Chapter 20:

1. Chapter 20: Americans Struggle with Postwar Issues

2. What two feelings arose in the US during the 1920s? • Prior to and during WWI, many things had changed: • Women secured the right to vote, • Women and minorities had replaced men in factories and businesses during the war, • Progressive reforms altered the status quo, and the • Economy sank as the war ended. • Thus, many Americans were fearful of these new changes. Oftentimes, this fear took the form of prejudice and discrimination of others. • As a result, nativism and isolationism rose.

3. What had occurred in Russia during WWI? • In 1917, the Bolshevik, or Communist, Revolution ended the czarist monarchy in Russia. • They quickly pulled Russia out of WWI. • Communism was developed by Karl Marx, who, published the Communist Manifesto in 1848. • His idea of communism came as a rejection of laissez-faire capitalism during the Industrial Revolution. • It was based on collective ownership of the means of production, like factories, railroads, utilities, and mines, in order to equalize wealth. • Later, it turned into a government based on single-party rule.

4. What effect did the Bolshevik Revolution have on the US? • The US, fearful that the Communists would win their revolution, aided their opponents. After WWI, the Big Four left Russia out of the peace negotiations and stripped them of land along their western front. During the Cold War, this would be remembered. • Back home, believing that workers would overthrow the capitalist system, fear of communism was translated into the Red Scare.

5. During the Red Scare, who was the US Attorney General and what did he do? • Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer hated communism and thought it presented an urgent threat in every aspect of American life. • As such, he appointed special assistant J. Edgar Hoover to help him hunt down suspected communists in a supposed conspiracy against the US. • As a result, people’s civil liberties and privacy was ignored, while Palmer and Hoover found no evidence whatsoever. • These investigations into people’s private affairs were known as the Palmer Raids.

6. Which duo was victim of the Red Scare? • The Red Scare fueled hatred against radicals as well as against immigrants. • Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were arrested and charged with the robbery and murder of a factory paymaster and his assistant in Massachusetts. • Although they pled innocent, were assigned a prejudicial judge, and the court allowed circumstantial evidence, they were convicted and sentenced to death. Protests rang out all over the world.

7. What happened to the KKK in the 1920s? • Membership in the KKK rose to 4.5 million during the 1920s as an effect of the heightened nativism sweeping the nation. • The KKK targeted African Americans, saloons, unions, Roman Catholics, Jews, and immigrants in their quest to secure ‘100 per cent Americanism.’

8. How did the US policy change toward immigration in the 1920s? • The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 established a quota system in which a limit was set on how many immigrants from each country could immigrate to the US each year. • However, the numbers were set to restrict immigrants from the ‘wrong’ countries, such as from southern and eastern Europe. • It sharply discriminated against Roman Catholics, Jews, and Japanese. The policy against Japanese immigration reversed Roosevelt’s Gentlemen’s Agreement.

9. What happened with unions during the 1920s? • Unions had pledged not to strike during WWI, but more than 3,000 broke out after, demanding raises and benefits. • Under the Red Scare, employers took the opportunity to issue propaganda campaigns linking unions with communism. • Palmer targeted unions, labor leaders, and issued court injunctions to halt strikes as part of his effort to connect union activity with communism. • Progressive presidents, such as Roosevelt and Wilson, encouraged arbitration, while conservative presidents, like Harding and Coolidge, encouraged the use of government forces to quell the strike. • The Boston Police strike was crushed when Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge called out the National Guard. • The US Steel Mill strike ended after a report on the harsh conditions in the mills shocked the public. • The Coal Miners’ strike, organized by John L. Lewis, ended in arbitration under Wilson. • Overall, unions found it hard to organize immigrants due to language barriers, and most still excluded African Americans. As a result, there was a backlash against unions and a significant decrease in membership.

10. What was Harding’s presidency known for? • Warren G. Harding’s presidency was known as a ‘return to normalcy.’ He wanted to ‘return’ to simpler days before WWI and the changes of the Progressive Era. • However, he had poor judgment. His friends and advisers were routinely involved in scandals. • The Ohio gang were Harding’s poker-playing friends, which included members of his Cabinet. • Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall leased public land to private oil companies, which developed them for a profit. He was convicted of bribery. This was known as the Teapot Dome scandal and tarnished Harding’s presidency as well as the Republican Party.

11. What happened at the Washington Naval Conference? • In 1921, President Harding invited several major powers to the WNC. • Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes suggested disarmament among Britain, France, Japan, Italy, and the US. • Eventually, fifteen nations pledged to disarm by signing the Kellogg-Briand Pact. • However, it lacked enforcement and Russia was not included because of its communist government.

12. How did the US try to regain the money loaned to Britain and France during WWI? • In 1922, the US adopted the Fordney-McCumber Tariff, which raised tariffs to 60%. This was the highest tariff up to that point in American history. • However, due to the high tariffs, Britain and France could not sell enough goods to make enough of a profit to repay the loans. • Thus, France sent troops to Germany to try to get them to fulfill the war reparation clause of the ToV. But, Germany was experiencing tremendous inflation and could not pay B&F. • To ease tensions, American banker Charles Dawes proposed a plan in which the US would loan Germany money. They then would pay off Britain and France, who then would repay their loans to the US. This came to be known as the Dawes Plan and caused resentment because the US ultimately got repaid with its own money.

13. How did President Coolidge regard business? • Calvin Coolidge was pro-business. As a Republican, he raised tariffs and lowered taxes. • He was quoted as saying, “The chief business of the American people is business.”

14. How did the automobile change American society? • Cars changed the landscape by introducing paved roads, garages, driveways, gasoline stations, traffic signals, tunnels, and intersections. • The car liberated rural families, women, and teenagers. • Cities began expanding outwards, as commuters began driving to work. This contributed to urban sprawl. Cities, such as Detroit and Akron, flourished around the automobile industry. • The car became a status symbol as well as a symbol for the success of the free-market system. Eighty per cent of the world’s cars could be found in the US during the 1920s.

15. Why was the prosperity of the early 1920s superficial? • The income gap between workers and managers grew. • Iron and railroad industries were struggling. • Farms were overproducing due to improvements in machinery, which drove down prices. • Consumers were buying on credit, known as the installment plan, and thus accumulating massive debt. • Advertisers hired psychologists to figure out how to get people to buy more products. This all combined to create an economy that wasn’t based on a solid foundation.

16. Advertising tried to convince consumers that they would be happier and more attractive if they used their products. These examples target women using traditional gender roles; however, men were also targeted for car, cigar, and soda ads.