Politics and a Thin Prosperity

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Politics and a Thin Prosperity

• A Slipping economy

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Americans Confront Postwar Controversy

• 1919 Boston Police go out on strike
• No wage increased
• Cost of living had doubled
• Appealed to the Police Commissioner who promptly
  fired them all
• No police protection
• Looting / gambling became commonplace

• Governor Cal Coolidge called out the National
  Guard to restore peace
• Coolidge said, There is no right to strike
  against the public safety by anyone, anywhere,
  anytime

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The Boston Police Strike (1919)

• The police commissioner fired all of the police
  officers who lobbied for a raise.
• Those police officers who were not fired chose to
  go on strike.
• As the strike ended the police commissioner
  refused to rehire the striking police officers
• The newly hired officers received everything the
  strikers asked for

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Russian Revolution (1917)

• A civil war occurs to gain power over Russia.
• The Whites (supported by the US who actually
  sends troops) are defeated by the Bolsheviks
  (Reds) who change their name to Communists
• Russia became known as the Union of Soviet
  Socialist Republics (USSR) or Soviet Union with
  Vladimir Lenin as their leader.

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The Red Scare Fear of a communist workers
revolution

• 1919 saw over 3,000 strikes
• Was it the beginning of a Communist workers
  revolution?
• Since the Russian Revolution, many Americans were
  afraid a Bolshevik revolution could happen here

• Reality of the Strikes
• Wages had not kept up with prices
• Employers would not give workers a pay raise
• Returning war veterans had difficulty finding
  jobs

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The Red Scare

• There were about 70,000 people who joined the
  Communist party in the U.S. shortly after the
  Russian Revolution.
• Most had ties to labor unions like the Industrial
  Workers of the World.
• Despite the small number, some Americans became
  very fearful of a communist revolution in the
  U.S.

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The Red Scare

• People feared that if communism came to the U.S.,
  it would mean the government abolishing private
  property government ownership of factories,
  railroads, all other businesses.
• People feared that reds or communists would
  violently takeover the U.S.

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Political Cartoon
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A. Mitchell Palmer Attorney General

• Palmer Raids against alleged communists and
• Anarchists-those who oppose all forms of
  government
• Civil liberties were often violated during the
  raids

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The Palmer Raids

• Under Palmers leadership, government agents were
  allowed to use tactics that went beyond the
  Constitution.
• Agents invaded private homes, meeting halls, and
  private offices without using search warrants.
• Suspects were jailed for weeks without being
  allowed to see their lawyers.
• Visitors of jailed suspects were arrested.
• Hundreds of suspects (immigrants) were deported
  without the benefit of a trial.

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After a Palmer Raid
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The Ku Klux Klan Resurges in the Twenties

• The Ku Klux Klan claimed to be devoted to 100
  percent Americanism.
• Its members claimed to be white male persons,
  native-born, gentile citizens.
• The Klans social positions were
• Anti-Black
• Anti-Immigrant or Foreigner
• Anti-Labor Union
• Anti-Catholic
• Anti-Jew
• Anti-Urban Intellectual
• Anti-Evolution
• Anti-Wet (Wets were people who drank).
• Pro-Prohibition
• Pro- Fundamentalist Protestant Christian

Xenophobia fear of foreigners
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The Ku Klux Klan Resurges in the Twenties

• Anti-Immigrant feelings in the 1920s refueled the
  Ku Klux Klan membership.
• The Great Migration of African Americans that
  began during World War I continued in the 1920s
  also led to the KKK reaching its highest
  membership numbers in Northern states.
• In fact, Indiana had more KKK members in the
  1920s than any other state in the Union.
• Even Indianas governor had KKK ties.

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The Ku Klux Klan Resurges in the Twenties

• KKK Grand Wizard Hiram Evans described his
  members as plain peoplethe everyday, not
  highly cultured, overly intellectualized, but
  entirely unspoiledcitizens of old stock.
• Klan members felt very threatened from the
  changes that started to occur during World War I
  and continued in to the 1920s.
• They did not like the new job opportunities that
  African Americans gained during World War I.
• They worried about immigrants taking their jobs.
• They worried that foreigners threatened the
  American way of life.
• They felt that urban intellectuals threatened
  their values.

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The Ku Klux Klan Resurges in the Twenties

• The Klan expressed their view with parades and
  racial violence
• The Klan embraced racial violence and often
  committed violence and murder without being
  punished.
• Many Klan led lynching's occurred with no arrests
  or convictions.

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The Ku Klux Klan Resurges in the Twenties

• This picture was taken in 1925 when almost 60,000
  Ku Klux Klan members marched down Pennsylvania
  Avenue in Washington, D.C.

