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U.S . History – A Chapter 12

Pol itics of the Roaring

Twenties

410 CHAPTER 12

Warren G.Harding is electedpresident.

1920

Palmer Raids 1919–1920

Sacco and Vanzetti areconvicted.

Federal-AidRoad Act funds anational highwaysystem.

1921

1921PresidentHarding diesand CalvinCoolidgebecomespresident.

1923

ChineseCommunistParty isfounded inShanghai.

1921Benito Mussoliniis appointedprime minister of Italy.

1922German economiccrisis.

1923

USAWORLD 19231923

Angry mill workers riot after walking off the job during a strike of Tennesseetextile plants.

19191919 19211921

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Politics of the Roaring Twenties 411

I N T E R A C TI N T E R A C TW I T H H I S T O R YW I T H H I S T O R Y

World War I has ended. As Americansstruggle to rebuild broken lives, thevoices of angry workers can besilenced no longer. Despite public criticism, many risk losing their jobsto strike and join unions. The streetsbecome a battleground for fair payand better working conditions.

Would you strikeand risk yourfamily’s welfare?Examine the Issues

• Do city workers have a responsi-bility not to go on strike?

• Should the government intervenein disputes between labor and business?

• Does the success of a strike dependon you?

CalvinCoolidge iselected president.

1924 A. PhilipRandolph organizesthe Brotherhood ofSleeping CarPorters.

1925

HenryFord introducesthe Model A.

1927 HerbertHoover is electedpresident.

1928

Hirohitobecomesemperor ofJapan.

1926VladimirIlich Lenin, founderof the SovietUnion, dies.

1924 Britishlaborersdeclare a general strike.

1926 NationalRevolutionaryParty is organ-ized in Mexico.

1929JosephStalin launchesthe first of hisFive-Year-Plansin the USSR.

1928

1925 19271925 1927 19291929

Visit the Chapter 12 links for more informationabout The Politics of the Roaring Twenties.

RESEARCH LINKS CLASSZONE.COM

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http://www.classzone.com/books/americans_rec05/index.cfm

Terms & NamesTerms & NamesMAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

•nativism•isolationism•communism•anarchists

•Sacco andVanzetti

•quota system•John L. Lewis

A desire for normality afterthe war and a fear ofcommunism and “foreigners”led to postwar isolationism.

Americans today continue todebate political isolationismand immigration policy.

WHY IT MATTERS NOWWHY IT MATTERS NOW

One American's Story

Americans Strugglewith Postwar Issues

During the 1920s and 1930s, Irving Fajans, a department store salesclerk in New York City, tried to persuade fellow workers to join theDepartment Store Employees Union. He described some of the tech-niques union organizers used.

A PERSONAL VOICE IRVING FAJANS

“ If you were caught distributing . . . union literature around the jobyou were instantly fired. We thought up ways of passing leaflets with-out the boss being able to pin anybody down. . . . We . . . swiped thekey to the toilet paper dispensers in the washroom, took out thepaper and substituted printed slips of just the right size! We got a lotof new members that way—It appealed to their sense of humor.”

—quoted in The Jewish Americans

During the war, workers’ rights had been suppressed. In 1919, workers began tocry out for fair pay and better working conditions. Tensions arose between laborand management, and a rash of labor strikes broke out across the country. The pub-lic, however, was not supportive of striking workers. Many citizens longed to getback to normal, peaceful living—they felt resentful of anyone who caused unrest.

Postwar TrendsWorld War I had left much of the American public exhausted. The debate over theLeague of Nations had deeply divided America. Further, the Progressive Era hadcaused numerous wrenching changes in American life. The economy, too, was ina difficult state of adjustment. Returning soldiers faced unemployment or tooktheir old jobs away from women and minorities. Also, the cost of living had dou-bled. Farmers and factory workers suffered as wartime orders diminished.

Many Americans responded to the stressful conditions by becoming fearful ofoutsiders. A wave of nativism, or prejudice against foreign-born people, sweptthe nation. So, too, did a belief in isolationism, a policy of pulling away frominvolvement in world affairs.

▼

Irving Fajansorganizeddepartment storeworkers in theirefforts to gainbetter pay andworkingconditions duringthe 1920s.

412 CHAPTER 12

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Fear of CommunismOne perceived threat to American life was the spread ofcommunism, an economic and political system based ona single-party government ruled by a dictatorship. In orderto equalize wealth and power, Communists would put anend to private property, substituting government owner-ship of factories, railroads, and other businesses.

THE RED SCARE The panic in the United States began in1919, after revolutionaries in Russia overthrew the czaristregime. Vladimir I. Lenin and his followers, or Bolsheviks(“the majority”), established a new Communist state.Waving their symbolic red flag, Communists, or “Reds,”cried out for a worldwide revolution that would abolishcapitalism everywhere.

A Communist Party formed in the United States.Seventy-thousand radicals joined, including some from theIndustrial Workers of the World (IWW). When severaldozen bombs were mailed to government and businessleaders, the public grew fearful that the Communists weretaking over. U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer tookaction to combat this “Red Scare.”

A PERSONAL VOICE A. MITCHELL PALMER

“ The blaze of revolution was sweeping over everyAmerican institution of law and order . . . . eating its wayinto the homes of the American workman, its sharptongues of revolutionary heat . . . licking the altars of thechurches, leaping into the belfry of the school bell, crawlinginto the sacred corners of American homes, . . . burning upthe foundations of society.”

—“The Case Against the Reds”

THE PALMER RAIDS In August 1919, Palmer appointed J. Edgar Hoover as hisspecial assistant. Palmer, Hoover, and their agents hunted down suspectedCommunists, socialists, and anarchists—people who opposed any form of gov-ernment. They trampled people’s civil rights, invading private homes and officesand jailing suspects without allowing them legal counsel. Hundreds of foreign-born radicals were deported without trials.

