Progressivism; WWI; Great Depression; WWII
Election of 1900
McKinley/TR (R)f vs William Jennings Bryan (D)
Major issue was imperialism vs isolationism
Republicans won by a landslide
McKinley assassinated → TR became president
Northern Securities Company
TR used the Sherman Antitrust Act against the company, who was faced with a major coal miners’ strike → later did the same with other industries
Newlands Reclamation Act
TR provided money for dams and canals in the West
Also used his powers to increase National Forest land
Hay-Pauncefote Treaty
Negotiation between TR and Great Britain that acknowledged Amercan right to both construct and control the Panama Canal
Previous high price demanded by the Panama government for the land, but after a civil war, the US governed the region
Used troops to maintain control
TR: “I took the Canal Zone”
Great White Fleet
Impressive group of American warships around the world
Demonstration (especially to Japan) of the US’ naval power
TR’s second term
Root-Takahira Agreement
1908
The US gave Japan a free hand in Korea and Manchuria in exchange for their support of the status quo in the Pacific
Roosevelt Corollary
Addition to the Monroe Doctrine → when nations enact “chronic wrongdoing or impotence” in Latin America, the US has the right to exercise their international police power
Eg: San Domingo was unable to repay debts to France and Italy → the US controlled the nation until they were paid
Hepburn Bill
1906
Extended the ICC (1887) to a bigger selection of corporations
Also forbade railroads from paying rebates to selected customers
Muckrakers
Journalists who exposed business practices, corruption, and poverty
Eg Lincoln Steffens, Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair
The Jungle → exposed the conditions and practices in the Chicago stockyards
Led to the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act, giving the government power to oversee the quality of food and drugs in the country
Employer’s Liability Act
Required employers to provide accident insurance for workers
Panic of 1907
Sharp business recession that put pressure on TR to lax his attacks on corporations
Progressive Movement
Era of reform movements to tame the evils of the Gilded Age
Didn’t want to overturn capitalism, but instead reform it
Robert Lafollete
Governor of Wisconsin, began a career as a political reformer
Sixteenth Amendment
Graduated income tax
Seventeenth Amendment
Direct election of Senators
Election of 1908
William H. Taft won against William Jennings Bryan
Payne-Aldrich Tariff
Taft pledged to “substantiall revise” the tariff, but the final version of the bill barely lowered the tariff
Earned the disapproval of the press and Progressives
Gifford Pinchot vs. Richard Ballinger
Disagreement over wilderness conservation
Pinchot supported Roosevelt’s desire to conserve wilderness areas, while Ballinger sold coal-bearing lands in Alaska
Pinchot accused Ballinger of favoritism, but Taft stuck by him and fired Pinchot
Joseph Cannon
Progressives wanted to gain more influence for their causes, so they stripped Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon of his powers
New Nationalism
TR’s call for greater involvement of the federal government in overseeing the economy for the welfare of all the people
Dollar Diplomacy
Taft’s foreign policy strategy that emphasized economic investment from banks rather than military intervention
Election of 1912
Republicans → Taft
Democrats → Woodrow WILSON
Roosevelt split off into his own party → the Bull-Moose Party
Wilson won
Underwood-Simmons Tariff
Wilson substantially lowered the rates of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff
Added an income tax
Federal Reserve Act
Wilson, 1913
Report by the Pujo Committee exposed Wall Street’s corruption
Created the Federal Reserve Bank → oversaw 12 regional banks & issued paper money (Federal Reserve Notes) to regulate the amount of money in circulation
Clayton Antitrust Act
Amended the Sherman Antitrust Act
Forbade a company from buying a stock in another if it resulted in a monopoly
Forbade an individual from holding directorships in interlocking corporations
Exempted labor unions from anti-trust prosecution
Federal Trade Commission Act
Wilson, 1914
Established a five person board to prevent business practices that restricted trade
La Follette Seaman’s Act
Wilson, 1915
Improve working conditions in the merchant marines
Spanish Flu
1918
Global outbreak of a deadly flu that was spead more by WWI soldiers
Federal Farm Loan Act
Wilson, 1916
Provided farmers with long-term loans at low interest rates
