to 60 percent
Britain and France couldn’t sell
enough goods to repay debts
Germany couldn’t make reparation
payments
France marched on Germany to
take either money or land
Dawes Plan – American investors
loaned Germany $2.5 billion to
repay war debts, in order to stop a
new war.
Scandal

Harding admittedly did not understand many of
the nation’s issues.

Harding’s cabinet was full of corruption and
illegal activity.
Teapot Dome Scandal



Government set aside oilrich lands in Teapot Dome,
Wyoming for US Navy use.
Secretary of the Interior,
Albert Fall leased the land
to private companies and
received $400,000
Embarrassment to
Republicans and Harding.
Harding:
“I have no trouble with my
enemies…But my…friends,
they’re the ones that keep me
walking the floor at nights!”
Harding Dies



August 2, 1923 – Harding
suddenly dies of natural causes
Calvin Coolidge takes over
presidency and is elected the
next year.
Coolidge helped restore
people’s faith in government
and the Republican Party.
The Business of
America
Chapter 12
Section 3
The Model A
Industries Flourish

Calvin Coolidge was the pro-business spirit of
the 1920s.

Believed in a lack of government oversight would
allow Businessmen to run their companies the most
efficient and effective way possible


Lassie Faire- Hands Off
“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.”
Industries Flourish


Republicans favored policies that would
 Keep taxes down and business profits up
 Give businesses more available credit to expand
 Allow private enterprise to flourish.
Wages and productivity were rising because of new
technology.
Impact of the Automobile





Construction of paved roads
Route 66 provided route from
Chicago to California
Garages and carports in homes
Automatic traffic signals
“Liberated the isolated rural family, who could
now travel to the city for shopping and
entertainment.”
Impact of the Automobile


Urban Sprawl – spreading out of city dwellers
Economic base for
Production Cities (Detroit, Dearborn, Flint, Pontiac)
 Oil-producing states (California and Texas)


Automobile became a status symbol
Airplane Industry


Began to be used to transport mail
Established form of peacetime travel.

Pan America had the first commercial Trans-Atlantic
Flight!
Electric Conveniences



Factories used electricity to run machines
Electricity available to cities and suburbs
Homes use electric appliances.

Washing Machines, Vacuums, Toaster Ovens, Refrigerators,
all made the life of a ‘homemaker’ easier, freeing up time for
women. This allowed women more opportunity to work and
experience more of life outside the home
Modern Advertising

Psychologists studied how to appeal to people’s
desires.
 “Say it with flowers”
 “Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet”
Producing Great Quantities of Goods


Business expands, companies merge,
manufacturing grows, chain stores sprout up,
national banks open “branches”
Farms are producing more crops with new
machinery.
Overproduction of crops cause the price of food to
drop, causing economic hardships for farmers.
 Many farmers, and farmers family members leave
the farm and move to the city, where the fast paced
unhindered lifestyle is new to them.

Buying Goods on Credit



Installment Plan – enabled people to buy goods
over an extended period.
“You furnish the girl, we’ll furnish the home.”
“Enjoy while you pay.”
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