U.S. History II HIS-112

UNIT 8THE 1920S

U.S. History IIHIS-112

The New Era

The 1920s were characterized by economic change and social controversy It was a period when businesses go through an

economic boom There was an increase in new technology It was a period marked by cultural diversity and new

social behaviors This period also fully embraced isolationism

It was also a period of Republican dominance The presidency was held by Warren Harding (1920-

1923) and Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)Economy soared after a postwar depression in

1921 and 1922

New Era and Corporate Economy

During the 1920s, the GNP rose by 40% Industrial production nearly doubled There was new technology that came out of the war

For example, DuPont developed plastic and rayon There was more efficient planning, management, and

innovative advertisingThe level of corporate mergers taking place

was higher than it had been since the 1890s In 1929 alone, over 1,200 mergers took place

Including General Motors, Sears Roebuck, and DuPont By 1930, 200 corporations controlled almost half the

corporate wealth


A new managerial style emerged based on Alfred P. Sloan’s reorganization of GM He broke the company down into components Mangers were tasked with planning new products, controlling

inventory, and putting the whole production process togetherPlanning was key to the new corporate structure

Marketing and advertising were now important components More money was spent on research as well

Employers also embraced welfare capitalism This was to encourage workers to be more productive This included incentives such as pensions, recreation

facilities, cafeterias, paid vacations and profit-sharing plans


This period also was known as the peak of the “second Industrial Revolution” This is mainly because of the rising use of electricity

By 1919, more than 2/3 of American homes had electricity With this, new electronic devices were created to save

time for homemakers, including washing machines, vacuum, and refrigerators

However, the actual time the average housewife spent working was not reduced even with these gadgets

For many poor urban and rural women, the only change they saw was an ever growing divide between them and the wealthy


The marketing was aimed mostly at women 80% of all personal credit was given to women

homemakers A lot of this attention was spent on personal products

for women, including treatments for skin problems, body odor, and other personal problems

Chain stores also erupted at this time They offered more goods at cheaper prices because they

bought in bulk and did not provide credit or delivery services

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P) revolutionized the grocery store

J.C. Penny and Woolworth began selling a large variety of goods

Warren Harding Campaign Poster (1920)

Election of 1920

The election of 1920 did not see a strong candidate from either party

The Republican National Convention in June led to the rise of a “dark horse” candidate Originally, the Republican party wanted to run

Theodore Roosevelt but he had died in January 1919 The main candidates had been General Leonard Wood

and Governor Frank O. Lowden of Illinois However, after ten rounds of balloting, Warren Harding

suggested another candidate and was selected Calvin Coolidge was picked as his running mate

Election of 1920

Harding ran on two platforms: “A return to normalcy” and “America First” The former was a rallying cry for a return to calmer

time prior to World War while the latter was popular with those who were against the League of Nations

He ran a campaign very similar to McKinley’s It included a very aggressive ad campaign while he

stayed at home giving speechesThe Democrat National Convention later that

month also had some big issues It took 44 ballots before their candidate was selected,

Ohio Governor James Cox with Franklin D. Roosevelt as his running mate

Election of 1920

Cox supported many of Wilson’s ideas including the U.S. joining the League of Nations As his party did not have the same funds as the GOP, he

did an extensive campaign around the country that reached approximately 2 million voters

Unfortunately , many of his ideas were not attractive to the populace who did not want another four years of Wilsonian-type politics

Eugene Debs also ran for president again under the Socialist Party ticket He was still in prison at the time

Election of 1920

In the end, Harding won the election by a landslide He received over 60% of the popular vote with 404 electoral

votes Cox only received 34% of the votes with 127 electoral votes Debs once again got over 900,000 votes (3.4%)

As the Nation magazine put it, it was an election by “disgust” It was not so much the policies of Harding that won the

voters over but a nation sick of Wilson and the Democrats

The Republicans also won control of both houses of Congress

Election of 1920 Results

Warren Harding (1921-1923)

Harding Presidency

When Harding came to office, he had one major goal He wanted to reduce the size of government to move

it into a peacetime oneIn a speech before a joint session of

Congress, he called for The cancellation of the wartime profit excise tax A general lowering of taxes The creation of a merchant marine The development of a department of public welfare

All of these ideas were aimed at stimulating the post-war economy

Harding Presidency

He wanted to create a nationalized budget system The Bureau of the Budget was created with the Budget

and Accounting Act of 1921 Its purpose was to have the Office of Accountancy find

measures that were “looking to greater economy or efficiency in public expenditures”

