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From War to Peace

From War to Peace. After WWI the U.S. suffered a small recession: brief period of economic downturn Major cause: demobilization of industries. Many factories that made war materials were shut down. Returning soldiers struggled to find jobs. Another cause was the farming crisis

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From War to Peace

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  1. From War to Peace • After WWI the U.S. suffered a small recession: brief period of economic downturn • Major cause: demobilizationof industries. • Many factories that made war materials were shut down. • Returning soldiers struggled to find jobs. • Another cause was the farming crisis • Prices fell in U.S. as European markets revived • No more need to trade with U.S. • Early 1920s, America was prosperous again • Still areas where economic unrest occurred

  2. National Strikes • Workers protested under demobilization • Demanded higher wages & shorter work hours • Protested in form of strikes: work stoppages due to workers demanding more rights and/or fair treatment. • There were many major strikes in 1919 • Strikes caused fear among Americans • Workers simply wanted a fair deal • Americans feared a workers’ revolution • Post-war economy dependent upon factories

  3. Red Scare • U.S. feared communists would overthrow the govt. • Resulted from Bolshevik takeover of Russia • Became known as the Red Scare • 40,000 people joined the Communist party • Immigrants came under suspicion • 1919 & 1920, postal workers discovered bombs addressed to prominent Americans • Bomb damaged house of the Attorney General • Atty. General A. Mitchell Palmerled raids against suspected communists ( Palmer Raids) • arrested 6,000 people; deported 550 • Ended in 1920 when people came to their senses

  4. Sacco-Vanzetti Case • Sacco and Vanzettiwere Italian immigrants & anarchists: people who were opposed to all types of government • Accused of committing robbery/murder in 1921 • Both were sentenced to death • Case was appealed but both men were executed in 1927 • Their death demonstrated the hatred & distrust Americans had toward immigrants

  5. Resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan • KKK rose to power again after WWI • Expanded their opposition beyond blacks • Targets: immigrants, Catholics, Jews, suspected radicals • Preserve the U.S. for native-born white Protestants • Klan membership rose to approx. 5 million • Mass meetings usually ended w/ a cross burning • Included lynching or terrorization of those they opposed • Support diminished by the end of the 1920s b/c: • Message of fear lost its appeal • Publicity of its terrorism & violence

  6. Restriction on Immigration • Racism & discrimination also revived nativism: if you were not born in America…leave • Americans feared radical ideas of immigrants • Resented competition for jobs & lower wages • Federal limits on immigration were demanded • Resulted in the est. of quotas: only a certain # of immigrants will be allowed in the country • Strict immigration restriction laws passed in the 1920s • 1921: Emergency Quota Act:allowed only 3% of ethnic groups in country by 1910 except for Asians • Immigration Act of 1924: reduced quota to 2% of population levels of groups here in 1890 • Japanese restricted to 100 immigrants a year by 1925

  7. Roaring Twenties EQ #1 • Examine the role of fear in the Red Scare. • Explain 2 causes of the recession that took place after WWI. • Discuss reasons why there were so many worker strikes prior to the 1920’s. • Who were Sacco and Vanzetti? Explain why their trial is so significant. • Discuss reasons for the rise and fall of the KKK during the 1920’s. • Define: quotas, nativism, Emergency Quota Act, Immigration Act of 1924.

  8. Aftermath of WWI: pg. 471 • Define cost of living. How was cost of living affected by WWI? • Define general strike. Discuss the end result of the Seattle General strike. • Discuss the role of Calvin Coolidge in the Boston Police Strike. • Complete Graphic Organizer Skills: pg. 473 • Define Communist International and Red Scare. Discuss specific reasons for the Palmer raids. How did these raids violate civil liberties? • Define deported. Explain the role of J. Edgar Hoover in the Palmer Raids

  9. Prosperity and Innovation • Most homes provided w/ electricity during the 1920s • Could own new inventions such as refrigerators, toasters, washing machines, fans, radios, etc. • New innovations made businesses more efficient • 1) Taylorismor scientific management • Involved observing & timing workers in a factory • Results = changes leading to higher productivity • 2) Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line • Faster & less expensive production of cars • Went from completing one car every 14 hours in 1913 to completing one in 93 minutes

