World War I - New Deal

World War I - New Deal - look at Billington’s contention that all progressive periods end with a great war - the fever pitch of emotional excitement may make them more likely to happen - what about wars tend to be antiprogressive? I. WW I - background, cause, U.S. involvement A. immediate cause id the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand (Austria-Hungary and Serbia) B. deeper causes 1. secret alliances 2. militarism and an arms race 3. imperialism - more potential confrontation points 4. balance of power concept - Germany’s threat 5. Balkan nationalism C. begins in July 1914 - Allies v Central Powers D. initial U.S. reaction was a formal declaration of neutrality 1. Wilson said we must be neutral in thought as well as deed 2. from the outset, most Americans favored the Allies E. reasons that neutrality could not be maintained 1. cultural ties a. German-American/Central Powers numbered 11m b. Irish-Americans also favor the Central Powers c. on the whole, far more favor Great Britain 2. economic ties - exports and loans in dollars a. country 1914 1915 1916 %+orGreat Britain 594m 911m 1.5b 257% France 159m 369m 628m 393% Italy 74m 184m 269m 364m Germany 344m 28m .28m .08% b. loans to Allies = $2.3b - loans to Germany = $27m c. why does this make a difference? Who will be able to repay loans 3. attack on France and Belgium - lead to view of Germany as the aggressor a. France was considered a traditional friend of the U.S. - “Forget us God if we forget, the sacred sword of Lafayette.” b. Belgium neutrality dismissed as a mere scrap of paper 4. German imperialism - particularly in the Pacific a. conflicted more with U.S. interests b. Samoa. Philippines, China c. expanding German industry is competing with U.S. products 5. traditional German stereotype 6. anti-German propaganda a. English propaganda style fits with accepted U.S. norms than does the German b. English control of the transatlantic cable allows the British to control what news the U.S. gets from Europe c. atrocity reports - submarine warfare, crucified Canadian, corpse factory which turned bodies into soap, Belgium babies with their hands cut off, Belgium maidens with their breasts cut off, Edith Cavell incident (British nurse executed) d. sabotage in the U.S. - Black Tom Munitions Plant - Dr. Albert’s briefcase listing other plans 7. unrestricted submarine warfare - the idea that German tactics killed while allied tactics only inconvenienced 8. Zimmerman Note - stated that Mexico and Japan should join the war on the side of the Central Powers so they could gain territory a. Mexico - Texas and the Mexican Cession b. Japan - Hawaii and the Philippines F. initial depression at the outset gives way to economic prosperity G. English strategy - blockade 1. went beyond traditional limitations of blockades for modern reasons H. I. J. K. L. M. N. O. P. a. needed to stay out of the range of German land guns b. geographic considerations - easier to blockade away from German ports c. redefine contraband to include indirect war material d. doctrine of continuous voyage e. limiting trade between neutrals to prewar levels 2. England had to walk the fine line between enforcing the blockade and alienating the U.S. - this became easier as the war went on 3. payment for seized goods eases the pain 4. problem for Wilson is whether or not to allow unneutral trade a. stopping it would hurt the cause of the allies b. increasingly it would also hurt the economy of the U.S. German strategy was to use the submarine (U-boat) warfare to blockade England 1. this required a different set of rules than did surface ships - since surprise was the primary weapon of the U-boat a. thus it could not warn ship or provide for passengers or crew b. early U-boats very vulnerable to even armed merchantmen 2. war zone declared around England creates problems - for the U.S. the major issue is freedom of the seas or the rights of neutrals a. problems with identifying neutral ships (flags) b. problem of armed merchantmen c. problem of passenger ships carrying contraband the Lusitania - May 7, 1915 - British passenger ship sunk by subs 1. 1200 killed - 128 Americans 2. warnings had been placed in U.S. newspapers 3. Wilson insists on the principle of freedom of the seas - sends stern notes to Germany a. Bryan resigns over the severe language saying - “There’s such a thing as a man being too proud to fight.” b. Morison terms the sinking of the Lusitania “a criminally stupid act.” - why? sinkings of the Arabic and Sussex 1. Arabic goes down August 1915 - 2 American lives lost a. Arabic pledge b. Germany would not sink unarmed and unresisting passenger ships without warning 2. Sussex goes down March 1916 - some American lives lost a. Sussex ultimatum sent - properly warn passenger and merchant ships or diplomatic relations will be broken - prelude to war b. Germany agrees preparedness - becomes an issue in 1916 - what problem is there with a neutral country readying itself for war - will it become more likely to enter the war? 1. the navy was in relatively good shape - ranks 3rd in the world 2. army ranks 15th - just behind that of Persia 3. Wilson initially resisted preparedness but eventually realizes the political benefits - 1916 June 1916 - National Defense Act 1. increased the size of the regular army from 100,000 to 145,000 or 200,000 2. increased National Guard reserves to 450,000 naval construction - August of 1916 1. authorizes $313m with emphasis on traditional battleships 2. none were completed before the end of the war 3. failed to recognize the need to combat submarine threat Council for National Defense is formed - in the event of war, they would coordinate production U.S. Shipping Board established - $50m to buy or build merchantmen Election of 1916 1. Republicans a. Roosevelt is not a candidate - the Republican party is reunited - settle of Charles Evans Hughes b. Republican platform 1. critical of tariff policy II. 2. critical of trust prosecutions 3. neutral on the issue of participation in the war c. Roosevelt had difficulty supporting Hughes - Charles “Evasive” Hughes “Whiskered Wilson” - the only difference between the two was a shave 2. the Wilson (Democratic) platform a. “he kept us out of war” slogan b. becomes strong supporter of preparedness c. ignores Hughes on the belief that “one should not kill a man attempting to commit suicide” d. Roosevelt very critical of Wilson - believes the U.S. should become involved in the war - refers to him as “that damned Presbyterian hypocrite” 3. outcome - Wilson - 277EV - 9.1m - Hughes 254EV - 8.5m a. the South and the West support Wilson b. Northeast and Midwest support Hughes c. the California blunder - Hughes fails to greet Hiram Johnson - lost California by 4000 votes Wilsonian idealism and WW I A. Wilson believed the U.S. could control the peace process and demonstrate the futility of war 1. January 22,1917 - peace without victory speech 2. behind the scenes attempts at peace (Colonel House) unsuccessful as both sides attach too many conditions B. the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare - January 31, 1917 - Germany would sink all merchantmen in the war zone without warning 1. this was a calculated gamble - Germany believed that she could win the war before the U.S. could mobilize and become a significant factor 2. Germany knew that this would mean war with the U.S. - February 3, 1917 breaks diplomatic relations with Germany 3. Wilson insists on overt act before he will seek a declaration of war C. USW leads to Wilson’s proposal to arm merchantmen 1. filibuster kills the chance of its passage 2. opposition was particularly strong in Midwest, South, and from Progressives - why? 3. Wilson brand’s obstructionist “a little group of willful men” 4. arms merchantmen under the authority of an old statute D. Zimmerman note - made public March 1, 1917 - emotionalizes U.S. public opinion E. overt acts occur in mid-March 1. four U.S. ships sunk - 36 killed 2. increased demand for war - Philadelphia newspaper - “The difference between war and what we have now is that now we’re not fighting back F. Russian revolution March of 1917 - establishes a democracy and increased the moral rightness of the U.S. joining the war effort - democracy v autocracy G. Wilson asks for a declaration of war on April 2, 1917 1. Congress declares war 4-6-17 2. vote 82-6, 373-50 H. why did war come 1. submarine warfare 2. cultural bias 3. aggressor syndrome 4. commercial and financial interests 5. governmental systems I. the mobilization of American industry 1. reflected tones of New Nationalism that Wilson was already leaning toward 2. “It is not an army we must shape and train for war, it is a nation.” 3. this required consolidation and centralization - priorities in the allocation of resources had to be made and bottlenecks to production eliminated 4. primary agency in charge - The War Industries Board - Bernard Baruch (Wall St. financier heads the agency) - established July 1917 J. K. L. M. N. O. a. primary job was to win business cooperation with the goals of the government b. provided for standardization c. ensured profits for industries d. exempted businesses from anti-trust suits for their cooperation e. fixed prices f. offered cost-plus contracts 5. the net effect of the War industries Board was to recreate a partnership between American business and government - what was the effect on the Progressive movement The War Labor Board - “Labor will win the war” 1. co-chaired by William Howard Taft and Samuel Gompers 2. purpose was to resolve labor conflict without strikes a. to gain labor’s support, government took a pro-labor position b. labor’s support was traded for a labor voice in government policy - Samuel Gompers sat on several different boards 3. war labor board arbitrates 1250 cases 4. in return for a no-strike pledge, the government supported the right of labor unions to organize and insisted that management deal with unions 5. government encourages an eight hour day for workers with time and a half for overtime 6. was willing to enforce its decisions - when Smith and Wesson (Springfield,MA) refused to cooperate, the government took over the plant 7. AFL membership grew from 1m in 1916 to more than 3m in 1919 8. nevertheless, there were more than 6000 strikes during the war - speculate on how the public would react to those strikes 9. IWW (Wobblies) were the most militant and were eventually decimated by public reaction against them 10. labor’s gains during the period did not keep pace with the gains of industrial profits or inflation- 42,000 new millionaires created by WW I gains for black workers 1. Southern blacks were actively recruited for work in Northern industry 2. 