History Midterms (Chapter 32)

Emergency Quota Act

A government legislation that limited the number of immigrants from Europe which was set at 3% of the nationality currently in the U.S. It greatly limited the number of immigrants who could move to the U.S. And it reflected the isolationist and anti-foreign feeling in America as well as the departure from traditional American ideals.

Teapot Dome Scandal

A government scandal involving a former United States Navy oil reserve in Wyoming that was secretly leased to a private oil company in 1921 (The scandal in which a oil rights in an area were given to a company who bribed Albert Fall)

What were the signs that the prosperity of the 1920s was superficial?

1. income gap between workers & managers widened
2. we produced more than we needed which drove prices down
3. everyone began buying on credit & installment plans ($1 down & $1 forever!)

What were the policies implemented by President Coolidge to help big business?

1. Favored gov. policies that kept taxes down & business profits up.
2. Offered businesses more credit so they could expand
3. Allowed private enterprise to flourish

Boston Police Strike

the Police Force in Boston, MA went on a strike, and in fear of communism, President Coolidge (then governor at the time) fired them and called in the militia to be the police force; did not receive their jobs back because they jeopardized public safety by striking.

Kellog-Briand Pact

Renounced war as a national policy; major weakness was that it lacked enforcement.

The Red Scare

The period of the 1920s when Americans were plagued by a general fear of communists

Ohio Gang

A group of close and corrupt friends and political supporters whom President Warren G. Harding appointed to his cabinet

KKK

Ku Klux Klan--Against Blacks, Jews, Catholics. Used terror to control them; promoted 100% Americanism; took advantage of the anti-foreign sentiment of the 1920s

A. Mitchell Palmer

Attorney General who rounded up many suspects who were thought to be un-American and socialistic jailing them without allowing them legal counsel; he helped to increase the Red Scare;

Nativism

favoring the interests of native-born people over foreign-born people; desire to keep "America for Americans"

Isolationism

A national policy of avoiding involvement in world affairs

Dawes Plan

A plan to revive the German economy, the United States loans Germany money which then can pay reparations to England and France, who can then pay back their loans from the U.S. This circular flow of money was a success.

Fordney-McCumber Tariff

This tariff rose the rates on imported goods 60% in the hopes that domestic manufacturing would prosper. This prevented foreign trade, which hampered the economy since Europe could not pay its debts if it could not trade.

What were three reasons that union membership declined during the 1920s?

1. Immigrant workers were willing to work in poor conditions
2. Farmers who turned to factory work were used to relying on themselves
3. Most unions excluded African Americans

Coal Miners Strike

miners demanded increase in pay and reduction of the working day; owners agreed to boost pay and shorten work day; the approaching winter season helped to end the strike; John Lewis was the hero

Great Steel Strike

In this event, thousands went on strike because inflation threatened to eliminate wage gains; blacks served as scabs; riots led to deaths in Chicago and East St. Louis

Warren Harding

29th president of the US; Republican; "Return to Normalcy" (life as it had been before WWI-peace, isolation); presidency was marred by scandal

Albert B. Fall

a schemer and anti- conservationist who was secretary of the interior to manage natural resource

Calvin Coolidge

(1923-1925) and (1925-1929), taciturn; small gov't conservative; laissez faire ideology; in favor of immigration restriction (Immigration Act); reduced the tax burden; the Bonus Bill was passed over his veto; Revenue Act of 1924; Kellogg-Briand Pact. Coolidge was very soft spoken, and also very traditional at the time earning him the name Silent Cal and Cautious Cal. He was a shy and boring president, unlike most other politicians which is why they called him something of that nature. He was also very pro-business and went even more laissez-faire than what Harding tried to be. He believed that the factory was a temple that rich people built and the workers there worship at it.

Great Depression Causes and Effects

What caused the Depression was that stock prices fell rapidly; Investors began to worry that stock prices were set to fall. They began to sell their stocks. Those who lent money to investors got nervous. They began demanding that borrowers repay their loans. When everyone started to sell their shares the stock prices fell since the fact that the stock market was hitting a downturn. People were in too much debt because there was no banking rules, overproduction and the drought conditions of the Great Plains.

Bonus Army

The Bonus Army was a group of World War I veterans who marched to Washington D.C. in the demand of their bonus. Congress has agreed to giving each solider a bonus in 1945. However, when the Depression started many went jobless and demanded Hoover to give them their bonus now. Congress voted against meeting the Bonus Army's demands. In order to get rid of the veterans Hoover called in U.S. Army troops. Veterans and their families fled as the troops burned their camp.

The Red Scare

The rounding up and deportation of several hundred immigrants of radical political views by the federal government in 1919 and 1920. This "scare" was caused by fears of subversion by communists in the United States after the Russian Revolution.

Communism

A political system in which the government owns and controls all resources and means of production and makes all economic decisions.

Capitalism

An economic system based on open competition in a free market, in which individuals and companies own the means of production and operate for profit.

Palmer Raids

The Palmer Raids were attempts by the United States Department of Justice to arrest and deport radical leftists, especially anarchists, from the United States. The raids and arrests occurred in November 1919 and January 1920 under the leadership of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer.