Chapter 13: A Turbulent Decade

1. Chapter 13: A Turbulent Decade

2. Demobilization • Factories and war-related industries had been operating at full capacity. • Then what happened!?!?!? • Demobilization: The transition from wartime to peace time levels.

3. 4.5 million soldiers returned to the workforce. • Unemployment rose and wages fell. Why? • To make room, women were encouraged to give up their jobs.

4. Farm Crisis • Farmers had benefited from wartime markets in Europe. • As European farm production revived, these markets dried up and farm prices fell.

5. Labor Strife • Many workers protested in response to the difficulties of demobilization. • When management ignored workers pleas, many workers went on strike. • More than 3,600 work stoppages, involving 4 million workers, took place in 1919 alone.

6. Seattle General Strike • 35,000 ship yard workers went on strike. • 110 local unions joined. • 60,000 workers total. • The Seattle mayor said the strike was similar to Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution. (Communism) • The workers lost the support of the public.

9. Boston Police Strike • Formed a union to seek better pay and working conditions. • The Boston police commissioner, refused to recognize the union. • Public order in the city collapsed.

10. Again, the newspapers slandered the police with communist references. • Public opinion soon went against the police and they would vote to return to work. • However, the commissioner fired them all and hired a new force made up of unemployed veterans.

13. Marxists in America • Labor leader Eugene V. Debs and others formed the Marxist inspired Socialist Party in 1901. • They called for collective ownership of industry.

14. Socialist Party • When the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia in 1917, most American socialists did not support it. • Americans did not recognize the difference between communism and socialism.

15. Socialism • Many people believed that all radicals and labor activists were Bolshevik who wanted to overthrow the government. • Some believed communists or “reds” were everywhere.

18. Palmer Raids • Many bomb scares in 1919 fueled antiradical fears. • A bomb would damage attorney general Mitchell Palmer. • Palmer would launch an anti-communist crusade that started in November of 1919.

19. Palmer Raids • Thousands of criminals were arrested in 33 cities nationwide. • Most were poor immigrants and there was usually no evidence against them. • By the summer of 1920, the hysteria over radicalism died out.

22. Sacco and Vanzetti • Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti • Both were Italian anarchist. What is an anarchist? • Both were charged with the murder of a paymaster and guard during a 1920 robbery.

23. Sacco and Vanzetti • Their radical political views and avoiding military service in 1917 helped turn the trial against them. • The jury would convict both of them. • The judge admitted that they may not have committed the crime, but they were an enemy of American institutions.

24. Sacco and Vanzetti • Thousands of people marched in protest around the world and in America. • On August 23, 1927, they were executed. • This case showed the divisions in America after World War 1.

28. The Republicans in Power • Election of 1920 • Republican nomination: Warren G. Harding. • He would win on a landslide by promising: • Tax Revision • Higher Tariffs • Limits on Immigration • Aid to Farmers

30. Pro-Business • Primary goal: “Less government in business and more business in government.” • Secretary of the Treasury: Andrew Mellon • Two main economic goals: • Reduce national debt. (Wartime spending rose the debt from 1 to 25 billion by 1919) • Promote economic growth.

31. Andrew Mellon

32. Pro-Business • Charles Dawes set out to eliminate debt by slashing spending. • In 1922, he would turn the annual budget into a surplus, which helped reduce national debt.

33. Pro-Business • Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act: • 1922 • Pushed tariff rates to an all time high.

35. Taxes • Mellon also proposed eliminating high wartime taxes on the wealthy. • Mellon argued a trickle down effect to other Americans. • During the 1920’s, taxes were cut on the wealthy.

36. Harding’s Policies • By 1923, these policies seemed to be working. • Unemployment was low and the other economic sectors were booming.

37. Effects of Republicans Policy • Over 1,000 mergers took place during the boom. • Brought efficiency and higher profits. • By 1930, some 200 corporations owned nearly half of the nation’s corporate wealth.

38. Effects • For the most part, workers did not get a share of the prosperity of the 20’s. • There was a 60% increase in profits but only a 10% increase in workers wages from 1923 – 1929.

39. Effects • Farmers also struggled. • The Fordney-McCumber Act brought little relief. • They still faced shrinking markets, low prices, high interest rates, and crushing debt.

40. Effects • Organized labor also suffered during the 20’s. • The government rolled back many of the gains during the progressive era. • Business leaders also supported the American Plan, which supported union-free open shops. • Union membership shrank from a high of more than 5 million in 1920 to 3.6 in 1923.

41. New Directions for Women • Feminists: Women's rights activists. • Working rights became an issue. • 19th Amendment: Granted women the right to vote. Did not unify women and politics as everyone thought it would.

42. Women • Equal Rights Amendment: • 1923 • Proposed by Alice Paul • “Men and Women should have equal rights throughout the U.S.” • People argued that this would hurt women's opportunities. • Failed to get enough support.

43. Harding Scandals • President Harding was facing many scandals. • In 1923, many things began to surface. • A group of friends known as the “Ohio Gang” • They began to use their connections to enrich their own lives and interests.

44. Harding's Scandals • Forbes Scandal • Harding's close friend, Charles Forbes, had pocketed millions of dollars through corrupt schemes. • Harding would die of an apparent heart attack on August 2nd, ending his worries about the scandals.

45. Harding’s Scandals • After his death, other scandals were revealed. • In 1924, the attorney general was investigated and it was found he was taking bribes. • He would resign.

46. Scandal • Teapot Dome Scandal • Uncovered in 1924 • In 1921, Albert Fall persuaded the Secretary of the Navy to transfer control of naval oil reserves to his department (Sec. of Interior). • Fall granted private leases to the oil reserves and the Teapot Dome reserves in Wyoming. • In return, Fall received personal loans, cash and cattle. • Fall was convicted and jailed.

47. Coolidge • Vice President Coolidge takes charge. • Fired many people involved in scandals. • Coolidge would win the next election by a landslide.

48. Coolidge/Pro Business • Revenue Act • 1926 • Repealed the gift tax, cut estate taxes in half, and reduced taxes on the wealthy. • Kept govt. spending low. • Made possible a tax cut and reduction in the national debt. • Vetoed laws designed to help farmers or workers.

49. Election of 1928 • Republicans nominated Herbert Hoover. • Democrats nominated Alfred E. Smith. • Many Americans opposed Smith because he was Catholic. People believed he would let the Pope control the United States. • Hoover would win the election

50. A Nation Divided • 1920’s • Some 800,000 African Americans moved north. • By 1930, the A.A. population in the North and Midwest had reached almost 2.5 million. • More than double its size in 1910. • Large communities sprang up in Chicago, Detroit and New York City.