400,000-450,000 blacks moved to Northern cities - Henry Ford sent recruiting agents into the south and set up special trains to bring Blacks North 3. what would you anticipate would happen after the war (loss of jobs - significant minority) gains for women 1. 400,000 women join the labor force as a result of the war (a women’s place in in the war) 2. many of the 8m working women switched from low paying jobs to higher paying industrial jobs 3. additional gains for women a. war had a positive effect on the women’s suffrage movement - why? b. Alice Paul’s Congressional Union opposed the war c. National American Women’s Suffrage Association supports the war effort d. Wilson converted to women’s suffrage in 1916 - withdrew his objections to the 19th amendment in 1918 e. cleared the House easily - took 18 months to get through the Senate f. ratified August 26, 1920 4. how lasting were these gains The War Trade Board Fuel Administration - headed by Harry Garfield - “Mine more coal” - “Fuel will win the war” 1. coal production increased 2/5 largely due to guaranteed price increases which opened previously unproductive mines 2. heatless Mondays, lightless nights, gasless Sundays 3. introduction of daylight savings time Food Administration - headed by Herbert Hoover - “Food will win the war” 1. the gospel of the clean dinner plate 2. full garbage pails make empty dinner pails 3. patriotic to the core 4. Hooverizing - wheatless Mondays and Wednesdays, porkless Tuesdays and Saturdays 5. encouragement of victory gardens 6. increased movement toward prohibition to save grain 7. no rationing introduced 8. successfully leads to a three fold increase in food exports P. important to realize that these were all propaganda attempts to get people involved in the war effort Q. The Railway War Board - William McAdoo - Wilson’s son in law 1. railroads are nationalized and operated by the government 2. owners are guaranteed “standard return” equal to their average profits from 1915-1917 3. ownership would be returned to private hands not more than 21 months after the end of the war 4. railroads operated at a deficit of $862m R. these agencies consolidated and centralized the war effort and required the expertise of skilled managers to effectively administer them - those people came primarily from business, thus recreating a partnership between government and big business S. financing the war effort 1. total cost of the war was $32b - $44m per day at the end of the war 2. moved the U.S. from a creditor to a debtor nation 3. between one third and one half the cost was raised by taxation 4. the rest came from bond drive (“Liberty loans”) a. bonds were sold in small denomination so average citizens could afford them and feel a direct attachment to the war effort b. $50 denomination - even schoolchildren could purchase 25 cent thrift stamps c. four separate bond drives raise a total of $22b 5. U.S. debt rose from $1b in 1915 to $20b in 1920 6. increased wages brought more people under the income tax liability and accustomed them to paying this tax T. The Committee on Public Information - headed by George Creel 1. support for the war effort was not a foregone conclusion 2. the purpose of the Creel Committee was to muster support for the war effort through a massive propaganda campaign - it purpose was therefore to get everyone to think alike 3. this meant creating an emotionalized national ideology - what are the potential problems with this following the war? 4. CPI succeeds with a tremendously pervasive effort a. 75m pieces of literature were distributed b. sponsored short films designed to portray German as inhumane - “The Prussian Cur” - “The Kaiser, The Beast of Berlin” c. 75,000 “four minute men” delivered 755,000 speeches to an audience of 300m people, three times the population of the U.S. 5. the effect was to create a tremendous impetus for conformity in the U.S. a. citizens were encouraged to look for “the man who spreads pessimistic stories, cries for peace, or belittles our effort to win the war” and to turn these people in to the Justice Department b. Morison contends it “engaged the energies of frustrated old women of both sexes. It was a wonderful opportunity to bring patriotism to the aid of neighborhood feuds and personal grudges.” c. American Protective League mobilized 250,000 “agents” to spy on average citizens (complete with badges furnished by the Justice Department) d. Boy Spies of America and Sedition Slammers staged violent raids against draft evaders and war opponents e. German-Americans (generally very loyal) were particularly the victims 1. German music was banned from concert halls 2. pro-German textbook references were removed 3. German could not be taught as a language 4. Sauerkraut became “Liberty Cabbage,” hamburgers became “Salisbury Steak,” German measles became “Liberty Measles” III. 5. what future problems might this create? - once the war is over how quickly will these suspicions fade? U. legally instituted restraint against dissent 1. formally codified into the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 a. made it illegal for anyone to “utter, print, write or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government in the United States, or the uniform of the Army or Navy - also included the Constitution, the flag, or anyone interfering with recruiting b. fines of up to $10,000 and 20 years imprisonment c. more than 1000 convictions - including Eugene Debs for saying that the master class caused wars while the subject class fought them 2. IWW was a very tempting target a. its leaders spoke out against militarism b. 133 were arrested c. Frank Little dragged through the streets of Butte, Montana and hanged for opposing the draft 3. freedom of speech a. Schneck v U.S. (1919) - Congress could restrict free speech if it posed a “clear and present danger” - Oliver Wendall Holmes and Louis Brandeis - freedom of speech does not give anyone the right to yell fire in a crowded theater b. Abrams v U.S. - Holmes and Brandeis dissent World War I - the need to create a moralistic war A. reluctance of the Midwest to support war effort 1. large population of German immigrants 2. natural isolation of inland areas B. nicknames of WW I display the idealistic nature - The Great War, The War to End All War, A War to Make the World Safe for Democracy C. Wilson’s Fourteen Points 1. beginning in January 1918 Wilson introduces the idea of “peace without victory” and what that meant 2. over time these are developed into Fourteen Points - even though they increase to 23 3. many are specific in nature, but major points include a. the abolition of secret treaties b. free trade c. freedom of the seas - the rights of neutrals to trade d. reduction of armaments e. self-determination (define) f. a post-war international organization to resolve dispute peacefully - League of Nations 4. European leaders had more practical goals conditioned by political considerations a. Clemenceau - “Wilson’s Fourteen Points bore me. God almighty had only ten.” b. refers to them as “Wilson’s Fourteen Commandments” - “God Almighty Wilson” D. major impact of the U.S. during the war 1. Wilson viewed the primary function of the U.S. as building a bridge of boats to Europe most Americans felt that supplying the war effort would be our only involvement 2. steps taken to increase the size of the U.S. merchant marine a. confiscation of German ships in U.S. ports b. requisitioning of neutral ships c. massive building program 1. ships made of steel, concrete, and wood 2. one completed in just 27 days 3. 7-4-18 - 95 vessels were launched in a single day 4. before the end of the war, two ships were being launched for every one that was sunk 5. when the war ended, 350,000 shipyard workers in 341 shipyards - the U.S. has two times the ship building capacity of the rest of the world combined IV. 3. success comes largely through the “Sims idea” (William Sims) - the convoying of ships concept of safety in numbers from submarine attack E. the Army 1. increased to 200,000 six weeks after the declaration of war 2. conscription - Selective Service Acts of 1917 and 1918 a. 3m drafted into military service b. 2m volunteer for service (ideological nature of the war) - F. Scott Fitzgerald example c. 337,000 “slackers” - draft evaders d. 4000 conscientious objectors 3. 2m men eventually transported to Europe without the loss of a single man - 6 transports torpedoed on the way home 4. American Expeditionary Force - doughboys a. General “Black Jack” John Pershing commands b. October 23, 1917 first effective U.S. force arrives (remember, the Germans had counted on the fact that they could end the war with unrestricted submarine warfare before the U.S. power could effectively be brought to bear - they were nearly correct c. jolly crusade-like force (remember, the Spanish-American War was the last the U.S. had fought - also, the idealistic nature of the war) d. “Johnny Get Your Gun” - “Over There” e. initially used as replacements for allied troops rather then as a unit 5. the horrors of trench warfare a. stationary lines - 600 miles of trenches from Switzerland to the Belgium coast b. tremendous losses for yards of ground - Verdum - 350,000 casualties for no gain - over the top c. Americans miss most of the trench warfare d. no man’s land e. description of life in the trenches - “trench coat, trench mouth, trench fever” f. warfare anything but idealistic 6. new technology - tanks, machine guns, aircraft, submarines 7. German drive of 1918 a. get within 40 miles of Paris - Big Bertha could lob shells on the city b. Americans successful at Chateau Thierry and Belleau Woods c. by July the offensive is spent d. last major offensive Meuss-Argonne forest - September-November 1918 - 47 days loses 1.2m killed e. Alvin York - kills 20 Germans - captures 132 (128) f. Kaiser forced to flee in November F. question of whether to accept an armistice or demand unconditional surrender 1. armistice signed 11-11-18 2. Germany sues for peace on the basis of the Fourteen Points G. post-war forays into Eastern Russia H. cost of the war 1. Russia - 1.7m 2. Germany - 1.6m 3. France - 1.385m 4. Britain - .9m 5. U.S. - 49,000 - another 52,000 from influenza epidemic Wilson and peace - The Treaty of Versailles A. idealistic Wilson travels to Europe for treaty - finds European heads of state more practically oriented than himself - Morison - 210 - Clemenceau and Wilson B. treaty is not based on the Fourteen Points but is a semi-harsh treaty 1. requires reparation payments from Germany 2. requires German acknowledgement of war guilt 3. German colonies given as mandates to the victors (guise for imperialism?) 