But Palmer’s raids failed to turn up evidence of a revolutionary conspiracy—or even explosives. Many thought Palmer was just looking for a campaign issueto gain support for his presidential aspirations. Soon, the public decided thatPalmer didn’t know what he was talking about.

SACCO AND VANZETTI Although short-lived, the Red Scare fed people’s suspi-cions of foreigners and immigrants. This nativist attitude led to ruined reputa-tions and wrecked lives. The two most famous victims of this attitude were NicolaSacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, a shoemaker and a fish peddler. Both were Italianimmigrants and anarchists; both had evaded the draft during World War I.

In May 1920, Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested and charged with the rob-bery and murder of a factory paymaster and his guard in South Braintree,Massachusetts. Witnesses had said the criminals appeared to be Italians. Theaccused asserted their innocence and provided alibis; the evidence against themwas circumstantial; and the presiding judge made prejudicial remarks.Nevertheless, the jury still found them guilty and sentenced them to death.


A

ECONOMICECONOMIC

ROOTS OF COMMUNISMThe first Communist governmentin Russia was based on the teach-ings of Karl Marx and FriedrichEngels. In 1848, these two hadpublished The CommunistManifesto, which outlined a theo-ry of class struggle. It said that aclass that had economic poweralso had social and politicalpower.

It also said that two classes,the “haves” and the “have-nots,”have struggled for controlthroughout history. During theIndustrial Revolution,Communists believed, the strug-gle was between the capitalists,who owned capital—land, money,and machinery— and workers,who owned only their labor. Marxand Engels urged workers toseize political power and themeans of production. Ultimately,they believed, laborers wouldoverthrow capitalism in all indus-trialized nations.

A. Answer Hebelieved that aCommunist rev-olution wasimminent in theUnited States,and he neededan issue onwhich to cam-paign for the1920 Democraticpresidentialnomination.

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

A

AnalyzingMotives

Why didAttorney GeneralA. Mitchell Palmerlaunch a series ofraids againstsuspectedCommunists?

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Protests rang out in the United States, Europe, and LatinAmerica. Many people thought Sacco and Vanzetti were mis-treated because of their radical beliefs; others asserted it wasbecause they were immigrants. The poet Edna St. VincentMillay donated proceeds from her poem “Justice Denied inMassachusetts” to their defense. She personally appealed toGovernor Fuller of Massachusetts for their lives. However,after reviewing the case and interviewing Vanzetti, the gov-ernor decided to let the executions go forward. The two mendied in the electric chair on August 23, 1927. Before he wasexecuted, Vanzetti made a statement.

A PERSONAL VOICE BARTOLOMEO VANZETTI

“ In all my life I have never stole, never killed, never spilled blood. . . . We weretried during a time . . . when there was hysteria of resentment and hate againstthe people of our principles, against the foreigner. . . . I am suffering because I am a radical and indeed I am a radical; I have suffered because I was an Italianand indeed I am an Italian. . . . If you could execute me two times, and if I couldbe reborn two other times, I would live again to do what I have done already.”

—quoted in The National Experience

In 1961, new ballistics tests showed that the pistol found on Sacco was in factthe one used to murder the guard. However, there was no proof that Sacco hadactually pulled the trigger.

Limiting ImmigrationDuring the wave of nativist sentiment, “Keep America for Americans” became theprevailing attitude. Anti-immigrant attitudes had been growing in the UnitedStates ever since the 1880s, when new immigrants began arriving from southernand eastern Europe. Many of these immigrants were willing to work for low wagesin industries such as coal mining, steel production, and textiles. But after WorldWar I, the need for unskilled labor in the United States decreased. Nativistsbelieved that because the United States now had fewer unskilled jobs available,fewer immigrants should be let into the country. Nativist feelings were fueled by

414 CHAPTER 12

B

B. AnswerBecause he was a politicalradical and aforeigner

History ThroughHistory Through

BackgroundOn August 23,1977, exactly 50years after theexecutions,Massachusettsgovernor MichaelDukakis declaredthat Sacco andVanzetti had notbeen given a fairtrial.

SACCO AND VANZETTI(1932)

The painting by Ben Shahn shows (right to left) Nicola Sacco,Bartolomeo Vanzetti, a miniatureGovernor Fuller, and a group ofSacco and Vanzetti supporters.Why do you think Shahn depictsSacco and Vanzetti as so muchlarger than Governor Fuller?

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

B

AnalyzingEvents

According toVanzetti, whatwere the reasonsfor his imprison-ment?

Image not availablefor use on CD-ROM.Please refer to theimage in the textbook.

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the fact that some of the people involved in postwar labor disputes were immi-grant anarchists and socialists, who many Americans believed were actually Com-munists. Racist ideas like those expressed by Madison Grant, an anthropologist atthe American Museum of Natural History in New York City, fed people’s attitudes.

A PERSONAL VOICE MADISON GRANT

“ The result of unlimited immigration is showing plainly in the rapid decline in thebirth rate of native Americans . . . [who] will not bring children into the world tocompete in the labor market with the Slovak, the Italian, the Syrian and the Jew.The native American is too proud to mix socially with them.”

—quoted in United States History: Ideas in Conflict

THE KLAN RISES AGAIN As a resultof the Red Scare and anti-immigrantfeelings, different groups of bigotsused anti-communism as an excuse toharass any group unlike themselves.One such group was the Ku Klux Klan(KKK). The KKK was devoted to “100percent Americanism.” By 1924, KKKmembership reached 4.5 million“white male persons, native-born gen-tile citizens.” The Klan also believedin keeping blacks “in their place,”destroying saloons, opposing unions,and driving Roman Catholics, Jews,and foreign-born people out of thecountry. KKK members were paid torecruit new members into their worldof secret rituals and racial violence.Though the Klan dominated state pol-itics in many states, by the end of thedecade its criminal activity led to adecrease in power.

THE QUOTA SYSTEM From 1919 to 1921, the number of immigrants had grownalmost 600 percent—from 141,000 to 805,000 people. Congress, in response tonativist pressure, decided to limit immigration from certain countries, namelythose in southern and eastern Europe.

The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 set up a quota system. This system estab-lished the maximum number of people who could enter the United States fromeach foreign country. The goal of the quota system was to cut sharply Europeanimmigration to the United States. As the charts on page 416 show, the systemachieved that goal.

As amended in 1924, the law limited immigration from each Europeannation to 2 percent of the number of its nationals living in the United States in1890. This provision discriminated against people from eastern and southernEurope—mostly Roman Catholics and Jews—who had not started coming to theUnited States in large numbers until after 1890. Later, the base year was shifted to1920. However, the law also reduced the total number of persons to be admittedin any one year to 150,000.

In addition, the law prohibited Japanese immigration, causing much ill willbetween the two nations. Japan—which had faithfully kept the Gentlemen’sAgreement to limit emigration to the United States, negotiated by TheodoreRoosevelt in 1907—expressed anger over the insult.


C

Vocabularybigot: a personwho is intolerantof any creed, race,religion, or politicalbelief that differsfrom his own

▼

In 1925, nearly60,000 Ku KluxKlan membersmarched alongPennsylvaniaAvenue inWashington, D.C.

C. PossibleAnswer To keepAmerica underthe control ofwhite, native-born males; toget rid of othergroups, includ-ing RomanCatholics, Jews,and foreign-born people,and radicals; tooppose unionorganizers; tohelp enforceprohibition.

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

C

AnalyzingIssues

What were themain goals of theKu Klux Klan atthis time?

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ATLANT ICOCEAN

PAC IF ICOCEAN

C A N A D A

E U R O P E

U N I T E D S T A T E S

MEXICO

416 CHAPTER 12

U.S. Patterns of Immigration, 1921–1929

SKILLBUILDER Interpreting Graphs1. Which geographical areas show the sharpest decline in immigration to the

U.S. between 1921 and 1929? What are the only areas to register anincrease in immigration to the U.S.?

2. How did the quota system affect where immigrants came from?

SEE SKILLBUILDER HANDBOOK, PAGE R28.

The map and graph below show the change in immigrationpatterns resulting from the Emergency Quota Act, amongother factors. Hundreds of thousands of people wereaffected. For example, while the number of immigrantsfrom Mexico rose from 30,758 in 1921 to 40,154 in1929, the number of Italian immigrants dropped drasticallyfrom 222,260 in 1921 to 18,008 in 1929.

Immigration to the United States, 1921 and 1929

Source: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1957

Num

ber o

f Im

mig

rant

s

250,000

200,000

150,000

100,000

50,000

0

North America Europe

1921 1929 1921 1921 1921 1921 1921 1921 1921 1921 1921 192919291929192919291929192919291929

CanadaMexico

Portugal, Spain, GreeceYugoslavia, Austria, Hungary,Czechoslovakia

ItalyPolandGermany

Great BritainIrelandScandinavia

Ellis Island in Upper New York Harbor was the port of entry for most European immigrants.

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The national origins quota system did not apply toimmigrants from the Western Hemisphere, however.During the 1920s, about a million Canadians and almost500,000 Mexicans crossed the nation’s borders.

A Time of Labor UnrestAnother severe postwar conflict formed between laborand management. During the war, the governmentwouldn’t allow workers to strike because nothing couldinterfere with the war effort. The American Federation ofLabor (AFL) pledged to avoid strikes.

However, 1919 saw more than 3,000 strikes duringwhich some 4 million workers walked off the job.Employers didn’t want to give raises, nor did they wantemployees to join unions. Some employers, either out ofa sincere belief or because they saw a way to keep wagesdown, attempted to show that union members wereplanning a revolution. Employers labeled striking work-ers as Communists. Newspapers screamed, “Plots toEstablish Communism.” Three strikes in particular grabbed public attention.

THE BOSTON POLICE STRIKE The Boston police had not been given a raisesince the beginning of World War I. Among their many grievances was that theyhad been denied the right to unionize. When representatives asked for a raise andwere fired, the remaining policemen decided to strike. Massachusetts governorCalvin Coolidge called out the National Guard. He said, “There is no right tostrike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time.” The strikeended but members weren’t allowed to return to work; new policemen were hiredinstead. People praised Coolidge for saving Boston, if not the nation, from com-munism and anarchy. In the 1920 election he became Warren G. Harding’s vice-presidential running mate.

THE STEEL MILL STRIKE Workers in the steel mills wanted the right to negotiate for shorter working hours and a living wage. They also wanted unionrecognition and collective bargaining rights. In September 1919, the U.S. SteelCorporation refused to meet with union representatives. In response, over300,000 workers walked off their jobs. Steel companies hired strikebreakers—employees who agreed to work during the strike—and used force. Striking work-ers were beaten by police, federal troops, and state militias. Then the companiesinstituted a propaganda campaign, linking the strikers to Communists. InOctober 1919, negotiations between labor and management produced a deadlock.President Woodrow Wilson made a written plea to the combative “negotiators.”

A PERSONAL VOICE WOODROW WILSON

“ At a time when the nations of the world are endeavoring to find a way of avoid-ing international war, are we to confess that there is no method to be found forcarrying on industry except . . . the very method of war? . . . Are our industrialleaders and our industrial workers to live together without faith in each other?”

—quoted in Labor in Crisis

The steel strike ended in January 1920. In 1923, a report on the harsh work-ing conditions in steel mills shocked the public. The steel companies agreed to aneight-hour day, but the steelworkers remained without a union.

D

▼

Strikers includedworking womentailors who foughtfor improvedworkingconditions.

D. Answer The number ofimmigrantsincreasedsharply, andmanyAmericans didnot want peoplefrom foreigncountries enter-ing the nation,since some ofthem were anar-chists andsocialists andsome werebelieved to beCommunists.

