The Decade of Normalcy

Transcription

1 The Decade of Normalcy Name: Class: The decade that followed WWI differed considerably from the years that came before it. Voters turned to leaders who promised to turn the country away from European affairs and focus on bringing the U.S. to a state of normalcy. The Election of 1920 In the election of 1920, Republican Warren G. Harding was considered a dark horse which means that he wasn t favored to win the election. A major topic during the election of 1920 was whether or not the U.S. should join the League of Nations. Harding said he favored a society of free nations to keep the peace. Based on Harding s quote, do you think Harding is for or against the U.S. joining the League of Nations? Based on his statement, many Republicans opposed to the U.S. joining the League of Nations believed Harding was against joining. Fortunate for him, many Republicans who wanted the U.S. to join the League of Nations believed Harding supported joining. What happened? Harding won an overwhelming victory with the help of his campaign slogan a return to normalcy. Harding declared that he would not lead the United States into the League of Nations by the side door, back door, or cellar door. What do you think this means?

2 After discontinuing the War Industries Board, business lost the very profitable contracts that they had with the government during the war. Many Americans and government leaders begin to steer towards isolationism. Isolationism - when a country avoids political and economic relations with other countries. Should the U.S. practice isolationism? Why or Why not? 4 million service men and women that were discharged from the military needed a job. Unemployment soared in 1920 and In 1922, Congress passed the Fordney-McCumber Act which raised import duties to high levels. This meant that items made in foreign countries and shipped to the U.S. to be sold were now more expensive. Why would the U.S. want the products being shipped in from foreign countries to cost more money? This protected young industries in the U.S. such as o Rayon o China o Optical-Glass o Chemical (we actually seized some of these patents from Germany during the war.) Business and Labor Unions During the 1920 s, the U.S. government had a laissez-faire attitude towards business. There was little effort to enforce the antitrust laws that regulated business mergers. Antitrust

3 The U.S. government stepped in and broke up labor strikes that occurred in the following industries o Steel o Railroad o Coal Immigration In the decade before WWI, approximately 1,000,000 persons a year came to live in the U.S. o During and after WWI, people became increasingly suspicious of immigrants. Partially because of groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. This secret society was designed to intimidate o African Americans o Catholics o Jews o Immigrants o Foreign ideas (such as the League of Nations) There was an anti-german hysteria. In 1921, President Harding signed into effect the Emergency Quota Act. This act cut the number of people admitted to the United States to only 3 percent of the total number of people in any national group already living in the United States (using 1910 census). For Example: There were 100,000 Italian immigrants living in the U.S. in How many Italian immigrants can be admitted to the U.S. in 1922? In 1924, Congress passed the National Origins Act which said that the total number of immigrants allowed in the U.S. per year would be 150,000. This act discriminated against or banned certain nationalities and races altogether from immigrating to the U.S. Such as o African o Japanese o Asian o Jewish

4 People were also afraid that Catholic immigrants would overthrow traditional Protestant values. Quotas were set very low for immigrants in Southern Europe (Catholic) and high for Northern Europe (Protestant). People feared Communists and Anarchists. o 1917 overthrow of the Royal Family in Russia (Revolution). o Assassination of President William McKinley. o Sacco and Vanzetti were two Italian immigrants and anarchists that were accused of killing two men during a robbery in Massachusetts in My conviction is that I have suffered for things that I am guilty of. I am suffering because I am a radical and indeed I am a radical; I have suffered because I was an Italian and indeed I am an Italian (Bartolomeo Vanzetti s final statement in court) Do you believe Sacco and Vanzetti received a fair trial? Why or why not? Scandals Among Harding s Advisers Harding s poker-playing friends, known as the Ohio Gang, used their ties to the President and the attorney general to o Sell appointments (government jobs) o Sell pardons o Sell Immunity from prosecution o Illegally leases naval oil fields to private companies (The Teapot Dome Scandal). Harding complained that he had been betrayed. He said he had no troubles with his enemies, but his friends they were a different story. Harding is disturbed by the scandal surrounding him and eventually dies of a heart attack. Calvin Coolidge becomes President. Calvin Coolidge Coolidge claims The business of America is business! During the 1920s many Americans went almost dizzy with prosperity. As business boomed and wages rose, former luxuries became necessities. A combination of

5 increased leisure time for both men and women, new gadgets, new amusements, and more money to spend resulted in people becoming addicted to wealth and the material objects that came with it. The Automobile and Electric industries take off which helps o Steel industries o Rubber industries o Coal industries Why do you suppose the automobile and electric industries helped other industries to prosper? The stock market was doing very well. The economy appears to be doing very well. Most people are doing extremely well. Farmers were the one great economic group that did not share in the prosperity. The average income for farmers in 1929 was less than one-third of the average income for the rest of the country.