He also made very smart appointments: Andrew Mellon (Treasury) Herbert Hoover (Commerce) Henry C. Wallace (Agriculture) Charles G. Dawes (Budget Director) William Taft (Chief Justice)

Charles Evans Hughes Secretary of State

(1921-1923)

Washington Naval Conference

During the 1920s, U.S. foreign policy was focused not only on keeping the peace but isolationism as well

To meet this purpose, the Washington Naval Conference was held Its purpose was to discuss disarmament and preserve peace Three main agreements came out of it: the Four-Power

Treaty, Five-Power Treaty, and the Nine-Power Treaty All of the treaties were negotiated by Secretary of State

Hughes In the long term, it helped to enable Japan to become a

dominant naval power


Four-Power Treaty (1921) This was signed by the U.S., Britain, France, and Japan It was designed to protect U.S. interests in the Pacific

by maintaining the status quo and thus preventing warFive Power Treaty (1922)

Like the previous treaty, it was designed to protect U.S. overseas investments and to prevent the U.S. from getting dragged into another war

This treaty put a limit on the total naval tonnage and a ratio of armaments for each of signatories For every 5 tons of American and British warships, Japan

was allowed 3 tons and France and Italy 1.75 tons


Nine-Power Treaty Signatories included the previous members as well as

China, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Portugal This was designed to protect international interests in

China Specifically it wanted a guarantee of the U.S.’s Open Door

policy and the equality of China and Manchuria This would be violated by Japan in 1931 when they invaded

ManchuriaThe effect of the conference was a redesigned

navy Many ships were scrapped and new ones were built smaller Those already under construction were modified into

aircraft carriers

Disarming After the War

Harding’s Scandals

While there is some good to Harding’s presidency, there was also a lot of bad Most of it did not come out until after the president’s

death A lot of it had to do with him appointing friends (known

as the Ohio Gang) to high positionsHarding himself was plagued with scandals

He openly violated the Eighteenth Amendment by serving alcohol in the White House while he pushed for a dry country

He was known for his numerous affairs Nan Britton wrote an exposé about her affair in the 1927

The President’s Daughter in which she tells about Harding’s love child


Teapot Dome Scandal Harding issued an Executive Order to transfer control of all

naval oil reserves from the Naval Department to the Department of the Interior This included reserve lands in Teapot Dome, WY

In 1922, Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall gave a contract to Harry Sinclair of Monmouth Oil to drill the lands There was no competitive bidding done for this contract

After an investigation by the Wall Street Journal, it was discovered that Fall received a $100,000 interest-free loan from Sinclair as well as over $400,000 in bribes

Fall was convicted of bribery in 1929 and served a year in jail


In 1927, Thomas W. Miller was convicting of defrauding the government He had been the Alien Property Custodian under

Harding His job was to handle property of enemy citizens in the

U.S. as part of the Trading With the Enemies Act He received a $274,000 bribe to transfer the

American Metal Co. to Richard Merton The Attorney General, Henry Daugherty, also received

$50,000 in bribes as well


Daugherty was the target of a number of accusations The biggest was of profiting from sales of government

alcohol supplies during Prohibition He was also accused of selling pardons

Charles Forbes, head of the Veteran’s Bureau was also guilty of corruption Specifically, it involved giving contracts for

government buildings for kickbacks After investigation, it was discovered that he

defrauded the government for millions of dollars

Harding’s Death

In June 1923, Harding began a cross-country trip to promote the U.S. joining the League of Nation’s World Court Part of this including being the first president to visit the

state of AlaskaIn July, he supposedly came down with a bad case

of food poisoning He traveled south to San Francisco There he developed pneumonia and died of a heart attack

on August 2, 1923He was succeeded by V.P. Calvin Coolidge

He was sworn in by his father, a justice of the peace, while in Vermont

Calvin Coolidge (1912-1929)

