Chapter 20

Politics of the Roaring Twenties

There two distinct beliefs that began to surface in America

Nativism – Prejudice against foreign-born people

Isolationism – Policy of pulling away from involvement in world affairs

Communism (The Red Scare) – Several dozen bombs were mailed to government and business leaders, and the public grew fearful that communism was trying to take over America

J. Edgar Hoover

Hired Mitchell Palmer to begin to stamp out communism in the USThey hunted down Communists, Socialists, and Anarchists.

The Palmer raids

They trampled people’s civil rights invading homes and throwing people in jail without legal counsel, and deporting hundreds of foreign born radicals without trials

Sacco and VanzettiArrested for robbing a paymasterNo evidenceFound Guilty anyway and sentenced to deathAugust 23 1927, they found themselves in the ….

The Quota System

Limited the amount of immigrants allowed into the country at a given time.

Labor Unrest runs rampant

The Boston Police StrikeThe Steel Mill StrikeThe Coal Miner’s Strike

The Boston Police Strike –Wanted more pay (All policemen lost there jobs)

The Steel Mill StrikesWorkers wanted –

Fewer HoursA living wageUnion involvementCollective Bargaining

Companies hired strike breakersPolice, National Guard, and Federal troops to end the strike

Coal Miners’ Strike

Miners want five day work week Increase in payJohn L. LewisGot 27% pay raise but no shorter work weekJohn Lewis became national hero

Labor Movement began to loose its appeal

Much of work force consisted of Immigrants Willing to work and live in poor conditionsImmigrants did not speak English and hard to organizeFarmers migrated to cities and were used to defending for themselvesMost Unions excluded African Americans

Warren G. Harding

Return to NormalcyYearning for world PeaceKellogg-Briand PactFordney-McCumber Tariff (60%)The Dawes Plan

Harding’s Cabinet became known as the Ohio Gang, it was all of his poker buddies

Scandal rocks the White House

US Oil Reserves on Public Lands

Elk Hills, CaliforniaTeapot Dome, Wyoming

Albert Fall

Secretary of InteriorConvinced Edwin Denby, Secretary of Navy, that he, Falls, should be in control of Oil reserves at Elk Hills and Teapot dome

Falls Cont’d

Falls turns around and sells the exclusive right to extract the oil to two private oil companies, one being Mammoth Oil CompanyHe received kickbacks and pays of approximately $400,000

Henry Ford

Change the Landscape of AmericaAutomobile industryAssembly line productionMass production at a faster rateBring the work to the worker

Model T Ford

The impact of the Automobile

Route 66Gas StationsRepair ShopsGaragesMotelsTourist CampsShopping Centers1920 Traffic signalsHolland Tunnel 1927

Holland Tunnel

Urban Sprawl

Airplane Industry

Postal ServiceCharles LindbergAmelia EarhartPan American AirwaysHoward Hughes

1927 Vega

Electricity Drives the Standard of Living up

Electric conveniences

Electric IronsElectric RefrigeratorsCooking RangesToasters

Installment Plan

Buy things now with a small down payment and make monthly or weekly payments