4. provides for demilitarization of Germany 5. requires territorial concessions from the losers C. thus, it is sometimes referred to as the “lost peace” D. Wilson is extremely popular in Europe - heads of state somewhat jealous of this popularity E. Wilson’s political errors in attempting to win approval of the treaty 1. the October Appeal - attempt to influence Congressional elections in November 1918 a. Wilson desires to have a popular mandate before traveling to Europe and appeals over the heads of Congress to the people for pro-treaty Senators b. in Republican eyes this violates a non-partisan pact which was in effect during the war c. Republicans win a small majority in Congress 1. this is a typical off-year election result 2. Wilson’s prestige is hurt only because he put it on the line 3. bad political strategy because it leaves Wilson as the only head of state at the conference without a political majority at home 2. breaking the precedent by traveling to Europe a. direct violation of Washington’s farewell address - thus violated the spirit of isolationism b. seems very pretentious in American eyes c. left at a time when the country would be experiencing significant readjustment problems d. left critics a free hand at home 3. makeup of the peace commission a. Wilson excludes powerful Senators whose support he will need for ratification b. snubs the majority party in the Senate by not naming any significant Republicans 1. Will Rogers - “It was a 50-50 split. I’ll go and you stay.” 2. remember, Wilson needs a two-thirds majority for ratification c. critical of Henry Cabot Lodge - Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee 1. Lodge - “Had a mind like the New England soil, naturally barren, but well cultivated.” 2. Lodge has a personal dislike for Wilson - had been the intellectual leader in government before Wilson’s arrival 3. Lodge - “I never knew I could hate a man as much as I hate Wilson.” d. to some degree, this represents the typical post-war struggle between the executive and legislative branches 4. willingness to compromise at the conference, but not on the terms of ratification at home a. as early as 1915 many had proposed a league before Wilson - Roosevelt, Taft, Root, Lodge b. there was a small group who opposed any treaty involving the U.S. in world affairs - William Borah, Hiram Johnson - irreconcilables - Lodge is a reservationist - explain the difference c. with a presidential election in 1920, the League was bound to become a political issue - particularly after the Republicans were caught with their pants down by the October Appeal d. traditional U.S. isolationism required some sought of compromise e. Republicans were still smarting from progressive legislation F. the ratification fight 1. Wilson’s trip home in the middle of negotiations signaled trouble 2. March of 1919 a Round Robin was signed by 39 Republican Senators a. indicated they would not approve U.S. membership in the League of Nations without changes b. this hurt Wilson’s prestige and standing at the treaty negotiations c. fearing that the Senate might block U.S. participation in the League, Wilson pushed to have it written into the Treaty of Versailles - he did not believe the Senate would kill the entire treaty to stay out of the League d. to do this, Wilson was forced to compromise away all but 4 of his 23 points Clemenceau - “God gave us ten commandments and we broke them. Wilson gave us his Fourteen Points, we shall see.” 3. three quarters of the Senators and American people favored ratification with reservations a. Lodge determines on a strategy of delay - feeling delay breeds apathy V. b. reads aloud the entire treaty (264 pages) - despite the fact its printed c. requires lengthy hearings with scores of witnesses d. Wilson fear apathy and appeals over the heads of the Senate directly to the people 4. September 1919 - Wilson embarks on a crosscountry tour to generate support a. “I can predict with absolute certainty that within another generation there will be another world war if the nations of the world do not concert the effort by which to prevent it.” b. major objection to the treaty is Article X of the League Covenant 1. can require the assistance of member nations to punish covenant violators 2. fear is that U.S. will be drawn into conflict it could normally avoid c. Wilson receives a lukewarm reception in the Midwest d. he is followed closely by irreconcilables e. campaign seems to be generating enthusiasm f. September 25, 1919 - Wilson collapses from physical and mental exhaustion in Pueblo, CO 1. funeral train takes him back to Washington 2. subsequently he suffers a stroke 3. totally incapacitated for several months - didn’t meet with his cabinet for 71/2 months 5. Lodge, realizing he doesn’t have enough votes to defeat the treaty adds 14 reservations a. Wilson’s strategy should have been to accept the treaty with reservations which would most likely be quickly forgotten b. Wilson instead turns it into a moralistic crusade with his name on the line - Bailey “Though too feeble to lead, Wilson was still strong enough to obstruct.” c. orders Democrats to vote against the treaty with reservations 1. 11-19-19 - treaty with reservations voted down 55-39 2. treaty without reservations fails to pass 38-53 3. final treaty with reservations fails 3-19-20 - 49-35 d. thus, the U.S. eventually concludes a separate treaty with Germany and never joins the League of Nations 6. the election of 1920 - “The Solemn Referendum” a. Wilson chooses to make the election of 1920 a referendum on the treaty b. Republicans are nearly assured of victory 1. Wilson has claimed the spotlight so no other leading Democrats have had the opportunity to emerge 2. leading contenders kill themselves off 3. eventually Democrats settle on James Cox and Franklin Roosevelt c. leading Republicans also kill themselves off - Leonard Wood, Hiram Johnson 1. they settle on a darkhorse from Ohio - Warren G. Harding - Wilson had noticed him as a Senator saying he had a “disturbingly dull mind” 2. Vice President is Calvin Coolidge who had made a name for himself as governor of MA during the Boston police strike - in sending in the National Guard he noted “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anyone, anywhere, anytime” - typical of anti-labor sentiment d. results - Harding 16.1m - 404EV - Cox - 9.1m - 127EV - Debs (from prison) .9m e. the campaign was listless with Republican victory assured by defeat of the treaty f. never became a solemn referendum 1. too many other issues 2. Wilson’s fallen name running against Harding 3. having fallen, Wilson could not muster Bull Moose support g. one commentator - “Thank God only one of them can win.” G. where does the blame lie for the defeat of the treaty - Wilson, Lodge, American public? The fear of change and difference in postwar society A. Committee on Public Information set the stage 1. “The suest way to corrupt a youth is to teach him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike, than those who think differently.” 2. the war had created the need for unified thought and action B. C. D. E. F. 3. it also raised the suspicion level of those who stood out by advocating change 4. as a result, Americans came to distrust change and difference the Russian Revolution (1917) created fear in the Western world 1. it advocated worldwide revolution 2. revolution is defined as rapid, violent change 3. thus, to a degree, attempts to change the status quo were simplistically viewed as the possible beginning of a foreign attempt to overthrow the democratic system the Red Scare 1919-1920 1. there were serious concerns about the infiltration of communists into the U.S. 2. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer vigorously led a series of raids on suspected radicals - Palmer Raids a. 6000 were eventually rounded up b. civil liberties were denied and rights suppressed c. 249 were eventually deported - many innocent of any wrongdoing 3. June 1919 a bomb explodes at Palmer’s Washington home - caused him to lose some enthusiasm for the raids - Bailey - “He went from a fighting Quaker to a quaking fighter.” 4. September 1920 a bomb explodes on Wall Street killing 39 5. play given these incidents by newspapers increased suspicion of change and difference Sacco and Vanzetti 1. Italians, anarchists, atheists, and draft dodgers 2. rather flimsy evidence convicts them - many convinced that they were found guilty because of their ethnic background and political philosophy rather than by the facts in the case 3. executed in 1927 despite the fact that someone else confessed to the crime immigration - the ‘20s are always associated with the quota system 1. fear of change and difference led to increased nativist sentiment 2. a literacy test had successfully been instituted in 1917 3. the quota system was specifically designed to keep out Southern and Eastern Europeans why? a. reflected obvious differences in cultural and ethnic background b. more radical in politics -thus favored more rapid change c. contamination by geographic proximity to the Soviet Union 4. statistical averages year N+W Europe S+E Europe 1907-14 176,983 685,531 1922 137,435 78,950 1925 135,290 13,076 1930 115,533 31,905 5. 