Coolidge’s First Term

Calvin Coolidge was the opposite of Harding While Harding was the poker-playing, heaving drinking

president, Coolidge was a simple, honest, and religious man He was best known for his no-nonsense role in putting down

the Boston police strike in 1919 when he was governor of Massachusetts

When he took office on August 2, 1923, he kept much of Harding’s cabinet in tact

One of the key cabinet members was Andrew Mellon As Coolidge’s main focus was on the economy, he wanted to

keep the successful businessman on his cabinet


Coolidge did consider the country’s economy to be his top priority He believed that the economy either made or

destroyed presidents as it was the one thing the voters always knew about

When he entered office, the country was in an economic boom This period was known as the “Coolidge Prosperity”

as the country’s income rose from $71.6 billion in 1923 to $81.7 billion in 1928

It also was a time of corporate mergers


Coolidge believed that businesses should be the one’s running the country Congress should be running the federal government,

not controlling businesses This included pushing for less government regulation,

higher tariffs, and lower taxes

He did admire successful business owners This materialism clashed a bit with his Puritanical

values but he believed that as long as “wealth is made the means and not the end, we need not greatly fear it”


Coolidge took a very “hand’s off” type of leadership He was very successful at delegating duties throughout his

administrationOne of the more successful parts was having

Herbert Hoover restructure the Department of Commerce Hoover believed that commerce was the center hub of the

country He expanded the role of the Department to include such

things as regulation of the census, radio and air travel He also expanded the department’s role to include getting

concessions for overseas trade, especially in getting access to raw materials


In August 1923, the anthracite coal workers were threatening to go on strike Many Republicans were fearful about this strike

threatening winter coal supplies and pushed Coolidge to deal with it

Coolidge, in turn, had Gifford Pinchot, then governor of Pennsylvania, deal with the issue instead

Pinchot was able to negotiate a settlement in favor of the workers, including eight-hour work days and a 10% wage increase

The workers were happy with the deal However, when the price of coal was increased, the

blame fell on Pinchot rather than Coolidge


One of Coolidge’s main concerns going into the 1924 election was to separate himself from corporate interests This was to garner the support of the progressive

RepublicansHe pushed through the Oil Pollution Act of 1924

This prohibited intentional oil dumping into waters within 3 miles from the shoreline

He got U.S. Steel to end its 12-hour workday policies

He also offered the vice presidential nomination to William Borah, a progressive However, Borah declined the nomination


Coolidge also helped push through the Revenue Act of 1924 It was also known as the Mellon Tax Bill, named after

Secretary of Treasury Andrew Mellon It reduced the tax rate to those making less than

$4,000 (~$48,500 in 2008) from 1.5% to 1.125% It also reduced the top income tax bracket from above

$500,000 at a 63% to all income above $100,000 (~$1.2 million in 2008) at only 25%

It created the U.S. Board of Tax Appeals It also made all non-citizen resident American Indians

citizens for the purpose of apportionment

Election of 1924

Election of 1924

During the Republican National Convention in June 1924, the clear nominee was Calvin Coolidge Coolidge won the nomination on the first ballot Businessman Charles Dawes was nominated for Vice

PresidentThe Democrat National Convention illustrated a

large split in the party William McAdoo was supported by the rural delegates of the

south and midwest who also supported prohibition (the “drys”) and the Ku Klux Klan

Governor Al Smith of New York was supported by the ethnic minorities in the cities and more liberal delegates, especially those who were against prohibition (the “wets) and the KKK

Election of 1924

One big point of contention during the Convention was whether or not the party would condemn the KKK Even William Jennings Bryan would not condemn the KKK

in fear that it would cause a permanent split of the partyAfter 100 ballots, neither candidate could get the

required 2/3 votes to get the nomination Because of this, it became the longest running national

convention in U.S. history (June 24 to July 9)On the 103 ballot, John W. Davis, a former

Congressman from West Virginia was nominated Charles W. Bryan was nominated as the vice president

Election of 1924

Will Rogers, a comedian from the era, responded to the convention with “I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!”

Senator Robert La Follette was unhappy with both sides choosing a conservative candidate He ran as a third party candidate under the Progressive

Party His campaign pushed liberal ideas that were attractive to

farmers, labor unions and socialists He condemned the government being run by big business

and called for more strict regulation of big business He also wanted to help independent farmers by giving

federal aid to them

Election of 1924

The Republicans were able to raise over $4.4 million for their advertising campaign Coolidge remained at his job in the White House while

Dawes traveled the country They rode along with the slogan “Keep Cool with

Coolidge” while reminding Americans how well the country has done economically under the Republicans

Coolidge won the election with 54% of the popular vote (382 electoral votes) Davis got 28.8% of the votes and 136 electoral votes La Follette got 16.6% of the votes and 13 electoral

votes

1924 Presidential Election Results

Andrew Mellon Treasury Secretary (1921-1932)

