Roaring Twenties, Depressing Thirties, and World War II

Domestic Affairs: 1920s and 1930s

  • Post-World War I sentiment:

    • Americans were weary of war and government control.
    • Discontent over the draft, Espionage and Sedition Acts, and the Red Scare.
    • Desire for a "return to normalcy" and isolationism.

  • The Roaring Twenties: Economic Boom

    • Initial appearance of unending economic prosperity.
    • Consumer economy driven by buying on credit through installment plans.
    • Installment plans: paying for goods (e.g., washing machines, refrigerators, radios) over time with interest.
    • Dangers of debt: consumers took on excessive debt, leading to an unsustainable boom.
    • Impact on equilibrium pricing: credit inflated prices, disrupting the supply and demand curve.

  • The "Do-Nothing" Presidents

    • Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover maintained inactive executive branches and high tariffs.
    • Harding's corruption: Teapot Dome scandal and other issues. Died in office.
    • Coolidge: took over after Harding's death, maintained an inactive role, and did not seek reelection.
    • Hoover: considered the best of the three but was blamed for the Great Depression.

  • Impact of the Automobile

    • Job creation in automobile production (Henry Ford, General Motors) through mass production.
    • Demand for steel, glass, upholstery, lumber, and other components spurred economic growth.
    • Automobiles changed American lifestyles: mobility, living locations, recreation.
    • Infrastructure development: roads, bridges, service stations.
    • Growth of suburbs: people moved away from urban issues.
    • Urban sprawl and city expansion.

  • Consumerism and Appliances

    • Electricity in homes drove demand for appliances (radios, washing machines, vacuum cleaners).
    • Appliances as status symbols for the middle class.
    • Purchased using credit/installment plans.

  • Advertising

    • Creative but often untruthful advertising for appliances, automobiles, cigarettes, clothing, and other products.
    • Use of publications and radio to reach consumers.

  • Women's Rights Movement

    • Continued feminist movement from the Progressive Era.
    • Emergence of the "flapper" as a symbol of the new woman.
    • Challenging traditional female stereotypes in appearance and behavior.

  • Resurgence of the KKK

    • Influenced by the movie The Birth of a Nation, the Great Migration, and the Harlem Renaissance.
    • Broader scope: anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish, and anti-Black.
    • Membership: reached 4,000,000 members.
    • Decline in the late 1920s but resurgence in the 1940s and 1950s.

  • Sacco and Vanzetti

    • Represented anti-immigrant sentiment; convicted of murder on weak evidence likely due to their Italian heritage.

  • Scopes Trial

    • John Scopes taught the theory of evolution in Tennessee, violating the Butler Act.
    • Trial as a clash between modernity and fundamentalism, radical change versus traditionalism.
    • William Jennings Bryan (prosecution) vs. Clarence Darrow (defense).
    • Scopes was found guilty and charged a nominal fine.

  • Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition)

    • Attempt to eliminate alcohol from American society.
    • Lack of popular support (70-80% opposed).
    • Rise of organized crime (e.g., Al Capone) due to illegal alcohol trade.
    • Enforcement issues, corruption, and tax revenue loss.
    • Considered a failure due to the rise of organized crime.

The Great Depression

  • More than just the stock market crash of 1929: while the stock market crash did trigger the great depression, the great depression started in 1927.

    • The stock market crash marked the turning point.
    • Economic data indicated the start of the depression in late 1927.

  • Causes of the Great Depression

    • Overconsumption and debt from installment plans.
    • Risky bank loans and depletion of capital reserves.
    • Overproduction and overstated business assets.
    • Buying stocks on margin (borrowing money).
    • Lack of federal regulation: government inaction in monitoring stock market, banking, and business practices.
    • Agricultural depression: farmers suffered post-World War I.

  • Impact of the Great Depression

    • High unemployment rates (over 30%).
    • Bank closures and home foreclosures.
    • The Dust Bowl compounded problems by causing farm foreclosures and food shortages.

  • Hoover's Role

    • Blamed for the Great Depression despite critical errors like the Hawley-Smoot Tariff.
    • Hawley-Smoot Tariff: increased tariff rates, causing a global trade collapse.
    • Bank closures: banks ran out of money, leaving people without their deposits.

  • FDR and the New Deal

    • FDR elected in 1932, inaugurated in 1933, promising a "New Deal".
    • Shift in the role of the federal government: Americans now expected the government to fix problems.

  • Three R's of the New Deal: Relief, Recovery, and Reform

    • Relief: providing aid to those affected by the Depression.
    • Recovery: helping the economy to recover.
    • Reform: preventing future depressions.
    • Alphabet Soup programs: AAA, CCC, NRA, WPA, APWA.
    • Effectiveness: The New Deal did not end the Great Depression; World War II did.

  • Fireside Chats

    • FDR spoke directly to Americans via radio to ease tensions and anxiety.
    • Encouraged people to trust banks and be patient.

  • Social Security

    • Established in 1935.
    • A long-term New Deal program that continues to this day.

  • Court Packing

    • The Supreme Court challenged the constitutionality of New Deal programs.
    • FDR proposed increasing the number of Supreme Court justices to gain favorable rulings.
    • The plan failed, but the court became more pro-New Deal afterward.

Foreign Policy and World War II

  • Isolationism?

    • Despite claims of isolationism, the U.S. remained engaged in international talks.
    • The U.S. had overseas territories and trade alliances.
    • Washington Naval Conference: limited naval power.
    • Kellogg-Briand Pact: outlawed war.

  • Rise of Fascism

    • Mussolini, Hitler, and Hirohito.
    • The U.S. initially dismissed the threat as a European or Asian problem.
    • Economic uncertainties led to the rise of fascist rulers.
    • Appeasement: Britain and France tried to appease Hitler, allowing him to grow his war machine.
    • Appeasement only makes the aggressor more aggressive.

  • Neutrality Acts

    • Based on the Nye Committee hearings, which blamed business interests for U.S. entry into World War I.
    • The acts aimed to prevent U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts.
    • FDR's hands were tied despite knowing the need to help allies.

  • Non-Aggression Pact

    • Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact, which Hitler later violated to seize Soviet oil fields.

  • Entry into World War II

    • After Poland and France fell, the U.S. began to aid allies, boosting the economy.
    • Selective Service Act: drafting people before Pearl Harbor.
    • Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941): 3,000 Americans killed and The US joined the World War II.

  • Manhattan Project

    • Developed atomic bombs.
    • Used on August 6 and 9, 1945, to end the war in the Pacific.

  • Two Fronts/Wars

    • Europe: high-altitude bombing from 1942-1944, D-Day invasion (June 6), pushing back the Nazis, and Hitler's suicide.
    • Pacific: island hopping, naval warfare, and the use of atomic bombs.