Early Twentieth Century1900-1945

Progressive Era & WWI Populist Movement gives birth (in essence) to the Progressive Era Opposition to monopolies, direct election of senators Populist Movement sought change through political action Progressive Era Contrasts: Populists farmers that sought radical reform. Progressives middle class

reformers, increase role of government, capitalist economy. Farmers had to struggle to make a living which typically meant no time for politics, had no funds to continue support.

Progressives dominate first 20 yrs. of the 20th century, typically urban/ middle class, more economic and political force, did not intensify class strife.

Roots: associations and organizations created at the turn of the century for the betterment of the general public (typically those who were in need).

Mostly educated, well-off individuals who were offended by the way the poor were treated. -National Women Suffrage Association -American Bar Association -National Municipal League

Progressive Movement…. Role of journalism: Muckrakers (coined by Teddy Roosevelt) Revealed how the poor lived- due to the greed of the rich

(business owners) Example: Upton Sinclair- The Jungle Raised the moral stakes for Progressives Campaigned for the change of attitudes towards education and government regulation.

Progressive “Activists” *African American: W.E.B Du Bois – headed NAACP; racial justice Eventually the fight was to much for him to handle, moves to

Africa *Women: Suffrage, feminist movement, Margaret Sanger (promotes contraceptives). Movement’s greatest success: 19th Amendment

*State Leaders: Robert La Follette sought after & implemented plans for income tax, direct primary elections & rail regulation.

-Extended greater power to the voters through the 1. ballot initiative 2. referendum 3. recall election

-Further success on the state level: work day limitations, minimum wage, child labor laws, urban housing codes & income tax laws.

Progressive Leaders President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt: (R) expected to contend with McKinley's conservative agenda. Most Prominent Progressive Leader New Nationalism / Square Deal Sherman Anti-Trust Act successfully against monopolies Trustbuster (good v bad trust) FDA – (The Jungle) National Parks – overdevelopment protection William Howard Taft: Directed the drive for the 16th & 17th constitutional amendments income tax and direct

election of senators Went against monopolies even tougher than Teddy Woodrow Wilson: Ran against Teddy and Taft (1912) New Freedom (in regards to his ideas and policies) Democrats- NOW- federal government had to intervene over businesses to protect freedoms All trusts were bad- committed to getting rid of monopolies & restoring competition

Wilson (Continued)…. Created the Federal Trade Commission: went after unfair business practices

Clayton Anti-trust Act (1914): Supported the Sherman Anti-trust Act, took out anti-competitive practices, allowed for businesses to sue other businesses if their businesses had been “hurt” because of monopolies or trusts.

Federal Reserve System: gives government greater control over the nation’s finances

Progressive Era Ends Lasts until the end of WWI. Nation was weary from war Influenza outbreak Russian Revolution “Red Scare” divides leftists and moderates within the Progressive coalition

Many of the movement’s goals had been achieved, many did not feel the need to continue to fight

Brought to an end by it’s own success.

Foreign Policy & WWI Teddy: devout imperialist 1903: Uses his “big stick policy” into getting Cuba to sign the Platt Amendment U.S occupied Cuba for about 10 years, up until 1922 Anti-American rhetoric in Cuba Central America: Panama Canal would shorten the sea trip from East Coast to California Congress approves plan while Panama still belonged to Columbia Columbia asks a very high price of the U.S U.S encourages and supports a revolt in Panama against Columbia Panama, in turn, gave the U.S a much better deal American commercial interests peak as the canal becomes a success Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine: Latin America domestic

instability would cause a threat to U.S security excuse for the strong U.S military presence in Panama for the duration of the canal.

Continued… U.S foreign policy continued to follow Monroe’s Doctrine U.S assumes role of an international police force intervene where necessary in Western Hemisphere protect U.S

U.S wanted no part in European affairs or disputes. However, this will soon change.

U.S & G.B slowly but surely becoming allies G.B didn’t get in the way of the U.S’s intervention in Central &

Latin America trying to line up an alliance with the U.S as tensions between G.B & Germany were heating up.

WWI & the U.S 1912: Three Way Race between Teddy, Taft & Wilson Wilson wins with the mentality of staying neutral (especially with tensions heating up in Europe)

1914: War breaks out in Europe and Wilson immediately declares U.S policy of neutrality (hoped that the U.S would actually play a part in settling the conflict)

Issues: U.S close relationship with G.B, many on Wilson’s advisory board openly favored entering the War.

