The Roaring 20’s - Henry County School District · 2016-02-26 · The Roaring 20’s Good and Bad •Politics brought a return to isolationism and laissez-faire policies. •There

• The Treaty of Versailles is never approved by the United States of America.

• America slips into a recession or economic slump as industry is no longer producing goods for the war.

• America starts to question the progressive policies of most of the 1900s.

The Roaring 20’sPost-war Problems

• Warren Harding (1921-1923 dies in office) and Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge (1923-1929)

• Harding pledged a “return to normalcy”, which meant– Isolationism– Pro-business and laissez-faire

• Coolidge carried on this pledge

The Roaring 20’sA “Return to Normalcy”

• Teapot Dome Scandal– Secretary of the Interior

(Albert Fall) leased out government oil reserves in Teapot Dome, Wyoming to private oil executives

The Roaring 20’sScandals under President Harding

• Washington Naval Conference– Discussed disarmament with Britain,

France, Italy, and Japan.– Nations all agreed to limit the size of

their navies.

• Kellogg-Briand Pact– 62 nations agreed to outlaw wars with

each other.– Rejected war as “an instrument of

national policy.”

The Roaring 20’sForeign Policy- Isolationism?

The U.S.

worked with

other

countries to

avoid future

wars.

• Dawes Plan– The United States made loans to Germany so they could pay

off reparations to Britain and France; this would allow Britain and France to pay off their war loans to the United States.

The Roaring 20’sForeign Policy- Isolationism?

The Roaring 20’sNativism

• Immigration Restrictions– Immigration Act of

1924 (quotas)

• Sacco and Vanzetti (1923)

• Red Scare

• Ku Klux Klan

“The business of America is business.”– Economy rebounded from a post-war recession

due to pro-business policies. • High tariffs

• Allowed corporate mergers (trusts)

• Cut taxes to the rich

– The stock market soared!

– Coolidge Prosperity led to an economic boom!

The Roaring 20’sThe Economy

• Labor– Strikes were broken up by government again– Union membership went down and wages did not keep up with inflation

• Farmers– While the new machinery increased crop production– Overproduction caused deflation and loss of farmer’s income

• Native Americans– Highest unemployment rate of any group and shortest life span– Reservations were without heat and running water

• African Americans– Great Migration led to a higher standard of living, but black workers still

earned less than white workers and had higher unemployment rates

The Roaring 20’sNot Everyone Prospered!

• Mass Consumption– huge quantities of goods were available and people had the

money to buy them.– advertisements convinced Americans that their happiness

depended on owning certain consumer goods, and that they could take them home even if they couldn’t pay the full price up front.

The Roaring 20’sThe Economy

• Leisure– More money and the

shorter work week allowed more time for fun.

– Movies, sports, puzzles and crosswords swept the nation.

– Popular image of women were the flappers (bobbed hair, raised hemlines, smoked and drank in public).

The Roaring 20’sA Changing Culture


• Harlem Renaissance– Era of heightened creativity

among African American writers, artists, and musicians who gathered in Harlem during the 1920s.

• Jazz Age – a name coined by F. Scott

Fitzgerald it came to represent the African American music of the Roaring 20’s.

– Charleston dance


• The Scopes Trial– Bio teacher, John Scopes, was

arrested for teaching evolution instead of creationism.

– Prosecutor was William Jennings Bryan.

– Scopes was found guilty.– Reflected the social tension of the

20’s between the old-fashioned way of life and the more modern way of life.

The Roaring 20’sCultural Clashes

The Roaring 20’sGood and Bad

• Politics brought a return to isolationism and laissez-faire policies.

• There were great social and economic changes in the 1920’s due to:– new age of consumerism– the automobile

• Transportation and communication technology united the nation.

• Clash of values between the modernists and traditionalists caused uneasiness and conflict.

• But not all Americans shared in the “good times.”

The Great DepressionThe Causes


• Stock Market Crash– Black Tuesday- Mass selling of stock, prices dropped

severely (10/29/1929).– Selling price was much less than purchasing price, most

stocks were worthless.– To pay off loans, people rush to banks and withdraw

savings.

• Buying on Margin– Investors had borrowed money to buy stock and now

they could not repay their original investments –they lose everything.


• Bank Failures– People lined up to take

out savings, bank runs.– Loans were not being

repaid and banks did not have enough cash on hand and 5,000+ banks closed by 1932.

– When a bank closed, the depositors lost savings.


• Overproduction and Underconsumption– Farm and industrial output increased during the 1920s.– People could not afford to purchase farm or industrial goods.– Some had turned to installment buying but now were unwilling to

take on more debt.– Too much supply, not enough demand!– Unemployment sky rockets and consumption continues to

decrease!

The Great DepressionA Downward Spiral!

The Great DepressionPresident Hoover Responds

• Initially stuck with the Republican belief of laissez-faire.• Limit government involvement in the business crisis.• "Prosperity is around the corner“• “Mutual self-help through voluntary giving”• Rugged individualism



• Hawley-Smoot Tariff– a high tariff meant to protect

industry and agriculture.– Europe responded by raising

their tariffs and as a result America’s farmers and businesses were unable to sell their excess goods to other countries.

– Trade grinded to a halt.


• Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)– Loaned money to backs,

railroads, and insurance companies to save businesses and jobs.

– Hoped the loans would stimulate the economy and companies would begin hiring.

– Prosperity would trickle down through the economy.

Government makes loans to businesses

New investment leads to expansion of

industries

Creation of new jobs

People have money to spend

Demand for products increase

Trick-Down

Theory

• Public Works– Started some federally

sponsored projects, like the Hoover Dam to put people to work


The Great DepressionPublic Reaction to Hoover

• Hoovervilles – shantytowns or villages of shacks where the homeless lived.– High unemployment (25% in 1933).

The Great DepressionPublic Reaction to Hoover

• Bonus Army– Converged on Washington

D.C. in 1932. – WWI veterans tried to collect

the money that was promised to them in 1945, they did so earlier because of the economy.

– Hoover (and the Senate) opted not to pay them early, and forced them to leave D.C. Very bad press for Hoover!!!

The Great DepressionElection of 1932

The Great DepressionPresident Roosevelt Responds

• Won in landslide: 472 electoral votes to Hoover’s 59. • Pledged, “a new deal for the American people.” • “The country needs bold, persistent experimentation.”• “The fortunate must take care of the less fortunate”




• First Hundred Days– Included the closing of all banks

for a “bank holiday”– Emergency Banking Relief Act-

• only sound banks would be able to reopen.


• First Hundred Days– Congress passed a record

number of new laws – the First New Deal.

– Three main goals-• Relief for the unemployed.• Recovery from the

depression.• Reform to prevent another

depression.


• Fireside Chats– Radio speeches FDR gave from his

fireplace in the Whitehouse.– Explained the problems, his New

Deal programs, and how things in America would get better.

– People felt reassured!

New Deal Program Goals of the ProgramCivilian Conservation Core (CCC) Jobs for young men to build bridges

and set up flood control systems

Works Progress Administration (WPA) Employed people to build hospitals, schools, parks, etc.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Provide electric power to rural areas

Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) Gave relief to the unemployed and needy

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) Paid farmers not to grow certain crops

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Insured savings accounts in banks

Social Security Act (SSA) Set up a system of pensions for the elderly and people with disabilities

Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Supervised stock exchanges


New jobs created

Businesses expand

Demand for goods increases

People have money to spend

Relief programs and government jobs

Pump-Priming

Theory (Keynesian Economics)

• FDR vs. The Supreme Court– Struck down New Deal Programs

• Schechter Poultry v. U.S. (NRA)• U.S. v. Butler (AAA)

– Court Packing• Tried to increase the number of

justices from six to nine• Congress struck him down and

critics felt he was trying to undermine the principle of checks and balances



• Critics of FDR– Right-wing critics felt Roosevelt

went too far in expanding the role of government.

– Created the American Liberty League which even included democratic members like Al Smith.

– Huey Long felt the New Deal did not go far enough to help poor Americans.

The Great DepressionHuman Impact


• Out of Work– Sold belongings.– Took any work that they could

find.– Many had to swallow their pride

and except charity.


• Ill-Housed, Ill-Clad, Ill-Nourished– Malnutrition due to lack of food– Marriage rate and birth rate declined.– Divorce rate declined.– Suicide rate increased. – Evictions and foreclosures increased.


• Breadlines and Soup Kitchens– Sponsored by charities and churches and also public assistance from

state and local governments.– Sprung up all over cities to feed the hungry.– In New York City, 82 soup kitchens provided 85,000 meals a day.


• Farmers– Property values declined by as

much as half.– Many faced foreclosures due

to not being able to find a buyer.


• The Dust Bowl– Great Plains experienced desertification during the early 1930s.– Severe dust storms (black blizzards) brought on by a severe drought.– Affected 100 million acres of farm land.


• Impact of the Dust Bowl– From 1933 – 1936, more than

300,000 families migrated to California!

– So many of these farmers came from Oklahoma – the name “Okies,” came to be applied to ALL who left.

– Inspired John Steinbeck to write Grapes of Wrath.

Documents

The Roaring 20’s - Henry County School District · 2016-02-26 · The Roaring 20’s Good and Bad •Politics brought a return to isolationism and laissez-faire policies. •There