A Republican Decade

1. A Republican Decade

2. Warren G Harding • Republican • Elected in 1920 • Looked like a President • Promised a “Return to Normalcy” • Won in a landslide

3. Return to Normalcy • Normalcy appealed to Americans • The world seemed anything but normal • Revolution in Russia • Strikes and bombings at home • People feared that political violence was a threat to the U.S.

4. Russian Revolution • Czar Nicholas II lost power in 1917 • WWI destroyed his rule • The new provisional government pledged to stay in the war…even though the people wanted out • Some turned to a more radical form of government

5. Russian Revolution • Vladimir Lenin and his Bolsheviks take power from the provisional government in 1917 • Pulled Russia out of WWI • Govmt. then takes control of all farms, industries, lands, and transportation

6. Russian Revolution • Civil War breaks out in Russia • Reds (Bulsheviks) v. Whites • Reds win • The new nation created is named the Soviet Union (Or USSR) • Adopted ideology of Communism

7. Communism • Government owns all land and property • 1 political party • Needs of the country more important than the needs of the individual • Lenin sought to spread communism throughout the world • After Lenin came Josef Stalin whose brutal policies spread communism and killed tens of millions

8. American Fears • Americans feared the spread of Communism • Feared immigrants coming to the U.S. may be communists and other radicals (like anarchists) • Communism begins to spread in Europe (Part of Germany, Hungary)

9. American Fears • Thousands go on strike in Seattle • Bombs being sent in the mail to government officials • Media took advantage of the situation and spread panic • Created a Red Scare-fear of communism and other radical ideas • Americans wanted communists jailed and deported

10. The Palmer Raids • A. Mitchell Palmer-Attorney General of the U.S. • Had bomb mailed to his home • Became convinced that radicals were conspiring to overthrow the government • Began a campaign to hunt down radicals

11. The Palmer Raids • Conducted raids and arrests against suspected subversives • Targeted Communists, socialists, and anarchists • Arrested thousands, sometimes without evidence • Many of them eventually deported

12. The Palmer Raids • Palmer said there would be a general strike and widespread bombings on May 1, 1920 • Newspapers predicted a major crisis • Never happened • Palmer lost influence and credibility

13. Sacco and Vanzetti • 2 men robbed and killed 2 men working at a shoe factory in 1920 • Police arrest 2 Italian Immigrants for the crime • Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti • Both men were anarchists

14. Sacco and Venzetti • Both men were carrying guns • Sacco’s gun matched the one used at the crime • Many suspected that they were only arrested because they were immigrants and their political beliefs

15. Sacco and Vanzetti • Both men found guilty • Trial may have been unfair • Evidence circumstantial • Judge used racial slurs • Both executed • Note: modern technology proved they committed the crime…so don’t feel too bad

16. Labor Strikes • Thousands of labor strikes in 1919 • Boston police went on strike • President Wilson called this a crime against civilization • Other notable strike in steel industry and coal mines

17. Motivation for Labor Strikes • Higher cost of living • Labor hoped to build on gains won during the war • Shorter hours • High wages • More workers than jobs

18. Strikes Decline • Most Americans opposed strikes • Saw them as un-American and prone to violence • Distrusted labor unions and the immigrants they represented • Lack of support from the Government • Economic boom brought higher wages

19. Republican Leadership • Red Scare had consequences • People believed Republicans could restore stability better than the Democrats • Republicans dominated all 3 branches of government throughout the 20s

20. The Harding Presidency • Made some good cabinet appointments • Herbert Hoover- Secretary of Commerce • Charles Evan Hughes-Secretary of State • Andrew Mellon-Secretary of the Treasury

21. The Harding Presidency • Also showed some poor judgment • Gave jobs to a bunch of his friends-The Ohio Gang • Inexperienced • Incompetent • Dishonest

22. Foreign Policy • Isolationist- avoid economic and political alliances with foreign countries • Opposed League of Nations • Wanted to establish global peace and stability • Called for disarmament

23. Foreign Policy • Promoted expansion of trade • Passed FordneyMcCumber Tariff to protect American business at home • Scaled back British and French debts so they could better pay them • The Tariff made it very difficult for European nations to sell products to the U.S., raise money, and pay off their debt

24. Foreign Policy • Wanted to help German economy recover • Approved Dawes Plan • Set a payment schedule • Reorganized German national bank • Approved a loan to Germany

25. Domestic Issues • U.S. became more Nativist after WWI • Why • Patriotism- believed foreigners could never be loyal to the U.S. • Religion- Protestants, Catholics, and Jews could not see eye to eye • Urban conditions- urban problems blamed on immigrants • Jobs-immigrants were taking them • RedScare

26. Domestic Policy • 1921 law passed to restrict immigration • Placed a quota on immigrants representing certain ethnic groups or nations

27. Teapot Dome Scandal • Harding not involved…but his people were • Albert B. Fall (Secretary of the Interior) secretly gave oil drilling rights on government property to 2 private oil companies • Fall received $300,000 in illegal payments and gifts in return

28. Silent Cal • Harding dies in August 1923 • Calvin Coolidge becomes President • Believer in business • “The business of the American people is business.”

29. Laissez faire • Did not want government to interfere with business • Lowered taxes • Did not even support government relief for disaster victims • Coolidge was criticized for this, but the economy boomed under Coolidge

30. Kellogg-Briand Pact • 15 nations pledged not to use the threat of force in their dealings with other nations • 60 nations eventually joined the pact • Basically made war illegal • Unrealistic and unenforceable

31. 1928 Election • Coolidge decides not to run • Herbert Hoover (R) wins the Presidency.