Red Scare, Americanization, and 20s politics

Warren G. Harding - 29th Pres., 1921-23

• A republican, moderate to progressive towards African Americans

  • advocated for anti-lynching laws, but not willing to force full equality and willing to accept literacy tests if the south made all ppl take them

• 1920s → conservative agenda on gov’t spending, economics, business, and immigration

  • supported big business, anti union

• his presidency was know for its scandals: charles forbes the veteran bureau was convicted of emmbezzling over $2 mill (used spoil system)

Teapot Dome

• US had strategic oil reserves (gov’ts emergency supply of crude oil that was created cuz of wwi) at teapot Dome, Wyoming and Cali

• Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall, was given control of the reserves, he took bribes from Oil companies of about $400,000

• Congress told Harden to cancel the leases, the Supreme Court ruled the transaction fraudulent

  • Only Albert Fall was found guilty and sentenced to one year

The Red Scare - communism at home

• The red Scare, 1920s → anti-communist hysteria fueled by the fear of radical political ideologies following World War I

• US feared labor and radical agitation by communists, attorney general A. Michell Palmer conducted raids and arrested over 8,000 ‘radicals’

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) →group that wanted to safeguard constitutional protections (created by Jane Addams and Helen Keller)

Communism and fascism - international

• Due to the rise in communism, Russia involves itself into a cold war, in 1922, Vladimir Lenin founded the Soviet Union and Stalin took power in 1925

• Comitern → organization of communist parties founded in Moscow in 1919 by Vladimir Lenin to promote world revolution

• Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy in 1922, promoted Fascism, state controlled businesses and all banking

Comitern

Organization of communist parties founded in Moscow in 1919 by Vladimir Lenin to promote world revolution

Calvin Coolidge 

• became pres. after harding dies

• Laissez-faire view of gov’t, trusted corporations snd hostile towards labor unions

• Reduced income tax, yet able to pay down debt and increase tax revenue

• Was in favor of civil rights for African Americans, also pushed for anti-lynching bill (brought more African American voters)

• Signed the Indian Citizenship Act, 1924, finally making all Native Americans citizens 

Immigration Restriction

• Americanization → the process of immigrants adopting american culture and values to become american citizens, and the influence of american culture on other countries through media, business, and consumer products

• Eugenics → new immigrants would ‘mongrelize’ american’s older stock, immigrants and non white americans should not be having babies especially not with white americans

• Gentlemen’s Agreement → ends immigration of Japanese laborers by agreement between pres. Roosevelt and Japanese officials 

Americanization 

The process of immigrants adopting American culture and values to become American citizens, and the influence of American culture on other countries through media, business, and consumer products

Emergency Quota Act

Sets quota of 357,000 immigrants per year and limits number of each nationality to 3% of the number of that nationality in the census of 1910

Immigration Act of 1924

Cuts quota to 164,447 and recalculates number of each nationality to 2% of that nationality represented in the census of 1890 (later quota drops once again)

Scopes Trial

• Many fundamentalists rejected science such as Darwin’s theory of evolution and had banned the teaching of it in schools in states of Florida, Tennessee, and Oklahoma

• In 1925, the ACLU challenged the legality of such laws prohibiting the teaching of evolution, John Scopes, a teacher in Tennessee agreed to be used and was arrested for teaching Darwinism

• The ‘monkey trial’ became an international sensation, the state won and Scope was fined $100

Discrimination, Nativism, and Nationalism

• Neighborhood Covenants → controlled who could own land in what areas, led to ethnic neighborhoods

• Nationalism in America → KKK fostered a conservative form of ethic nationalism for white americans

• Nationalism in Europe → In Italy, anti-communism message and rise of Mussolini/fascism

  • In Germany, national socialists german workers party/Hitler stirred up national fervor in opposition of the west’s post wwi measures, hated Jews, communists, and liberals

Herbert Hoover

• In his presidential campaign → he had a Laissez-faire approach,  supported prohibition, the ERA (women’s league supported him), and met with black civil rights leaders in private

• Anti-catholic and anti-immigrant sentiment helped Hoover as his opponent was catholic