Post WWI and the Roaring 20’s

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Post WWI and the Roaring 20s
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Nativism Rises as a Result of Post WWI Anxiety

• Nativism- desire to protect Old Stock Americans
  from immigrants and those that possess other
  differences
• Causes
• Inflation and economic Recession which resulted
  from Demobilization of WWI.
• Racial/ Ethnic tensions grow as white boys began
  competing for Jobs filled by minorities and
  immigrants during the war.
• Russian Revolution led to fear of Communists(Red
  Scare)
• Economic turmoil leads to worker strikes- strikes
  seen as communist
• Immigration -By 1921 Immigration levels had
  risen to pre-war levels but most came from
  Eastern and Southern Europe instead of Western
  Europe Many brought different ideas, cultural
  norms with them.

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Demobilization leads to economic turmoil

• Demobilization- the return to a peacetime economy
• Government agencies let go of their controls on
  Industry
• Businesses raised prices they had been forced to
  keep low during the war
• -demand for consumer goods outsripped supply
  leading to the ________ in prices. (cost of
  living doubled)
• Effects Rapid inflation- the lowering of the
  value of money.
• If prices for the cost of living go up your money
  buys you less.
• During the war, industries were forced to raise
  wages (concessions given to workers) inflation
  caused workers to lose their economic gains.
• Inflation caused operating costs for companies to
  rise- employers wanted to keep wages low.

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Demobilization leads to economic turmoil Cont.

• Post War Recession
• Government cancelled about 2 billion in war
  contracts. (heavy industry)
• Factories responded by cutting back production
  and laying off workers.
• Farm Crisis- American farmers were expanding to
  produce food for European markets during the war
  When Europe began producing their own food
  demand dropped- Farmers lost land.

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Economic Turmoil leads to Racial Tensions

• The Great Migration- 300,000-500,000 AA move to
  North during war to fill jobs.
• Post war- job Competition/economic turmoil led to
  race riots
• 1919 race riots broke out in over 20 Northern
  cities.
• Chicago- black boy swam onto beach restricted to
  whites, Whites allegedly stoned boy-he drowned.
• Violence spread to South
• 1921- Tulsa Riot
• 1923- Rosewood
• See video Clip

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Inflation leads to Strikes

• Labor strikes seen as communist
• Seattle General Strike (1919) all workers not
  just workers from one industry.
• The Steel Strike 350,000 steelworkers, higher
  pay, shorter hours and union recognition.
• Company broke up strike by using anti-immigrant
  feelings to divide workers.
• The Boston Police Strike (1919) 75 of the
  Boston police force went on strike. All the men
  were fired.
• Calvin Coolidge MA governor There is no right to
  strike against the public safety by anybody,
  anywhere, anytime.

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The Red Scare 1919-1920

• Russian Revolution leads to fear of communism
  (1919- creation of Communist International)
• Worker strikes added to fear of possible
  communist plot.(other bad ideas, anarchism and
  socialism included).
• 30 bombs were intercepted by US post office,
  addressed to prominent business leaders and
  politicians.
• June-1919 eight bombs exploded in 8 cities
  simultaneously seeming to confirm fears of a
  attempted takeover-blamed on communists and other
  radicals. (one destroyed part of Attorney General
  Mitchell Palmers House)

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The Palmer Raids

• Palmer established the General Intelligence
  Division (predecessor to FBI)
• Headed by J Edgar Hoover.
• Palmer organized raids of various radical
  organizations, particularly Communist
• Focused on foreign residents and immigrants
• Agency often disregarded the civil liberties of
  suspects.
• Suspects were mistreated held for indefinite
  periods of time
• Detained and deported suspects from the country.
• Raids failed to turn up evidence of revolutionary
  conspiracy.

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Nativism and the Legal System-The Sacco-Vanzetti
Case

• 2 men shot and killed two employees of a shoe
  store in Braintree Ma, Robbing it of 15,000.
• Sacco and Vanzetti two Italian immigrants were
  arrested, charged, and tried for the crime.
• Men were anarchists (someone who opposes all
  forms of government)
• Sacco owned a gun similar to the one used in the
  crime- bullets matched.
• No conclusive proof to their committing of the
  crime.
• Both were found guilty and sentenced to death
• Guilty or victims of prejudice? See reading

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Nativism and Racism

• Eugenics movement false scientific movement
  that deals with the ability to improve hereditary
  traits.
• Social Darwinism in its scientific form. Human
  inequalities are inherited and the ending of the
  procreation of the unfit and inferior.
• Forced sterilization of African American women