Keating-Owen Act
Wilson, 1916
Outlawed child labor, 8 hour workdayy
Child labor law was quickly declared unconstitutional (10th amendment)
ABC Powers
Argentina, Brazil, Chile
Victoriano Huerta became Mexico’s leader after a coup → Wilson disapproved of the government and sent troops to seize Vera Cruz
Unsuccessful, arbitrated by the ABC powers
Huerta was overthrown by Venustiano Carranza
Francisco “Pancho” Villa
Villa sought to overthrow Carranza → Wilson ordered troops to pursue Villa into Mexico
Withdrew troops after threats of war in Europe
Neutrality in WWI
Broke out August 1914
Initially, economic considerations favored neutrality → trade on both sides
Britain’s naval blockade on Germany + their war needs influenced US attitudes, and trade with the Allies (GF, FR, Russi) increased
Isolationism
Non-involvement in European issues
Favored by most Americans
The Lusitania
German submarine warfare restricted British trade
Wilson claimed neutrals should be allowed to freely navigate the seas; Germany claimed they had the right to restrict any ship carrying war supplies
German submarines sank the Lusitania, killing 100+ Americans
Wilson protested, but not to the point of war
Sussex Pledge
Affter Germans sank the English Sussex, they abandoned their policy of submarine warfare to prevent American intervention
However, Germans resumed after Wilson was re-elected
Zimmerman Telegram
The German foreign minister sent a message to Mexico, claiming that Mexico’s support would be rewarded with the return of their possessions lost in the Mexican-American war
Armed Ship Bill
Would allow the president to arm merchant ships in defense against German submarines
Initial reluctance from Congress → passed in the House, but blocked in the Senate
Fourteenth Points
Wilson’s list of principles that he hoped nations would follow after WWI
End to secrecy, freedom of seas, redrawing of borders to promote self-determination, disarmament, the League of Nations
WWI
Government regulation of daily life → rations, regulation of industry
Employment increased for women and black Americans b/c men were being drafted
Expansion of labor unions
War Industry Board (WIB)
Created to coordinate all facets of industrial and agricultural production during WWI
National War Labor Board
Established an 8 hour workday with extra pay for overtime
Had no-strike policy in exchange for union bargaining power
Disbanded at the end of the war during the twenties bc of small gov't power
Council of Defense
Headed by Herbert Hoover
Controlled domestic agricultural production, alleviating starvation in Europe
Selective Service Act
1917
Required all men between 21-31 to register for the draft
No exemptions
Creel Committee
Published the Official Bulletin of the war, which only published informatioin the government wanted publicized to “protect” Americans
Espionage Act
1917
Gave the president wide powers of censorship w/ penalties for anyone who blocked war efforts
Schenck v. US
Schenck was convicted for violating the Espionage Act when he printed flyers urging men to resist the draft → Court ruled that his conviction did not violate his First Amendment rights
Civil liberties were not absolute if actions posed a “clear and present” danger
Trading with the Enemy Act
1917
Any foreign language newspaper published had to provide the government with an English translation
Russian Revolution
Placed Russia under the control of Bolsheviks and Lenin
Americans feared a communist takeover
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Created during the Red Scare to prevent radicals from taking over
Sedition Act
1918
Profvided penalties for anyone who criticized the government
Versailles Peace Conference
Wilson’s idealism contrasted with the pragmatism of other negotiators, especially Clemenceau (FR) and Lloyd George (GB)
Secret negotiations, dividing of land among powers
Demanded severe reparations from Germany to repay GB and FR war debts
Established the Leage of Nations
The US refused to ratify the Treaty of Versaille or join the League of Nations
Election of 1920
Warren G Harding (R) was the “dark horse candidate” → won by a landslide after his “return to normalcy”
Calvin Coolidge
Put down a 1919 strike of the police force in Boston, prohibiting the rehiring of the strikers
Became Harding’s running mate in the election os 1920
A. Mitchell Palmer
Blamed unrest in the nation on the “prairie fire” of communism
Began a series of arrests and deportations of supposed communists → Palmer Raids
Red Scare
Period of fear and persecution in the US from 1917-1920 following the rise of communism
