Unit 4 Outline

History 2223    US History II

 
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THE TWENTIES-- Clash of Modernization and Traditionalism.

Impact of the failure to wrap up WWI neatly.  Why exactly did 50 million people die?  Followed closely by International Influenza outbreak that killed another 200 million people.  The bitter fight for ratification of the peace treaty left Americans spinning.  They questioned why then, they should really be involved in international affairs. 

WWI drastically increased the pace of modernization.-- The implementation of technological and philosophical innovations into the governance.  The new foundation in science forced people to question their fundamental assumptions.  

New urbanization added to these uncertainties to create a climate of fear.  This manifested itself in:   

1.  Nativism-- WASP America threatened and reacting.

                          Driving forces :

Xenophobia and Ethnocentric outlook of Americans as superior.   

Paranoia--racial and rural/urban strife, religious persecution.

Why Nativism?

1.  Rejection of Wilson's policy of moralism  and idealism when he failed to deliver on post-war treaty--Americans questioned    involvement in war. Americans must hate enemy.

2.  Bolshevik Revolution, 1917. 

Americans feared monolithic Communist revolution and export of ideas.  Business used fear to crush labor.

3.  Rural/Urban Split--fear of city and power.

Results of Nativism:

A.  Red Scare.

1.  Fear of Labor Unions and revolution exaggerated.

2.  Industrial Workers of the World, IWW (Wobblies)                       engaged in sporadic violence, but no true threat.

 3.  28 states outlawed red flags.

4.  New York refused to seat Socialist legislators.

5.  American Legion formed initially to fight Communism.

6.  Federal intervention--Alien and Sedition Acts. People indiscriminately rounded up and deported.

B.  Immigration Restrictions.

1.  "New Immigrants" (South and East Europeans) originally brought over in Industrial Revolution now refused.  Irish also cut off--both groups had conflicting religions and lifestyles that became unacceptable.

2.  1921 "Emergency Quota Act."-- Census Based.

Used 1910 Census to set restriction quotas on certain groups of "new immigrants".

3.  1924, National Origins Act-- which used 1890 Census to derive quotas. 1890 was purer society--        more rural and protestant--less southern europeans.

4.  No Quota for Orientals--raised tensions with Japanese government.

5.  No quota on Mexican labor, which was still required by western farmers as a cheap labor source.

C.    Rise of the Ku Klux Klan.  Mainstream Americans mostly.

1.  Expanded to persecution of Catholics and Jews as well as blacks.

2.  1923, 5 million members--big in Oregon, Arizona, Washington D.C. and Missouri as well as South.-In fact, more out of south than in.

3.  Mostly patriotic, protestant, clean-living and family oriented--Just had one real vice--they like to kill people who were different.

Social Upheaval:

A. Prohibition, 18th Amendment.

The 18th Amendment to the Constitution--passed by Congress in 1917, and ratified by 3/4 of states by 1919--prohibited the manufacture or sale of alcoholic beverages within the boundaries of the United States.

The Volstead Act of 1919, also known as the National Prohibition Enforcement Act, gave the Eighteenth Amendment some teeth. It clearly defined an alcoholic beverage as one with an alcoholic content greater than 0.5 percent.

1.  Originally a Progressive reform, but also championed by "Old Immigrants" and fundamental religions.

2.  "Victory of corn belt over the conveyor

    belt"--Andrew Sinclair.

3.  War had stifled alcohol production anyway.  Grain                reserved for war effort.

4.  Prohibition Ignored by most, "Mississippi will vote dry as long as voters can drag themselves to the polls"--Will Rogers.

B.  Fundamentalism versus Modern Science.

1.  "Old Time Religion" viewed science as un-Christian.

2.  Laws passed outlawing the teaching of evolution.

3.  Scopes "Monkey" Trial--William J. Bryan versus  Clarence Darrow.  State of Tennessee found Scopes guilty, ordered him to stop teaching evolution.

C.  Hedonism.

A.  Philosophy of pleasure (a new departure).

B.  Loosening of protestant work ethic--leisure class expanded.

C.  New Technology led to loosening of families.

D.  Mass Production of automobiles provide new freedoms.

E.  Mass Media provided exposure to trends.

1.  Music--jazz, blues.

2.  Movies

3.  Novels--Zane Grey

4.  Newspapers

5.  Dance.

6.  Radio--events and music.  Rise of commercialism.

7.  Sports on a national level--heroes

8.  Fads--pole sitting, games and trends on a national scale.

F.  19th Amendment gave women a new sense of liberation.

G.  Prohibition justified law breaking (adventure).

Twenties:  Business Boosterism.

A.  Reaction to war-time socialization of some industry.

1.  Return to Laissez Faire.

2.  Government partnerships with business again.

3.  Rise of trade associations.

4.  Coolidge--"Business of America is Business."

Business movements of the twenties.

A.  Welfare Capitalism--"Managerial Revolution".

1.  Profit sharing.

2.  Better work environment.

3.  More responsible attitude toward profit.

4.  Company Unions to keep labor unions out.

5.  Influence of Freud--"happy worker is a better worker."

B.  Changing business.

1.  Mass production of automobile led to boom in highways and paved roads.

2.  Chain stores develop.

3.  Advertising on large scale--beginning of consumerism.

Period of Isolation?

Some commentators of the twenties claim that this was a period of international isolation.  They use the fact that the U.S. didn't join the league of nations.  But could the United States truly afford to isolated itself--especially in commerce?  Or was it more accurately:

Independent Internationalism

1.  After WWI, the U.S. became the world's leading economic power.  But the country needed markets to sell its surplus goods on.