Coolidge’s Domestic Policies

Coolidge’s main domestic policies was to increase the economic well-being of American businesses

He supported Andrew Mellon’s plan to reduce the national debt left over from World War I He believed that if the tax rates were too high, people

would avoid paying them Therefore, tax rates should be lowered and therefore

people would be willing to pay their taxes and thus increase government income

This included reducing income taxes for both the wealthy and poor, lowering the Federal Estate Tax, and promoting more government efficiency


Mellon helped push through the Revenue Act of 1926 This eliminated the gift tax and reduced estate taxes by 50% It also cancelled many excise taxes

In 1928, the Revenue Act reduced tax rates for corporations to 12% This allowed the government to give large tax refunds to

businesses

Mellon’s plan was successful It reduced government spending and reduced the national

debt from close to $26 billion in 1921 to about $16 billion in 1930


In 1925, Coolidge appointed William E. Humphrey as the chair of the Federal Trade Commission Humphrey was a corporate attorney and lobbyist for

the lumber industry

With this appointment, the FTC only investigated “unfair business practices” when the corporations clearly violated what was good for the public interests Even then, the FTC did not take legal action, instead

relying on private hearings and informal “stipulations”


While Coolidge’s administration was very pro-business, it did place some limits on big business

In 1926, the U.S. Railway Labor Act was passed Also known as the Watson-Parker Act of 1926 The purpose of the Act was to end what were called “wildcat

strikes” that would bring the railroad industry to a standstill Workers received the right to organize unions and negotiate

with owners through a bargaining and grievance system Owners did not have to worry about major strikes A National Mediation Board was set up to negotiate between

the two sides

Great Mississippi Flood of 1927


In 1927, the Mississippi River flooded It was the worst river flooding in U.S. history Roughly 16.5 million acres in seven states were flooded

with waters up to 30 feet deep It caused over $400 million in damages 246 people were killed due to the flooding

Hoover organized emergency aid to flood victims

The next year, the Flood Control (Jones-Reid) Act of 1928 was passed It created a system of levees over 1,000 miles long and

a series of locks and dams were built along with the construction of runoff channels

Vice President Charles Dawes (1925-1929)

Coolidge’s Foreign Policies

Coolidge’s foreign policy was tied into the economics His main goals were to reduce the risk of international

conflict, resist revolution and make the world safe for trade and investment

A big concern for the U.S. in Europe was he amount of debt owed by Allied countries More than $10 billion was owed to the U.S., with ¾ of

that belonging to France and Britain Many called for a cancellation of debts as they had

already “paid the price” through the destruction and loss of lives they endured

Coolidge refused to cancel the debt but instead lowered the interest rates on it


Another big issue for the Europeans was that they could not export goods to the U.S. The Fordney-McCumber Tariff of 1922 set the average

import duty to 38.5% Because Europe was unable to export goods to the U.S.,

they had great difficulty paying back their loansIn 1923, Germany was on the verge of

defaulting on its huge reparation payments to the Allies Germany had only made one payment back in September

1921 and placed a moratorium on loan payments In response, in January 1923, France invaded the Ruhr

Valley which was a key industrial area for Germany


An international committee was set up by the Allies to bring about order in Europe The head of the committee was Charles Dawes It believed that a “healthy” Germany could pay back

its loans to Britain and FranceThe Dawes Plan of 1924

The reparations payments were reduced from $2 billion a year to $50 million

Financial reforms were to take place in Germany This included backing up the paper currency with gold

reserves and having American loans made available to Germany

France would leave the Ruhr Valley


Latin America was a major post-war market for U.S. goods These countries purchased half of their imports from the

U.S. By the end of the decade, the U.S. controlled the financial

affairs of 10 Latin American countries

Coolidge was quick to put troops in other countries to protect U.S. interests U.S. Marines were sent to Honduras twice (1925 and 1926)

to help bring an end to “anarchy” during elections there In Nicaragua, the Marines were pulled out in 1925 but sent

back the next year to put down a civil war


In 1924, Mexican president Plutarco Elías Calles was planning to nationalize the oil fields of the country While some called for war against Mexico, Coolidge

decided to negotiate instead This allowed for foreign control as long as they continued

to make a “positive act” of developing their oil fields

Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 It was named after U.S. Secretary of State Frank B.