Sources:
The Bolshevik Revolution (1917) and Comintern (1920), which called for a global overthrow of capitalism
Communist uprisings in Bavaria and Hungary
Labor unrest (eg the Boston police strike)
Bombings of Rockefeller’s and Palmer’s houses and on Wall Street
Responses:
Palmer Raids
Criminal syndicalism laws → outlawed advocation of violence for social change
Ludlow Comittee → 5 socialists in New York were expelled
The American Plan → prevented mandatory union membership, required an open shop plan
May Day → Palmer believed that there would be a communist overthrow on May 1, but it never came
Committee on Public Information
The US wartime propaganda arm during WWI, portraying Germans as cold-blooded and power hungry
Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti
April 1920
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, alleged anarchists, were accused of murder and sentenced to death, despite having little evidence
Waves of protest erupted, questioning the morality of the punishment
Later ruled that the judge unjustly sentenced them to death
Scopes (Monkey) Trial
Three southern states outlawed the teaching of evolution in public schools due to religious fundamentalism
John Scopes was indicted for teaching evolution
Caused immense national divide
Clarence Darrow (represented Scopes) vs. William Jennings Bryan
Scopes was found guilty, but Darrow immensely embarrassed Bryan and damaged his reputation + the Fundamentalist movement
Prohibition
Stemmed from nativism and xenophobic b/c many immigrants drank
18th amendment, Volstead Act (1919) → outlawed any alcohol w/ over 0.5% abv
Consequences: speakeasies, organized crime
Nativism and Immigration Restriction (20s)
800k S/E Europeans flooded in due to war
Fear of hyphenated Americans → too many were anarchists and socialists
Emergency Quota Act (1921) + National Origins Act (1924) → nationality quotas that favored N/W Europeans
Severely limited Asian immigrants
Ninteenth Amendment
Right of women to vote
Washington Arms Conference
1921-1922 to discuss the national balance of power
Five Power Treaty → US, GB, FR, ITA, JPN agreed to control their navies
Nine Power Treaty → 5 Powers + others reaffirmed the open door policy in China and guaranteed China’s sovereignty and independence
Four Power Treaty → 5 Powers minus Italy agreed to respect each other’s possessions in the Pacific
Harding’s Domestic Policies
Avoid a postwar recession
Lower taxes, higher tariff, reduced gov spending, aid for farmers and vets
Fordney-McCumber Tariff
Raised tariffs, discriminating against European trade → Europe raised its own tariffs against the US, resulting in decline in world trade
GB and FR requested that the US cancel the debt they owed, but the US refused → forced to depend on reparation payments from Germany, who was borrowing money from the US
Budget and Accounting Act
Harding
Made the federal government accountable to budget limits established by Congress
Adjusted Compensation Act
Vetoed by both Harding and Coolidge, but passed over the veto
Provided bonus benefits for veterans
Harding’s Scandals
$250 million missing from the Veterans Bureau → head Charles Forbes fled the country and resigned; legal advisor committed suicide
Forbes was brought back and jailed
Justice Department received bribes for various services
Teapot Dome and Elk Hill → Alber B. Fall agreed to lease the federal oil reserves to private oil companies in exchange for loans and cattle
Election of 1924
Coolidge (R) won
Coolidge’s Presidency
“Silent Cal”
Laissez-faire, small government, low taxes, isolationism
1926 Revenue Act / Mellon Tax Cut → majorly reduced the progressive tax code
Persecuted labor unions under the Sherman Antitrust Act
Help from SC to assault social legislations
Election of 1928
Herbert Hoover (R) vs. Al Smith (D)
Hoover was popular rurally, Smith was popular in the cities
Maind issues were prohibition (Hoover for and Smith against) and Smith’s Catholicism
Hoover won
Henry Ford
Ford Motor’s Model T → simple, light vehicle that was accessible to all Americans
Assembly line manufacture, mass production, improved working conditions and wages
Jazz Age
Roaring 20s
Refers to both the music and the lifestyle → speakeasies, cocktails
Widespread prosperity
Buying on credit
Flapper
Image of women in the Roaring 20s who defied previous societal expectations of women
Kellogg-Briand Pact
1928
Pact between 66 nations, promising that none would use was to settle international disputes
Bull Market
Period of increased stock trading and rising stock prices in the 1920s
Increased buying on credit
