Unit 7: The Early 20th Century (1890-1945)

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Progressivism; WWI; Great Depression; WWII

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Election of 1900
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* 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
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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
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Newlands Reclamation Act
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* TR provided money for dams and canals in the West
* Also used his powers to increase National Forest land
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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”
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Great White Fleet
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* Impressive group of American warships around the world
* Demonstration (especially to Japan) of the US’ naval power
* TR’s second term
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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
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Roosevelt Corollary
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* 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
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Hepburn Bill
* 1906


* Extended the ICC (1887) to a bigger selection of corporations
* Also forbade railroads from paying rebates to selected customers
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Muckrakers
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* Journalists who exposed business practices, corruption, and poverty
* Eg Lincoln Steffens, Upton Sinclair
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Upton Sinclair
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* *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
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Employer’s Liability Act
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* Required employers to provide accident insurance for workers
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Panic of 1907
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* Sharp business recession that put pressure on TR to lax his attacks on corporations
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Progressive Movement
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* Era of reform movements to tame the evils of the Gilded Age
* Didn’t want to overturn capitalism, but instead reform it
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Robert Lafollete
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* Governor of Wisconsin, began a career as a political reformer
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Sixteenth Amendment
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* Graduated income tax
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Seventeenth Amendment
* Direct election of Senators
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Election of 1908
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* William H. Taft won against William Jennings Bryan
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Payne-Aldrich Tariff
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* 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
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Gifford Pinchot vs. Richard Ballinger
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* 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
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Joseph Cannon
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* Progressives wanted to gain more influence for their causes, so they stripped Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon of his powers
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New Nationalism
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* TR’s call for greater involvement of the federal government in overseeing the economy for the welfare of all the people
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Dollar Diplomacy
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* Taft’s foreign policy strategy that emphasized economic investment from banks rather than military intervention
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Election of 1912
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* Republicans → Taft
* Democrats → Woodrow WILSON
* Roosevelt split off into his own party → the Bull-Moose Party
* Wilson won
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Underwood-Simmons Tariff
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* Wilson substantially lowered the rates of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff
* Added an income tax
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Federal Reserve Act
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* 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
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Clayton Antitrust Act
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* 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
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Federal Trade Commission Act
* Wilson, 1914


* Established a five person board to prevent business practices that restricted trade
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La Follette Seaman’s Act
* Wilson, 1915


* Improve working conditions in the merchant marines
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Spanish Flu
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* 1918
* Global outbreak of a deadly flu that was spead more by WWI soldiers
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Federal Farm Loan Act
* Wilson, 1916


* Provided farmers with long-term loans at low interest rates
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Keating-Owen Act
* Wilson, 1916