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The Re-emergence of the Ku Klux Klan

• Original KKK response to emancipation of the
  slaves
• Re-emergence included hatred towards Catholics,
  Jews, and Immigrants.
• Public Relations campaign claiming that the Klan
  was fighting for Americanism solicited 4
  million members nationwide
• See Political cartoon

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Nativism and Public Policy

• Immigrants Seen as a threat to cultural order
• Threat to soldiers of WWI who needed jobs in the
  post-war weak economy.
• Emergency Quota act (1921) created a quota
  system limiting immigration.
• Only 3 of the total population of an ethnic
  group that was living in the US as recorded in
  the 1910 US census could be admitted into the US
  per year.
• Result is that it discriminated heavily against
  Immigrants from eastern and southern Europe.

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Nativism and Public Policy Cont.

• The National Origins Act (1924)- made immigrant
  restriction a permanent policy.
• Set quotas at 2 of people living in the US of a
  particular nationality as recorded in the 1890
  census.
• Result scaled back where immigrants could come
  from- favoring Northern Europe
• Second part of the act that took effect in 1929
  limited immigration to 150,000 people a year.
• Exempted people from the Western Hemisphere
• Huge influx of Mexicans to fill need of cheap
  labor in agriculture, mining, railroads

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Political Cartoons On Immigration

• 1921

• 2007

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The Economics of the 1920s- Creating a Boom

• Republicans controlled the Whitehouse from
  1920-1932
• Both Harding and Coolidge believed in
  laissez-faire
• The business of America is business

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The Roaring 20s beginCauses of Boom

• Supply-side economics
• New Business Techniques (assembly lines, mass
  production, advertising, credit)
• Rise of New Industries (automobile, radio, motion
  picture, advertising, other consumer goods)
• New attitude

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Economic Philosophy of the 20sto promote
economic growth

• Supply-side economics a.k.a Trickle Down
  economics
• Leads to an uneven distribution of wealth.

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The Roaring 20s Begin

• Between 1923 and 1929 earnings increased
• 22 while work hours decreased
• What made this Possible?
• Expansion of Mass Production and Assembly Line
  system into most industries.
• Effect more products at a lower cost

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Ford Motors

• Model T 1908- 850
• 1914- 490 (mass production)
• 1924- 295 (improved assembly
  line techniques)
• Question What other industrys began because of
  the automobile?

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New Technologies lead to New Industries

• Airline
• Beginning planes during WWI
• 1918- government created first airmail service
• 1925 Kelly Act postal officials were allowed
  to contract with private airplane providers to
  carry mail nationwide
• 1926- Air Commerce Act provided federal aid for
  building airports
• 1927- Charles Lindberg 1st solo flight across the
  Atlantic won popular support for commercial
  flights
• 1928- 48 airlines serving 355 American cities.

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The Radio Industry

• 1913 Edwin Armstrong Invented Radio
• 1926 National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
  created.
• 1927 NBC has 700 stations nationwide
• 1928 Colombia Broadcasting System (CBS) created
  a coast to coast network
• Both sold advertising time and hired popular
  musicians, actors and comedians to appear on
  their shows
• 1928 sold 1 million of advertising time to
  Republicans and Democrats.

22
The Consumer Society Emerges

• New industries led to more employment
  opportunities and higher wages (8)
• Higher Wages and shorter workdays (more leisure
  time) resulted in a decade long buying spree
• Shift in attitude people went from being
  thrifty to wanting to consume goods.
• Let go of the Protestant Ethic
• Installment plans buying things now and paying
  for them over time
• People bought cars, radios, phones, washing
  machines with the use of credit

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New Industries lead to the Rise of Mass
Advertising

• Mass advertising emerged to respond to the need
  to create needs for new inventions.
• Consequently has become one of the largest
  industries in US.
• Advertisers created appealing, persuasive
  messages that linked their clients products with
  qualities associated with the modern era. i.e.
  progress, convenience, leisure, success
• Comparing Ads

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How Stable is this economy?

• In 1929 Henry Ford recorded a personal income of
  14 Million dollars While the average personal
  income was 750
• Disposable income did grow during the decade 9
  for most while the top 1 gained a 75 increase
  in the disposable income
• Overall increase in production-Worker
  productivity increased 32 while wages increased
  only 8 Where does the excess go?