E. AnswerNeither strikewas successful:The police losttheir jobs, andthe steel work-ers won nothing.

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

D

DevelopingHistoricalPerspectiveD Why did

Congress makechanges inimmigration lawsduring the 1920s?

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

EComparing

Compare theresults of theBoston policestrike and thesteel strike. E

SkillbuilderAnswers1. Decline:Southern andcentral Europe;Increase:Mexico andGermany.2. Fewer immi-grants camefrom southernand centralEurope, exceptimmigrationfrom Germanyincreased.

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418 CHAPTER 12

THE COAL MINERS’ STRIKE Unionism was more success-ful in America’s coalfields. In 1919, the United Mine Workersof America, organized since 1890, got a new leader—John L.Lewis. In protest of low wages and long workdays, Lewiscalled his union’s members out on strike on November 1,1919. Attorney General Palmer obtained a court order send-ing the miners back to work. Lewis then declared it over, buthe quietly gave the word for it to continue. In defiance of thecourt order, the mines stayed closed another month. ThenPresident Wilson appointed an arbitrator, or judge, to put anend to the dispute. The coal miners received a 27 percentwage increase, and John L. Lewis became a national hero.The miners, however, did not achieve a shorter workday anda five-day workweek until the 1930s.

LABOR MOVEMENT LOSES APPEAL In spite of limitedgains, the 1920s hurt the labor movement badly. Over thedecade, union membership dropped from more than 5 millionto around 3.5 million. Membership declined for several reasons:

• much of the work force consisted of immigrants will-ing to work in poor conditions,

• since immigrants spoke a multitude of languages,unions had difficulty organizing them,

• farmers who had migrated to cities to find factory jobswere used to relying on themselves, and

• most unions excluded African Americans.

By 1929, about 82,000 African Americans—or less than1 percent of their population—held union memberships. Bycontrast, just over 3 percent of all whites were union mem-bers. However, African Americans joined some unions likethe mine workers’, longshoremen’s, and railroad porters’

unions. In 1925, A. Philip Randolph founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping CarPorters to help African Americans gain a fair wage.

While America’s attitude toward unions was changing, so, too, was its faithin the presidency.

KEY PLAYERKEY PLAYER

JOHN LLEWELLYN LEWIS1880–1969

John L. Lewis was born in the lit-tle mining town of Lucas, Iowa.His family had traditionally beenconcerned with labor rights andbenefits.

Lewis grew up with a fiercedetermination to fight for what hebelieved companies owed theiremployees: decent working condi-tions and a fair salary. As he saidyears later,

“I have pleaded your case not inthe tones of a feeble mendicant[beggar] asking alms but in thethundering voice of the captainof a mighty host, demanding the rights to which free men are entitled.”

•nativism•isolationism

•communism•anarchists

•Sacco and Vanzetti•quota system

•John L. Lewis1. TERMS & NAMES For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.

MAIN IDEA2. TAKING NOTES

In a cause-and-effect chart like theone shown, list examples of theaftereffects of World War I.

What event do you think was themost significant? Explain your choice.

CRITICAL THINKING3. EVALUATING

Do you think Americans werejustified in their fear of radicals andforeigners in the decade followingWorld War I? Explain your answer.Think About:

• the goals of the leaders of theRussian Revolution

• the challenges facing the UnitedStates

4. ANALYZING ISSUESIn the various fights betweenmanagement and union members,what did each side believe?

5. DRAWING CONCLUSIONSWhat do you think the Sacco andVanzetti case shows about Americain the 1920s?

Event Result

1.

2.

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•Warren G.Harding

•Charles EvansHughes

•Fordney-McCumber Tariff

•Ohio gang•Teapot Domescandal

•Albert B. Fall

The Harding administrationappealed to America’s desirefor calm and peace after thewar, but resulted in scandal.

The government must guardagainst scandal and corrup-tion to merit public trust.


Warren G. Harding was described as a good-natured man who“looked like a president ought to look.” When the silver-hairedOhio senator assumed the presidency in 1921, the public yearnedfor what Harding described as “normalcy,” or the simpler daysbefore the Progressive Era and the Great War. His words of peaceand calm comforted the healing nation.

A PERSONAL VOICE WARREN G. HARDING

“ America’s present need is not heroics, but healing; not nos-trums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation,but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, butthe dispassionate; . . . not submergence in internationality, butsustainment in triumphant nationality.”

—quoted in The Rise of Warren Gamaliel Harding

Despite Harding’s soothing speeches, his judgment turnedout to be poor. The discord among the major world powers andthe conduct within his own cabinet would test his politics and hischaracter.

Harding Struggles for PeaceAfter World War I, problems surfaced relating to arms control, war debts, and thereconstruction of war-torn countries. In 1921, President Harding invited severalmajor powers to the Washington Naval Conference. Russia was left out becauseof its Communist government. At the conference, Secretary of State CharlesEvans Hughes urged that no more warships be built for ten years. He suggestedthat the five major naval powers—the United States, Great Britain, Japan, France,and Italy—scrap many of their battleships, cruisers, and aircraft carriers.

Conference delegates cheered, wept, and threw their hats into the air. For thefirst time in history, powerful nations agreed to disarm. Later, in 1928, fifteen



▼

Warren G. Harding,shown here in1923, lookedpresidential, but heis considered oneof the leastsuccessfulpresidents.

The HardingPresidency

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420 CHAPTER 12

countries signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, whichrenounced war as a national policy. However, the pactwas futile, as it provided no means of enforcement.

HIGH TARIFFS AND REPARATIONS New conflictsarose when it came time for Britain and France to payback the $10 billion they had borrowed from America.They could do this in two ways: by selling goods to theUnited States or by collecting reparations fromGermany. However, in 1922, America adopted theFordney-McCumber Tariff, which raised taxes onU.S. imports to 60 percent—the highest level ever. Thetax protected U.S. businesses—especially in the chemi-cal and metals industries—from foreign competition,but made it impossible for Britain and France to sellenough goods in the U.S. to repay debts.

