Politics of the Roaring TwentiesCH.12

War, Civil Liberties, and Security Opinion Poll

Ten years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, an organization of journalists and academics conducted a public opinion survey about civil liberties and security. The poll asked Americans if they favored or opposed a variety of policies designed to respond to the threat of terrorism against the united States.

QuestionsShould the U.S. government be allowed to take the following action without a search warrant issued by a judge?

1. Monitor searches on the internet, including those by U.S. citizens, to watch for suspicious activities

2. Install surveillance cameras in public places to watch for suspicious activities

3. Monitor public library records, including those of U.S. citizens, to watch for suspicious activity

4. use racial and ethnic profiling to decide who should get tougher security screening at airports

5. Require all people in the United States, including citizens, to carry a national ID card and produce it to authorities upon demand

6. Arrest and detain suspected terrorists who are U.S. citizens for extended periods without being formally charged in a court of law

Americans Struggle with Postwar IssuesSECTION 1

Postwar Trends Returning soldiers took jobs from women and ethnic minorities

Cost of living doubled

Nativism- prejudice against foreign-born people

Isolationism- policy of pulling away from world events

Americans wanted to get back to normal, peaceful living and didn’t like anything that challenged that

Fear of Communism Red Scare

◦ 70,000 radicals joined the new Communist Party ◦ After a series of bombs mailed to government officials and business leaders

the public became fearful

Palmer Raids◦ U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer appointed J. Edgar Hoover to hunt

down Communist, socialists, and anarchists◦ Many people were deported or arrested

Fear of Communism Sacco and Vanzetti

◦ Radical Italian immigrants who evaded the draft in WWI◦ Arrested in May 1920 and charged with the murder of a factory paymaster

and a guard◦ Both had alibis and the evidence against them was circumstantial◦ They received the death penalty and went to the electric chair in 1927

Limiting Immigration The Klan Rises Again

◦ 4.5 million members by 1924◦ Prohibitionists, anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, anti-union, anti-immigration,

anti-black

The Quota System◦ Emergency Quota Act (1921)◦ Created a maximum number of people who could enter the U.S. from each

country◦ Goal was to limit immigration from southern and eastern Europe◦ Prohibited Japanese immigration

Labor Unrest Common Tactic

◦ Employers attempted to connect strikers with Communists

Boston Police Strike◦ Union reps were fired for asking for raises◦ Police struck and the national Guard was called in◦ Once the strike was over all union members were fired

Steel Mill Strike◦ Denied the right to unionize◦ Strikers were beaten by police, federal troops, and state militias

Labor Unrest Coal Miner’s Strike

◦ United Mine Workers leader John Lewis called for a strike◦ Attorney General Palmer obtained a court order to end the strike◦ Lewis publicly called it off while privately continuing it◦ Miners received a 27% pay increase and Lewis became a national hero

Labor Movement Loses Appeal◦ Immigrants willing to work in poor conditions◦ Difficulty organizing because of language barriers◦ Most unions excluded Black Americans

Homework Read pages 412-418 and answer questions 3-5 under critical thinking

The Harding PresidencySECTION 2

Harding Struggles for Peace

Attempts at Peace◦ 1921-Washington Naval Conference

◦ Sec. of State Charles Evans Hughes suggested disarmament for the U.S., G.B, Japan, France, and Italy

High Tariffs and Reparations◦ Fordney-McCumber Tariff raised taxes on U.S. imports by 60%◦ Dawes Plan-American investors loaned Germany $2.5 billion to pay back

Britain and France

Scandal in the Administration

Harding’s Cabinet◦ Sec. of State- Charles Evans Hughes◦ Sec. of Commerce- Herbert Hoover◦ Sec. of the Treasury- Andrew Mellon◦ Ohio gang-president’s poker buddies

Scandal Plagues Harding◦ Charles Forbes (Veterans Bureau) caught selling government and hospital supplies to

private companies◦ Thomas Miller (Office of Alien Property) took bribes

The Teapot Dome Scandal Oil-rich land had been set aside for use by the U.S. Navy

Albert Fall (Sec. of Interior) arranged to have the land transferred to his department and then secretly leased it to his friends in the oil industry

Fall received over $400,000 from the various companies

Harding died suddenly in August 1923 and VP Calvin Coolidge took over and helped restore faith in the presidency

The Business of America

SECTION 3

American Industries Flourish

Presidents Coolidge and Hoover favored pro-business polices in Congress

◦ Keep government interference to a minimum

Impact of the Automobile◦ Paved roads, homes with garages, gas stations, repair shops, motels,

shopping centers, traffic signals◦ People could live farther from work (urban sprawl) and vacation far from

home◦ Symbolized freedom and success

American Industries Flourish

Airplane Industry◦ Postal Service◦ Charles Lindbergh made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic

Ocean on May 20-21, 1927◦ Amelia Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic

ocean◦ Pan American Airways -transatlantic flights

Standard of Living Soars 1920-1929 Americans owned 40% of the worlds wealth

Electrical Conveniences◦ Irons, refrigerators, cooking ranges, and toasters◦ Women had more leisure time and were free to work outside the home

Modern Advertising◦ Hired psychologists to study how to appeal to people’s desires◦ Business people began to meet with charitable organizations and raise

money for them

Superficial Prosperity Great Quantities of Goods

◦ Productivity increased and business expanded◦ Exception was farming, iron, and railroad industries◦ Created a major income gap between workers and managers

Buying on Credit◦ Installment plan- people could buy goods over an extended period of time

without much money down◦ Many economists thought this was a sign of economic weakness