Unit 9: Challenges of the Modern State I

Warren Harding

29th president of the U.S. known for his pro-business policies and his slogan "Return to Normalcy" after WWI. His administration was plagued with scandal/corruption, most famously Teapot Dome, before his death in office in 1923.

"the Ohio gang"

A group of corrupt politicians and close associates of President Harding, many from Ohio, who used their government positions for personal gain and led to many scandals.

Teapot Dome scandal

1921-1923. A major bribery scandal in which Sec. of the Interior Albert Fall secretly leased oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyoming (and Elk Hills, California) to private oil companies in exchange for bribes. Led to his conviction in 1929.

Calvin Coolidge

30th president of the U.S. known for his laissez-faire economic policies, support for business expansion, and his famous saying, "The chief business of the American people is business."

consumer revolution

1920s. A period of rapid economic expansion and mass production in the U.S., driven by increased advertising, new consumer goods (e.g., automobiles, radios), and the rise of installment purchasing.

installment purchasing

Method that allowed consumers to buy expensive goods/appliances by making small down payments and paying the remaining balance in monthly installments, fueling economic growth and consumer debt.

popular culture

Culture based on the interests of ordinary people; characterized by the rise of mass entertainment (e.g., radio, movies, jazz music, sports) and shaped American identity.

Tin Pan Alley

A district in New York City and term used to describe the dominant music publishing industry into the 1930s, where popular songs and Broadway music were written and promoted and shaped American culture.

The Jazz Singer

Released 1927. The first feature-length "talkie" film that revolutionized the film industry by incorporating synchronized sound and dialogue. Marked the end of the silent film era but also starred Al Jolson in blackface so you win some you lose some ig...

Mary Pickford

A Canadian-American actress, producer, and co-founder of United Artists, known as "America's Sweetheart," and one of the most influential figures in early Hollywood and the silent film era.

flappers

Women in the 1920s who challenged traditional gender norms by wearing short skirts, bobbing their hair, smoking, and embracing new freedoms in fashion, behavior, and sexuality.

Gugliemo Marconi

An Italian inventor and electrical engineer who developed wireless telegraphy, leading to the first successful long-distance radio transmission in 1901 and earning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909.

jazz

A type of music emerging in the early 1900s that blended African American musical traditions with blues and ragtime; was a key element of the Harlem Renaissance and American pop culture.

Charles Lindbergh

An American aviator who became the first person to complete a solo nonstop transatlantic flight from New York to Paris on May 20-21, 1927.

Great Migration

1916-1970. The mass movement of over 6 million African Americans form the rural South to urban centers in the North and West, seeking economic opportunities and escaping racial discrimination.

Harlem Renaissance

1910s-1930s. A cultural, artistic, and intellectual movement centered in Harlem, New York, where African American writers, musicians, and artists celebrated Black identity and culture. Notable figures included Langston Hughes and Duke Ellington.

Marcus Garvey

A Jamaican-born Black nationalist and leader of UNIA who advocated for Black pride, economic sufficiency, and the Back-to-Africa movement.

UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association)

Founded 1914. Black nationalist organization founded by Marcus Garvey that promoted racial pride, economic independence, and African diaspora unity.

National Origins Act

1924. A U.S. immigration law that established strict quotas favoring Northern and Western European immigrants while severely restricting immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe and banning Asian immigrants entirely.

Christian fundamentalism

A religious movement that emphasized a literal interpretation of the Bible, opposing modernist ideas such as evolution and supporting traditional moral values in reaction to cultural changes.

John Scopes

A teacher charged with violating Tennessee's Butler Act by teaching evolution in 1925. Led to the famous Scopes Trial, which highlighted the conflict between science and religious fundamentalism.

ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)

Founded 1920. An organization dedicated to defending individual rights and civil liberties, gaining national attention for supporting John Scopes in the 1925 Scopes Trial.

KKK (Ku Klux Klan)

White supremacist group originally founded in 1865 that gained resurgence in the 1920s; promoted nativism and Protestant fundamentalism while using intimidation, violence, and political influence to target Black people, immigrants, Catholics, and Jews.

FDR (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

32nd president of the U.S. who led the country through the Great Depression and WWII. Implemented the New Deal to address economic hardship and served 4 terms until dying in office in 1945.

stock market crash

Oct. 29, 1929. Also called "Black Tuesday," it was a catastrophic collapse of the U.S. stock market and marked the beginning of the Great Depression. Investors lost billions of dollars, banks failed, and unemployment skyrocketed.