1921 - Emergency Immigration Quota Act (Johnson Act) a. limited immigration to 3% of foreign born living in the country in 1910 b. cut back immigration generally c. cut back Southern and Eastern immigration which reached its peak in 1912 6. 1924 - National Origins Act a. limited immigration to 2% of those living in the country in 1890 b. this moved the critical year to before the great influx of Southern and Eastern European immigration c. specifically designed to be discriminatory labor unions - by their very nature labor unions advocate change 1. cost of living was 10% higher in 1920 than in prewar years 2. since the communist revolution was to be a workers revolution, business leaders were able to taint labor with the “Red” label 3. labor suffers a dramatic decline a. unsuccessful coal and steel strikes b. more frequent use of the injunction under Republican administrations c. more hostile Supreme Court (Harding appoints four of the nine justices) 1. Adkins v Children’s Hospital - 1923 - minimum wage for women unconstitutional VI. 2. Hammer v Dagenhart - 1918 - child labor laws were an invasion of state police power 3. Bailey v Drexel Furniture - 1922 - outlawed a federal tax on goods produced with child labor d. labor membership drops thirty percent in the decade 1. trade unions 1920 - 5m - 1932 - 2.8m 2. AFL 1920 - 4m - 1932 - 2.5m 4. public sentiment also strongly against unions during the time period G. race relations 1. minorities employed during the war were the first fired after the war - they felt strongly about their contributions to the nation and expected higher standing in society 2. explore the crisis of rising expectations for blacks 3. 400,000 blacks served in the war - many migrated to Northern cities to aid the war effort 4. dark period in American race relations - frequent race riots and lynchings a. 1919 violence flares up - 70 blacks lynched b. 1917 - serious race riots in major cities over blacks working for lower wages 5. public reaction is severe - blacks represented a group with obvious physical differences that was seeking change - successfully tainted with the “Red” label 6. growth of the KKK - though as much nativist as anti-black - Bailey - “It was anti-foreign, anti-communist, anti-negro, anti-internationist, anti-evolutionist, anti-bootlegging, anti-adultery, anti-gambling, anti-birth control a. membership grows to more than 5 million -increased greatly in the Midwest b. Congressional investigation exposes fraud in 1925 - discredited 7. Marcus Garvey institutes a “back to Africa” movement calling on blacks to abandon American society a. Universal Negro Improvement Asscoiattion b. emphasized self-help – black capitalism c. Black Star Line – financing for movement d. what were the chances of it succeeding? H. stress the cynicism that comes out of WW I - seek to have students debunk this theory of the fear of change and difference - lead in to mass culture The development a a mass society - a culture of increased conformity A. significant increases in mass production - automobile and electricity symbolize this 1. scientific management had fostered the concept that industry could be studied and that there was ONE best way to accomplish all tasks - this may transfer to the social arena with the conception that there was one best set of societal values 2. Ford perfects the moving assembly line with the Model T a. prior to the assembly line it took fourteen hours to assemble a car b. with the assembly line one and one-half hours c. assembly line functions on standardization of parts and specialization of labor can industry increase profits if the tastes of society can be standardized? d. in 1900 - 4000 automobiles produced - 1929 - 4.8m produced - 27m registered e. by 1930 30m cars are on the road - one produced every 10 seconds f. cost - 1908 - $825 - 1914 - $400 - 1925 - $260 g. some say Ford’s greatest contribution is that he made the automobile affordable to the average man h. he did this through ultimate standardization - every Model T was exactly like every other one - it was said that you could get the Model T in any color you wanted, as long as it was black i. Ford also believed that industry must pay its workers reasonable wages so they could afford to purchase mass produced items, fueling the economy j. auto industry consolidated over the period as well 1. 1908 - 250 auto makers 2. 1910 - 69 auto makers produced 181,000 cars 3. 1929 - 44 auto makers 4. 1937 - 3 companies produced 90% of all cars made in the U.S. k. l. B. C. D. E. F. G. all of this reduced choice and increased conformity creating a mass society explosion of the auto industry fosters growth in collateral industries as well, gas, rubber, glass, steel, etc. consolidation in other industries 1. 1932 - A&P had bought out more than 15,000 grocery stores nationwide 2. Piggley-Wiggley’s motto was “all over the world” 3. Stop and Shop has more than 10,000 outlets 4. Woolworth’s becomes a national five and dime store 5. this reduction in the number of outlets and standardization of choice contributed to a growing mass society advertising - a basic change in the approach - convince people to buy rather than inform them of what is available 1. prior to the 1920s, basic purpose of advertising was to inform people of what was available 2. Committee on Public Information demonstrated that proper techniques could change people’s thought process 3. thus advertising became propaganda (trying to get people to think the way you want them to) Morison - “But the motor age changed advertising to a series of prestigious urges to spend and buy; a bigger car than your neighbor’s; a luxury cruise; an all-electric kitchen; a mink coat and diamond rings....advertising also promoted the revolution of risng expectations ....advertisers taught them it was un-American to be without.” 4. thus, mass consumption is thrust upon society 5. the concept of created demand and a conforming society leads to the fads of the 20s 6. Bruce Barton - The Man Nobody Knows - portrayed Christ as a businessman, a super salesman who “picked up twelve men from the bottom ranks of business and forged them into an organization that conquered the world.” - Brinkley - “Perhaps the most telling indication of how clearly Barton’s image mirrored popular assumptions was that virtually no one objected to the book as sacrilegious or offensive. Most considered the portrait a flattering one.” newspapers and magazines 1. there is a trend toward consolidation - the creation of a mass media a. 1920 - 2325 daily newspapers - 1933 - 1903 newspapers b. 1920 - 12876 weekly newspapers - 1933 4218 2. movement toward national chains of ownership a. 1933 - 2000 daily newspapers controlled by 60 newspaper chains b. 100 of them were controlled by 6 chains 3. national (international) newsgathering agencies such as United Press International (UPI) and the Associated Press (AP) were formed 4. all of this reduced the number of sources from which people got information - thus they were increasingly exposed to similar things and developed similar values, i.e. moved in the direction of a mass society the emergence of national news magazines 1. Time, Life, Reader’s Digest all emerge during the 20s 2. all catered to a mass audience through advertising national brands 3. thus exposure to standardized products became more common - tastes were nationalized leading to a mass society radio emerges as a national pastime 1. KDKA in Pittsburgh (some say WWJ [Detroit] went on air in 1920 as the first commercial radio stations 2. families of the 20s gathered around the radio as a source of entertainment 3. by 1923 there were 500 commercial radio stations 4. 1923 the National Broadcasting Company (NBC)was formed - 1928 the Columbia Broadcasting Company (CBS) formed 5. they broadcast national radio programs through a network of stations thus exposing the American public to mass entertainment 6. by 1929, 12m American families had radio sets the motion picture industry 1. in 1927 the first talkie (talking movie) the Jazz Singer was released - would sound motion pictures create a more standardized society than silent ones - why? 2. 1930 - more than 20,000 movie theaters nationwide 3. net effect was to create a national set of heroes and values 4. everyone saw the same, relatively few, movies resulting in mass entertainment H. the emergence of national heroes 1. because of the decreased number of sources of information and their national character Americans tended to idolize the same people to a greater degree than before 2. increased leisure time leads to tremendous growth of professional sports 3. Babe Ruth (baseball), Jack Dempsey (boxing), Bobby Jones (golf) 4. the classic hero of the 20s was Charles Lindbergh - first solo flight of the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis 5. thus even heroes became mass heroes I. education 1. 1920 - urban population surpasses rural population for the first time 2. high school attendance skyrockets during the 20s - 2.2m to 5m plus 3. youth are therefore more exposed to peer pressure and brought more under the influence of society (mass socialization) 4. increasingly, peer influence supplants parental influence in the socialization process 5. thus, American youth become more like each other than like their parents - increasing conformity in society VII. Women in the 1920s A. the ratification of the 19th Amendment signaled a great step forward - it also created rising expectations among women concerning an increased role in society B. numerous labor saving electric appliance freed “liberated women from drudgery” 1. resulted in increased leisure time 2. this led to increased involvement in social events with their husbands 3. scientific management also led to an emerging concept that child rearing was best left in the hands of experts (professionals) also creating more leisure 4. urban consumerism attracted many to a changing lifestyle 5. participation in the war effort had left many women unwilling to return to the “cult of domesticity (true womanhood) role 6. in 1923 an Equal Rights amendment to the Constitution is proposed C. their is increased emphasis on sexual themes during the 1920s 1. psychologists urged sexual relations be viewed as a source of pleasure separate and distinct from the procreation function 2. Margaret Sanger, founder of the National Birth Control League, advocated birth control as a means of freeing women from the slavery of their reproductive systems 3. one indication of changing attitudes is that Sanger had been indited for sending birth control info through the mail as late as 1914 4. many states still had bans on birth control 5. what emerges is the “flapper” model of the 20s D. divorce rates increase during the period - would this be natural in a time when women’s rights are being highly publicized? 