Unit 5 Section 9 Postwar Issues and Return

  • Slides: 13
Download presentation
Unit 5 Section 9 Post-war Issues and Return to Normalcy

Unit 5 Section 9 Post-war Issues and Return to Normalcy

Post-War Issues • Following the Progressive Era and The Great War – many Americans

Post-War Issues • Following the Progressive Era and The Great War – many Americans exhausted with change and disorder • Some crave return to simpler times • Wave of nativism and isolationism sweeps the country Events of the War lead to new issues that must be addressed: • Fear of Communism • Immigration Questions • Labor Unrest

Fear of Communism • Communism is seen as a growing threat to America •

Fear of Communism • Communism is seen as a growing threat to America • Communism – Political / economic system in which the government controls all means of production. Private property is eliminated. • Red Scare – Panic over communism that swept America following the Russian Revolution • clip

Fear of Communism • Communist Party forms in US • Joined by thousands of

Fear of Communism • Communist Party forms in US • Joined by thousands of radical workers • Protested US involvement in WW 1 • Palmer Raids- FBI raids on suspected communists, violated civil liberties • Sacco and Vanzetti – Two Italian anarchists immigrants, executed for murder on flimsy evidence (later evidence shows they were probably guilty)

Immigration Questions • Along with fear of Communism, protests over immigration • US wants

Immigration Questions • Along with fear of Communism, protests over immigration • US wants to remain isolated; suspicious of foreign influence • Re-emergence of KKK as anti-immigrant • Quota System limits immigrants from certain countries • History of Immigration to the US

Labor Unrest • During war, government had ended labor strikes • 1919, 3, 000

Labor Unrest • During war, government had ended labor strikes • 1919, 3, 000 strikes nationwide as cost of living rises, but not wages • Communist fears and accusations: – Boston Police Strike – US Steel Strike – Coal Miners Strike • Unions lose some power as they are associated by public with Communism • Open shop system

Gastonia, 1929 • Workers at Loray Mills facing shrinking wages, longer hours • Textile

Gastonia, 1929 • Workers at Loray Mills facing shrinking wages, longer hours • Textile Union with communist backing steps in; calls for strike • Strike turns violent as National Guard is called in • Gastonia’s Chief of Police is shot in struggle, strikers murdered in the aftermath • Nationwide attention to trial • “Crack in armor” of historically anti-union South

Click for a NY Times article on the mill’s renovation in 2013.

Click for a NY Times article on the mill’s renovation in 2013.

Harding Presidency • Warren Harding, OH Republican elected in 1920 • Campaign slogan, “A

Harding Presidency • Warren Harding, OH Republican elected in 1920 • Campaign slogan, “A return to normalcy” Plans for Peace: – Washington Naval Conference, 1921. Proposes disarmament, followed by – Kellogg Briand Pact, 1929. Renounces war as national policy…signed by 64 nations. Great in theory

Isolationism Through Tariff • 1922, Harding Administration adopts Fordney-Mc. Cumber Tariff • Highest ever

Isolationism Through Tariff • 1922, Harding Administration adopts Fordney-Mc. Cumber Tariff • Highest ever at 60% on imported goods • Makes repayment of WW 1 to Britain and France difficult

Scandals Plague Harding • Harding’s cabinet, “The Ohio Gang” proves corrupt • Harding did

Scandals Plague Harding • Harding’s cabinet, “The Ohio Gang” proves corrupt • Harding did not understand many issues – friends in Cabinet took advantage • Teapot Dome Scandal– Sec. of Interior leases oil rich public lands to oil companies – pockets profits. • First cabinet member convicted of a felony in office • Harding dies in August, ’ 23, succeeded by Calvin Coolidge

2 1

2 1

1. From http: //www. freedomschool. com 2. From http: //www. superitch. com

1. From http: //www. freedomschool. com 2. From http: //www. superitch. com