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The KKK Yesterday and Today
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Sacco Vanzetti

• At the height of the Red Scare in April of 1920,
  the Sacco Vanzetti case revealed the fear of
  foreigners (xenophobia) immigrants that was
  resurging in the 1920s.
• Nicola Sacco Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian
  immigrants who were anarchists draft evaders.
• The two men were accused of shooting killing a
  factory paymaster in Braintree, Massachusetts
  running off with 15,000.
• Circumstantial evidence
• Judge not impartial
• Found guilty and sentenced to death

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Warren G. Harding President 1920 1923
Republican

• Ohio politician not well respected
• Return to Normalcy and Isolation
• No government interference with business
• No social welfare programs
• US did not join League of Nations
• Made questionable political appointments
• Ohio Gang his poker playing Ohio buddies given
  political positions
• Scandalous and corrupt Administration
• Died of a heart attack in 1923

• I have no trouble with my enemiesbut my
• damn friends, theyre the ones that keep me
• walking the floor at night Harding

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Cal Coolidge President 1923 1928 Republican

• The chief business of the American people is
  business Coolidge

• Hardings vice-president
• Silent Cal a simple and honest man
• Kept taxes down and business up
• Keep Cool with Coolidge campaign slogan in 1924
• Business boomed
• Many new consumer goods which used electricity
• People bought on credit using installment plans
• Banks provided low interest loans

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The Business of America is Business

• Planned obsolescence
• It wont last so youll have to buy more!!

• Assembly line mass produced goods revolutionized
  industry
• Advertising was used to sell products you didnt
  need
• Overproduction occurred huge overstock of goods
• Installment plan buying due to easy credit
• Speculating (making risky investments) on the
  stock market by the average guy
• Farmers already feeling the coming depression
• Farmers had borrowed heavily during WW I to
  produce more food and already had huge debts

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Selling new products Advertising
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Henry Ford revolutionized the way we produced
goods in America
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New Products in a modern society
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Appealing to the public
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These products made life easier and more
interesting
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The changing kitchen
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Edisons phonograph Everyone loved it
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Labor Movement Struggles in the Twenties

• Although labor union membership rose during the
  World War I era, labor unions were outlawed from
  striking, greatly limiting the power of labor
  unions.
• The government threatened workers to either work
  or fight.
• Immediately following World War I, strikes
  broke-out in great numbers.
• There were over 3,000 strikes in 1919, but
  striking and union membership declined after
  1920.

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Labor Movement Struggles in the Twenties

• During World War I continuing into the 1920s,
  wages had not kept up with prices.
• Employers tried to avoid wage increases tried
  to discourage labor unions.
• Many employers tried to stir up rumors that union
  members were planning revolution.
• Newspapers published fearful headlines like
• Crimes Against Society
• Conspiracies Against the Government.
• Plots to Establish Communism
• The picture shows an IWW labor union office that
  was raided by federal authorities searching for
  communist revolutionary activities.

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President Wilson deals with labor strikes in 1919

• The Steel Strike
• Difficult and dangerous working conditions
• Seven days a week, 12 hours a day
• US Steel refused to meet with Union reps so they
  walked off the job
• They demanded the right to shorter working hours
  and a living wage
• US Steel hired non-union workers or
  strikebreakers (scabs) and used force
• Propaganda campaign against the strikers
• 18 workers were killed and wounded or beat
  hundreds more
• In 1923 a Protestant interfaith committee
  published a report documenting the dire labor
  conditions.
• The report did pressure U.S. Steel to give steel
  workers an 8 hour workday, but the steel workers
  did not regain its union.

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The Coal Miners Strike (1919)

• John L. Lewis became the new leader of the United
  Mine Workers of America in 1919.
• When John L. Lewis called for a strike on
  November 1, 1919, Attorney General A. Mitchell
  Palmer got a court order demanding that the
  strikers return to work.
• Lewis declared the strike over but quietly gave
  the order to continue the strike
• An arbitrator was appointed
• The miners received a 27 pay raise
• A shorter work day and week will be achieved in
  the 1930s

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Labor Movement Loses Appeal

• Many believed labor unions fostered communism
• Many immigrants had no choice but to work in poor
  labor conditions
• Immigrants spoke many languages making them
  difficult to organize
• Farmers who moved to cities were difficult to
  organize because they were use to relying on
  themselves
• Blacks were excluded from joining many unions

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Black Tuesday - October 29,1929 The American
start of the Great Depression
Causes of this worldwide depression

• Uneven distribution of income few rich, many
  poor
• Easy credit and the installment plan personal
  debt - too many people owed money
• Speculating - buying stock on margin put 10
  down borrow the rest of the money from a
  stockbroker. Hopefully you can sell, make a
  profit
• Imbalance of foreign trade we were not trading
  with foreign countries due to tariffs (tax on
  imported foreign goods)
• Mechanization of industry machines doing the
  job of people

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Politics of the 1920s Our return to normalcy!

• Isolationism The US will stay out of world
  affairs
• Nativism prejudice against immigrates and
  non-whites
• The threat of communism and anarchists
• Political conservatism
• No more progressive reforms like helping
  workers, the poor and regulating businesses