1. part of it is left-over cynicism associated with the war, materialism which results in a trend toward instant gratification, and rising expectation of women 2. also, divorce became, to a degree, a more socially acceptable thing to do VIII. The groping for moral values A. Scopes Trial was largely a battle between religious modernists and fundamentalists (perhaps it reflects the fear of change and difference in moral values on the part of organized religion) 1. Scopes purposely challenged a Tennessee law prohibiting the teaching of evolution 2. the Dayton, TN trial was a major spectacle a. Clarence Darrow led the defense b. William Jennings Bryan aids the prosecution c. Darrow calls Bryan as an expert witness on the Bible 1. cuts him to shreds 2. asked if he believed in a literal interpretation, Bryan said he did 3. thus he believed the serpent was forced to crawl on its belly as punishment for tempting Eve - Darrow's asks Bryan how the serpent traveled before 3. outcome - Scopes is convicted - fundamentalists given a black eye - Bryan, humiliated, croaks shortly after the trial B. prohibition - “the noble experiment” 1. movement had begun in the 1840s with the passage of the Maine Laws 2. merged with the women’s suffrage movement in the late 1880s 3. two major organizations - Women’s Christian Temperance Union - Anti-Saloon League 4. Carrie Nation chops up bars with a hatchet 5. by 1914 - 14 states had adopted prohibition - 75% of the people lived in dry states or counties - 1917 - 27 states were dry 6. motives for prohibition a. progressives saw it as a cure for poorhouses, child abuse, and battered women they did not see a link between it and crime b. during the war, Lever Act prohibited using grain in distilling because of shortages c. to some degree, it may reflect Wilsonian idealism 7. 18th Amendment ratified in 1919 by all states except Connecticut and Rhode Island a. prohibited the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages b. Volstead Act passed in 1919 to enforce it with specific penalties 8. results a. while consumption did decline, weak enforcement doomed it from the start b. contributed to racketeering and gangsterism c. breed a more general disrespect for the law 9. terminology of prohibition - speakeasies, bootlegging, hip flasks, rum-running, bathtub gin, Izzie and Moe, wet and dry 10. why it failed a. disillusionment from the war made people less prone to suffer sacrifice b. faddishness of the twenties made it the thing to do c. inability of the government to enforce laws that sizable majorities object to d. can you legislate morals? 11. repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933 C. intellectual climate of the 20s 1. cynicism created by the perceived failure of WW I to attain idealistic goals led the marginally attached middle class to abandon the self-sacrifice of the progressive movement and seek instant gratification and self-satisfaction in an orgy of materialistic indulgence 2. F. Scott Fitzgerald - “It was characteristic of the Jazz Age that it had no interest in politics at all.” 3. H.L. Mencken - “If I’m convinced of anything, it is that doing good is in bad taste.” 4. Fitzgerald - “A new generation dedicated even more than the last to the fear of poverty and the worship of success. A generation grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in men shaken.” 5. intellectuals who had dedicated themselves to strengthening the power of the government for the good of the common man, saw it being used to enforce conformity of a superficial society devoid of cultural and moral values 6. this coupled with their own cynicism from the war made them react as (Link) - “..the Confederate veteran on the way home from Appamattox, who said he would be damned if he ever loved another country. Many intellectuals were damned if they would ever love another ideal.” 7. Brinkley - “They adopted a role sharply different from that of most intellectuals of other eras. Rather then involving themselves with their society’s popular culture and attempting to influence and reform the mass of their countrymen, they isolated themselves and embarked on a restless search for personal fulfillment.” 8. Malcolm Cowley - “They were seceding from the old and yet could adhere to nothing new.” 9. the groping of the liberal revolt stalled - what do you do for an encore? 10. Link - “The importance of the defection of intellectuals from the progressive movement IX. can hardly be overstated. It was as if the spark plugs has been removed from the engine of reform.” 11. expatriotism resulted - intellectuals moved to Europe or to Greenwich Village 12. emphasize Mencken and the “American Mercury” - debunkers of society 13. great literary period - Fitzgerald, Hemmingway, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, Sinclair Lewis, Dreisser, Anderson, Wolfe, S.V. Benet, O’Neill - all tended to criticize society 14. Harlem Renaissance - flowering of black culture a. Langston Hughes, Louis Armstrong (Satchmo, Duke Ellington) b. largely rediscovered in the 1960s Politics of the 1920s A. the Harding administration 1. led the post-war “return to normalcy” 2. it was said the Republicans “forgot nothing and learned nothing” while out of office 3. thus, there was a return to laissez-faire, a pre-progressive philosophy a. reflected in a more open alliance with big business - direct government aid b. more openly hostile to labor 4. progressive legislation was not repealed - instead “nullification by administration” was practiced a. business leaders were appointed heads of regulatory agencies b. “We care not what laws the Democrats pass, as long as we are permitted to administer them.” c. Harding appointments to regulatory agencies are said to have set the country back 25 years 5. wartime agencies were dismantled- this eliminated control over big business a. railroads protected by the Esch-Cummings Act (1920) 1. government fixed rates which would allow a fair return 2. all profits over 6% would be split by the railroads and the government 3. provided arbitration in railway labor disputes 4. 1922 - railways workers wages cut 22% by the Railroad Labor Board 5. railroad combinations were encouraged to promote efficiency b. merchant shipping industry dismantled 6. Veterans benefits a. Veterans Administration established in 1921 b. American Legion formed in 1919 to lobby for veteran’s interests c. veterans wanted compensation for lost wages while they were in service d. opposition from Republican Congress e. Adjusted Compensation Act 1924 vetoed by Coolidge - overridden 1. provided a paid up insurance policy due in 20 years 2. $1.25 per day overseas - $1 per day stationed in states 7. Supreme Court hostility to progressive measures a. Harding appoints 4 of 9 justices b. frequent use of injunctions in labor disputes resurrected 8. business consolidation a. more than 400 “trade associations established b. purpose was to fix prices, pool information, standardize wages - the government did not intervene to prevent this c. net effect was that monopolies were more widespread in the 1920s then they had been in 1900 d. 1929 - 594 corporations controlled 53% of the wealth of the country e. 20 largest banks controlled 27% 9. Harding desired to seek out the best minds in the country - what he got was “the Ohio Gang” a. met in the house on “K” Street b. drinking, smoking, entertaining women c. cabinet does have some good minds - Mellon, Hoover, Charles Evans Hughes 10. tax policy - Mellon believed in the trickle-down theory a. program was to cut expenditures, cut taxes on the wealthy, repeal excess profits tax, eliminate or reduce estate taxes b. sought reductions from 65% (some say 75%) to 25% c. able to reduce estate taxes to 50% and had excess profits tax repealed d. corporate taxes fall as well 11. tariff policy a. 1922 - Fordney-McCumber Tariff b. raised rates from 27% to 38.5% c. allowed the President to alter tariffs up to 50% d. 37 altered - 32 higher e. 1930 - Hawley-Smoot Tariff - highest in U.S. history - more than 1000 amendments added - raised rates to 59.1% 12. Harding scandals - Harding - “I am a man of limited talents from a small town. I don’t seem to grasp that I’m President.” a. “John, I can’t make a damn thing out of this tax problem. I listen to one side and they seem right, and then, God!, I talk to the other side and they seem just as right...I know somewhere there’s a book that would give me the truth, but, hell!, I couldn’t read the book. I know somewhere there’s an economist who knows the truth, but I don’t know where to find him and haven’t the sense to know him and trust him when I find him. God, what a job.” b. Bailey - “The difference between Harding and Washington - Washington could not tell a ie, and Harding could not tell a liar.” c. while it was a scandal ridden administration, few seemed to care 1. Veterans Bureau - Charles Forbes pockets $250m from contract kickbacks 2. Charles Cramer commits suicide 3. Jesse Smith - “fixer” in the Justice Department - commits suicide 4. Harry Daugherty - Attorney General distillers could pay a fee to obtain non-enforcement of prohibition - Harding's political boss d. Teapot Dome and Elk Hills - major scandal of the Harding Administration 1. leasing of naval oil reserves transferred to the Interior Department under Albert Fall 2. authorizes unbid leases to Harry Sinclair and Edward Doheny 3. Fall receives $100,000 from Sinclair 4. Harding largely unaware of the scandals - though he has some sense that all is not well - “My God, what a hell of a job. I have no problem with my enemies...but my damn friends, my God-damned friends...They’re the ones who keep me