Herbert Hoover

31st president of the U.S. whose response to the Great Depression, including his belief in voluntary cooperation and limited government intervention, failed to stop economic collapse; led to a landslide defeat in the 1932 election.

POUR (President's Organization on Unemployment Relief)

Established by Herbert Hoover in 1931. Aimed to coordinate voluntary relief efforts for the unemployed during the Great Depression, but failed due to the overwhelming scale of economic hardship.

associationalism

Herbert Hoover's economic philosophy that business, local governments, and private charities should voluntarily cooperate to address economic issues without direct federal intervention. The policy proved inadequate during the Great Depression.

RFC (Reconstruction Finance Corporation)

Created in 1932 under President Hoover. A federal agency that provided emergency loans to banks, railroads, and businesses in an attempt to stabilize the economy, but was criticized for favoring corporations over struggling individuals.

Hoovervilles

Makeshift squatter towns built by homeless people during the Great Depression, named mockingly after President Hoover, whom many blamed for the economic crisis due to his failure to provide direct relief.

Dust Bowl

1930-1936. An environmental disaster caused by severe drought and poor agricultural practices. Led to massive dust storms across the Great Plains, displacing thousands of farmers and worsening the effects of the Great Depression.

Okies

A derogatory term for the thousands of displaced farmers, primarily from Oklahoma/Great Plains, who migrated to California in search of work during the Dust Bowl.

Bonus Army

A group of over 17,000 WWI veterans who marched on Washington D.C. in 1932 to demand early payment of their promised bonuses. They were violently dispersed by federal troops under President Hoover's orders, damaging his public image.

New Deal

FDR's series of economic programs and reforms beginning in 1933. It aimed at providing relief, recovery, and reform to combat the Great Depression, significantly expanding the federal government's role in the economy.

Emergency Banking Act

Mar. 9, 1933. A law passed by FDR that allowed the government to inspect and reopen debt-free banks while providing financial support to struggling ones, restoring public confidence in the banking system.

Fireside Chats

A series of informal radio broadcasts by FDR, beginning in 1933, in which he explained his policies and reassured the American people during the Great Depression and WWII, strengthening public trust in his leadership.

First Hundred Days

March to June 1933. The period when FDR pushed a number of New Deal programs through Congress, including the Emergency Banking Act, AAA, and CCC, to provide immediate economic relief.

AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act)

May 12, 1933. A New Deal program that sought to reduce agricultural overproduction by paying farmers to cut crop and livestock production, but it was declared unconstitutional in 1936.

Huey Long

A Populist senator and governor of Louisiana who criticized FDR's New Deal as inadequate and proposed the "Share Our Wealth" program to redistribute wealth, but he was assassinated in 1935 before the next election.

Francis Townsend

A physician and political activist who proposed the Townsend Plan in 1933, advocating for a government pension program that would provide $200 monthly to seniors over 60, influencing the creation of Social Security.

Reverend Charles Coughlin

A Catholic priest and controversial radio broadcaster who initially supported FDR but later turned against him, promoting antisemitic and fascist views while criticizing the New Deal as too moderate.

NLRA (National Labor Relations Act)

1935. Also called the Warner Act, it was a New Deal law that protected workers' rights to unionize and bargain collectively, creating the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to mediate labor disputes.

CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations)

Founded by John L. Lewis in 1935. A labor union federation that organized industrial workers regardless of skill level or trade, playing a major role in labor rights advancements during the New Deal.

SSA (Social Security Act)

Aug. 14, 1935. A cornerstone of the New Deal that established a federal retirement pension system, unemployment insurance, and aid to the disabled and dependent children.

Scottsboro Boys

9 Black teenagers falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931, whose trials and repeated wrongful convictions highlighted racial injustice in the American legal system.

Frances Perkins

The first female U.S. Cabinet member (Secretary of Labor) who played a key role in shaping New Deal policies, including Social Security and labor protections.

"court-packing scheme"

FDR's controversial proposal to add up to 6 new justices to the Supreme Court in response to rulings against New Deal programs, but it faced intense opposition and ultimately failed.

Roosevelt Recession of 1937

A sharp economic downturn caused by FDR's decision to cut New Deal spending and balance the budget, leading to rising unemployment and decreased recovery from the Great Depression.

1. What were the economic goals of US foreign policymakers in the 1920s?

Promoting international trade, protecting American business interests, and ensuring European economic recovery to prevent another global conflict. Policies like the Dawes Plan (1924) and Young Plan (1929) aimed to stabilize Germany's economy and ensure the repayment of war debts to U.S. banks, while protective tariffs, such as the Fordney-McCumber Tariff (1922), safeguarded American industries from foreign competition.