  10. Impact of Automobiles • Automobiles had largest impact on society in 1920s • Spurred other industries (e.g., steel, rubber, glass) • Led to creation of roadside restaurants, gas stations • Gave teenagers freedom from parental supervision • Encouraged road building (tax on gasoline helped pay for their construction) • More people moved to the suburbs (Urbanization) • 1920s saw prosperity almost everywhere in the U.S. • More jobs meant more workers w/ money to spend on more consumer items (e.g., sewing machines, refrigerators, & cars) • Installment planshelped people buy expensive cars

  11. Politics in the 1920s • U.S. had 3 Republican presidents in the 1920s • Harding, Coolidge, Hoover • All three supported big business & prosperity • Harding promised a return to normalcy • Primary goal – “less govt. in business and more business in govt.” • 2 economic goals: • 1) reduce national debt • 2) promote economic growth • Administration is noted for its scandals

  12. Coolidge and Hoover • Coolidge took over in 1923 & was re-elected in 1924 • Helped restore the reputation of the presidency • Was more pro-business than Harding – “The business of America is business.” • Hoover was elected in 1928 • Famous for involvement in WWI • Food and Drug Administration • Administration began during an unprecedented time of prosperity • Also given credit for helping cause Great Depression

  13. American Culture & Changing Times • Two new types of music emerged in the 1920s: blues & jazz • Radiowas one of the most popular forms of entertainment • Americans attended the moviesat least once a week • Most famous hero of the 1920s was CharlesLindbergh • First man to fly across the Atlantic Ocean solo • Name of his plane was the Spirit of St. Louis • Nickname was Lucky Lindy

  14. Flappers • Flappers were common • Women who were restless, on the move, & eager to try something different • Wore shortened hair & skirts • Wore make-up, smoked & drank liquor in public • Talked openly of sex • Overall refused to follow traditional rules of society

  15. Prohibition • Many people believed alcohol was a great evil of society Women’s Christian Temperance Union • Passage of 18th Amendment welcomed by many • Did not prevent Americans from breaking the law • Hard to enforce • Resulted in large scale bootlegging • Helped lead to the rise of gangsters (Al Capone, John Dillinger, etc.) • Eventually repealed in 1933 by 21st Amendment

  16. Defending Traditional Values • Many Americans were upset at many aspects of modern life in the 1920s • People turned to religion to counter the immoral threat • Led to revivalism in many areas • Led to a more conservative approach to religious faith called fundamentalism • Resulted in a debate over the fundamentalChristian Values of the past versus the modernism of the 1920s • Organized crime and excessive public drinking--- examples of immoral behavior

  17. Fundamentalism went on trial in 1925 • Famous Scopes Trialbegan in TN • John Scopeshad violated a state law by teaching the Theory of Evolutionin his high school biology class • ACLUoffered to defend anyone violating the law – Clarence Darrow defended Scopes • William Jennings Bryan was the lawyer against Scopes • Scopes was ultimately found guilty ***millions who listened on the radio believed the changes of the 1920s could not be reversed***

  18. Explain the significance of the following: Flappers, Scopes Trial, Sacco and Vanzetti, Prohibition, Reaction to Prohibition, Christian Fundamentalism, Radio, Movies, Organized Crime, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, Warren Harding, Henry Ford, Taylorism, Recession vs. Depression, Passage of 18th Amendment, 21st Amendment, Charles Lindbergh, Economic goals of Harding, Installment Plans, Nativism, Emergency Quota Act, Immigration Act of 1924, 2 causes of the Recession, Strike, Reasons for Strikes, Red Scare, Palmer Raids.

  19. Signs of a Slow Down Despite prosperity in 1920s, there were problems: • bull market - market increasing • bear market – market decreasing • Credit purchases were enormous (installment plans) • Supply & demand imbalance • Wages didn’t keep up w/ rising productivity • Led to decreases in demand & rise in supply • Factory workers were laid off (less $ to spend) • Slowing industries by end of decade • Housing & business construction • Automobile production (almost shuts down completely) • Agricultural crisis • stock speculation (companies or land) • riskier when margin buying occurs

  20. The Crash • During most of the 1920s, stock prices rose • Eager investors helped stock prices skyrocket • Stock analysts tried to warn consumers • In Sept. 1929 some cautious investors began to sell • They worried about over inflated prices • The selling continued slowly into October • In that month sellers outnumbered buyers • Panic spread & the market crashed on Tuesday, October 29, 1929, (Black Tuesday) • Prices of stocks plunged & the market crashed • Everyone sold no matter what the price • Fortunes of many people vanished in hours