Kellogg and French foreign minister Aristide Briand It provided “for the renunciation of war as an

instrument of national policy” It was signed by 62 countries but there was no military

backing to enforce the treaty

Coolidge, Hoover, Kellogg, and other Kellogg-Briand Pact members

Women in the 1920s

More women worked outside the home though their share of manufacturing jobs fell During the 1920s, they sought jobs in white-collar

occupations that were becoming feminized: secretary, bookkeeper, clerk and telephone operator

An increasing number of married women had had jobs, but they were low paying

Most single women expected marriage to end their employment For secretaries and teachers marriage often led to

dismissal from their jobs

Women in the 1920s

In 1920, the League of Women Voters was organized It was created during the convention of the National

American Woman Suffrage Association six months prior to the ratification of the 19th Amendment

It worked with the Women’s Joint Congressional Committee to get women involved in politics and help shape public policy

In 1921, the Sheppard-Towner Maternity and Infancy Protection Act was passed by Congress It provided federal matching funds for state prenatal and

children’s health care centers It was designed to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates

Women in the 1920s

The Cable Act of 1922 allowed a U.S. citizen to marry a foreign-born male without losing her citizenship Prior to this law, the woman would lose her U.S. citizenship

and take on the citizenship of her husband However, if she married someone not eligible for

citizenship, she would lose hers as well By 1923, women’s reform groups were able to set

state minimum wage laws for women workers However, this was overturned in Adkins v. Children’s

Hospital (1923) saying that this violated contractual rights of workers

During this period, women only made 57% of male wages by 1930

Women in the 1920s

During the 1920s, the image of the “modern woman” was embodied in the “flapper” This image was enhanced by Hollywood with female

actors such as Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo They dressed in short dresses that exposed their legs

and flattened their curves to look more boy-likeThe concept of the flapper represented

freedom and equality for women It was associated with brazen women who sought

sexual satisfaction and personal freedom However, it also was associated with being frivolous

and daring, not professional and competent

1920’s Flapper

Ethnic Diversity

Even though World War I slowed down the number of immigrants to the U.S., it picked back up during the 1920s By 1930, 30% of the American population were either

foreign born or were second generation immigrants Many of those immigrants came from Mexico and

settled in the southwest Even though Japan stopped issuing visas, there was still

a large number of people emigrating to the U.S.

During this period, the growing desire for isolation began to affect U.S. immigration policy

Ethnic Diversity

Many Americans were worried about the rising number of immigrants coming into the U.S. While most were concerned about losing jobs or

business opportunities to immigrants, there was a rising concern about “imported” radicals

The first hard anti-immigration legislation was Immigration Act of 1917 It barred the immigration of any “mentally or physically

defective” persons, criminals, beggars, and illiterates It was also known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act

because it stated that people from south and southeastern Asia and the Pacific Islands could not emigrate to the U.S.

It was vetoed by Wilson but Congress overrode it

Ethnic Diversity

Prior to this law, only Chinese had been excluded from immigration Now Indians, Indonesians, and other groups from this

region were excludedIn 1921, Congress passed the Emergency Quota

Act which set a limit on European immigration In any one year, only 3% of the number of the number of

each nationality present in the country (per 1910 census) would be allowed to emigrate to the U.S.

This was a 75% reduction in immigrants over previous years

However, any professional, no matter what country they were from, were allowed in the U.S.

Ethnic Diversity

In 1924, Congress passed the Johnson-Reed Act This lowered the quota of all immigrants to 2% of those in

the country according to the 1890 census This was designed to further reduce the influx of southern

and eastern Europeans and prohibiting Japanese immigration

Immigration Quota Act of 1924 Prohibited the immigration of anybody who is ineligible for

citizenshipIn 1927, the National Origins Act was passed

It set an overall limit of 150,000 European immigrants a year

More than 60% of those would come from Great Britain and Germany

Ethnic Diversity

Hardest hit during these times were Asians as they were not affected by just immigration laws

The Supreme Court played a role in making immigration and citizenship more difficult for those of Asian descent In Takao Ozawa v. United States (1922), the Court

upheld the Naturalization Act of 1906 by stating that Japanese were excluded from citizenship because they were not Caucasian

In U.S. v. Bhagat Singh Thind (1923), the Court ruled that while Indians were technically Caucasian according to anthropologists, they were not considered “white” by common standards

