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The Roaring Twenties Part 2
Politics and Prosperity
Karl Marx
1818 - 1883
Wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848
78
Communism• A political and economic ideology
– Government ownership of all land and property
– A classless society where wealth is distributed according to people’s needs
– A single political party controlled by the government
– The country’s needs are always more important than the individual
79
Origins and ideas of Communism and Socialism
Bolsheviks
• Communists rebels who overthrew the Russian government in Nov. 1917
• Russian word for “majority”• Led by Vladimir Lenin• Their emblem was a red flag• Their army was called the Red Army
80
Vladimir Lenin –Leader of 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia
Lenin dies in 1924 – Body encased in glass mausoleum
Lenin’s embalmed body
The Red Scare• An intense fear of communism and
other radical political ideas that spread through the U.S. in the 1920’s
• Triggered by Communist take-over of Russia and Hungary and labor strikes in the U.S.
• Suspected communists were arrested and charged with sedition
• Many were jailed, removed from office, or exiled
81
Immigration During the 20’s
• Emergency Quota Act said admission to the United States was based on immigrants’ ethnic identity and national origin.
• National Origins Act of 1924 exempted Mexicans from the quota system
Red Scare
Sedition
Any action or language that incites rebellion against the
authority of the government
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The Red Scare:
Democracy in danger?
Anarchists
People who oppose any form of political
authority
83
Sacco-Vanzetti Trial• April 1920 – Braintree, MA• Guard and paymaster at a shoe factory
were robbed and killed• 2 Italian immigrants were arrested• Convicted and sentenced to death• Many believed that it was fear of their
radical anarchist political beliefs that led to an unfair verdict
• April 1927 - Both were electrocuted after years of appeals
84
Bartolomeo Vanzetti & Nicola Sacco
The guilty verdict was protested
internationally
A mob in Mexico protests the execution
The American Civil Liberties Union
• founded during the Red Scare (1919–1921) because the accused needed advocates to ensure their civil rights
Eugene Debs
• Ran for president on a platform of socialism
Warren G. Harding
• 29th President• 1921 – 1923
• Republican• From Ohio• Campaign called
for a return to “normalcy”
85
“Normalcy”
Harding’s suggestion that the U.S. wished to return to a calm, normal way of life after the stressful events of the previous decade, such as Progressivism, World War I, and the Red Scare
86
Normalcy
Harding’s Policies
• Isolationism – U.S. would not join the League of Nations
• Disarmament – nations should voluntarily give up their weapons
• Immigration restrictions• Tariffs raised to protect American
business from foreign competition
87
Teapot Dome Scandal
• Harding’s Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall, gave drilling rights on government owned naval oil fields in Wyoming to 2 private oil companies
• Received nearly $400,000 illegally• No evidence that Harding was involved• Fall was fined $100,000 and sentenced
to a year in prison
88
Teapot Dome, Wyoming
The Ohio Gang was blamed: Harding's buddies
Whom is this
cartoonist blaming for the Teapot Dome
scandal?
Effects of Scandals
a. began to have distrust for the elected officials
Calvin Coolidge• 30th President• 1923 - 1929
• Republican• Massachusetts• VP under Harding -
Takes office when Harding dies in Aug. 1923
89
continued
Calvin Coolidge• A man of few words –
“Silent Cal”• “The chief business
of the American people is business.”
• Took a laissez-faire approach to business
• The government should leave business alone and let it grow
89
Kellogg-Briand Pact
• 1927 - Agreement written by U.S. Secretary of State, Kellogg, and French Foreign Minister, Briand
• 60 nations pledged not to use the threat of war against each other
90
Factors that led to the Boom
• Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon persuaded Congress to stimulate the U.S. economy by Reducing federal taxes
• Buying of Stock= Stocks allowed business to expand
• New technologies (like the radio leading to consumerism and the automobile)
Consumer Economy
An economy that depends
on a large amount of
spending by consumers
91
What are consumers and producers?
Larger profitsfor business
Wages for workers increase
People consume products
Consumer Economy
Cycle
92
GNP Increased• Gross National Product• The measure of a country’s
productivity• The total value of goods and
services produced annually
93
New Electric Gadgets Available to the American
Consumer
• Radios• Toasters
• Vacuum cleaners • Sewing machines
• Refrigerators • Coffee pots
• Ovens• Irons
1920’s General Electric
Electric Range
Electric refrigerators replaced “iceboxes”
Catalogs sold everything for the home – including the home
And what was the greatest
invention of the age?
Henry Ford
• 1896 – invented the quadricycle
• 1899 – started the Detroit Automobile Company – made 22 cars
• 1900 – business failed
94
continued
Henry Ford
• 1901 – There were over 50 companies making cars, but only the wealthy could afford them
• Ford wanted to “democratize the automobile” by making them cheaper
• 1903 – Started the Ford Motor Company
• Mass produced the Model T using assembly line production
94
Assembly Line
• A process in which each worker completes a single specific task in the production process
• At the end of the line, the product is complete
• Ford’s assembly line produced a Model T every 24 seconds
95
How did Henry Ford convince investors to
back his plan to produce cheap reliable
cars after his first venture had failed?
Question -
Answer
Ford, at the age of 38, entered a race against the most famous racer in the country, Alexander Winton.
Ford’s “Sweepstakes” had 26 horsepower.
Winton’s “Bullet” had 70 horsepower.
In a 10 lap race, Ford came from behind in the 7th lap to beat Winton by a wide margin, averaging 45 mph.
What made the difference?
Winton’s car began to misfire badly, but Ford’s car had a spark coil insulated with a porcelain case designed by a dentist. (The forerunner of the spark plug)
Ford won $1000 and a punch bowl, and found financial backers for his new car company.
Ford gaining on Winton in Oct. 1901 race in Grosse Point, MI
Ford (the man)
Ford (the car)
Henry Ford’s “Sweepstakes”2 cylinders – 539 cubic inches – 26 hp –
top speed 72 mph
Ford and the 1921 Model T
Model T – 15 million sold between 1908 and 1927
1927 Model
1923 Ford Grain Truck
The Automobile
How did Americans afford
all these new toys?
Installment Plans• Manufacturers attracted consumers by
allowing payments over time• Dramatically increased demand for goods• Items most likely bought on credit:
– Cars– Furniture– Vacuum cleaners, radios, refrigerators– Washing machines
96
Speculation• The practice of making high-risk
investments in hopes of getting a huge return
• The rapid rise of stock prices throughout the 1920’s convinced people that they could “get rich quick”
97
Buying on Margin• Common people with little money
would buy stocks by putting 10 – 50 percent down and borrowing the rest owed
• If the stocks went down in price, the investor still owed the full amount for them plus the interest on the loan
98
Welfare Capitalism• In order to prevent more labor
strikes, employers began to improve conditions by offering– Higher wages– Paid vacations– Health insurance– English classes
99
Consumerism in 20’s
Herbert Hoover
• 31st President• 1929 – 1933• Republican• New York• Continued to
keep government out of business
100