  21. The Causes of the Depression 1) Imbalance between supply & demand • More goods were produced than could be bought---most consumers couldn't afford them • Many goods were durable goods 2) A weak banking system • Banks made risky loans ex-those to speculators • Banks fail--- borrowers couldn't pay back loans • Failing banks = people withdraw their $$$$$$ • Nearly 5,000 banks closed from 1929-1932

  22. 3) World trade declined rapidly in late 1920s & early 1930s • Left U.S. with large surpluses 4) Depression was part of the normal business cycle (FALSE) • Great Depression went beyond normal Impact of the Depression • Depression visible in many ways • Increased unemployment • Those w/ jobs suffered reduced hours & wages • Poverty levels increased • Decreased levels of immigrants • More women worked (were cheaper than men)

  23. Impact continued………. • People had no food or clothes • many stood in breadlines provided by charities • Unpaid credit payments caused people to lose homes, cars, or were evicted when they didn't pay rent • Many people hitchhikedfrom city to city searching for jobs • Homeless stood around dumps waiting to find food • Gathered in shantytowns, later called Hoovervilles • Depression reduced people's standard of living & lowered their sense of personal worth *****Depression described our mood as much as our economy*****

  24. Hoovervilles

  25. Hoovervilles and Shantytowns

  26. Culture of the 1930s • Americans turned to the media to forget problems • Talking pictures (movies) replaced radios as the most popular entertainment form • Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck • Gangster movies, Gone with the Wind, Wizard of Oz • Famous novel —Grapes of Wrath • Radios were still popular • Popular shows – Lone Ranger, Little Orphan Annie • They triumphed over evil , offered a hopeful message

  27. Mickey Mouse Donald Duck

  28. Intro to Great Depression Questions • List and Describe the 4 causes of the Great Depression • List 5 ways that the Great Depression was visible to U.S. societies of the 1920’s. • In a paragraph, describe Hoovervilles. Include problems that existed within the Hooverville communities and also include a description of the living conditions. • In class we discussed how the entertainment business changed. Tell me why the business changed and also tell me about the specific changes occurred.

  29. Searching for a Solution President Hoover: believed the govt. should not get involved in helping the economy • Hoover remained optimistic • Said the depression was “a temporary halt in the prosperity of a great people” • Said public confidence was the key – “What the country needs is a good big laugh.” • Believed in rugged individualism • Success thru individual effort • Supported Americans helping themselves thru hard work & strength of character • Supported voluntarism (charities, YMCAs, church groups, settlement houses, Salvation Army, etc.)

  30. Hoover Response continued….. • Opposed direct relief provided by federal govt. • Would reduce self-respect • Would inflate the federal budget • Advisors encouraged him to let the depression run its course • They supported a laissez-faire approach • Hoover rejected their advice & tried to get business leaders to continue as normal • They promised not to reduce wages or prices • Most were forced to do as ordered but their products continued to drop

  31. Hoover Response continued….. • Hoover urged state & municipal govts. to fund public works • Most didn't have the money to do it • Eventually Hoover & Congress funded public works programs • Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam) on the Colorado River • 800 public buildings • 37,000 miles of highways • Hoover did all he could do to stop the Depression ***1932, Hoover was hated by most Americans***

  32. Protests Against the Government • Protests abounded against his administration • Largest protest came from WWI veterans • Had been promised a “bonus” in 1945 • Decided to cash in their bonus early • Thousands (Bonus Army) marched to Washington to demand their “bonus” • Hoover feared they would become violent • Ordered the army to clear them out • With tear gas the men & their families were chased away & their tents were burned • This action by Hoover made him seem indifferent to the troubles of American citizens

  33. Election of 1932 • Hoover was re-nominated by the Republicans • Democrat challenger was Franklin D. Roosevelt • FDR had dealt w/ the depression effectively as governor of NY • He promised a “New Deal” for all Americans in his campaign • FDR won by a landslide

  34. Great Depression Assignment • Write a ½ page letter to a family member discussing your life during the Great Depression. • Explain the actions of President Hoover as he tried to battle the Great Depression. How did his views differ from his advisors? Explain. • Discuss how people viewed the Presidency of Hoover. What major event caused people to believe this way? Explain the event. • Do you think the events of the Great Depression could have been avoided? Explain your answer in paragraph form.

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