Ethnic Diversity

Native Americans received some better treatment Those who served during World War I were given

citizenship In 1924, the Snyder Act was passed which gave full

citizenship to all Native Americans

However, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) continued to exploit the natives by taking reservation lands and resources The BIA also worked on policies to “Americanize” the

native populations

Political cartoon illustrating how isolationism affected U.S. immigration policy

The Birth of a Nation movie poster

Ku Klux Klan

The second incarnation of the Klan began in 1915 It was organized by William J. Simmons in Georgia This new version of the Klan, unlike the original which took

almost anyone who was white, was thoroughly Protestant Their focus was also not just on blacks but immigrants, Jews,

and Catholics as well

The Klan regained popularity after the release of D. W. Griffith's film, Birth of a Nation Based on the racist novel The Clansman by Thomas Dixon The film portrayed the Klan as a necessary and chivalrous

organization whose purpose was to preserve southern society

Ku Klux Klan

Klan philosophy included: Opposition to the teaching of evolution Glorifying old-time religion Supporting immigration restrictions Denouncing short skirts, “petting,” and “demon rum” Upholding patriotism and the purity of women

This version of the Klan was also considered more “socially acceptable” Chapters opened up not just in the south but in the

north as well, including Boston, New York, and Chicago They also held key positions in local government (e.g.,

the police department in Anaheim, CA)

Ku Klux Klan

The first half of the 1920s saw rapid growth of the Klan By 1924, it had over 4 million members At least half the members came from urban areas,

especially working-class neighborhoods of Detroit, Indianapolis, Atlanta and Chicago

In some states Women of the Klan (WKKK) made up more than half the membership They also campaigned for women’s rights and the equal

treatment of all white, Protestant women

For both sexes, the Klan served as a social club

Ku Klux Klan

The Klan also affected politics on both the local and national levels Some refer to the 1924 Democratic National

Convention as the “Klanbake Convention” because of the strong presence of the Klan there

After 1925, the Klan’s power began to decline There was a series of internal power struggles and

several scandals The most famous involved Indiana Grand Dragon

David Stephenson who not only kidnapped and raped Madge Oberholtzer but left her to die after she attempted to poison herself

Billy Sunday Evangelical Preacher

Clash of Values

The 1920s witnessed a clash of secular and traditional, religious culture Mass media, such as the radio, advertising, and

magazines, promoted a national secular culture which emphasized consumption, pleasure, upward mobility and even sex

These clashed with traditional values of work, thrift, church, family and home

During the 1920s, there was a revival of faith in the Protestant churches This was led by the religious fundamentalists or

evangelicals

Religious Fundamentalism

Evangelicals believed in the literal interpretation and the infallibility of the Bible and that Jesus Christ was the only road to salvation Part of their belief system includes the imminent second

coming of Christ and his 1,000 year reignMany of these ministers were able to reach large

audiences, especially through radio Billy Sunday, a former baseball player turned minister,

used powerful speeches and acrobatics to bring in audiences

Aimee Semple McPherson toured the U.S. in her “Gospel Car” preaching to standing-room only audiences and then later took her preaching to the radio

Religious Fundamentalism

The evangelicals negatively reacted to the spread of the more modernist ideas of evolution and liberal theology that was being taught in some churches They also rejected pluralism, the Social Gospel and any

ideas that reform on earth could lead to perfectionOne major source of tension was whether or

not evolution should be taught in schools The evangelicals believed creationism should be taught

in schools because reading the Bible was required to live a virtuous life

They were angered that many of the post-war biology books taught evolution as scientific fact

Bookseller in Dayton, TN during the Scopes Trial

Scopes Monkey Trial

There were many who supported the anti-evolution movement William Jennings Bryan had been successful in

promoting anti-evolution legislation in 15 statesIn 1925, Tennessee passed the Butler Act

which made it illegal to teach evolution of man This law was challenged by John Scopes, a football

coach who occasionally substituted Scopes was asked by the ACLU to teach evolution in

hopes of creating a huge legal case out of this He was arrested on May 5, 1925 on the charge of

teaching evolution

Scopes Monkey Trial

Scopes was brought to trial in July 1925 Clarence Darrow was hired by the ACLU for the defense William Jennings Bryan was hired for the prosecution The judge, John T. Raulston, gave the prosecution a lot of

leeway while making things difficult for the defense Darrow is best known for calling Bryan to the stand and

destroying most of his credibility He convinced the jury to find Scopes guilty so that the

case could be appealed to the state supreme courtThe charge was appealed

The conviction was thrown out due to a technicality It was not until 1968 that the law was ruled

unconstitutional

Woman hiding flask in her stocking

Prohibition

Also tied in to the religious fundamentalist movement was the temperance movement They wanted to unify the country under their belief

system of sobriety and civic virtueIn January 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment

was ratified It prohibited the manufacture, transportation, or sale of

“intoxicating liquors” starting one year from ratificationThis was followed up by the Volstead Act in

