chapter 25: politics and a thin prosperity americans confront postwar controversy the nation returns...
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 25: Politics and a Thin Prosperity Americans Confront Postwar Controversy The Nation Returns to Normalcy and Isolation Coolidge Conducts the Nation’s Business Problems Threaten Economic Prosperity A Slipping Economy Signals the End of an
Era
Americans Confront Postwar Controversy Threat of Communism
Bolshevik Revolution Communism Comintern Palmer Raids Anarchists
Ku Klux Klan W.A.S.P. Xenophobia Red Scare
Red Scare
Americans were afraid of Communists. Communists called for a worldwide revolution
against capitalism. Sacco and Vanzetti were Italian immigrants
and anarchists. Charged with robbery and murder of two
men. Witnesses said the killers were Italian.
Americans Confront Postwar Controversy - continued
Labor Unrest Steelworkers Strike Coal Miners
John L. Lewis
Sacco and Vanzetti
Sacco & Vanzetti (con’t)
Sacco & Vanzetti had alibis. Circumstantial evidence provided at the trial.
Judge made racist remarks and the jury sentenced them to death.
The Nation Returns to Normalcy and Isolation Warren G. Harding
Return to Normalcy Ohio Gang
Working for Peace Kellogg-Briand Pact Naval Holiday Washington Naval
Conference Arms Race
Warren G. Harding
President in 1921 Wanted U.S.,
Great Britain, France, Japan, & Italy to scrap large warships
They all did.
The Nation Returns to Normalcy and Isolation - continued
Isolationism High Tariffs Fordney-McCumber
Tariff Dawes Plan Reparations
Limiting Immigration Nativism Quota System
Harding Scandal Teapot Dome
Fordney-McCumber Tariff
Raised taxes over 60% on imports. Because Great Britain and France could
not pay back loans from WWI. Great Britain and France could not pay
us because Germany could not pay the $33 billion in reparations.
Teapot Dome Scandal
Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall, did a secret leasing of oil-rich public land to private companies in return for $ and land.
Fall received over $400,000 of illegal $ First government/company scandal.
Coolidge Conducts the Nation’s Business Calvin Coolidge
Election of 1924 Prosperous Times
Standard of Living Soars Modern Conveniences
Electricity Automobile Urban Sprawl Airplane
Retailers Installment payments Planned obsolescence
Modern Advertising
Calvin Coolidge
President from 1923-1929.
Was a pro-business president.
Buying on Credit
Installment PlanBuy goods with out putting $ downPay interest with paymentsWill cause HUGE problems in 1929
& the 1930’s
Modern Conveniences
THE GREAT DEPRESSION BEGINS
Photos by photographer Dorothea Lange
Problems threaten Economic Prosperity
Economic Competition Railroads Textiles Coal Mining
Farmers Suffer Overproduction Price Supports
Consumers Less money to spend Buying on margin Uneven distribution of
income
SECTION 4: THE NATION’S SICK ECONOMY
Agriculture Railroads Textiles Steel Mining Lumber Automobiles Housing Consumer goods
As the 1920s advanced, serious problems threatened the economy whileImportant industries struggled, including:
FARMERS STRUGGLE
No industry suffered as much as agriculture
During World War I European demand for American crops soared
After the war demand After the war demand plummetedplummeted
Farmers increased production sending prices further downward
Photo by Dorothea Lange
CONSUMER SPENDING DOWN
By the late 1920s, American consumers were buying consumers were buying lessless
Rising prices, stagnant wages and overbuying on credit were to blame
Most people did not have the money to buy the flood of goods factories produced
GAP BETWEEN RICH & POOR
The gap between rich and The gap between rich and poor widenedpoor widened
The wealthiest 1% saw their income rise 75%
The rest of the population saw an increase of only 9%
More than 70% of American families earned families earned less than $2500 per yearless than $2500 per year
Photo by Dorothea Lange
SEEDS OF TROUBLE
By the late 1920s, problemsproblems with the economy emergedemerged
Speculation:Speculation: Too many Americans were engaged in speculation – buying stocks & bonds hoping for a quick profit
MarginMargin: Americans were buying “on margin” – paying a small percentage of a stock’s price as a down payment and borrowing the rest
The Stock Market’s bubble was about to break
HOOVER WINS 1928 ELECTION Republican Herbert
Hoover ran against Democrat Alfred E. Smith in the 1928 election1928 election
Hoover emphasized years of prosperity under Republican administrations
Hoover won an Hoover won an overwhelming victoryoverwhelming victory
Young Hoover supporter in 1928
A Slipping Economy
Herbert Hoover Election of 1928 “America’s business is
business” Laissez-faire economics Good Neighbor Policy
Stock Market Crashes Speculation Buying on margin Black Tuesday Great Depression
THE STOCK MARKET
By 1929, many Americans were invested in the Stock Market
The Stock Market had become the most visible symbolmost visible symbol of a prosperous American economy
The Dow JonesDow Jones Industrial Average was the barometer of the Stock Market’s worth
The Dow is a measure based on the price of 30 large firms
STOCK PRICES RISE THROUGH THE 1920s
Through most of the 1920s, stock prices rose steadily
The Dow reached a The Dow reached a high in 1929 of 381 high in 1929 of 381 pointspoints (300 points higher than 1924)
By 1929, 4 million Americans owned stocks
New York Stock Exchange
Black Tuesday
Stock Market Crashes
The market went down on October 24th, panicked investors sold their shares.
Black Tuesday – October 29, 1929, the bottom fell out of the market.
Those who tried to sell after Black Tuesday made stocks worth less money.
THE 1929 CRASH
In September the Stock Market had some unusual up & down movements
On October 24, the market took a plunge . . .the worst was yet to come
On October 29,On October 29, now known as Black TuesdayBlack Tuesday,, the bottom fell out
16.4 million shares were sold that day – prices plummeted
People who had bought on margin (credit) were stuck with huge debtshuge debts
By mid-November, investors had lost about $30 billion
A Slipping Economy - continued Four major causes of the Great Depression
Old and decaying industrial base Crisis in the farm sector Availability of easy credit Unequal distribution of income
End of pure capitalism Capitalism – Private Enterprise Socialism – Public Ownership Communism – Command Economy Mixed Economy Traditional Economy