Chapter 21 Section 1 A Republican Decade

What kind of leadership were American seeking in the early 1920s? Americans wanted strong, reassuring leaders who promised stability and prosperity. Normalcy

Communism Government owns all land and property 1 political party Needs of the country more important than the needs of the individual Lenin sought to spread communism throughout the world After Lenin came Josef Stalin whose brutal policies spread communism and killed tens of millions

Free Enterprise System Economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of land or products

Red Scare A fear of communism and other radical ideas Americans wanted communists jailed and deported

Why did Communism seem to pose a threat to capitalist (or free enterprise) nations? Communism goes against everything people in a capitalist system believe in No private property One party government Individual rights

A. Mitchell Palmer A. Mitchell Palmer-Attorney General of the U.S. Had bomb mailed to his home Became convinced that radicals were conspiring to overthrow the government Began a campaign to hunt down radicals

What did A. Mitchell Palmer do in response to bombings that he suspected radicals to be responsible for? Conducted raids and arrests against suspected subversives Targeted Communists, socialists, and anarchists

The Palmer Raids Palmer said there would be a general strike and widespread bombings on May 1, 1920 Newspapers predicted a major crisis Never happened Palmer lost influence and credibility

Why might some consider Palmer’s actions to be controversial or unconstitutional? Arrested thousands, sometimes without evidence Many of them eventually deported

Sacco and Vanzetti 2 men robbed and killed 2 men working at a shoe factory in 1920 Police arrest 2 Italian Immigrants for the crime Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti Both men were anarchists

Sacco and Venzetti Both men were carrying guns Sacco’s gun matched the one used at the crime Many suspected that they were only arrested because they were immigrants and their political beliefs

What was Sacco and Vanzetti’s fate and why might there be a problem with it? Both men found guilty Trial may have been unfair Evidence circumstantial Judge used racial slurs Both executed Note: modern technology proved they committed the crime…so don’t feel too bad

Isolationism Avoid economic and political alliances with foreign countries Opposed League of Nations

How did the Red Scare contribute to America’s policy of isolationism in the 1920s? Many of the suspected radicals swept up in the Palmer raids were immigrants This contributed to the desire of Americans to adopt an isolationist stance

Disarmament A program in which the nations of the world would voluntarily give up their weapons A goal of President Harding

Nativism A movement favoring native born Americans over immigrants

What are 4 reasons why nativism flared up after World War I? Patriotism- believed foreigners could never be loyal to the U.S. Religion- Protestants, Catholics, and Jews could not see eye to eye Urban conditions- urban problems blamed on immigrants Jobs-immigrants were taking them RedScare

Quota A limit 1921 law passed to restrict immigration Placed a quota on immigrants representing certain ethnic groups or nations

Teapot Dome Scandal Harding not involved…but his people were Albert B. Fall (Secretary of the Interior) secretly gave oil drilling rights on government property to 2 private oil companies Fall received $300,000 in illegal payments and gifts in return

Kellogg-Briand Pact 15 nations pledged not to use the threat of force in their dealings with other nations 60 nations eventually joined the pact Basically made war illegal Unrealistic and unenforceable

How did the Kellogg-Briand Pact reflect Republican foreign policy in the 1920s? This pact reflected the republican desire to avoid foreign wars.