Chapter 15 study questions (answer any 30)
1.Summarize the common conclusion of many textbooks about the 1920’s and the Great Crash of 1929 and evaluate the accuracy this common conclusion. 533-34
2.High tax rates raise less money than low tax rates. ATVOTS. In your response reference the Democratic Presidential nominee Cox and Sec. of Treasury Mellon. 535.
3.Evaluate the actions and performance of Mellon as Sec. of Treasury. 536
4.Compare the behavior of Mellon to the behavior of other members of Harding’ cabinet like Forbes and Fall. 536
5.Silent Cal Coolidge was thoroughly American. ATVOTS 537-48
6.Summarize the status of Unions in the 1920’s and identify reasons that contributed to this status. 538
7.Summarize the decisions of the Supreme Court on in relation to government involvement in private sector business. 538
8.Summarize and evaluate the impact of the automobile in America. 539
9.Summarize and evaluate the impact of the following on America: radio, movies, telephone. 540
10.What factors led to the repeal of the 18th Amendment with the 21st Amendment? 541-42
11.What was prohibition designed to do and where did the movement originate? 542
12.Are you a critic or supporter of prohibition? In your response reference personal rights. 542
13.The Bull stock market of the 1920’s was the result of frenzied uncontrolled speculation. ATVOTS. In your response reference stock prices. 542
14.Summarize the criticisms of F.S. Fitzgerald and assess the validity of his criticisms. 544
15.Identify and explain the economic notion of John Maynard Keynes and then assess its validity. 544
16.Evaluate the following quotes of President Coolidge: 544-45
“the business of America is business”
“the man who builds a factory builds a temple”
“We live in an age of … abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create our Declaration. Our Declaration created them. The things of the spirit come first.”
17.Republican administrations sought isolationist’s policies. ATVOTS 545
18.Summarize what happened to the German $ mark$. 545
19.Summarize the Dawes Plan and assess its effectiveness and appropriateness. 546
20.Summarize the Washington Disarmament Conference assess its effectiveness and appropriateness. 546
21.The Washington Disarmament Conference was a wrongheaded utopian approach towards peace. 546-47
22.Summarize the Kellogg-Briad Pact and assess its effectiveness. 547
23.What was Coolidge’s approach to arms limitations? 547
24.Compare and contrast the views of Coolidge and Hoover. 547-48
25.Hoover believed in rugged individualism. ATVOTS 549
26.Al Smith was more conservative than Hoover. ATVOTS 549
27.The US economy just dropped off the table on October 29, 1929. ATVOTS 550
28.Summarize and evaluate the USDA’s parity price formula. 550
29.Summarize the McNary-Haugenism Bill and Coolidge’s response to it. 550-51
30.Summarize and evaluate the money contraction policies of the FED in the 1920’s 550-51
31.Compare the Fordney-McCumber Tariff of 1921 to Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1928. 552
32.The Hawley-Smoot Tariff was a major contributing factor to the Great Crash of 1929. ATVOTS 552
33.Summarize the reaction of Europe to America’s high tariffs. 552
34.What are some fairly obvious conclusions about the tariffs? 553
35.Hoover accelerated the economic decline of America. ATVOTS 553-54
36.Summarize the Reconstruction Finance Corporation of Hoover and its effect. 554
37.What did Hoover do with taxes and what was its effect? 554
38. What happened to money supply in America and why? 554
39.Summarize unemployment figures by 1933. 554
40.What was the Bonus Army march and what was Hoover’s response? 554-55
41.Hoover stood for small government. ATVOTS 555
42.Summarize the social gospel and evaluate its impact on the beliefs of FDR. 555
43.How did FDR summarize the cause of the Great Depression and what is your opinion on his position? Explain 556
44.How did FDR use the radio? 556
45.The New Deal of FDR was 1st started by Hoover. ATVOTS 556-57
The Roaring Twenties and Great Crash of 1929
I.America after WWI
A.Internationally = America became somewhat less involved in world affairs
B.Domestically
1.America returned to laissez faire and the government was pro big business
2.America became intolerant of anything “un-American” and this intolerance in Americain any form.
a)the Communism of WWI helped to create an intolerant American society to a large degree and as President Wilson commented, “It is hard to turn off prejudice once it has been turned on.” George Creel did an outstanding job. The prejudice against Germany had ended for the most part when the war ended but the prejudice created did not and this prejudice targeted Communists. Some believe it was the beginning of the Cold War of America v. Russia (of democracy v. communism). Democracy and Communism are on two opposite ends of the political spectrum.
b)Communism is an extension of socialism where the goal is to make all people in a society equality. There are no classes and there is a common ownership of all things. The government basically owns and controls everything and can tell its citizens what to do. The country as a whole is more important than the individual. Capitalism, free enterprise, and capitalism do not exist. The government is usually led by a strong military class and often a military dictatorship rules all.
c)Russiaousted Czar Nicholas in 1917 Revolution during WWI. They dropped out of the war and became a Communist country and America’s intolerance was largely directed at Russia as Russia was the leading communist country in the world. The communists in Russia were called the Bolsheviks and their leader was LENIN. They formed an international group of Communist countries called the Comintern and their goal was to eventually overthrow all governments of the world and make them communist. Attempts to make Germany and Hungary into Communist countries had already been made. The US did not officially recognize the Communist Government of Russia until 1933. In 1919 after WWI America and its allies sent troops to Russia to remove Communism in the Archangel expedition but it failed. America feared Communism and this fear led to a domestic paranoia.