walking the floor at night.” e. August 4, 1923 - Harding croaks - speculate on how - Coolidge sworn in by his father B. Coolidge Administration 1. well suited to the role of restoring confidence as the Harding scandals are exposed a. has strong pro- business leaning b. extreme believer in laissez-faire 2. ironically, though known as “Silent Cal” his quotes define his character and philosophy a. “The business of America is business.” b. The man who builds a factory builds a temple..the man who works there, worships there.” c. “If the federal government should go out of business the common run of people would not detect the difference for a considerable length of time.” d. Four-fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would only sit down and be quiet.” e. “I never got in trouble from anything I didn’t say.” f. party joke - “You lose.” 3. election of 1924 a. Republicans ride the prosperity bandwagon - “Keep cool with Coolidge” b. Democrats - Al Smith and William McAdoo kill each other off - John W. Davis wins on the 103rd ballot - Charles Bryan VP candidate X. c. LaFollette organizes the Progressive Party d. outcome - Coolidge - 15m - 382 - Davis 8m - 136 - LaFollette - 5m - 13 4. indicate why there is no discussion of Coolidge’s domestic program 5. election of 1928 a. Coolidge - “I do not choose to run.” b. Hoover selected by Republicans - Secretary of Commerce - significance c. Al Smith - governor of New York - Democratic candidate d. issues 1. wet v dry 2. Catholicism v Protestantism 3. the impact of the radio on the election 4. concept of rugged individualism 5. effect of these issues on the solid South e. outcome - Hoover - 21m - 444 - Smith - 15m -87 Foreign policy during the 20s - a return to isolationism - or the myth of isolationism A. the U.S. remains out of the League of Nations and concludes a separate peace with Germany B. oil drilling concessions gained from Great Britain in the Middle East C. The Washington Naval Conference - 1921-22 - attempt at disarmament 1. limited the number of capital ships on a ratio of 5-5-3-1.75-1.75 (U.S., Britain, Japan, France, Italy) 2. first successful disarmament - reduction of power already in force 3. results codified in the Five Power Naval Treaty of 1922 D. the Four Power Pacific Pact 1. agreed to respect each others rights in the Pacific 2. refer disputes to joint conference 3. agreement not to fortify positions in the Far East 4. ended the Anglo-Japanese Alliance from WW I - why important for U.S.? E. the Nine Power Treaty of 1922 1. agreed to respect the sovreignty of China 2. agreed to respect the Open Door F. Kellogg-Briand Pact - 1928 1. outlawed was as an instrument of national policy 2. signed by virtually all nations 3. no enforcement provisions 4. did not outlaw defensive wars G. U.S. says no to involvement in the World Court H. the naiviety of such treaties reflected a superficial sense of security 1. the U.S. agreed to them largely to ensure isolationism (selective) 2. designed to prevent us from being drawn into another war I. Geneva Disarmament Conference of 1932 - 51 nations fail to ageed on limiting offensive weapons J. U.S. does intervene in Latin America to protect its economic interests K. war debts and reparations 1. allies owed the U.S. $10b for loans made them during the war 2. Germany owed the Allies $32b in reparations payments 3. economic catastrophe in Germany prevented reparations payments a. loaf of bread costs 480m marks ($120m) b. German workers demanded dailey or hourly pay because of rampant inflation 4. the allies counted on the reparations payments to pay off U.S. debt - failing to collect, they refused to pay 5. reasons for allied reluctance a. they had fought America’s fight from 1914-1917 and had paid in lives - America should be willing to pay in dollars b. U.S. tariff policy restricted their ability to sell goods in the U.S., hurting their ability to raise the necessary money c. Coolidge response - “They hired the money, didn’t they?” d. U.S. insistance on payment forces the Allies to get tough with Germany XI. 6. The Dawes Plan - 1924 - an attempt to resolve the debt problem a. Reparations Commission headed by Dawes looks into the problem b. private American banks would loan Germany the money to make reparations payments c. in turn, Allies would repay war debts to the U.S. d. accomplished little except to delay inevitable - Germany does keep up payments until 1930 7. The Young Plan - 1929 a. reduced reparations payments to $9b b. spread payments over 59 years 8. Hoover policy - 1929 - one year moratorium on debts a. recognition of the beginnings of a worldwide depression b. Lausanne Conference - 1932 1. further reduced reparations to $714m on the assumption that the U.S. would cancel outstanding debt 2. when the U.S. refused, all countries except Finland defaulted L. other foreign policy issues 1. under Hoover there was the emergence of a “good neighbor” policy toward Latin America a. it attempted to establish more equitable relations between the U.S. and Latin America b. attempt to undo the ill-will created by the Roosevelt Corollary and Dollar Diplomacy 2. the Stimson Doctrine - early 1930s a. arose after Japan demonstrated aggressive tendencies in the Far East b. said that the U.S. would refuse to recognize any territorial gains made in violation of the Kellogg-Briand Pact The Great Depression - Great Glut - Glut of Plenty A. the stock market crash 1. on “black Thursday”, 10-24-29 the stock market tumbled 2. market closed on Friday 3. attempt made by business to falsely influence the market on Monday 4. “black Tuesday”, 10-29-29, the bottom falls out of the market B. causes of the depression 1. chronic depression in certain industries a. in farming, overproduction and shrinking markets depressed prices 1. Capper-Volstead Act (1921) exempted farmer cooperatives from anti-trust suits 2. McNary-Haugen Bill - twice passed and vetoed would have guaranteed government purchase of farm surpluses b. mining industry depressed due to conversion to new types of fuel c. construction industry suffers setback after the mid-20s 2. overspeculation in stock market a. purchase of stocks on margin with as little as 10% down b. installment buying c. phony “paper” companies on the stock market 3. lack of diversification - centralized industry a. prosperity depended on too few industries (i.e. automobile, construction) - decline in these industries triggered a snowball effect in collateral industries b. concentration on non-consumables (durable goods) 1. when the saturation point was reached in these industries, purchases would drop off sharply 2. doesn’t seem totally true - 1929 a. 1 in 6 families owned an auto b. 1 in 5 families owned a bathtub c. 24% had electricity d. 10% had telephones 3. nevertheless, that may have been the limit of the market in the 20s 4. productivity and profits outran wages - thus there was a concentration of wealth and buying power in the hands of a few C. D. E. F. a. wages should have increased to allow mass buying power b. many remained outside the market 5. industrial overexpansion a. profits were frequently plowed back in to increased production capacity instead of wages b. thus, overexpansion in durable goods industries doubled the impact when the saturation point was hit 6. tax policy a. strongly favored the rich, again concentrating wealth in the hands of the few b. increased tax burden further decreased the buying power of average Americans c. expand on the difference between $1m in the hands of one person v 1m people 7. natural disasters - 10 year dust bowl cycle strikes late in the 20s - reduced the buying power of those most likely to spend 8. international trade restrictions - reduced U.S. exports and increased prices for consumers Hoover’s reaction to the depression 1. his basic philosophy was the Gilded Age rugged individualism 2. unsympathetic advisors - Andrew Mellon - “Liquidate labor, liquidate stock, liquidate farmers.” 3. why? - Morison - “..people will work harder, live a more moral life. Values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up the wrecks from less competent people.” (almost social Darwinism defined) 4. tycoons who could weather the depression hoped that it would destroy labor unions and bring back old times when “..a dollar a day is a white man’s pay.” 5. all of this reflects the 19th century view of depressions as natural economic cleansing mechanisms 6. Hoover opposes direct relief (welfare) - relate to the old Cleveland concept “..while the people support the government, the government should not support the people.” why? Phase I of Hoover’s response to the depression 1. the basic problem of the depression was that people lacked confidence in the economy - thus they put off spending which accentuated the problem 2. Hoover tried to bolster confidence in the economy through public statements a. Nov. 1929 - “Any lack of confidence in the basic strength of business is foolish.” b. Jan 1930 - “Business and industry have now turned the corner.” c. May 1930 - “We have now passed the worst.” 