Politics and Prosperity Ch. 20 12/22/2011. Post World War I –Key Concepts 4 Demobilization 4 Red...
Transcript of Politics and Prosperity Ch. 20 12/22/2011. Post World War I –Key Concepts 4 Demobilization 4 Red...
Demobilization
Transition from wartime to peace time effected employment production changed to consumer goods
Types of Economic Systems(review)
Capitalism - Private ownership of property - Profit motive
Socialism - Collective ownership of property
- Peaceful means to achieveobjective
- Motive is “to each as needed”
Communism- Collective ownership through violence if necessary
- Motive is “to each as needed”
o Lenin and his communist followers led the ________________
o USA secretly sent 10,000 troops to aid the ________________
o (1924) The Bolsheviks “__________” took power
Russian Revolution
Communism Under Lenin
1. The government would own all land and property
2. A single political party controlled the government
3. The needs of the country always took priority over the rights of individuals
Lenin changed the name of the country from Russia to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
The Soviet Union was the largest country in the world in terms of land
It was near the largest in terms of population
Russian Revolution
The Palmer Raids 1919 – (_____) Bombs found in post offices
addressed to prominent Americans, including Oliver Wendal Holmes, John D. Rockefeller.
Bomb damaged A. Mitchell Palmer’s house. 1 in TN detonated, blowing the hands off a
housekeeper and injuring another women Bombs blamed on ___________________
and _____________________.
The Palmer Raids• Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer
• Nov, 1919 to May 1920
• Interrogated and arrested thousands of poor people, mostly immigrants
• Deported over 500 without _____________.
• After months of raids, they netted ______• By summer 1920 hysteria died down and most Americans
failed to support the witch-hunts.
Sacco & Vanzetti Italian immigrants arrested for murder/burglary of a
shoe factory near Boston Railroaded by Judge Thayer who allowed their trial to
be about their political views and lack of service in WWI
Judge Thayer - "This man, although he may not have actually committed the crime attributed to him, is nevertheless morally culpable, because he is the enemy of our existing institutions."
The foreman of the jury, a retired policeman, when asked if they could be innocent - "Damn them. They ought to hang anyway."
Sacco & Vanzetti
Convicted not from evidence but for political views, in clear violation of the Constitution
Protests in many major cities here and abroad– Requests for new trials denied by Judge Thayer– Requests for pardons denied by governor and president
*Unsolved History
Ku Klux Klan
Established during _______________ for whites to reassert their rights
Included town officials Died off after federal troops were
withdrawn (1877) Resurgence with ____________ after WWI
– Now hated all non-white, non-_____________
Immigration Policy– 1921 – _____________established.
• _% of population in USA in ______ census would be admitted from each country.
– 1924 - National Origins Act• Quotas adjusted to _% of ______ census• does not apply to Asians - they are still subject to
the _________________Act• does not apply to Mexicans - they are encouraged
to work on southwestern farms
Labor Strikes During WWI strikes outlawed for important
industries
AFL agreed not to strike during the war
Afterward, inflation hit 100% increase but wages dropped or were stagnant in many areas
1919 alone saw over 3,000 strikes
Most peaceful
Most unproductive– New tool used by business owners – calling strikers ______________
Labor Strikes
The ______________________(1919)
police commissioner fired 19 officers for joining the union and asking for raises
____% of the police force walked out in protest
state militia was called in by Governor Coolidge after 2 nights of violence
police force was replaced by unemployed veterans
Labor StrikesThe ___________(1919)
________________workers in western PA & Midwest walked out
lasted from Sept. 1919 to Jan. 1920 owners hired private police – governor
supported owners 18 strikers were killed, many beaten, jailed recruited African Americans & immigrants
for replacement workers (scabs) returned to work with no gains
Labor StrikesThe ______________________________(1919)
Wages set by government in 1917; could not strike during war
John L. Lewis is newly elected, called for strike
Attorney General Palmer got an_____________; Lewis officially ended the strike but unofficially encouraged workers not to return to work
After about a month, Wilson compromised and arbitrated a 27%(?) increase in wages
*After 1920 labor strikes sharply declined
* Unions did not have the support of the public
*Higher wages after the recession led to less desire for strikes
A Republican Decade
Election of 1920– Warren G. Harding called for a “return to ”– Americans were tired of European problems
and feared their spread to the USA– Harding was elected
Republican Leadership
All three branches were dominated by Republicans (1920-1932)
Presidents
Majority in Congress
Supreme Court Chief Justice - Former Republican President,
All 3 branches were considered _______________, meaning that they denounced progressive changes.– Little or no assistance for social ills (poverty,
epidemics, etc.)– Promotion of business interests
• tariffs
• few safety or labor regulations
• lower taxes for upper income brackets and corporations
Republican Leadership
Foreign Policy
______________ - no involvement in European, Asian, or African conflicts (does not apply to Latin America)
_______________- 1921– USA, Great Britain, France, and Japan
agree to destroy some of their navy force and limit the amounts and types of new ships
Foreign Policy
Fordney-McCumber Tariff - 1922–High duties on many products to
discourage imports –Highest to date in history
• As much as ___% in some cases
Foreign Policy
______________- 1924–Restructured Germany’s reparation
payments and gave them loans–Germany paid UK & France its
reparations–UK & France repaid America for its
WWI debts
Teapot Dome Scandal
As investigations of various members of the Harding Administration begins, the president dies naturally on Aug. 2, 1923
The scandals that erupt after his death taint his time in office, although he was not directly involved
Teapot Dome Scandal
___________________illegally granted drilling rights to private industries in Elk Hills, CA and Teapot Dome, WY. He then accepted $300,000 in kickbacks
Director of Veterans Bureau – Charles Forbes pocketed millions
Attorney General Harry Daugherty was convicted of accepting bribes
Coolidge Presidency
VP Coolidge became president when Pres. Harding died. He was elected in 1924.
