UNIT III LECTURE NOTES U.S. HISTORY II (231) FRANCIS I THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION A) Russia - Pre-revolution 1. 1905 war with Japan - Russia humiliated a. drains the Czar's treasury b. leads to riots and near revolution c. the Duma is formed - a parliamentary body which limits the Czar's powers some but not enough. 2. Russia is very backwards in relation to western Europe (industry and technology-wise) 3. the spirit of revolution never spreads to the countryside but does remain (and ferments) in the cities, particularly St. Petersburg/Petrograd. B) World War I 1. Russia does poorly 2. Czar Nicholas takes over control of the military/czarina Alexandra is basically running the government. She is German and many resent her. In addition Rasputin has a tremendous amount of influence in the Czar's household. Rasputin assassinated in late 1916. 3. massive desertions along the Eastern Front C) The March Revolution 3/8/1917 1. The people spontaneously rose up and demanded food in demonstrations in the capital city of Petrograd. 2. demonstrations increased in size. On March 10 the dreaded military police join the demonstrators. Massive civil unrest - strikes, occupations, some violence. 3. unrest spreads to Moscow. On March 15 the Czar abdicates. 4. The Duma establishes a provisional government. It is democratic in nature and is led by Kerensky. a. The new government is ineffective. Little improvement is made. b. they continue the war effort (partly because of the Allies) This is very unpopular with the Russian people. 5. The new government is led by the Mencheviks (Whites) and they are opposed by the Bolsheviks (Reds) led by Lenin. a. Lenin is a former exiled revolutionary b. he is brought back to Russia secretly by the Germans c. in return Lenin has promised to take Russia out of the war when he comes to power. D) The November Revolution (Red October) 11/7/1917 1. The Red Guard, the military wing of the Bolsheviks storm the Winter Palace and remove the provisional government. 2. Lenin is head of new government 3. Lenin and the Bolsheviks are opposed by many 4. March 1918 The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk - Russia withdraws from the war. They give up vast amounts of territory (Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and more) plus almost a quarter of their population to the Germans. E) Civil War ensues
1. Lenin establishes Soviets 2. Lenin establishes the Cheka (secret police) 3. Lenin is a dictator and he sets out to crush all opposition. It is Bolsheviks vs. Mencheviks 4. July 1918 Czar Nicholas and family are executed in order to remove them as a rallying point for the opposition 5. The Allies (U.S., Great Britain, France, and Japan send a combined force into eastern Russia ostensibly to protect the East-West rail line. They are later removed without incident. 6. 1920 The Bolsheviks, now called the Communists, are victorious. 7. Lenin begins a massive public works project to quickly bring Russia into the 20th century. 8. He begins the collectivization of farms 9. 1922 The U.S.S.R. is officially formed 10. 1924 Lenin dies. Stalin comes to power. F) The Communist Doctrine 1. Marx and Engels 1848 2. Lenin's interpretation - dictatorship and a command economy mixed = communism II THE RED SCARE IN AMERICA 1919-20 A) Post WWI turmoil causes fear and uncertainty by many Americans. The world was changing very rapidly, too rapidly for many Americans. B) massive immigration from war-torn Europe increases fear and intolerance 1. most of the immigrants are from southern and eastern Europe (darker skinned, Catholic, non- English speaking) 2.The Russian Revolution and the anarchy it seems to foster along with the anarchy throughout the former Central Power nations leads many to believe the U.S. is next. C) Lenin preaches worldwide revolution and actively encourages it. D) post-wwi recession leads to increased union activity. Many Americans see this as a communist/socialist plot 1. 3600 labor strikes in 1919 2. violence is associated with many strikes E) Palmer Raids - 1919 and 1920 III THE ELECTION OF 1920 A) Harding (Rep.) vs. Cox (Dem.) B) Harding calls for a 'return to normalcy' plays upon American's fear of change C) Harding wins easily IV EARLY ATTEMPTS AT WORLD DISARMAMENT A) Motivation
1. prevent a reoccurrence of WWI 2. head off rising Japanese power in the Far East 3. might prevent U.S. involvement in a future war 4. League of Nations is vehicle to implement it hopefully B) The Washington Conference 1921-22 1. reduced the size of navies 2. pro-rated basis C) Kellog-Briand Treaty 1928 1. 