2. What was the Republican vision of "normalcy," and how did the Harding and Coolidge administrations seek to realize it?

Republicans sought a return to normalcy by rolling back Progressive Era reform, promoting pro-business policies, and limiting government intervention in the economy. Harding's administration favored laissez-faire economies and Coolidge continued these policies, emphasizing tax cuts, deregulation, and reducing government spending while fostering the consumer revolution and industrial expansion.

3. How did the rise of the KKK in the 1920s reflect the larger patterns in development in American society and politics?

It reflected a widespread reaction against immigration, urbanization, and changing social norms. The KKK targeted African Americans, immigrants, Catholics, and Jews, which aligned with the National Origins Act (1924). The Klan also gained political power, particularly in the Midwest and South, illustrating broader racial and religious divisions in American society.

4. Along what lines did Americans find themselves divided in the 1920s?

Mainly rural vs. urban, traditional vs. modern, and immigrant vs. native-born. Christian fundamentalists clashed with modernists in debates over evolution (Scopes Trial), racial tensions were heightened by the Great Migration and rise of the Harlem Renaissance, and restrictive immigration laws reflected xenophobic sentiments. Economic divides also emerged between industrial workers and struggling farmers.

5. How did the Great Migration lead to the Harlem Renaissance?

It brought millions of African Americans from the rural South to northern cities like Harlem seeking better economic opportunities and escaping Jim Crow laws. This demographic shift created a vibrant cultural movements where writers, musicians, and intellectuals celebrated Black identity and shaped American culture.

6. How did the radio, automobile, and Hollywood movies exemplify the opportunities of 1920s consumer culture?

By making entertainment, news, and personal mobility more accessible. Radios spread mass culture through jazz and sports broadcast, automobiles (popularized by Henry Ford's Model T) expanded suburbs and leisure travel, and Hollywood films created a nationwide entertainment industry.

7. What factors contributed to the economic boom of the 1920s?

Mass production, technological advancements, consumer credit (installment purchasing), low taxes, and high tariffs protecting domestic industries. Innovations like the assembly line lowered production costs, while speculative investments in the stock market created a short-term financial bubble.

8. What economic factors contributed to the Great Depression?

The stock market crash of 1929 directly triggered the Great Depression, but underlying causes included overproduction, income inequality, agricultural decline, speculative stock trading, and bank failures. Weak consumer purchasing power and lack of government regulation allowed financial instability to spiral into economic collapse.

9. How did the Hoover administration respond to the Depression?

Hoover relied on associationalism and voluntary efforts rather than direct government intervention. He created POUR and the RFC in 1932 to provide loans to banks and businesses, but resisted federal relief programs.

10. How did the Depression shape migration and immigration?

It led to internal migration, with Okies and others fleeing the Dust Bowl for California and African Americans leaving the South for economic and social freedoms in the North. Immigration was severely restricted due to high unemployment through acts like the National Origins Act (1924).

11. What was significant about FDR's first Hundred Days in office?

He launched many New Deal reforms aiming to stabilize banks, support farmers, and create jobs. The period set the tone for unprecedented federal intervention in the economy.

12. Who were the liberal critics of the New Deal? What were their complaints?

Liberal critics included Huey Long, Frances Townsend, and Father Charles Coughlin, who argued that the New Deal did not go far enough in redistributing wealth or supporting the poor.

13. Who were the conservative critics of the New Deal? What were their complaints?

Conservative Republicans like Robert Taft and business leaders criticized the New Deal as socialist, expanding government power too much, and discouraging free enterprise.

14. How did the Second New Deal differ from the first?

It was more aggressive in social welfare and labor rights, introducing the Social Security Act (1935), NLRA (1935), and CIO-backed labor protections. Unlike the first phase, it prioritized long-term security over immediate economic recovery.

15. To what extent did women benefit from the New Deal? African Americans? Native Americans?

Women: Gained opportunities through efforts of Frances Perkins, but faced limited labor protections and workplace discrimination.

African Americans: Benefited from some programs but were often excluded from Social Security and the AAA; however, FDR's "Black Cabinet" and WPA programs helped.

Native Americans: The Indian Reorganization Act (1934) ended forced assimilation and restored some tribal governance, though economic benefits were limited.

16. How did the New Deal impact Americans' relationship to government?

It dramatically expanded the role of the federal government and made it responsible for economic stability, welfare, and labor rights. It created expectations of government interventions in crises, fundamentally reshaping American political and economic life.