The two countries looked to Germany, which wasexperiencing terrible inflation. When Germany defaultedon (failed to make) payment, French troops marched in.To avoid another war, American banker Charles G. Daweswas sent to negotiate loans. Through what came to beknown as the Dawes Plan, American investors loaned

Germany $2.5 billion to pay back Britain and France with annual payments on afixed scale. Those countries then paid the United States. Thus, the United Statesarranged to be repaid with its own money.

The solution caused resentment all around. Britain and France considered theUnited States a miser for not paying a fair share of the costs of World War I.Further, the U.S. had benefited from the defeat of Germany, while Europeans hadpaid for the victory with millions of lives. At the same time, the United Statesconsidered Britain and France financially irresponsible.

Scandal Hits Harding’s AdministrationOn domestic issues, Harding favored a limited role for government in business affairsand in social reform. Still, he did set up the Bureau of the Budget to help run thegovernment more efficiently, and he urged U.S. Steel to abandon the 12-hour day.

HARDING’S CABINET Harding appointed Charles Evans Hughes as secretary ofstate. Hughes later went on to become chief justice of the Supreme Court. The pres-ident made Herbert Hoover the secretary of commerce. Hoover had done a master-ful job of handling food distribution and refugee problems during World War I.Andrew Mellon, one of the country’s wealthiest men, became secretary of the treas-ury and set about drastically cutting taxes and reducing the national debt. However,the cabinet also included the so-called Ohio gang, the president’s poker-playingcronies, who would soon cause a great deal of embarrassment.

SCANDAL PLAGUES HARDING The president’s main problem was that he didn’t understand many of the issues. He admitted as much to a secretary.

A PERSONAL VOICE WARREN G. HARDING

“ John, I can’t make a . . . thing out of this tax problem. I listen to one side andthey seem right, and then . . . I talk to the other side and they seem just as right. . . . I know somewhere there is an economist who knows the truth, but Idon’t know where to find him and haven’t the sense to know him and trust himwhen I find him. . . . What a job!”

—quoted in Only Yesterday

A

B

▼

In 1923, aGerman manpapers his wallswith money madenearly worthlessby high inflationfollowing WorldWar I.

A. PossibleAnswers Theireconomies hadbeen weakenedin the war; theywere unable toraise moneybecause U.S.exports werelimited by hightariffs; Germanyfailed to paythem expectedreparations.

B. PossibleAnswers Thatalthough hemade somegood appoint-ments, hisappointment ofcronies from hishome stateshowed poorjudgement.

Vocabularyreparations:paymentsdemanded from adefeated enemy

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

ASummarizing

What were thereasons Europeancountries were notpaying their wardebts?

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

B

EvaluatingLeadership

What doHarding’sappointmentsindicate about hisjudgment?

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•Warren G. Harding•Charles Evans Hughes

•Fordney-McCumber Tariff•Ohio gang

•Teapot Dome scandal•Albert B. Fall

1. TERMS & NAMES For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.


List five significant events from thissection and their effects, using atable like the one shown.

Which event benefited the countrythe most? Why?

CRITICAL THINKING3. MAKING INFERENCES

How do you think the Hardingadministration viewed the role ofAmerica in world affairs? Supportyour response with examples fromthe text.

4. EVALUATINGHow successful was Harding infulfilling his campaign pledge ofreturning the country to “normalcy”?Support your opinion with specificexamples.

5. ANALYZING EFFECTSHow do you think the post warfeelings in America influenced theelection of 1920? Think About:

• the desire for normalcy• Harding’s image• the issues Americans wanted to

focus on

Harding’s administration began to unravelas his corrupt friends used their offices tobecome wealthy through graft. Charles R.Forbes, the head of the Veterans Bureau, wascaught illegally selling government and hospi-tal supplies to private companies. ColonelThomas W. Miller, the head of the Office ofAlien Property, was caught taking a bribe.

THE TEAPOT DOME SCANDAL The mostspectacular example of corruption was theTeapot Dome scandal. The government hadset aside oil-rich public lands at Teapot Dome,Wyoming, and Elk Hills, California, for use bythe U.S. Navy. Secretary of the Interior AlbertB. Fall, a close friend of various oil executives,managed to get the oil reserves transferred fromthe navy to the Interior Department. Then, Fallsecretly leased the land to two private oil com-panies, including Henry Sinclair’s MammothOil Company at Teapot Dome. Although Fallclaimed that these contracts were in the government’s interest, he sudden-ly received more than $400,000 in “loans, bonds, and cash.” He was laterfound guilty of bribery and became the first American to be convicted of afelony while holding a cabinet post.

In the summer of 1923, Harding declared, “I have no trouble with myenemies. . . . But my friends, they’re the ones that keep me walking thefloor nights!” Shortly thereafter, on August 2, 1923, he died suddenly, prob-ably from a heart attack or stroke.

Americans sincerely mourned their good-natured president. The crimesof the Harding administration were coming to light just as Vice-President CalvinCoolidge assumed the presidency. Coolidge, a respected man of integrity, helpedto restore people’s faith in their government and in the Republican Party. Thenext year, Coolidge was elected president.

Event Effects1.2.

C

The elephant, shaped like a teapot here, is thesymbol of the RepublicanParty (Grand Old Party).The cartoonist impliesthat Republicans wereresponsible for the TeapotDome scandal.

▼

C. Answer Thegovernment lostrevenue whenveterans’ hospi-tals over-charged it; inthe TeapotDome scandal,public oilreserves wereleased for pri-vate gain.

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

C

MakingInferences

How did thescandals of theHardingadministration hurtthe countryeconomically?

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422 CHAPTER 12



•Calvin Coolidge•urban sprawl

•installment planConsumer goods fueled thebusiness boom of the 1920sas America’s standard ofliving soared.