63 nations sign renouncing war as an instrument of foreign policy 2. never works V THE ROARING TWENTIES A) Causes of the Roaring 20s 1. post-wwi euphoria and FEAR (life is short) 2. new inventions a. consumer goods and new manufacturing techniques b. leads to a consumer buying boom 3. increased leisure time a. work week is being shortened b. people need things to occupy their leisure time 4. new methods of buying a. installment buying (credit) b. leads to a boom in advertising and banking 5. age of materialism VI PROHIBITION 18TH AMENDMENT 1919 A) Volstead Act 1. makes the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages illegal 2. federal law B) WHY? 1. abstinence had been the norm during WWI a. ingredients went to other uses b. mood of self-sacrifice prevalent c. un-american- many breweries were German names anti-german prejudice 2. we have made the world safe for democracy, now the battle is societal problems 3. women's rising political power a. suffragist movement allied with temperance b. they work at the state and local level first C) Prohibition is widely ignored 1. Drinking did decrease but problems did not 2. led to a general disregard for the law D) Organized crime increases VII WOMEN GET THE VOTE 19TH AMENDMENT 1920 A) women allowed to vote in national elections
B) many states and localities already allowed it in their elections C) Harding vs. Cox is the first presidential election women vote in. VIII COMPARISON OF THE 1920S AND THE 1980S A) Laissez-faire government B) materialism C) consumer goods D) crime E) prosperity and bust IX THE STOCK MARKET CRASH 1929 A) How does the stock market work? (use H/O # 6) 1. place for companies to raise capital 2. companies sell shares to investors through brokers 3. each share represents a portion of the company 4. the price is determined by the market. The value of the stock goes up or down depending on the desirability of the stock. a. this is influenced by the health of the company b. and by speculators 5. How money is made on the stock market a. dividend - sharing in the profits of the company b. speculation 6. speculation creates a volatile market 7. 1920s - prices keep going up because speculative demand is high. a. Why? get rich quick stories (lottery) b. buying on margin B) Buying on margin (use H/O # 5) 1. a way to buy stocks on credit 2. banks back brokers' loans 3. loans are payable on demand, but no one worries 4. paper profits soar. This is then used as collateral for further loans. 5. stock market was a house of cards built on these paper profits C) The Crash October 24, 1929 Black Thursday 1. panic sets in, prompted by rumors. Massive selling takes place. 2. prices drop dramatically 3. it was hoped that the weekend would calm things down 4. Market reopens, bolstered by wealthy financiers and banking houses 5. By Tuesday, 10/29/1929 (Black Tuesday) the bottom drops out X CAUSES OF THE DEPRESSION A) World War I
1. leads to a world-wide depression, particularly in Europe. 2. European manufacturing and farming is devastated. 3. U.S. makes profits selling to Europe 4. This delays the onset of recession/depression here in the U.S. B) Farm Problems 1. farmers were encouraged to expand during WWI and early 20s. 2. This meant huge loans 3. no problem as long as farm prices stayed high 4. By early 1920s farm prices begin a steady decrease 5. overproduction and underconsumption (as European farms come back on line) = reduced buying power for farmers a. farmers are backbone of U.S. economy b. biggest single consumer group in U.S. C) Consumer goods (overproduction/underconsumption) 1. new technology led to new consumer goods 2. installment buying helps consumers to buy (and enjoy) now 3. this gives a false sense of prosperity to nation a. high sales initially b. durable goods sales are part of this c. installment buying ties up consumer money in loan repayments d. buying power restricted/disposable income restricted D) Stock speculation 1. money spent on stocks would have been better spent as investments in industry 2. the speculation boom hides the instabilities in the market 3. when the crash comes people do one of two things a. lose their life savings and their play money b. withdraw their savings to cover losses and monthly expenses 4. this leads to bank failures E) Bank failures 1. a result of the depression, not a cause 2. when the crash occurs, the banks who have loaned out lots of money try and protect themselves. a. they call in their loans b. they stop new loans 3. people begin to withdraw their savings out of the banks 4. banks cash reserves go down 5. loans are not repaid 6. banks have money going out, none coming in. They must close. 7. remaining depositors lose their money F) self-generating effects of the depression (use H/O # 7) XI HOOVER ATTEMPTS TO STEM THE DEPRESSION A) Review of Hoover's political philosophy 1. laissez-faire 2. economy is a beast of nature
B) Three actions 1. called business and financial leaders together and asked for voluntary help FAILED 2. Hawley-Smoot Tariff a. tried to curb foreign competition b. initiated by Congress (knee-jerk reaction) c. Hoover opposes it d. reaction abroad - retaliation 1. foreign trade drops 2. U.S. companies open foreign plants to avoid tariffs imposed by other nations 3. costs American jobs 3. RFC Reconstruction Finance Company 1932 a. too little, too late b. trickle-down economics c. FDR used the same ideas later in the New Deal C) Fear of Revolution 1. Communists and Socialists make some gains but they are not large 2. Why didn't a revolution take place? 3. Ballot Box Revolution XII THE ELECTION OF 1932 A) FDR vs. Hoover B) it isn't even close