Coolidge is known more for what he did not do than for what he did
Coolidge Presidency
___________________ economics
– reduced inheritance and income taxes
– refused to regulate the stock market
– refused to give flood assistance to Mississippi River victims
Mississippi Flood of 1927
Loss of Life - 246 Displaced People - 700,000 – 900,000 Financial Loss - $347,000,000 Flooded Area - 27,000 square miles
– (roughly the area of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont & New Hampshire combined)
River Volume 2,500,000 cubic feet of water per second
Water did not recede for 2 months
Mississippi River Flood of 1927
American Red Cross sheltered 300,000 people in tents
They assisted another 600,000 that were displaced by giving them food and clothing
Herbert Hoover (Sec. of the Commerce) directed the Red Cross relief effort
Coolidge Presidency
Foreign Policy
–___________________(1927)
–15 countries agreed not to declare war on each other (60 eventually sign)
A Business Boom
Recession from early part of the decade gradually declined
Industry successfully changed to a consumer economy
People bought consumer goods, creating demand
Factories fulfilled that demand by hiring employees
Manufacturers introduced installment plans to consumers to keep demand high
People were naïve about the so-called prosperity
By 1929, 60% of cars and 70-90% of household goods were bought on credit
Interest rates varied from __________%
A Business Boom
Electric Power– during 1920s General Electric supplied
many new household appliances– demand for electricity increased
dramatically Advertising
– new methods and mass media contributed to a huge impact by advertisements
Gross National Product rose by 6% annually
A Business Boom
Ford & The Automobile
Automobiles invented in 1880s Henry Ford used innovative techniques
to increase production and profit Between 1896-1908 Ford developed his
first original cars. He sold 30,000 Model T’s
In 1908 he built his 1st modern factory
Ford & The Automobile Principles of Mass Production
– assembly line means people stay stationary and the car moves to them
– means faster performances by workers
– also means– also begins new management class– limited choices in color and options – Model T’s were churned out every ___
_____________
Ford & The Automobile Increased production leads to economies
of scale (it’s cheaper per car to produce 10,000 than 50)
Ford dropped prices on Model T to $390, making it affordable to middle class America
Ford & The Automobile
Ford raised wages for his workers but strictly enforced his rules
Hired immigrants but insisted on their going to school to learn English and he had investigators inspect their homes
By 1936 he declined to 3rd place in the auto industry partly due to resistance to change
Industrial Growth
Automobile related industries led the boom
Other industries, like movie theaters, oil refineries, airplane manufacturers, grew by leaps and bounds
The top 200 American companies total worth grew from 43 billion to 81 billion (1919-1929)
Bypassed by the Boom
African Americans and Immigrants did not fare as well in the job market
Farmers continued to struggle with low prices, overproduction, and high debt
These groups will be among the most vulnerable when the ‘boom times’ end
The Economy in the Late 1920s
The economy in the 1920s appeared to be in good shape on the surface
Underneath, there were warning signs of impending disaster
Economy Appears Healthy The stock market was taken as an
indicator of the general economy
If stock prices went up, the whole economy must be alright
Stock value increased from $___ billion in 1927 to $___ billion in 1929
Average Americans invested in the stock market
Economy Appears Healthy
Stock prices are subject to supply and demand
The more people that invest in the market, the higher the demand, and consequently the price of stocks
Two ways to make money from the stock market - ______________ and ________ ___________
Economy Appears Healthy Welfare capitalism
– employers gave workers better wages and benefits
–organized labor membership declined in the 1920s
Economic Danger Signs
Rich were getting richer
1929 - wealthiest families controlled 34% of the savings
Average families earned $_______ a year and had no savings
Many families had accumulated large consumer debt
Economic Danger Signs
Stock market was being pushed by speculation
Speculation - high risk investments in hopes of making quick profits
______________- Paying only a fraction of the cost and borrowing the rest
Economic Danger Signs
“Too many goods, too little demand”
Assembly lines were producing more products than people were able to buy
Auto industry and housing starts had already slumped before 1929
Economic Danger Signs Trouble for Farmers & Workers
– Many could not meet their mortgages, forcing 6000 rural banks to fail in the 1920s
– Congress passed relief bills in 1927 & 1928 but President Coolidge vetoed them
– Many industry workers continued to work in dangerous jobs for small wages
– Textile workers in Tennessee - 56 hour week for $10 a week
Summary
Clear signals of trouble in the economy
Uneven wealth
Rising debt
Stock speculation
Over-production
Hardships of farmers
and workers