The United States was the largest manufacturer and creditor in the world after WWI.  In fact, the policies of the 1920s were aggressively geared toward international trade.

a.  American exports nearly doubled during the 20s.

b.  U.S. investments abroad reached unprecedented levels.

Fortified by favorable tax laws and the State Dept.  U.S. money found its way into Germany, Japan, the Near East, and Latin America.

But because most of this was done without the use of force or much publicity, the isolationists could be appeased.

2. Washington Naval Conference--1921

Harding administration invited Great Britain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, China, and others to DC to create a series of interlocking multilateral treaties that limited construction of ships.  The US drastically needed to get out of the arms race or rivalries at sea.

3.  Entanglements from WWI:

a.  U.S. loans to European nations dictated that they could not remain hands-off.

b.  German reparations--  European allies claimed that they could only meet their payments if Germany paid its reparations.

Three Goals of foreign policy in 1920s.

1.  Market Expansion:  Invest Capital beyond continental borders.

2.  A stable internatinal market--required peace and safety.

3.  Prevention of Revolution--

Not very isolationist.

Politics in the 1920s.

Warren G. Harding.1920-1923 "Best of the second raters."  The opposite of Wilson

1.  Pro-business--Supported free enterprise, "I will use the power of the government to prevent labor unions and to protect open shops"--Attorney General under Harding.

Hoover as Secretary of Commerce encouraged the formation of Trade Associations--organization of firms in a single industry.  An effective way to reduce "unfair" competition.  Set prices based on formula and not laws of supply and demand. And with the justice department and the supreme court not outlawing this concentration, the conditions were right for a new round of trusts to pop up.

2.  Harding surrounded himself with  some of the best,    (Hoover, Sec. of Commerce) and also some of the         most corrupt cronies--"The Ohio Gang"--on his cabinet and staff.

a.  Teapot Dome Scandal.  Sec. of Interior Albert B. Fall got oil Elk Hill and Teapot Dome reserves from Dept. of Navy and secretly leased them secretly for almost $400,000.  Fall later convicted and became first former cabinet member to go to jail.

b.  Openly violated prohibition.

c.  But still maintained support of people.

C. Andrew Mellon--Secretary of the Treasury under Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover--policy of Political and Economic Retrenchment (reversal of progressive legislation). Plan included:

1.  Lower taxes on rich and reduce national debt.

2.  Cut federal expenditures.

3.  High Protective tariff.

4.  Return to unrestricted corporate enterprise.

5.  Cut estate, gift, and the maximum income taxes of the richest.

Harding Dies 1923.

D.  Calvin Coolidge. 1923-1928.

1.              Only real claim to fame was reaction to his calling out the national guard to break up police strike in Boston--one which became inflamed by his own lack of action. 

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933).-- did little as Warren G. Harding's vice president (1921-23), but Harding's death made him president.

But Coolidge was effective, especially in the wake of the Harding scandals.  And the American people kept electing him.  Probably could have won a second full term if he had decided to run.

Coolidge Called for:

1.  More tax reductions

2.  More efficiency in government.

3.  Better Race Relations

4.  Constitutional amendment to limit child labor.

5.  Minimum wage for women.,

But Coolidge didn't lobby congress and only got budget and tax cuts.

Election of 1924 won handily by Coolidge.

Didn't run again in 1928.

The Election of 1928

The presidential election of 1928 was one of the most significant in American history. It brought to light the effect of great demographic changes.

Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) was a representative of the Anglo-Saxon class, born into an Iowa Quaker family. Supporting business and Prohibition, Hoover was the Republican candidate for President in 1928. His campaign slogan promised

"A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage."

1.  Personal.

A.  Westbranch, IA--grew up in Oregon.

B.  Stanford University--Engineering.

C.  Became wealthy as mining engineer.

D.  Retired to enter public service.

2.  Public Service.

A.  Secretary of Commerce under Harding and Coolidge.

     1.  Pushed Association Movement.

B.  1928--defeated Al Smith for President.

1.  Victory of Rural over Urban, Immigrant, Catholic Progressive.

2. Promised two chickens in every pot and two cars in every

 garage--came back to haunt him.

    --Expanded on 7a.

1.  Outlawed "Yellow Dog" Contracts.

2.  Outlawed force to put unions down (Ford).

3.  Forced Management ot negotiate with Unions if

majority of employees voted for Union elections.

4.  National Labor Relations Board supervised elections.

5.  Allowed nationwide organization and strife in late 30s.

  --1937 UAW Sit-down strike, Flynt, MI (G.M.) lasted 30 days.

 --1939, Supreme Court upheld Wagner—Business  thought

 that it would be overturned like NRA and AAA.

C.  Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenancy Act.

Policy Issues later in term.

A.  FDR's COURT PACKING.

--Reforms had been overturned.

--If at 70, Justice did not retire, another justice could be added to the court.

--Did not pass, BUT...

                                            --During four terms, FDR replaced 7 of 9 justices.

        Established  liberal court.

B.  Conservative Coalition evolves in congress from 1938 elections.--Republicans and Conservative Democrats

voted down legislation all the way to the 60s.

Conclusions:

FDR and the New Deal

How New?

A.  New Left--FDR was too conservative (Howard Zinn).

1.  FDR blew it by keeping conservative coalition.

2.  Could have brought more Social Programs

3.  Norman Thomas--Socialist Presidential Candidate.

B.  FDR as Dictator--Too Liberal  (E. Robinson-Stanford).

1.  Roosevelt Revolution.--"Government and Executive Branch would be all powerful.

2.  Criticism of TVA and Social Security.

9.  Impact of the New Deal.

--Depression lingered on until WWII.

--US did not turn to Socialism or Fascism.