Ch 14

Politics and Prosperity

Section 1-A Republican Decade• 1920, Warren G. Harding wins presidential race;

calls for return of “normalcy”• Vladimir Lenin and Bolsheviks gain control of

Russia; make peace with Germany, and place privately owed ventures under govt. control

• Reds (Lenin) win Civil War; creation of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and ideology of Communism

Communism

• Total contrast to capitalism and other American ideas

1. Government owed all land and property

2. One single political party

3. Country, rather than individual

Americans reacted with Red Scare-fear of Communism and other radical ideas

Effects of the Red Scare

Court cases made freedom of speech void, if it were a “clear and present danger” to the nation

Attorney General Palmer created a special task force, which arrested thousands of suspected radicals, and without evidence, deported more than half of them

Strikes

• Various groups (police, telephone operators, steel/coal workers) strike to obtain higher wages, shorter hours, and the right to organize

• Through some violence and compromises, strikes began to decline

Foreign Policy

• Isolationism-avoid political or economic alliances w/foreign countries.

• Disarmament- a program in which the nations of the world would voluntarily give up their weapons.

Domestic Issues

• Republicans gain control, sought stability

• Nativist movement-postwar immigration increase, caused President Harding to pass a quota on the amount of immigrants representing certain groups

• Harding also fought for stronger civil rights, to increase social stability

Coolidge and the Election of 1928

• V.P.-Calvin Coolidge replaces President Harding, after his death

• Imposes Laissez-faire approach to business: lowered income tax, and approved higher tariffs

• Laissez-faire-govn’t leave business alone• Coolidge does not run for re-election; Herbert

Hoover, Rep., wins due to his Pro-Prohibition stance

Section 2 Business Boom

• Consumer Economy-based on spending• Nation began to focus on the consumer; fast

food develops, advertising develops• Reasons for buying: more money, good

advertising, new products, lower costs, buying on credit, electric power.

• Installment plan- customer makes partial payments until debt is paid

Ford and the Automobile• “Horseless carriage”-Henry Ford created

gas-powered car, and upon improvement, sold Model T (1908-30,000 sold)

• Ford made the assembly line efficient; Allowed for workers to do specialized task, and made production faster

• Factory, based in Michigan, produced Model T’s every 24 seconds; built half of the world’s automobiles

Industrial Growth

• Cause and Effect: Industry produced industry

• Automobile (garages, car dealerships, camp sites, gas stations)

• Aviation (air mail, small domestic flights)

• Most enjoyed better standard of living, farmers left out.

Section 3 Economy in the Late 1920s

• To keep workers happy and to avoid labor union problems, companies established higher salaries, health plans, vacations, and company controlled unions-WELFARE CAPITALISM

• Americans began to acquire lots of personal debt• More people gained access to the stock market, in

hopes of getting rich quick; borrowed money to buy stock