Title: Politics and a Thin Prosperity
1Politics and a Thin Prosperity
2Americans 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
3The 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
4Russian 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.
5The Red ScareFear 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
6The 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.
7The 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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9Political Cartoon
10A. 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
11The 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.
12After a Palmer Raid
13The 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
14The 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.
15The 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.
16The 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.
17The 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.
18The KKK Yesterday and Today
19Sacco 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
20Warren G. HardingPresident 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
21Cal CoolidgePresident 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
22The 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
23Selling new productsAdvertising
24Henry Ford revolutionized the way we produced
goods in America
25New Products in a modern society
26Appealing to the public
27These products made life easier and more
interesting
28The changing kitchen
29Edisons phonograph Everyone loved it
30Labor 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.
31Labor 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.
32President 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.
33The 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
34Labor 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
35Black 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
36Politics of the 1920sOur 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