1920s: American Culture and Disillusionment 1
Learning Objectives and Thematic Questions 1. Analyze the movement toward social conservatism and the cultural conflicts over the issues of race, religion, evolution, and prohibition. 2. Explain the Republican administration s policies of isolationism, disarmament, and hightariff protectionism. 3. Describe the interrelatedness of international loans, war debts, and reparations payments and how the U.S. dealt with it. 2
Disillusion and postwar America The Red Scare: 1919-1920 -reaction to the Russian Revolution of 1917 fear of the spread of communism labor disputes in the U.S. increased after the war labor/mgmt tension; wartime controls lessened series of strikes by labor 3
Anti-immigrant feelings most radicals wee new immigrants increase in nativism public demanded radicals be suppressed the Palmer Raids Mitchell Palmer; U.S. Attorney General the Sacco-Vanzetti case (1920) payroll hold-up anarchist, immigrant, anti-foreign, executed 1927 4
The Ku Klux Klan reborn during the 1920's anti-foreign, nativist (like 1850's) concentrated in South, Middle West extremist, ultraconservative uprising against the forces of diversity and modernity currently transforming American culture 5
Anti-immigrant feelings 6 Nativist sentiment; fear of a flood of post-war European immigration Congress established QUOTA SYSTEM (1921) (3% / 1910) National-origins base (1910) reduced immigration to a trickle discriminated against aliens from southern & eastern Europe
7 Immigration Act of 1924 quotas cut from 3 % to 2 % national origins base changed to 1890 (favored old immigrants) purpose was to freeze existing racial composition of U.S. U.S. abandoned "melting pot" theory
Prohibition 8 Eighteenth Amendment ratified 1919 prohibited manufacture, transporting, sale of alc. beverages rural/urban views clearly divided over Prohibition triumph of rural over urban America Reasons for rural victory Progressive era reformers supported temperance wartime food needs/grain conservation dislike of foreigners, old world habits, city workers
Enforcement problems enforced under Volstead Act, 1919 strict enforcement impossible, especially in the cities prohibition bureau undermanned, inefficient, corruption Gangsters in the liquor traffic Al Capone, Chicago, most notorious hijacking, gang wars, murders gangster influence on law enforcement, govt. corruption 9
10 Negative effects of Prohibition widened rifts in American society; city/farm, native/immigrant/ whites/blacks undermined public morality; disregard for laws by leaders
Religious Fundamentalism and The Scopes Trial By 1920, U.S. was predominantly urban Protestant Fundamentalists rejected evolution, modern science Scopes Trial (1925) Scopes deliberately violated Tennessee anti-evolution law Wm. J. Bryan: crusader for moral, religious issues Clarence Darrow: defense 11
12 Significance of "Monkey Trial exposed danger of fundamentalist position on education fundamentalists continued their crusade.
The 1920s: 13 The Era of Normalcy The Politics of Republican Party Dominance: 1921-1932
Economic Prosperity of the 1920's Treasury Secretary Mellon's domestic economic policies lower taxes of the rich reverse Wilson's low tariff policy return to laissez faire reduce national debt Boom times after 1921-22 business slump real wages increased unemployment declined U.S. controlled 40% of world's wealth 14
The Administration of Warren G. Harding 1921-1923 15 Warren G. Harding elected Pres. in 1920 election; Coolidge VP Harding Administration tainted by scandals "Ohio Gang" (political cronies) TEAPOT DOME SCANDALS over naval oil reserves (Albert Fall)
The Coolidge Administration: 1923-28 1924 election Coolidge (Pres.) Herbert Hoover (V.P.) Democratic Party split: immigrant-labor-city faction supported Alfred E. Smith (NY) rural-southern-western faction supported Wm. McAdoo (CA) Republicans won control of both houses of Congress Coolidge's policies encouraged laissezfaire business philosophy. 16
The Herbert Hoover Administration: 1929-1932 17 Defeated Smith (Dem) in 1928 election Had to deal with the results of the 1920's Republican economic policies.
DOMESTIC POLICIES OF THE 1920S 18
Tariff legislation Fordney-McCumber Tariff: 1922 (Harding) raised rates to their highest levels in U.S. history Hawley-Smoot Tariff: 1930 (Hoover) raised duties another 20 % (pressure by lobbyists) Tariff was protested by manufacturers and economists Effect of tariff legislation injured foreign trade of the U.S. forced some manufacturers to move their plants abroad fostered a spirit of economic nationalism that helped cause World War II 19
Agriculture 20 Agricultural Depression Agriculture never recovered from recession of 1920 Agricultural prices FELL 75 % between 1920 and 1932 Causes contraction of European markets/ world overproduction farmer's income declined while prices for needed manufactured goods/equipment increased farmers incurred debt during war years to increase production (debt had to be repaid during lean years of the 1920's)
FOREIGN POLICY OF THE REPUBLICANS: 1920-1932 21
The Search for Collective security 22 Republican presidents rejected a formal international role for U.S., but cooperated in seeking collective security. League of Nations U.S. did not join, but sent 'observers' to League sessions.
Naval Disarmament Washington Conference (1921): U.S. proposed drastic cut in naval armament Five Power Treaty (1922): 5-5-3 ratio for capital ships (GB-US-Japan) Kellogg-Briand Pact (1927) international agreement: signers renounced war as an instrument of national policy Pact was ineffective; lacked means of enforcement 23
The Problem of war Debts U.S. loaned Allies $10 billion for armaments and reconstruction purposes. Repayment of loans was difficult high U.S. tariffs prevented foreign trade (US buys foreign goods, $ to Allies, Allies repay loans, basically with U.S. loan money) Debtor nations hoped to repay their loans to U.S. using German REPARATIONS payments. U.S. viewed loans as investments; demanded repayment. 24
U.S. Investors DEPOSITS WALL STREET BANKERS 25 WALL STREET BANKERS PRIVATE $ LOANS GERMANY to finance (GOVERNMENT & BUSINESSES) $ 13 billion total REPARATIONS REPARATIONS GREAT BRITAIN Owes G.B billions FRANCE U.S. TREASURY Owes U.S. 4 billion ALLIED WAR DEBT PAYMENTS
German War Reparations were Reduced DAWES PLAN (1924): reduce amts. owed by Germany to Allies worked out new schedule of payments arranged loans to Germany to speed economic recovery Germany defaulted on debt in 1929 26
27 Lausanne Conference (1932) during the Depression German reparations again reduced U.S. Congress refused to release Allies/Germans from war debts/loans European nations (except Finland) defaulted