* Outlawed child labor, 8 hour workdayy
* Child labor law was quickly declared unconstitutional (10th amendment)
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ABC Powers
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* 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
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Francisco “Pancho” Villa
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* Villa sought to overthrow Carranza → Wilson ordered troops to pursue Villa into Mexico
* Withdrew troops after threats of war in Europe
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Neutrality in WWI
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* 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
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Isolationism
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* Non-involvement in European issues
* Favored by most Americans
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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
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Sussex Pledge
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* 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
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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
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Armed Ship Bill
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* 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
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Fourteenth Points
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* 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
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WWI
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* 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
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War Industry Board (WIB)
* Created to coordinate all facets of industrial and agricultural production during WWI
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National War Labor Board
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* 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
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Council of Defense
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* Headed by Herbert Hoover
* Controlled domestic agricultural production, alleviating starvation in Europe
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Selective Service Act
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* 1917
* Required all men between 21-31 to register for the draft
* No exemptions
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Creel Committee
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* Published the Official Bulletin of the war, which only published informatioin the government wanted publicized to “protect” Americans
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Espionage Act
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* 1917
* Gave the president wide powers of censorship w/ penalties for anyone who blocked war efforts
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Schenck v. US
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* 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
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Trading with the Enemy Act
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* 1917
* Any foreign language newspaper published had to provide the government with an English translation
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Russian Revolution
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* Placed Russia under the control of Bolsheviks and Lenin
* Americans feared a communist takeover
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Federal Bureau of Investigation
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* Created during the Red Scare to prevent radicals from taking over
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Sedition Act
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* 1918
* Profvided penalties for anyone who criticized the government
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Versailles Peace Conference
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* 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
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Election of 1920
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* Warren G Harding (R) was the “dark horse candidate” → won by a landslide after his “return to normalcy”
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Calvin Coolidge
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* 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
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A. Mitchell Palmer
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* Blamed unrest in the nation on the “prairie fire” of communism
* Began a series of arrests and deportations of supposed communists → Palmer Raids
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Red Scare
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* 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
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Committee on Public Information
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* The US wartime propaganda arm during WWI, portraying Germans as cold-blooded and power hungry
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Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti
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* 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
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Scopes (Monkey) Trial
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* 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
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Prohibition
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* 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
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Nativism and Immigration Restriction (20s)
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* 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
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Ninteenth Amendment
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* Right of women to vote
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Washington Arms Conference
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* 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
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Harding’s Domestic Policies
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* Avoid a postwar recession
* Lower taxes, higher tariff, reduced gov spending, aid for farmers and vets
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Fordney-McCumber Tariff
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* 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
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Budget and Accounting Act
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* Harding
* Made the federal government accountable to budget limits established by Congress
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Adjusted Compensation Act
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* Vetoed by both Harding and Coolidge, but passed over the veto
* Provided bonus benefits for veterans
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Harding’s Scandals
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1. $250 million missing from the Veterans Bureau → head Charles Forbes fled the country and resigned; legal advisor committed suicide


1. Forbes was brought back and jailed
2. Justice Department received bribes for various services
3. 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
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Election of 1924
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* Coolidge (R) won
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Coolidge’s Presidency
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* “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
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Election of 1928
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* 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
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Henry Ford
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* Ford Motor’s Model T → simple, light vehicle that was accessible to all Americans
* Assembly line manufacture, mass production, improved working conditions and wages
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Jazz Age
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* Roaring 20s
* Refers to both the music and the lifestyle → speakeasies, cocktails
* Widespread prosperity
* Buying on credit
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Flapper
* Image of women in the Roaring 20s who defied previous societal expectations of women
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Kellogg-Briand Pact
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* 1928
* Pact between 66 nations, promising that none would use was to settle international disputes
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Bull Market
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* Period of increased stock trading and rising stock prices in the 1920s
* Increased buying on credit
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Stock Market Crash
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* 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
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Hoovervilles
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* Shantytowns that Americans moved into due to the Great Depression
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Dust Bowl
* Prolonged drought in the Great Plains, resulting in agrarian unrest
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Hawley-Smoot Tariff
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* Raised tariffs to unprecedented amounts to protect domestic industry
* Further reduced international trade and worsened conditions
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Great Depression Protests
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* 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
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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
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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
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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
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Brains Trust
* Roosevelt’s group of advisors
* Frances Perkins → the first woman to hold cabinet rank
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Economy Bill
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* FDR proposed to cut government employee salaries and veterans’ pensions to reduce the budget deficit
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Twenty-First Amendment
* Repealed the Volstead Act and prohibition, increasing federal tax revenue
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John Maynard Keynes
* Keynesian economies → the government should stimulate the economy by spending to create employment
* Used by Roosevelt during the New Deal
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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
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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
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Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
* Created by the Unemployment Relief Act
* Employed 2 million young people to work in national parks and recreational facilities
* RELIEF
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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
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Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
* Created under Harry Hopkins to provide outright grants to states and cities
* RELIEF
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Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)
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* 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
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Home Owner’s Loan Corporation
* Provided funds at below-market rates to refinance mortgages
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Federal Housing Administration
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* Issued mortgage loans from private banks
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Resettlement Administration
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* Resettled farmers on better soil
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Farm Credit Act
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* Provided federal loans for farm mortgages
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Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
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* 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