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

Progressivism; WWI; Great Depression; WWII

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

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

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* 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

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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

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

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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

Hepburn Bill

* 1906


* Extended the ICC (1887) to a bigger selection of corporations
* Also forbade railroads from paying rebates to selected customers

Muckrakers

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* Journalists who exposed business practices, corruption, and poverty
* Eg Lincoln Steffens, Upton Sinclair

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

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

Robert Lafollete

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* Governor of Wisconsin, began a career as a political reformer

Sixteenth Amendment

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* Graduated income tax

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

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

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

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

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

Dollar Diplomacy

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* Taft’s foreign policy strategy that emphasized economic investment from banks rather than military intervention

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

Underwood-Simmons Tariff

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* Wilson substantially lowered the rates of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff
* Added an income tax

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

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

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

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* 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

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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

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

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

Isolationism

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* 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

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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

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

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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

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

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

War Industry Board (WIB)

* Created to coordinate all facets of industrial and agricultural production during WWI

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

Council of Defense

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* Headed by Herbert Hoover
* Controlled domestic agricultural production, alleviating starvation in Europe

Selective Service Act

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* 1917
* Required all men between 21-31 to register for the draft
* No exemptions

Creel Committee

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* Published the Official Bulletin of the war, which only published informatioin the government wanted publicized to “protect” Americans

Espionage Act

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* 1917
* Gave the president wide powers of censorship w/ penalties for anyone who blocked war efforts

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

Trading with the Enemy Act

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* 1917
* Any foreign language newspaper published had to provide the government with an English translation

Russian Revolution

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* Placed Russia under the control of Bolsheviks and Lenin
* Americans feared a communist takeover

Federal Bureau of Investigation

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* Created during the Red Scare to prevent radicals from taking over

Sedition Act

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* 1918
* Profvided penalties for anyone who criticized the government

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

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”

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

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

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

Committee on Public Information

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* The US wartime propaganda arm during WWI, portraying Germans as cold-blooded and power hungry

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

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

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

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

Ninteenth Amendment

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* Right of women to vote

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

Harding’s Domestic Policies

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* Avoid a postwar recession
* Lower taxes, higher tariff, reduced gov spending, aid for farmers and vets

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

Budget and Accounting Act

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* Harding
* Made the federal government accountable to budget limits established by Congress

Adjusted Compensation Act

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* Vetoed by both Harding and Coolidge, but passed over the veto
* Provided bonus benefits for veterans

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

Election of 1924

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* Coolidge (R) won

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

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

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

Jazz Age

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* 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

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* 1928
* Pact between 66 nations, promising that none would use was to settle international disputes

Bull Market

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* Period of increased stock trading and rising stock prices in the 1920s
* Increased buying on credit

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

Hoovervilles

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* 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

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* Raised tariffs to unprecedented amounts to protect domestic industry
* Further reduced international trade and worsened conditions

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

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

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* 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)

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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

Federal Housing Administration

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* Issued mortgage loans from private banks

Resettlement Administration

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* Resettled farmers on better soil

Farm Credit Act

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* Provided federal loans for farm mortgages

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