October 1919 This banned the brewing and selling of alcoholic

beverages with more than one-half of one percent alcohol

Prohibition

In July 1920, the Internal Revenue Bureau stated that cider and fruit juices with higher alcohol content could be made for home use only There was a run on grapes to make homemade wine

Prohibition probably reduced total drinking in the U.S., especially in rural areas and working-class neighborhoods Fewer arrests for drunkenness occurred and deaths from

alcoholism declined In the beginning alcohol consumption did drop but by

1930, consumption was back up to 2/3 pre-Prohibition levels

Prohibition

Most people who wanted to drink found a way Speakeasies appeared all over the country selling

bootlegged liquor Bartenders invented the cocktail to disguise the taste of

cheap alcoholProhibition also produced great bootlegging

rings that were often tied to organized crime Al Capone’s wealth and power came from bootlegging

Many supporters of prohibition gradually came to support its repeal in 1933 Some because of the rise in organized crime, others

believed it took too much power away from the state

Henry Ford and the Model T

The Rise of the Automobile

One of the major developments during the 1920s was the automobile By 1929, Ford’s Model T sold for less than $300 Not only did this make autos more accessible,

manufactures also began developing new models to give more choice

The manufacture of the automobile underwent enormous growth in the postwar years This in turn stimulated the rubber, steel, and petroleum

industriesAutomobile also became a sign of status

It transformed advertising as the car now became associated not only with status, but speed and freedom and even sex


The popularity of the auto also forced the construction and improvement of streets and highways The Federal Highway Act of 1916 not only gave federal

funding for road building but also required state supervision The funding was increased with the Federal Highway Act of

1921, which also required highways to meet certain standards like width, grade, and type of roadbed used

The rise of the automobile led to other things: The creation of filling stations, diner, and the overnight

cabin Traffic lights, stop signs, billboards and parking lots


By 1926, 3/4 of the cars sold were bought on some kind of deferred-payment plan This led to a new type of financing: installment credit Installment buying spread to a number of other

consumer items, such as refrigerators and sewing machines

In the 1920s, the cost of the car made it affordable to most middle-class buyers By the end of 1929 there were 27 million registered cars

The auto had major impacts in the cities It led to a decline of the streetcar and the trolley


The biggest impact autos had was in the suburbs The suburbs were created in the late 19th century with the

development of the railroad and streetcars It was not until the 1920s that they truly began to flourish

People were drawn to communities that offered lower taxes and cheap property This, along with cheaper transportation, encouraged both

businesses and families out to the suburbs

The biggest suburban land boom of all occurred in Florida However, this halted temporarily after a hurricane in 1926

Election of 1928

Election of 1928

On August 2, 1927, Coolidge announced he was not running for reelection

At the Republican National Convention in June 1928, Herbert Hoover was nominated on the first ballot Senator Charles Curtis from Kansas was chosen as his

running mateAt the Democratic National Convention later

that month, Governor Al Smith of New York was chosen as the nominee Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas was chosen as

his running mate

Election of 1928

The campaign was broken down into many levels On one level, it was the Republican “drys” versus the

Democrat “wets” It was the Protestants (Hoover) versus the Catholics (Smith) It represented the urban ideas (Smith) versus the more rural

and traditional values (Hoover) Hoover also represented the success of the Coolidge years

Hoover won the election by a landslide with 58.2% of the popular vote and 444 electoral votes Smith only received 40.8% with 87 electoral votes

Election of 1928 results

The New Administration

Herbert Hoover came into office with a number of years of experience and humanitarianism During World War I he helped rescue 120,000 Americans

from Europe and then spent the rest of the war heading the Commission for Relief in Belgium

After the war, he played an impressive role as the Secretary of Commerce by reorganizing and expanding the department

During the Great Flood of 1927, he provided medical teams to the flooded out regions for a year to prevent massive outbreaks of malaria and typhoid fever

He viewed the presidency as “the inspiring symbol of all that is highest in America’s purpose and ideals”


When Hoover took office in 1929, both houses of Congress were controlled by the Republicans