II.The RED Scare was America’s belief that commies were seeking to overthrow the US Govt. and so America decided to remove or restrict all things COMMIE “like”
A.Restriction of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe (countries like Poland, Italy, and Russia) because of their communistic tendencies.
1.XENOPHOBIA ensued which was a fear of immigrants (a paranoia of “RED”)
2.the QUOTA System was created to officially restrict immigration from those areas. Only a certain percentage from each country was allowed to immigrate to America. America was trying to put up a constant “no vacancy" sign to immigrants.
a)The 1921 Immigration Act = it only allowed 3% of the 1910 number of the people who immigrated to America from each country into America in 1921. (also called the Emergency Quota Act of 1921)
b)The 1924 Natural Origins Act = it only allowed 2 % of the 1890 number. (also called the Immigration Act of 1924)
c)Summary = the acts discriminated against immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. The acts were based on nationality and ethnicity.
B.Restriction of Unions because of their “supposed” communistic tendencies. Unions were seen still by many Americans as “killers” of capital especially with the return of laissez faire politics.
1.a union phobia ensued as many connected the Communist desire to end capitalism and free enterprise with unions. Most laborers in unions just wanted to improve their working conditions and decrease hours and increase wages. It is believed that big business used the RED Scare to break up unions. The closed shop was banned, union membership in the 1920’s declined and workers from southern and eastern Europe had to overcome an ethnic bias.
2.the many strikes that took place after WWI were seen by many to be an attack by the Communists on capitalism and free enterprise. 3000 strikes took place in 1919 alone involving four million workers. Wages did not increase during WWI to help keep prices down for war materials and so after the war workers wanted long awaited raises especially since the owners got extremely rich from the war.
a)The Seattle strike of 1919 erupted into a fiery problem of which the “Bolsheviks” (commies) were blames and the general public believed it
b)The Steel strike of 1919
c)The coal miners strike led by John Lewis
d)The Bostonpolice strike where Governor Calvin Coolidge said return to work or your fired
e)The Railroad strike of 1922 where the government issued and injunction
f)The IWW’s (Wobblies) went on strike to improve working conditions
(many believed communism was to blame for all the strikes and all the labor violence)
C.US Attorney General A. Micthell Palmer known as the “fighting Quaker” saw it as his duty to rid America of commies.
1.Palmer targeted areas that had new immigrant and union members in them
2.Palmer created the FBI with J. Edgar Hoover as its first director
3.Palmer arrested 10,000 and deported 550. On the Buford ship he had 249 “alleged” radicals deported and it was called the “Soviet Ark”
4.Palmer intensifies the Red Scare after a letter bomb blew up on Wall Street killing 38 people and after a bomb blew up Palmer’s home. Communists were blamed
5.Palmer violated the civil rights of many but he had support by 1/3 of the states and support from the American Legions(a veterans group led by TR) and from carious evangelists like Billy Sunday
6.Palmer used laws such as the criminal syndicalism laws which said it is unlawful for any American to support violence of any kind to get social change and the Immigration Law of 1818 which said no immigrant can join a group that supports the overthrow of the US Government
D.The Sacco and Vanzetti case illustrated the intensity of the RED Scare well. Sacco was a poor shoe salesman and Vanzetti was a poor fish peddler. They were both recent immigrants immigrants, both draft dodgers, and both avid anarchists. They were arrested for a payroll robbery and the killing of the payroll guards. They were seemingly “guilty until proven innocent” because their Italian background and their support for anarchism. The evidence was presentedand they were found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death by electrocution. Any other time they may would have served a moderate prison term. The judge was very bias and despite appeals Sacco and Vanzetti were sentenced to death.
E.The revival of the “KKK” in the 1920’s also illustrated how prejudice through the Red Scare had taken hold of America. Grand Wizards such as Hiram Revelsand others like Goblins and Kleages rose to prominence and membership in the KKK rose to approx. 4.5 million by 1924 mainly in the Midwest and south. Infact, at one time the state of Indiana was literally controlled by KKK leaders. The goals of the KKK appealed to many who wanted to keep America 100% American and 100% commie free (Jingoistic and nativistic):
1.keep blacks in their place in American society
2.keep Catholic, Jews and other foreigners out of America (restrict immigration)\
3.restrict the power of unions
4.support the prohibition of alcohol
5.support fundamentalism
(the resurgence abruptly ended after it was revealed that leaders like H. Evans were charging $10.00 for membership and then depositing $4.00 of it into their bank accounts)
** a Communist Party did exist in US but only had 300 to 600 members**
III.Changes in American society and culture in the 1920’s
A.The PROHIBITION “experiment” = the Volstead Act and then the 18th Amendment made it illegal in America to manufacture, sell, or transport alcohol in America. Imports and exports of alcohol were banned as well. America went “bone dry” at midnight on Jan. 6, 1920.