3. Hoover was reacting to every positive indicator that cropped up 4. the net result was to create a sense of rising expectations which made subsequent declines harder to swallow as the economy sank deeper into depression - thus people came to distrust what Hoover had to say 5. Hoover held meetings with business leaders 6. he attempted to influence the Federal Reserve Board to loosen the money supply 7. he cut personal and corporate taxes, though mostly for the wealthy 8. through it all Hoover was determined to maintain a balanced budget Phase II - self help 1. in 1930 Democrats regain control of the House by a bare majority 2. they lack one vote of a majority in the Senate 3. this made Hoover’s job more difficult 4. local funds accounted for three-fourths of all relief efforts in 1929 a. by 1932 they account for four-fifths b. 1931-32 - $2.39 was allocated per week per family in New York c. in Cleveland, 2.14 cents per meal 5. despite this, Hoover believed that private relief efforts (similar to bond drives during the war) would be sufficient to meet the need a. big charity fund drive in 1929-30 b. nets a total of $15m dollars, totally inadequate to meet the need 6. Hoover continued to oppose federal involvement fearing it would undermine the character of the American people - to what degree was he correct? Phase III - government intervention - foreshadows the policies of the New Deal XII. 1. proposed $428m in self-liquidating public works projects - more than had been spent in the past thirty years combined 2. passes the Agricultural Marketing Act a. purpose was to encourage the formation of farmer cooperatives b. appropriated $500m 3. Cotton and Grain Stabilization Corporations a. designed to foster government purchases of surplus b. never adequately funded to meet the need 4. attempted to prevent foreclosures on mortgages in 1931-32 a. established the Federal Land Bank (1931) and Home Loan Bank (1932) b. purpose was to loan money to banks so they didn’t have to foreclose c. they were basically trickle-down measures 5. Reconstruction Finance Corporation - 1932 a. capitalized at $500m b. eventually lent more than $1.5b to bank and trust companies, insurance companies, and railroads c. Hoover believed layoffs would end if businesses were loaned money 6. reasons for the failure of the RFC a. too little too late - Hoover never grasped the magnitude of the depression - few could b. agencies were staffed by people who philosophically were not eager to follow through 1. of $300m available for relief efforts only $30m was distributed 2. $1.5b available for public works - only 20% released c. RFC was bad public relations - many thought that it loaned money to the very institutions which were responsible for causing the Great Depression G. why Hoover failed 1. never fully understood the magnitude of the depression - even in 1932, he refused to believe that 12m people were unemployed a. his instinctive philosophy was rooted in the laissez-faire 19th century b. he strongly believed in the concept of rugged individualism and felt that government intervention would undermine the moral fiber of the country c. this philosophical baggage prevented him from taking bold, innovative action 2. negative public view of Hoover a. obviously he was blamed for the depression b. he was perceived as having an uncaring attitude toward those who were suffering the most (strange since he headed the Belgium Relief effort in WW I) c. Bonus army illustrates this - 1932 1. 17,000 veterans descend on Washington demanding early payment of their bonus - Congress had authorized payment of up to one-half of it over Hoover’s veto 2. he calls out the army - Douglas MacArthur - “I have in my time released more than one community under the grip of a foreign enemy.” 3. Hoover actually offered the protesters free transportation home, but was still perceived as unsympathetic to the suffering of the average man 4. Eisenhower a little surprised at the harshness with which MacArthur carries out his orders 3. trickle-down theory was bad politics a. aid to big business seemed unwarranted when the government would not respond to the suffering of the poor b. the public labeled symbols of deprivation - Hoovervilles, Hooverblankets c. overly optimistic statements undermine his credibility H. toward a more balanced view of Hoover 1. he is one of those necessary transitional scapegoats 2. he bent he conservative philosophy to an astonishing degree 3. in so doing, he paved the way for the New Deal with unprecedented levels of intervention The New Deal A. election of 1932 1. Republicans renominate Hoover a. he is grim throughout the campaign, generally weary and despondent b. remember the depression is a crisis of confidence 2. Roosevelt the Democratic nominee a. was from a politically active New York family - distant relative of Teddy b. suffered infantile paralysis (polio) following the 1920 campaign c. recovered through tremendous personal strength and effort - was badly crippled and could only walk with heavy braces d. exuded charm and personal warmth and had a wonderful speaking voice e. was able to associate himself with the common man. “I felt like Roosevelt knew me and I knew him. More than that, I felt he liked me.” f. projects great confidence and optimism 3. Roosevelt’s proposed program a. he talked about a New Deal for the American people b. the New Deal was never a preconceived plan of action before the election - instead, it was a vague generalization c. reasons - probably had no comprehensive plan 1. had the election won - don’t alienate anyone 2. had to hold the Democratic coalition together 4. slogans tell a lot about the election a. Roosevelt - “Happy Days Are Here Again” - “Everything’s rosy with Roosevelt.” b. Hoover - “The worst is past” - “It could have been worse.” 5. outcome - Roosevelt - 22.8m - 472 - Hoover - 15.7m - 59 a. black voters abandon the Republican party for the first time - both urban and rural b. it was a mandate for something new, not a specific program c. probably as much an anti-Hoover as pro-Roosevelt vote d. little cooperation during the lame duck period 1. animosity from the campaign 2. unwillingness of Democratic Congress to make Hoover upstage Roosevelt B. Roosevelt philosophy 1. believed in Keynesian economic theory (review) a. a primary function of government was economic stabilization b. the role of deficit spending (fiscal policy) in influencing the economy c. Roosevelt knew little about economics but surrounded himself with experts d. he was one of those rare individuals who welcomed conflicting opinions of experts without having them dictate a course of action e. someone has characterized him as having a “flypaper mind” 2. Roosevelt establishes the Brain(s) Trust - talk about source of the term 3. favors bold experimentation - “The country needs and ..demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” 4. attempts to instill confidence in first inaugural - “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” 5. the Three “Rs” approach to the depression a. relief - help those who are suffering immediately b. recovery - get the economy back on its feet c. reform - make necessary changes in the economic system to ensure another depression of this magnitude will not occur d. as you read through the myriad of acts, try to place them in one of these categories 6. Roosevelt rides the initial mandate of the people in a blitzkrieg of legislation introduced during the “hundred days” C. The First New Deal - banking 1. attacking the banking problem a. bank failures 1920 - 167 : 1925 - 618 : 1930 - 1352 : 1931 - 2294 : 1932 - 1456 : 1933 - 4004 : 1934 - 57 : 1945 - 0 b. bank runs created further bank failures 2. Roosevelt declares a bank holiday on 3-6-1933 a. b. closed banks for four days under provisions of the Emergency Banking Relief Act 3-9-33 all banksexamined and only sound ones allowed to reopen 3. fireside chat (define) 3-12-33 - “I can assure you that it is safer to keep your money in a bank than under your mattress.” 4. within one month, $10m redeposited in banks 5. Glass-Stegall Act 6-16-33 sets up the FDIC which insures deposits up to $5000 6. successfully restores confidence in the banking system D. raising revenue 1. Beer and Wine Revenue Act 3-22-33 legalizes 3.2% beer and light wines and taxes them 2. relate how this would be beneficial to agriculture E. unemployment 1. establishes the Civilian Conservation Corp 3-31-33 a. organized urban youth from 18-25 and placed them in isolated military style camps b. worked on public works projects - planted trees, built flood control dams, swamp drainage projects, etc. - built the Blue Ridge Parkway c. 5m eventually served d. required to send home $25 of $30 earned each month e. why organize this particular group? 1. fear of revolution - most volatile age group 2. keeps heads of households employed - keeps youth out of the labor market 3. provided additional spending money for families 2. Federal Emergency Relief Act 5-12-33 a. provided direct relief to the needy (dole) - $3b b. headed by Harry Hopkins - when asked why they didn’t seek a long term solution Hopkins replied “people don’t eat in the long run.” 3. Civil Works Administration 11-9-33 - branch of FERA a. operated from Nov.-April - served 4m people b. spent $1b on public works projects - schools, parks, roads, etc. c. critics called it “boondoggling,” “an exercise in shovel leaning,” and sneered “the only thing we have to fear is work itself.” 4. Public Works Administration 6-16-33 a. headed by Harold Ickes b. capitalized at $4b and completed 34,000 public works projects 5. Works Progress Administration - 5-6-35 (really part of the Second New Deal) a. capitalized at $11b b. public works projects - bridges, roads, schools c. also Cricket control and building money pens in Oklahoma d. Steinbeck counts dogs in California e. critics dubbed it “We collect alms” - We work all day, for the WPA, let the market crash, we collect our cash 6. review the purpose of these make-work projects a. pump money into the economy b. give people a sense of worth F. critics of the New Deal programs 1. on the right, they were criticized as undermining the capitalistic system 2. on the left they were attacked as not going far enough to change the structure 3. Father Charles Coughlin - radio priest - 35-40m audience a. attacked Jews, blacks, etc. b. urged broader relief efforts 4. Huey Long - “Kingfish” - rose to prominence in Louisiana a. offers a “share the wealth” scheme b. government should provide everyone with a house, a car, a radio, and $5000 c. eventually assassinated - later, rampant corruption uncovered in Louisiana d. would his program work? 5. Francis Townsend a. provide every unemployed person over sixty with $200 per month as long as they spent it all each month b. Townsend Clubs spring up throughout the U.S. c. designed to eliminate older people from the workforce - perhaps a forerunner of Social Security G. attacking industrial recovery 1. National Industrial Recovery Act - 6-16-33 - sets up the National Recovery Administration 2. purpose was to get business and labor to cooperate 3. set voluntary codes of fair competition 4. established maximum hours at 35-40 per week 5. established minimum wage at 30-40 cents per hour 6. guaranteed the right of labor to organize 7. outlawed yellow dog contracts and child labor 8. establishes minimum prices as well - why? 9. the Blue Eagle became a symbol of business participation - slogan - We Do Our Part Philadelphia Eagles adopt symbol 10. serious problems of cooperation and many critics a. NRA = National Run Around b. Nuts Running America c. Henry Ford called it “The new Age of Chiselry” and referred to the blue eagle as “that damned Roosevelt buzzard” 11. 