More complications: - England imposes a blockade on shipments leaving U.S & headed to Germany, G.B

confiscated U.S ships but paid for the cargo to avoid U.S trying to counter the blockade - Germany counters with the use of U-boats, however, broke the international law of the time

(must give a warning when firing on civilian ships prior to attacking) Germans announce they would attack ANY such ship Doesn’t satisfy Wilson Germans sink Lusitania (1915) killing 128 American passengers Turns public attention against the Germans cease using U-boat warfare temporarily

Continued… WWI’s Aftermath 1916: Wilson campaigning for his re-election “he kept us out of war” Germany sinks another ship the Arabic Wilson asks congress to put the military into a state of “preparedness” popular support of war starts to grow.

1917: Zimmerman telegraph intercepted U.S declares war on Germany

AFTERMATH: Government role expands controls telephone, telegraph & rail

industries War Industry Board guaranteed U.S & allies would be well

supplied Civil liberties curtailed Espionage Act (1917) & Sedition Act (1918) Schenck v. United States (Supreme Court upholds Espionage Act) Socialist and critic of U.S capitalism who printed leaflets urging men to resist

the draft (Selective Service Act of 1918) Inhibited anyone who voiced unpopular ideas “Red Scare”

Continued… Inhibiting freedoms: Russian Revolution “Red Scare Radical labor unions considered enemies (leaders

thrown into jail) Eugene Debs (socialist leader) also imprisoned for criticizing governmental decisions of entering

war.

F.B.I created to prevent radicals taking over (J. Edgar Hoover) Business gain more power, unions lost power use forceful tactics to break strikes Palmer Raids government’s help in ending strikes Union halls, pool halls, social clubs and residences arrested 4,000 (some had committed no crime

at all.

Committee on Public Information Wartime Propaganda Lectures, movies, newspapers, magazines Created an “anti-German” rhetoric in the U.S during WWI Sauerkraut liberty cabbage Violence against German immigrants or anyone with German ancestors

WWI, New Opportunities Women: Number of women in workforce doesn’t increase dramatically in this World War type of job performed changes (factories) war efforts helped in achieving their right to vote veterans return & women return to their domestic role (very similar to WWII)

African Americans: Great Migration join army in hopes to social equality (doesn’t happen until WWII) Army segregation (menial labor) assigned to French command

Many of these social changes- civil rights movements – don’t take place until after WWII and for more or less the same reasons.

WWI Continued Two years after U.S joins war, Germans ready to sign peace treaty. Wilson’s Fourteen Points (initial negotiations) plan delivered to congress before war’s end ending of colonialism (self-determination)

League of Nations (blue print for today’s U.N) called for cooperation among nations through equality (very “idealistic”)

European allies wanted tougher punishment for Germany Treaty of Versailles

Germany cedes colonial territories to the Allies Disarms Reparations Admit total fault **Helps sets stage to WWII

WWI Continued Creates League of Nations and Wilson hopes would remedy the Treaty’s many flaws Wilson returns to the U.S & Senate opposes entering the League (principles of separation of powers) many believed it would limit the U.S’s power to declare war.

Democrats, Republicans and Reservationists (Henry Cabot Lodge Lodge Reservationists) Wilson very stubborn on his stance of not compromising

United States never joins the League (envisioned by an American President) U.S public weary of war isolationism (didn’t want to get involved in foreign

affairs) Wilson attempts to campaign for support for U.S entry but unfortunately suffers a stroke during his travels and passes away.

Some historians believe that if the U.S would have entered the League, WWII may have been avoided.

List of Reservations Reservation One[The United States reserves the right to determine when it can withdraw from the League of Nations.

Reservation Two Nothing compels the United States to ensure border contiguity or political independence of any nation, to interfere in foreign domestic disputes regardless of their status in the League, or to command troops or ships without Congressional declaration of war.

Reservation Three The United States retains sole control over foreign issues. Reservation Four The United States is not to be questioned about the Monroe Doctrine, or Its interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine.

Reservation Five The United States reserves the right to take either side if China and Japan start a war against each other.

Reservation Six Congress will elect U.S. Representatives in the League of Nations and have total control over any representatives.

Reservation Seven Trade between Germany and the United States can only be interfered with approval from Congress.

Reservation Eight The United States is not obligated to pay any money to the League of Nations. Reservation Nine If the United States builds down its military might because of an order by the League of Nations, it can at any time, without warning, build up again if threatened.

Reservation Ten The United States reserves the right to allow peoples of states which break the Treaty of Versailles who live in the United States to continue their lives in the United States.

Reservation Eleven Nothing in the Treaty of Versailles shall approve of anything illegal or compromise the rights of US Citizens.