One of his first steps was to call a special session of congress to deal with the agricultural depression

He got Congress to pass the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929 This set up the Federal Farm Board with a revolving fund

of $500 million The Board could use this money to purchase crops in

order to stop the continuing decline of crop prices Unfortunately, the Board was not able to help as it could

not keep up with the inflation


Hoover also wanted to implement tariff reform To help out the farmers, he wanted to put in a tariff on

agricultural goods However, once the pro-business Congress got it, it

expanded into a much larger enterpriseSmoot-Hawley Tariff (1930)

Many special interests groups pushed for protective legislation for American businesses

This act raised the tariffs on average by 20% It included increased tariffs of over 20,000 goods This act plays a large role in worsening the Great

Depression because Europe responded by raising their own tariffs


Another big issue facing Hoover was Prohibition There was an increase in the support of a repeal of the

Eighteenth Amendment In 1929, Pierre and Irene DuPont donated large sums

of money to the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment which worked to bring an end to Prohibition

However, with the Republicans in power in Congress, Hoover did not want to rock the boat with the conservatives and did nothing in against Prohibition


In terms of foreign policy, Hoover kept up the crusade of the previous administrations to keep Europe financially stable

Young Plan (1929) Hoover sent GE chairman Own Young and J.P. Morgan

to renegotiate war reparation payments and loans Reparations were reset to $26.3 billion and payments

were extended over a course of 58.5 years 1/3 of the $473 million annual payment must be paid

but the remaining 2/3 could be postponed if necessary This superseded the Dawes Plan


Hoover also worked on improving relations with Latin America He believed that “We cannot slay an idea or an

ideology with machine guns” When he took office he recognized all governments in

Latin America When a revolt broke out in Cuba, he refused to

intervene He removed troops from Haiti and Nicaragua As long as the Latin American countries did not pose a

direct threat to the U.S., Hoover was not going to intervene

Stock Market Crash of 1929

Prelude to the Crash of ‘29

The prosperity of the 1920s had been superficial Farmers, coal and textile workers had suffered

throughout the 1920s Farmers were the first to sink into depression

Only 2% of the population received 28% of the national income However, the lower 60% only got 24% of the income

Businesses increased profits by holding down material costs and wages However, this led to lower consumer spending

The automobile and housing industries were already struggling


Starting in the late 1920s, many Americans were encouraged to buy stocks They were advertised as “good” long-term investments While only a small percentage of Americans did buy

stock, it was considered a “get rich quick” scenario for those who could afford it

At the peak of the boom only about 1.5 million Americans owned stock

In the summer of ’29 alone, the New York Times index of industrial stock went up from 124 points to 449 points


The Federal Reserve lowering interest rates in 1927 helped to boost the purchase of stocks This allowed investors to take out call loans more easily

and cheaply

Many of the investors bought stocks on margin This is borrowing money from a broker to buy stocks

The peak of the stock market boom came during September On September 3, 1929, the Dow Jones peaked at 381.17 Also that month the NYT index hit an all time peak at 452


However, this prosperity was going to come to a screeching halt Stocks were grossly overvalued People were using their money to invest in stocks rather

than more sound investments like coal, timber, and textiles

Over the course of the next month, stock prices declined in value of 17% There was a small rally that lasted a week that brought

prices back up by 50%Starting on October 23rd, the prices of stocks

started to dramatically fall The NYT index dropped 31 points, which was around 7%

Stock Market Crash of 1929 October 24-

November 13

Crash of ‘29

On October 24th (“Black Thursday”), over 12.9 million stocks were traded Prices dropped even farther

On that day, prominent bankers got together to come up with a way to stop the decline Richard Whitney, vice president of the NYSE purchased

a large amount of stocks in U.S. Steel and other “blue chip” companies using money provided by the bankers

The hope was that this would spark a rally similar to 1907

It worked for Friday but this measure was only a temporary stopgap

Crash of ‘29

On October 28th, the Dow dropped 38.33 points (12.8%), closing at 260.64

On Black Tuesday (October 29th), stocks dropped even further On this day alone, the NYSE dropped $14 billion in

value (~$180 billion in 2008 value) The Dow dropped 30.57 (11.7%) to 230.07; this gave a

total two day loss of 24.5%

Within two weeks, that devaluation doubled On November 13th, the Dow dropped to 195.35 points,

which was the lowest point during the Crash

Documents

U.S. History II HIS-112