Business, technological, andsocial developments of the1920s launched the era ofmodern consumerism.


In 1927, the last Model T Ford—number 15,077,033—rolled offthe assembly line. On December 2, some 1 million New Yorkersmobbed show rooms to view the new Model A. One striking dif-

ference between the two models was that customers couldorder the Model A in such colors as “Arabian Sand” and“Niagara Blue”; the old Model T had come only in black. AFord spokesman explained some additional advantages of the

new automobile.

A PERSONAL VOICE“ Good-looking as that car is, its performance is better than its appearance. Wedon’t brag about it, but it has done seventy-one miles an hour. It will ride along a railroad track without bouncing. . . . It’s the smoothest thing you ever rode in.”

—a Ford salesman quoted in Flappers, Bootleggers, “Typhoid Mary,” and the Bomb

The automobile became the backbone of the American economy in the 1920s(and remained such until the 1970s). It profoundly altered the American landscapeand American society, but it was only one of several factors in the country’s busi-ness boom of the 1920s.

American Industries Flourish The new president, Calvin Coolidge, fit into the pro-business spirit of the 1920svery well. It was he who said, “the chief business of the American people is busi-ness. . . . The man who builds a factory builds a temple—the man who worksthere worships there.” Both Coolidge and his Republican successor, HerbertHoover, favored government policies that would keep taxes down and businessprofits up, and give businesses more available credit in order to expand. Their goalwas to keep government interference in business to a minimum and to allow pri-vate enterprise to flourish. For most of the 1920s, this approach seemed to work.Coolidge’s administration continued to place high tariffs on foreign imports,

▼

The Model A wasa more luxuriouscar than theModel T. It wasintroduced at$495. Model T’swere selling for$290.

SkillbuilderAnswers1. PossibleAnswers: With aSouthwesternroute, engineersdid not have tobuild a roadacross theRockyMountains.Also, Route 66would help openup the sparselypopulatedSouthwest tothe rest of thecountry andthus spur popu-lation growthand economicdevelopment.2. Cities alongthe route grewas trafficbrought morebusiness to thearea.

The Businessof America

422-427-Chapter 12 10/21/02 5:19 PM Page 422

Mississippi River

ColoradoRiver

Arkansas River

Red River

Missouri

River

MO

UN

TA

IN

SR

OC

KY

MOJAVEDESERT

PAINTEDDESERT

40°N

30°N

120°W

Lake

Michigan

Lake Huron

L. Superior

PACIFICOCEAN

Chicago

Los Angeles

St. Louis

Springfield

ClaremoreTulsa

Galena

Springfield

Albuquerque

SantaRosa

Tucumcari

Amarillo

Barstow

WinslowHolbrook

ILLINOISINDIANA

MISSOURI

IOWA

WISCONSIN

MINNESOTA

ARKANSAS

OHIO

MICHIGAN

KENTUCKY

TENNESSEE

WASHINGTON

MONTANA

NEBRASKA

KANSAS

COLORADO

UTAH

CALIFORNIA

ARIZONA

NEW MEXICOTEXAS

OKLAHOMA

WYOMING

N

S

EW

0

0 100 200 kilometers

100 200 miles

which helped American manufacturers. Reducing income taxes meant that peo-ple had more money in their pockets. Wages were rising because of new technol-ogy and so was productivity.

THE IMPACT OF THE AUTOMOBILE The automobile literally changed theAmerican landscape. Its most visible effect was the construction of paved roadssuitable for driving in all weather. One such road was the legendary Route 66,which provided a route for people trekking west from Chicago to California.Many, however, settled in towns along the route. In addition to the changinglandscape, architectural styles also changed, as new houses typically cameequipped with a garage or carport and a driveway—and a smaller lawn as a result.The automobile also launched the rapid construction of gasoline stations, repairshops, public garages, motels, tourist camps, and shopping centers. The firstautomatic traffic signals began blinking in Detroit in the early 1920s. TheHolland Tunnel, the first underwater tunnel designed specifically for motorvehicles, opened in 1927 to connect New York City and Jersey City, NewJersey. The Woodbridge Cloverleaf, the first cloverleaf intersection, was builtin New Jersey in 1929.

The automobile liberated the isolated rural family, who could now travel tothe city for shopping and entertainment. It also gave families the opportunity tovacation in new and faraway places. It allowed both women and young people tobecome more independent through increased mobility. It allowed workers to live


Roadside stands offering food, drink, and other itemsappeared in increasing numbers.

Routing of highway through392 miles of Oklahomagave the state more miles,more jobs, and moreincome than other stateson Route 66.

The “Auto Camp”developed as towns-people roped offspaces alongsidethe road where travelers could sleep at night.

Route 66

GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER1. Place What do you think were some of

the reasons government officials decidedto build Route 66 through the Southwestrather than straight west from Chicago?

2. Movement How do you think theincrease in traffic affected the citiesalong this route?

Gas for cars was cheap andplentiful. Gasstations sprungup on Route 66charging 25¢ per gallon.

▼

Commissioned on the cusp of the Depression, Route 66 symbol-ized the road to opportunity. Also known as “the Mother Road,” itbecame the subject of countless songs, films, books, and legends.1916 Federal-Aid Road Act sets up highway program with the

federal government paying half the cost of states’ highway construction.

1921 Highway construction in 11 western states begins underadministration of Bureau of Public Roads.

1926 U.S. Highway 66, which would run 2,448 miles fromChicago to Los Angeles, California, is established.

Route 66 linked hundreds of ruralcommunities in Illinois, Missouri,and Kansas to Chicago, enablingfarmers to transport produce.

A. PossibleAnswers Roadswere paved, andshopping cen-ters and otherservices forcars were built;people commut-ed to work, andurban sprawldeveloped;regional differ-ences dimin-ished.

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

A

AnalyzingEffects

What was the impact of the automobile?