Reservation Twelve The United States will not be bound by any vote in the League of Nations in which a nation has voted twice. Neither will it be bound by a vote which concerns and affects a voting party

Answer the following question:

Roaring Twenties & Great Depression(1920-1933) Right after WWI, U.S economy goes into a quick plummet but then rises up into a boom

1922: New peaks of prosperity invention of the electrical motor (kind of like the light bulb and the internet later in the 1990s) essential at work and home (automobiles and new appliances for the home) positively effects other industries

Pro Business Republican Administrations: U.S more comfortable with bigger businesses that offer

conveniences to the general public (as well as affordability) department stores & automobile industry

Government Pro- Business (war efforts) labor unions continue to receive negative sentiments (strikes now suppressed by federal troops) Supreme Court overturns minimum wage and child labor laws

Republican Administrations, Continued Era’s Presidents: Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Hebert Hoover Harding: Was not a strong minded President, unable to make decisions & several of

his advisors were corrupt Teapot Dome Scandal (Albert Fall, Teapot Dome in Wyoming) Liberal on civil liberty issues: against lynching , helped farmers (more $ for

loans) Died in office Calvin Coolidge Coolidge “Silent Cal”: Coolidge Prosperity Followed Harding’s conservative economic agenda Pushed for lower income-tax rates

Continued…. And Modern Culture Prosperity and pro-business rhetoric leads to a decline in labor unions throughout the decade. Welfare capitalism: business owners provided employees with benefits such as pension plans, profit sharing, company parties communal vibe at work

Modern Culture: Henry Ford assembly line Automobile suburbs Radio owned by ~ 10 million families soap operas/ comedies Electric power household appliance sales soar Advertisement industry Single women (15%) enter workforce (in an effort to be able to buy) pink collar jobs Women flappers (Sigmund Freud) smoking, drinking (prohibition), dancing (jazz- African

American) Movies typical message (Superman, Snow White, Tap Dance- escapism (Great Depression) Sports Babe Ruth Literature F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Eugene O’Neil Harlem Renaissance Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen Zra Neale , Jazz Louis Armstrong

Continued… Backlash Ku Klux Klan – continued to grow (over 5 Million members)- ironically they were “anti” EVERYTHING that was not Christian. attacked blacks, Jews, immigrants, urbanites.

Anti-immigration groups – unspeakable violence against the “new immigrants” (Germans and specifically, Italians) Sacco & Vanzetti charged with murder

Emergency Quota Act (1924): reduce foreign influence Scopes Monkey Trial (1925): Tennessee John Thomas Scopes, Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan tradition V progress

Prohibition (roots in 19th century) 18th Amendment organized crime gangster era Al Capone speakeasies

Answer the following question:

Hebert Hoover, Great Depression

1928- predicted that no American would live in poverty (under his administration)

October 1929- Black Tuesday Stock Market crashed (one of the reasons, but not the MAIN reason for the Depression) Hoover underestimated damage buying on margin Banks and corporations involved unable to pay employees or guarantee bank deposits

Other factors: WWI other nations also face depression Domestically overproduction factories lay off workers too

many goods available but the public unable to afford (supply exceeded demand)

Government negligence in regulating business $$ in the hands of a few their businesses failed people left without work

Continued Horrible effects: Many lost their jobs, employers went bankrupt or laid off in an effort to avoid Many lost their life savings (many banks failed- lost people’s money) Unable to afford living in their homes homeless Hoovervilles Farmers overproduction & environment (dust bowl) Farmer’s response: attacked those who enforced eviction- sold items at auctions at very low

prices (this would be returned to the original owner), Farmer’s holiday Association demonstrations walkout

Hoover’s Response: Initially opposed intervention Trickle Down Economics, Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, Hawley-Smoot Tariff

(worsened condition) Bonus March (Bonus Expeditionary Force) General Douglas MacArthur (killed

100 people & 2 babies) News of the Bonus Army March destroyed any little hope Hoover may have had

in the next elections. Needless to say, the U.S wanted to return to simpler times FDR

New Deal & WWII (1934-1945) Declared “war on depression” asks congress to grant him the same type of power

Rallied the public’s confidence: “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself”

First New Deal: Relief, Recover Reform First 100 Days: Emergency session of Congress Emergency Banking Relief Bill: controlled by the Treasury Department

(government control) Fireside chats Banking Act of 1933 FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)

guarantee bank deposits Relief for the farmers Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) Farm Credit Act (loans to those in danger of foreclosure) Government Control of Industry:

National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA): regulated businesses eliminate overproduction

Other New Deal Programs Public Works Administration (PWA): Government provided $3million to create jobs: building roads, public housing units, other civic necessities

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): Job Corps provided grants to the states

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): most daring moves expands electricity now available to farmers

June 1933 – First 100 days ends 1934: National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) mediated labor disputes 1934: Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates stock market

First New Deal Major Success

Second New Deal FDR faced major opposition: Conservatives, Leftists, Socialist 1935: Supreme Court starts to dismantle some of the programs of first New Deal

Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States: supposed to be congressionally controlled but was controlled by executive branch

FDR’s Response: Court packing (from 9 to 15 judges) Continues with new legislation: Second New Deal Established Emergency Relief Appropriation Act Works Progress

Act (WPA) 1935 “Second 100 Days” Strengthens the NLRB (Warren Act)

democratized unions, punishes businesses who refuse to hire union members

Social Security Act New Deal Coalition Forms (FDR/ New Dealers) changes voting

patterns 1936 victory

Troubled Second Term FDR drafted Judicial Reorganization Bill for every judge age 70 and up, FDR would name a new federal judge (packing the courts with judges that would be in favor of FDR’s policies)

1937: Economy goes into a recession due to some success, FDR had cut back some of the New Deal programs at the same time that the Federal Reserve decided to tighten credit supply to slow down the inflation increase in unemployment

1938: Evident that Europe would/ may soon be at war again FDR withdrew New Deal money military buildup

Passes Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) Minimum wage, 40 hr work weeks, child labor laws

Do YOU think the New Deal was successful? Why or why not?

Answer the following question

Foreign Policy WWII Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) Good Neighbor Policy (1934) misleading because U.S would continue to have a presence in some Latin American countries but came up with a way to have a less threatening military presence in some Latin American areas, paid for maintaining military basis in the area, trained the nations’ National Guard.

Platt Amendment repealed Asia: Japan invades Manchuria (1931) (violated the Kellogg-Briand Act) and goes to war against China in 1937 U.S sold arms to China and sets an embargo on arms sales to Japan

1920s: high tariffs: protectionism FDR’s method for using tariff’s as economic leverage Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act most favored nation (MFN) trade status

Continued… Isolationists Sentiment rose with the findings of the Nye Commission revealed unpleasant U.S activities during WWI.

Congress responds by passing Neutrality Acts of 1935: bans sale of arms and Second Neutrality Act forbade loans to belligerents

FDR put money into the military just in case and tries to repeal the Neutrality Acts which would allow him to support the Allies without actually having to become a belligerent country 3rd Neutrality Act allies would have to pay cash for their weapons and come to the U.S to pick up

The chance that U.S would more than likely enter war convinces FDR to run a 3rd term

Worked to assist allies (within limits) Lend-Lease Act Atlantic Charter Conference: war goals security system

Continued… 1940: Tripartite Pact: Alliance between Germany, Italy & Japan G.B to busy fighting Hitler, couldn’t focus on Japan’s expansion (French Indochina Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos ) U.S responds by setting embargo against Japan

November 1941: Peace talks between Japan & U.S FDR advised to wait for Japan to strike first Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor

WWII Complicated military strategy and the outcome of key battles big part of WWII

Allies: U.S, G.B, France & Soviet Union Big Three: Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill Soviet Union alliance held together by a common enemy Stalin

grew impatient wanted to open up a second front in Europe. Tehran Conference: November 1943 discuss D-day invasion (Normandy in France)

S.U had paid a huge price in material & human loss and wanted to occupy Eastern Europe to make up for losses.

Allies eventually win war against Germany and war in Japan is won by dropping the atomic bombs.

Government Expands: War Production War: mobilization Rationing Sponsored scientific research radar, a-bomb (Manhattan Project) Labor Disputes Act (1943) government takeover of business (necessary for security)

Propaganda Hollywood films to encourage support on the home front and boost morale

Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 First peacetime draft

WWII affects every aspect of life New opportunities and tensions

African Americans over 1 million served in U.S Army (Tuskegee Airmen) still living in segregation prompts Civil Rights Movements Army desegregates in 1948 with Truman

Women Rosie the Riveter symbolizes role of women played a vital part in the war efforts

Restricting civil liberties Japanese Internment Camps (1942 until the end of war) Korematsu V U.S (1944) reparations in 1988

End of War… February 1945- Yalta Conference discuss fate of post war Europe (divided into 4) essentially “changes the world map”

Stalin buffer zone between W. Europe & S.U promised free elections satellites states (Red Army) Iron Curtain (metaphor divides Eastern & Western Europe) origins for Cold War before WWII even ended

Created United Nations nation cooperation Allies meet again in Potsdam (new big three) decide how to implement Yalta decisions differences between U.S and S.U were growing more and more

Many speculations as to Truman’s “real reasons” for dropping bomb Japanese fought a very stubbornly and remained powerful if U.S would invade Japan, U.S casualties estimated up to 500,000

August 1945 atomic bomb is dropped in Hiroshima and three days later in Nagasaki

Answer the following question: Analyze the home front experiences of the African Americans and Japanese Americans during WWII.

Reflection Activities Pg. 209-210