1.the goal was to remove a prime source of “corruption” (saloons) from society. It was believed that removing alcohol would reduce crime, and domestic abuse and neglect, and job accidents.
2.many women were ecstatic. Women like Francis Willard (WCTU), Carrie A. Nation, and others. After the passing of Prohibition women then began to target cigarettes.
3.numerous people in America were skeptical about Prohibition
a)Herbert Hoover called it was a great social and economic experiment, noble in motive and far reaching in purpose.
b)Mark Twain believed in only drove drunkenness behind closed doors
c)Resistance to Prohibition mainly came from the eastern cities
4.the results of Prohibition
a)the percentage of people drinking alcohol actually decreased according to some studies but people liked having a choice and felt it was none of the Governments business and many people including womenfrequented illegal bars called speakeasies.
b)Speakeasies sprang up all over America which were clubs selling alcohol illegally. In N.Y.C alone there were approx. thousands of clubs in 1926. People flocked to these clubs to drink and listen to JAZZ.
c)Bootleggerswere producing alcohol illegally throughout the country and gangsters were dominating the underground alcohol market. The most notorious gangster of the time was Al (Scarface) Capone who dominated theChicago scene. Capone eliminated his main Chicago rival, Bugsy Moran, in the St. Valentines Day Massacre and he like many gangsters used violence and was involved in other criminal activities like prostitution, narcotics, gambling, protection $ rackets, and much more. He was called Public Enemy # 1 and Eliot NESS went after him and finally put him in jail for tax evasion. Chicago was considered Americas most lawless city.
d)The police found it almost impossible to enforce and in many instances police were paid off by gangsters, club owners, and bootleggers. Alcohol was being smuggled in from Canada and Mexico and all the coasts. People were hiding their beer in the following:
- spare tires- medicine bottles
- bath tubs- hip flasks
- teddy bears- binoculars etc…..
5.in 1933 after over 13 years, prohibition of alcohol was repealed by the 21st Amendment in President FDR’s first term. The “wets” had finally defeated the “drys.” It was repealed mainly because it cost too much money to stop it. The crime rate rose and the sheer number of people breaking the law forced the govt. to repeal it. During the Prohibition bank deposits of people increased and absenteeism in the workplace decreased proving some good did come from it.
B.Women’s Suffrage = the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in the US in 1919. 26 million America women could now vote.
1.Carrie Chapman Catt commented, “it took approx. 52 years of pauseless campaign by women to get the right to vote.” Women of the past like Mott, Anthony, Stanton and many others were honored and women of the present like Alice Paul and Lucy Stone who went on hunger strikes and those like Carrie Catt who used more humble means were all given credit. Women’s lives had changed
2.Women saw the first women in Congress, Jeanette Rankin get elected in Montana. Many women saw Margaret Sanger birth control as a way to incorporate more freedom into their lives by having less children and staying at work in their careers longer. Most women still worked in low paying jobs (pink collar jobs) but opportunities were growing. Divorce rates rose in the 1920’s while marriage dropped in the 1920’s.
3.the state of women was summed up well by Anna Howard, “younger women perhaps have the harder task ahead of them and that is seeking to get equality in the workplace.” Younger women in the 1920’s in any case were extremely different from the previous generations as many young women called themselves “flappers” who were described as young rebellious women seeking excitement.
C.The Scopes Trial of 1925 (Evolution v. Creation)
1.in Tennessee it was illegal to teach evolution but a biology teacher named John Scopes goes ahead and teaches evolution to his students.
2.Scopes was brought to trial. W.J.Bryan the 3 time Democratic Presidential candidate, was the prosecuting lawyer and the well known Clarence Darrow was Scope’s defense lawyer.
3.the media coverage was intense and it was called the trial of the century. It was a struggle between modernists (scientific views) and fundamentalists (religious views)
4.the case was not about the guilt or innocence of Scopes as he admitted to breaking the law but was about the freedom a teacher has in teaching various theories like evolution.
5.the jury found Scopes guilty and he was fined $100.00 but the Tenn. State Supreme Court let him off on a technicality. The trial hurt the cause of the fundamentalists and although fundamentalists remained a vibrant force in American life for some time it’s influence was beginning to erode away and eventually would be replaced with modernism and biology.
6.summary = religion in America was facing changes and Aimee McPherson a preacher in Calif. was seeking to modernize church by bringing in Jazz and other pleasantries to attract more people and she was highly criticized.
D.The Harlem Renaissance = a rebirth of black culture in America in the 1920’s.
1.it took place mainly in NYC as over 100,000 lived there in the 1920’s