1. ISOLATIONISM NEUTRALITY NORMALCY
POLITICS OF THE 1920S
ISOLATIONISM
NEUTRALITY
NORMALCY

2. RETURN TO NORMALCY
After WWI- America wanted to RETURN TO NORMALCY, Warren G. Harding used this as his political platform
He promised to return the nation to the way it was before war consumed the nation

3. RED SCARE
Lenin and the Bolsheviks threatened to spread communism around the globe
Americans did not want to lose their independence
Americans were terrified of the spread of communism to their country
The RED SCARE resulted from this fear.

4. Schenck vs. US
Charles Schenek was convicted during WWI under the Espionage Act.
This act made it illegal to spy or speak against the country during wartime.
Schenek was sending letters to men letting telling them to NOT report for the draft

5. Schenk v. United States Clear and Present Danger
The Supreme Court ruled that when the country is in “Clear and Present Danger” the freedoms promised in the 1st Amendment can be removed
You cannot scream “FIRE” in a crowded theater.

6. Pure Americanism
After the Great War, Americans wanted to return to normalcy and remove anything from their culture that threatened their way of life
That included anything that was “UN-American”

7. What was Un-American?
Immigrants– Nativism grew quickly in the country and the KKK quickly jumped at the attack on immigrants
Anarchist: people that did not believe in any form of government were not welcomed
Atheists

8. Palmer Raids
Attorney general, A. Mitchell Palmer, was allowed to arrest approximately 6000 people that were suspected not proven just suspected of being anarchist
Anarchist: people who oppose all government

9. SACCO & VANZETTI
Were accused of robbing a payroll truck and murdering the driver
Were they guilty?
Was the trial fair?

10. People argued around the globe that the only things that the two men were guilty of were:
Being Italian
Being Anarchist
Being Atheist
All of the things that were unacceptable in the US after WWI

11. FATE of SACCO & VANZETTI
Crowd outside courthouse after sentence. Raised hands
signify approval for verdict and death sentence.
Jury for Saccao and Vanzetti trial, plus three sheriffs.

12. Communist promises Equality between the rich and the poor
Equal representation in governmental decisions
Government ownership of land so ALL own the land

13. How does Communism effect Union membership?
When workers went on strike after WWI, they were labeled as communist when that was not always the case
Actually, the cost of living was rising faster than worker’s wages and they needed more money to pay bills
Because of the communist label on unions, Union enrollment dropped and so did protection of the worker

14. Republican Presidents after WWI
Warren G. Harding
Herbert Hoover
Calvin Coolidge

15. The Republican Presidents believed in supporting Business

16. businesses get back to work and create jobs for the Americans
The government returned to a policy of “Laissez Fair”
Coolidge said, “The chief business of American people is business”

17. Foreign Policy
Isolationism was Harding and Coolidge’s stand after WWI and the US Congress supported him
The Congress continued to vote NOT to join the League of Nations

18. Kellogg-Briand Pact
In this agreement, 15 nations agreed NOT to use the threat of going to war in dealing with one another
OF COURSE, this was a PACT, (a handshake) and there was no way to enforce this pact

19. Germany owed $33 Billion to Great Britain and France for war damages
United States
Fordney McCumber Tariff
Raised the tariff on goods coming into the US
Great Britain and France counted on the sale
Of their goods to pay off their war debt
The Dawes Plan was a 2.5 billion dollar loan to Germany so that they could pay on their war debt and war could maybe avoided
Great Britain & France
Germany
Germany owed $33 Billion to Great Britain and France for war damages

20. Harding’s Term was plagued with scandal and corruption!!
Harding got America entangled in an economic triangle that would cause us problems
Harding placed his untrustworthy friends in high positions in Washington

21. Teapot Dome Scandal
Albert Falls, Sec. of the Interior, secretly sold oil rights on public land in Elk Hills, California and Teapot Dome, Wyoming
Harding died from a heart attack in 1923 probably due to stress
"I have no trouble with my enemies. I can take care of my enemies all right. But my damn friends. They're the ones that keep me walking the floor nights!"

23. Why does a slow economy start growing?
Wages increasing (28 percent from 1914 to 1926)
Advertisements encouraged the consumer to spend, spend, spend
Purchasing on credit- if you can’t pay now then you can pay later and still have the goods NOW

24. TO HAVE A STRONG ECONOMY THE NATION HAS TO HAVE
CONSUMER ECONOMY
TO HAVE A STRONG ECONOMY THE NATION HAS TO HAVE
SPENDING
Our economy depends of consumer spending!!

25. BUYING ON CREDIT Installment plans encouraged the consumer to buy
If they could not pay in full they could make partial payments over a period of time until the debt was paid
Interest was charged of COURSE to the cost of the item
Buying on installment fueled the growth of the economy

26. Advertising Changed… Consumers worried more about looks that quality
Emphasis went from quality to consumer image

27. Ford’s automobile– A Must Have
produced automobile that everyone could afford
MODEL T was the answer
Ford made assembly line more efficient
job is boring, but worker is more efficient
The more cars made, the less each vehicle cost
The assembly line made the car cheaper

29. Increase in number of cars caused increase in gas stations, highways, traffic lights, hotels and motels, restaurants
People no longer confined to their city or state
Between 1908 and 1927 Ford built more than 15 million cars

30. Some groups suffered in this decade despite the prosperity!
The unskilled workers and African Americans remained poor and wages were limited
The farmers suffered from prices dropping after the war
The demand for food dropped from Europe and the need to supply food to troops was removed
Prices dropped drastically after the war
Cotton textile workers and steel mill workers suffered after the demand for their product was reduced

31. Although a few groups of society were having financial trouble, business was still booming when Hoover took office and America expected it to continue

32. SIGNS OF DANGER UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME overproduction
Buying on credit
Buying on margin
Farm prices low

33. 1920’s stock prices
Stock prices continued to rise, despite the warning signs