A

422-427-Chapter 12 10/21/02 5:19 PM Page 423

miles from their jobs, resulting in urban sprawl as citiesspread in all directions. The automobile industry also pro-vided an economic base for such cities as Akron in Ohio,and Detroit, Dearborn, Flint, and Pontiac in Michigan. Theindustry drew people to such oil-producing states asCalifornia and Texas. The automobile even became a statussymbol—both for individual families and to the rest of theworld. In their work Middletown, the social scientists Robertand Helen Lynd noted one woman’s comment: “I’ll gowithout food before I’ll see us give up the car.”

The auto industry symbolized the success of the freeenterprise system and the Coolidge era. Nowhere else in theworld could people with little money own their own auto-mobile. By the late 1920s, around 80 percent of all regis-tered motor vehicles in the world were in the UnitedStates—about one automobile for every five people. Thehumorist Will Rogers remarked to Henry Ford, “It will takea hundred years to tell whether you helped us or hurt us,but you certainly didn’t leave us where you found us.”

THE YOUNG AIRPLANE INDUSTRY Automobiles weren’tthe only form of transportation taking off. The airplaneindustry began as a mail carrying service for the U.S. PostOffice. Although the first flight in 1918 was a disaster, anumber of successful flights soon established the airplaneas a peacetime means of transportation. With the develop-ment of weather forecasting, planes began carrying radiosand navigational instruments. Henry Ford made a trimotorairplane in 1926. Transatlantic flights by Charles Lindberghand Amelia Earhart helped to promote cargo and commer-cial airlines. In 1927, the Lockheed Company produced asingle-engine plane, the Vega. It was one of the most popu-lar transport airplanes of the late 1920s. Founded in 1927,Pan American Airways inaugurated the first transatlanticpassenger flights.

424 CHAPTER 12

B

KEY PLAYERKEY PLAYER

Flight attendants trainfor an early UnitedAirlines flight. Whencommercial airlineflights began, all flightattendants were femaleand white. ▼

CALVIN COOLIDGE1872–1933

Stepping into office in 1923, thetightlipped Vermonter was respect-ed for his solemnity and wisdom.Coolidge supported American busi-ness and favored what he called“a constructive economy.”

Known for his strength of charac-ter, Coolidge forced the resigna-tion of Attorney General Daughertyand other high officials who hadcreated scandal in office.

Shortly after Coolidge was elect-ed, his son died of blood poison-ing. Coolidge later wrote, “Thepower and the glory of the presi-dency went with him.” When hedecided not to seek reelection in1928, Coolidge stumped thenation. Keeping in character, hesaid, “Goodby, I have had a veryenjoyable time in Washington.”

B. PossibleAnswers Itencouragedconsumers toconsider manymore itemsnecessitiesrather than luxu-ries. TheCoolidge admin-istration and bigbusiness gotalong very welltogether.

Vocabularystatus symbol: a possessionbelieved toenhance theowner’s socialstanding

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

B

AnalyzingEffects

How did thewidespread use of the automobileaffect theenvironment andthe lives ofAmericans?

422-427-Chapter 12 10/21/02 5:19 PM Page 424

C


America’s Standard of Living SoarsThe years from 1920 to 1929 were prosperous ones for the United States.Americans owned around 40 percent of the world’s wealth, and that wealthchanged the way most Americans lived. The average annual income rose morethan 35 percent during the period—from $522 to $705. Peoplefound it easy to spend all that extra income and then some.

ELECTRICAL CONVENIENCES Gasoline powered much ofthe economic boom of the 1920s, but the use of electricity alsotransformed the nation. American factories used electricity torun their machines. Also, the development of an alternatingelectrical current made it possible to distribute electric powerefficiently over longer distances. Now electricity was no longerrestricted to central cities but could be transmitted to suburbs.The number of electrified households grew, although mostfarms still lacked power.

By the end of the 1920s, more and more homes had electricirons, while well-to-do families used electric refrigerators, cookingranges, and toasters. Eunice Fuller Barnard listed prices for electri-cal appliances in a 1928 magazine article:

These electrical appliances made the lives of housewives easier, freed them forother community and leisure activities, and coincided with a growing trend ofwomen working outside the home.

THE DAWN OF MODERN ADVERTISING With new goods flooding the market,advertising agencies no longer just informed the public about products andprices. Now they hired psychologists to study how to appeal to people’s desire foryouthfulness, beauty, health, and wealth. Results were impressive. The slogan“Say it with flowers” doubled florists’ business between 1912 and 1924. “Reachfor a Lucky instead of a sweet” lured weight-conscious Americans to cigarettes andaway from candy. Brand names became familiar from coast to coast, and luxuryitems now seemed like necessities.

One of those “necessities” was mouthwash. A 1923 Listerine advertisementaimed to convince readers that without Listerine a person ran the risk of havinghalitosis—bad breath—and that the results could be a disaster.

A PERSONAL VOICE“ She was a beautiful girl and talented too. She had the advantages of educationand better clothes than most girls of her set. She possessed that culture andpoise that travel brings. Yet in the one pursuit that stands foremost in the mind ofevery girl and woman—marriage—she was a failure.”

—Listerine Advertisement

Businesspeople applied the power of advertising to other areas of Americanlife. Across the land, they met for lunch with fellow members of such serviceorganizations as Rotary, Kiwanis, and the Lions. As one observer noted, they sang

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

C

FormingGeneralizations

How did theuse of electricityaffect Americans’lifestyle?

Goods and Prices, 1900 and 1928

1900 1928

wringer and washboard $ 5brushes and brooms $ 5sewing machine (mechanical) $25

washing machine $150vacuum cleaner $ 50sewing machine (electric) $ 60

▼

American consumersin the 1920s couldpurchase the latesthousehold electricalappliances, such as arefrigerator, for aslittle as a dollar downand a dollar a week.