Stock Market Crash
Septermber 1929, Black Tuesday
Thousands of paper profits vanished in a few hours → market greatly spiraled downward without control
People rushed to banks to withdraw money; banks closed b/c they did not have enough money in their deposits
Not the main cause of the Great Depression
Instead, lack of foreign markets and a dependency on credit
Hoovervilles
Shantytowns that Americans moved into due to the Great Depression
Dust Bowl
Prolonged drought in the Great Plains, resulting in agrarian unrest
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
Raised tariffs to unprecedented amounts to protect domestic industry
Further reduced international trade and worsened conditions
Great Depression Protests
WWI veterans marched to Washington to demand payment of a bonus, but were driven away by troops → Bonus Expeditionary Force (BEF)
National Farmers’ Holiday Association & Milo Reno → blocked roads in the Midwest to prevent goods from getting to market to protest low prices
Communist Party → political focus; marches, councils
Hoover’s Response to the GD
Associational action → private corporations combat the depression, not the federal government
Agricultural Marketing Act → stimulated the growth of farms w/ the government purchase of surpluses
Reconstruction Finance Corporation → provided federal loans to failing businesses
Federal Home Loan Bank Act → loans to people with mortgages
No direct aid to individuals; threatened individuality
London Arms Conference
1930
5 Powers met to hold down the rise of the world’s armaments
Italy’s Mussolini and his fascist supporters refused to agree with the terms of the Washington Conference of 1921; France refused to sign the new agreement
Hoover’s Foreign Affairs
War between the Soviet Union and China over Northern Manchuria
Japan seized Manchuria
Latin America → dollar diplomacy
Sent troops to protect American investments in several industries
Guerilla resistance followed
Roosevelt eventually renounced the Roosevelt Corollary, promising not to intervene in Latin America’s affairs
Brains Trust
Roosevelt’s group of advisors
Frances Perkins → the first woman to hold cabinet rank
Economy Bill
FDR proposed to cut government employee salaries and veterans’ pensions to reduce the budget deficit
Twenty-First Amendment
Repealed the Volstead Act and prohibition, increasing federal tax revenue
John Maynard Keynes
Keynesian economies → the government should stimulate the economy by spending to create employment
Used by Roosevelt during the New Deal
First Hundred Days
FDR’s plan of intense action in the first 100 days of the New Deal
Passed laws w/ Congress affecting economic life and established the basis for the New Deal
Bank Holiday
Stopped all transactions in banks in gold and silver
Prevented public panic and district in banks → people had begun to withdrawn all of their money from banks due to the stock market crash, but the bank’s didn’t have enough in their depository
RELIEF
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Created by the Unemployment Relief Act
Employed 2 million young people to work in national parks and recreational facilities
RELIEF
Gold Standard / Gold Reserve Act
April → FDR pulled the nation off the gold standard
Allowed the government to print money and get loans, which helped unfreeze the banking system
RECOVERY
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
Created under Harry Hopkins to provide outright grants to states and cities
RELIEF
Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)
The gov subsidized farmers ($$) in return for reduced acreage → they thought less crops would raise prices
Subsidized in the form of a processing tax on middlemen
Also the refinancing of farm mortgages through federal land banks
Declared unconstitutional by the SC (US v. Butler) under the 10th amendment (abuse of federal power) in 1936 → replaced with the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, which got rid of the processing tax
Largely unsuccessful → didn’t increase employment or make food more affordable
RECOVERY
Home Owner’s Loan Corporation
Provided funds at below-market rates to refinance mortgages
Federal Housing Administration
Issued mortgage loans from private banks
Resettlement Administration
Resettled farmers on better soil
Farm Credit Act
Provided federal loans for farm mortgages
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Construction of dams and power plants in the Tennessee Valley region (general South)
Raised the standard of living in the power through electricity, flood control, and controlling malaria
REFORM