1935 supreme Court rules it unconstitutional in Schechter v U.S. (the sick chicken case) a. delegated too much power to the executive b. Roosevelt called it a horse and buggy decision - probably welcomed it since it wasn’t working well H. attacking the farm problem 1. Agricultural Adjustment Act - 5-12-33 - establishes the Agricultural Adjustment Administration a. its purpose was to create artificial scarcity by paying farmers to grow less b. paid at parity (average price between 1909-1914 - before the war) c. problem was that some crops were already planted 1. 10m acres of cotton plowed under 2. crop failure in wheat prevented its destruction 3. 6m pigs destroyed and 200,000 breeding sows d. effect - farm income rose from 5.6b - 1932 to 8,7b - 1935 e. Supreme Court rules it unconstitutional in 1935 2. replaced by the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act - 1936 - paid farmers to plant cover crops to conserve soil 3. Second Agricultural Adjustment Act - 1938 4. Emergency Farm Mortgage Act - 1933 - prevented foreclosures 5. Frazier-Lemke Act 1934 - halted foreclosures for up to five years - ruled unconstitutional in 1935 6. Resettlement Administration - 1935 - designed to relocate farmers to more productive areas I. other monetary reforms 1. Federal Securities Act - “let the seller beware” - requirement of fuller disclosure - sought to put an end to paper companies 2. Securities and Exchange Commission 6-6-34 a. established a regulatory agency to oversee the operation of the stock market b. continues to serve that function J. Tennessee Valley Authority - 5-18-33 1. designed to eliminate poverty in a chronically poor area 2. designed to control devastating floods 3.. designed to furnish hydroelectric power - partially in competition with private companies 4. this would lead to industrial expansion due to the availability of cheap power 5. nitrates would be produced to revitalize the land 6. more than $13b spend on the various projects 7. critics argued that it was creeping socialism K. attacking the housing problem 1. Home Owners Refinanciaing Act 6-13-33 - establishes the Home Owners Loan Corporation to refinance mortgages 2. National Housing Act - 6-28-34 - established the Federal Housing Adminstration (FHA) which provided low interest loans 3. United States Housing Authority - 9-1-37 - designed to provide money for cities ans states to construct low cost housing units L. Social Security Act - 914-35 1. designed to provide support for older workers and thus keep them out of the job force 2. provided old age compensation 3. provided unemployment insurance 4. provided aid for dependents and handicapped 5. Roosevelt considered this cornerstone piece of legislation in the second New Deal M. attacking labor problems 1. depressed times are usually periods of significant labor unrest a. “bloody Thursday,” San Francisco - 1934 b. Memorial Day Massacre - Chicago - 1937 2. Roosevelt represented the first president who was actively sympathetic to labor - though it was done in part to gain political support 3. (Wagner) National Labor Relations Act - 7-5-35 a. established the National Labor Relations Board which could mediate or arbitrate labor disputes b. could also investigate unfair labor practices c. legalized collective bargaining and forced business to treat union members fairly 4. organizing unskilled workers a. John L. Lewis and Sidney Hillman form the Committee on Industrial Organization within the AFL in 1935 b. sought to organize skilled and unskilled workers according to industry c. institute the first sit down strike at General Motors in 1936 d. 1938 completely breaks with the AFL forms Congress of Industrial Organization e. by 1940 boasts a membership of 4m including 200,000 blacks f. 1955 rejoins the AFL to form AFL-CIO N. Fair Labor Standards Act 6-25-38 1. establishes a minimum wage of 40 cents per hour 2. establishes maximum hours - 40 hours per week 3. restricted child labor 16-18 years old from certain jobs O. election of 1936 1. Roosevelt the Democratic choice - economy improving - few alternatives 2. Republicans settle on Alf Landon - governor of Kansas - few political enemies 3. the campaign is largely issueless - Landon promises to do the same things as Roosevelt more efficiently 4. William Lemke offers a radical alternative with the Union Party 5. Democrats hold coalition together - blacks, solid South, intellectuals, women 6. outcome - Roosevelt 27.7 - 523 - Landon 16.6 - 8 - Lemke .9 - 0 - stress the Lemke vote as a signal that American were unwilling to seek truly radical solutions to the depression 7. Literary Digest Poll predicted Landon as the easy winner - what went wrong a. telephone poll b. polling error 8. James Farley predicted on election eve that Roosevelt would carry every state except Maine and Vermont - significance of “As Maine goes, so goes the nation.” 9. examine the theory that presidents who receive massive mandates tend to misread those mandates and get into political trouble P. the court packing scheme 1. Roosevelt was very irritated at a conservative court who was ruling New Deal legislation unconstitutional 6. 2. proposal is for the president to appoint one additional justice to the court for every member over seventy who does not retire, up to a total of fifteen 3. this amounted to a potential of 6 justices 4. scheme raises a storm of protest among the public at large and conservatives within the Democratic party - viewed as an attempt to upset the separation of powers 5. in 1937 Oren Roberts begins to change his vote - “a switch in time saves nine” 6. also, one justice retires giving Roosevelt a chance swing the majority in his favor 7. Roosevelt abandons the court packing scheme - loses battle but wins the war Q. government reorganization 1. designed to streamline efficiency 2. Hatch Act prohibited federal employees below the highest policy making roles from campaigning or soliciting for campaigns R. decline of the New Deal 1. Roosevelt responded to criticism by cutting makework programs in 1937-38 to test the extent of economic recovery 2. the result was a serious recession 3. curtailed programs were restored, but lag time hindered immediate improvement 4. in 1934 Democrats had scored rare gains in mid-term elections 5. in 1938, Republicans cut heavily into those gains S. women and minorities in the New Deal 1. very limited gains for both groups 2. these groups would expect to be hardest hit in the depression 3. women probably fared a little better a. working women were frowned upon as taking jobs from heads of households b. Francis Perkins becomes first women cabinet member - Secretary of Labor 4. Eleanor Roosevelt worked hard for minorities a. personally intervened when opera singer Marion Anderson was denied by the DAR the right to perform b. Mary McLeod Bethune headed the National Youth Organization, part of the WPA c. she led meetings of the Black Cabinet - black governmental leaders who met every Friday d. by 1941 there were 150,000 black federal employees - 38 under Hoover 5. nevertheless, opportunities were still limited a. the AAA was accused of forcing blacks off the land b. the CCC and WPA were both segregated – Norris, TN (model town segregated) 1. NRA = Negros Ruined Again 2. NRA = Negros Rarely Allowed c. Roosevelt failed to support anti-lynching and poll tax elimination - why? - solid South lynchings increased significantly - hard times? d. DuBois were encourage voluntary segregation - eventually became a communist and moved to Ghana e. Elijah Muhammad forms Black Muslims - 1931 1. rejected integration 2. preached self-respect and self-discipline f. Bull Conner insisted the Southern Conference for Human Welfare be segregated by seating - Eleanor moves her chair to the center aisle g. Scottsboro boys convicted of rape 1. Supreme Court orders a new trial because of illegal exclusion of blacks from jury 2. despite reconviction of five, it may indicate some progress 3. Southern defense of the woman - “She might be a fallen woman, but, by God, she’s a white woman Indians make some gains but Mexicans faired poorly as well a. Indians granted citizenship in 1924 b. 1934 Indian Reorganization Act restored tribal power and ended land allotment set up under the Dawes Act c. 200,000 Mexicans will be deported after 1932 - they had been encouraged to settle in the U.S. during the 1920s XIII. The New Deal balance sheet A. negative results 1. vastly increased the federal debt (19.4b to 40.4b [WW II will cause the greatest increase - 1945 - 258b]) 2. stimulated class consciousness among farmers and workers 3. increased bureaucratic an administrative inefficiency 4. slowed the growth of civil service reform 5. infringed on the free enterprise system 6. raised the future question - balance of governmental power v individual rights B. positive results 1. preserved the capitalistic system - though a few experimented with radical alternatives Roosevelt altered rather than discarded the system 2. brought labor and industry into better balance 3. achieved a slightly more equitable distribution of income 4. conserved many of the nations natural resources 5. established the principle of positive governmental action C. important results 1. increased the size of government 2. increased the cost of government 3. increased the power of government 4. firmly established the principle that economic stability is a primary responsibility of government 5. in so doing it created greater citizen dependence on the national government - reflect on whether or not that was a good thing - should social welfare be a primary responsibility of government D. public view of Roosevelt - strongly positive or strongly negative E. to some degree, the New Deal is the culmination of the progressive movement F. whatever it did, the New Deal did not end the depression - World War II ends the depression