Image not available foruse on this CD-ROM.Please refer to the imagein the textbook.

426 CHAPTER 12

songs, raised money for charities, and boosted the image ofthe businessman “as a builder, a doer of great things, yes,and a dreamer whose imagination was ever seeking out newways of serving humanity.” Many Americans idolized busi-ness during these prosperous times.

A Superficial ProsperityDuring the 1920s, most Americans believed prosperitywould go on forever—the average factory worker was pro-ducing 50 percent more at the end of the decade than at itsstart. Hadn’t national income grown from $64 billion in1921 to $87 billion in 1929? Weren’t most major corpora-tions making fortunes? Wasn’t the stock market reachingnew heights?

PRODUCING GREAT QUANTITIES OF GOODS As pro-ductivity increased, businesses expanded. There werenumerous mergers of companies that manufactured auto-mobiles, steel, and electrical equipment, as well as mergersof companies that provided public utilities. Chain storessprouted, selling groceries, drugs, shoes, and clothes. Five-and-dime stores like Woolworth’s also spread rapidly.Congress passed a law that allowed national banks tobranch within cities of their main office. But as the numberof businesses grew, so did the income gap between workersand managers. There were a number of other clouds in theblue sky of prosperity. The iron and railroad industries,among others, weren’t very prosperous, and farms nation-

wide suffered losses—with new machinery, they were producing more food thanwas needed and this drove down food prices.

BUYING GOODS ON CREDIT In addition to advertising, industry providedanother solution to the problem of luring consumers to purchase the mountainof goods produced each year: easy credit, or “a dollar down and a dollar forever.”The installment plan, as it was then called, enabled people to buy goods over

ANOTHER

PERSPECTIVEPERSPECTIVETHE NEEDY

While income rose for manyAmericans in the 1920s, it didnot rise for everyone. Industriessuch as textile and steel manu-facturing made very little profit.Mining and farming actually suf-fered losses. Farmers weredeeply in debt because they hadborrowed money to buy land andmachinery so that they could pro-duce more crops during WorldWar I. When European agriculturebounced back after the war, thedemand for U.S. crops fell, as didprices. Before long there wereU.S. farm surpluses.

Many American farmers couldnot make their loan and mort-gage payments. They lost theirpurchasing power, their equip-ment, and their farms. As oneSouth Dakota state senatorremarked, “There’s a saying:‘Depressions are farm led andfarm fed.’”

AnalyzingAnalyzing

BackgroundSee productivityon page R44 inthe EconomicsHandbook.

“YES, SIR, HE’S MY BABY”This cartoon depicts Calvin Coolidge playing a saxophonelabeled “Praise” while a woman representing “Big Business”dances up a storm.

SKILLBUILDER Analyzing Political Cartoons1. The dancing woman is a 1920s “flapper”—independent,

confident, and assertive. In what ways was big businessin the 1920s comparable to the flappers?

2. What do you think the cartoonist suggests aboutCoolidge’s relationship with big business?

SEE SKILLBUILDER HANDBOOK, PAGE R24.

422-427-Chapter 12 10/21/02 5:19 PM Page 426

E

D


Re-create the web below on yourpaper and fill it in with events thatillustrate the central idea.

Choose one event from the web andexplain its significance in the 1920s.

CRITICAL THINKING3. EVALUATING

Do you agree with PresidentCoolidge’s statement “The manwho builds a factory builds atemple—the man who works thereworships there”? Explain youranswer. Think About:

• the goals of business and of religion

• the American idolization of business

• the difference between workersand management

4. INTERPRETING GRAPHSWhat trend does the graph showbetween 1920 and 1930? Whatwere some of the reasons for thistrend?


an extended period, without having to put down much money at the time of pur-chase. Banks provided the money at low interest rates. Advertisers pushed the“installment plan” idea with such slogans as “You furnish the girl, we’ll furnishthe home” and “Enjoy while you pay.”

Some economists and business owners worried that installment buying mightbe getting out of hand and that it was really a sign of fundamental weaknesses ofa superficial economic prosperity. One business owner even wrote to PresidentCoolidge and related a conversation he had overheard on a train.

A PERSONAL VOICE“Have you an automobile yet?”“No, I talked it over with John and he felt we could not afford one.”“Mr. Budge who lives in your town has one and they are not as well off as you are.”“Yes, I know. Their second installment came due, and they had no money to pay it.” “What did they do? Lose the car?”“No, they got the money and paid the installment.”“How did they get the money?”“They sold the cook-stove.”“How could they get along without a cook-stove?”“They didn’t. They bought another on the installment plan.”

—a business owner quoted in In The Time of Silent Cal

Still, most Americans focused their attention on the present, with little con-cern for the future. What could possibly go wrong with the nation’s economy?The decade of the 1920s had brought about many technological and economicchanges. And yet the Coolidge era was built on paradox—the president stood foreconomy and a frugal way of life, but he was favored by a public who had thrownall care to the wind. Life definitely seemed easier and more enjoyable for hun-dreds of thousands of Americans. From the look of things, there was little warn-ing of what was to come.

•Calvin Coolidge •urban sprawl •installment plan

1. TERMS & NAMES For each term or name, write a sentence explaining itssignificance.

Technology &Business Changes

of the 1920s

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

D

AnalyzingIssues

What were themain advantageand disadvantageof buying oncredit?

D. AnswerAdvantage:People couldbuy goods theycould not other-wise afford.Disadvantage:People could go far into debt withoutrealizing it.

E. PossibleAnswerThe economymay falter whenconsumers areunable to meettheir credit obli-gations.

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

E

PredictingEffects

How do youthink the changesin spending willaffect theeconomy?

Automobile Registration1910–1930

Regi

stra

tion

(mill

ions

)

25

20

15

10

5

1910 1915 1920 1925 1930Source: Historical Statistics of the United States.

422-427-Chapter 12 10/21/02 5:19 PM Page 427

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