National Study: USA 1919-1941 PDF

National Study: USA 1919-1941 Key features nature and impact of industrialisation nature and impact of consumerism the Great Depression racism in American society changes in society influence of conservatism American capitalism government intervention American foreign policy and extent of...

National Study: USA 1919-1941 Key features nature and impact of industrialisation nature and impact of consumerism the Great Depression racism in American society changes in society influence of conservatism American capitalism government intervention American foreign policy and extent of isolationism Content Students investigate: Survey The USA in the aftermath of World War I and politics in the 1920s: – consequences of World War I for the USA – Republican economic policies – long-term causes of the Great Depression – reactions to the Great Crash of 1929 Focus of study: The Great Depression and its impact, including: – effects of the Depression on different groups in society: workers, women, farmers, African Americans (ACHMH116) – attempts to halt the Depression: the Hoover Presidency, the FDR years (ACHMH116) – assessment of the New Deal (ACHMH116) US society 1919–1941, including: – implications of growing urbanisation and industrialisation – mobilisation of the military and war production 1939–1941 – growth and influence of consumerism including entertainment (ACHMH115) – social tensions, including immigration restrictions, religious fundamentalism, Prohibition,  crime, racial conflict, anti-communism and anti-unionism (ACHMH114) US foreign policy, including: – the nature, aims and strategies of US foreign policy 1919–1941 (ACHMH117, ACHMH118) – impact of domestic pressures on the USA 1919–1941 USA Resources: - Ken Webb Features of period 1919 - 1941 - Industrialisation - Mass economic growth - Great depression - Social Division → RACISM - isolationism/internationalism - Capitalist development Survey Consequences of WW1 for the USA: - Politically supercharged environment - Belief in American exceptionalism - League of Nations → 14 point Economic - Agrarian → industrial - Economy +5% annually - Consumerism rocketing → industry booming + employment rising - Lent over 7 billion to allied - 3 million added to army, 0.5 to government service - Implemented legislation to benefit veterans/Veterans Bureau; Adjusted Compensation Act 1924 - decline/recession in 1920 - Laissez-faire → economic intervention/policy = make private industry billionaires (trickle down economics) meritocracy → boost capitalism Hoover Social - Xenophobia; Immigration Act of 1917 → literacy immigration tests, barred asia-paciifc migrants, deemed ‘inadmissible person - Great Migration 1910; Laws legalizing segregation - Manifestation in Prohibition → fundamentalist religion + racism Political - Refusal to join League of Nations - Higher tax/highest income tax rate from 7% in 1913 to 77% by 1918 - Sedition Act 1918 → curtailed free speech to support war effort Foreign Policy - Highly isolationist Republican Economic Policy - Signs; economy rising → unemployment decreasing - Laissez-faire and ‘normalcy’ heavily adopted by republican presidents (rational market theory, free market, capitalism, minimal gov intervention) - Unsustainable policy to accommodate for economic growth → ultimately crashed and burned by 1929 - ‘Trickle down economics’ → benefit everyone if the rich flourished; “the excessive are not paid” - Emergency Tariff Act 1921: imposed imported agricultural products to protect American farmers from falling prices - Fordney-McCumber Tariff 1922: extended tariffs to imports beyond agriculture to manufactured goods Warren Harding: 1921 - 23 Calvin Coolige: 1923 - 29 Herbet Hoover: 1929 - 33 - favored normalcy and - ‘hands - shared laissez-faire, isolationism, off’/Laissez-Faire rugged contributed to 8 hour individualism/meritocra working day, leans cy, reformed to towards negative conditions of Great depictions by historians Depression Long-Term Causes Of The Great Depression - Farm incomes → $22 billion in 1919 to 8 billion in 1928 - Workers wages did not if barely rose to meet rapidly rising costs (stagnate or decline in accordance with market value) - Overproduction → mass production expanded exponentially and faster than capacity - Working class/Average americans couldn’t afford goods → over 50% of families had less than a 2000 annual income - USA couldn’t sell → Europe couldn't afford goods; owed US money, high tariffs placed on imported goods The rapid growth of US industry beyond its existing capacity coupled with high tariffs placed upon imported goods created an overproduction and influx of goods…wages don't match rising costs, rich get richer, companies run the economy and laissez faire approaches/attitudes prevent the appropriate treatment of workers leading to exploitation and poverty throughout 50% of the nations working class who could no longer afford bare necessities…trade was limited due to crippling effects of WW1, placing most of europe in debt to the US preventing US trade with the european economy… Reactions to the Great Crash 1929 Average American: - 97.5% of population owned no shares in 1929 - Laid off, jobless, bankrupt - Consumer durables fueled economy - Rising unemployment - Increasing poverty - Effects were not immediate due to business fall Investors: - 16.4m stocks sold as market fell by 50% - Lost money (worse for lesser off) - Loss of confidence → would not/could not afford to re-invest - $30 billion lost → almost as large as the investment in WW1 - Mass sold → crash Business: - Cutbacks and bankrupt - Collapse of credit → credit squeeze and no investment to fuel slowing economy = fall in demand and business activity - Industries had a surplus of goods - Banks folded / Bankrupt → could only return 10c for every dollar U.S Government: - Confidence shattered and Hoover was under pressure - Federal expenditure decreased  - Minimal intervention when critically necessary (no reaction) National Confidence: - National confidence shattered → people lost confidence = crash Depression: - Didn’t directly cause depression - Triggered depression → falling demand, agricultural struggle, overproduction, inequality of wealth, problematic international trade - Nature of bull market added underlying instability and a foreseen inevitable crash Focus of Study The Great Depression: - Causes: deflation, unemployment, credit, weak banking system - Prior to wall street crash: agricultural sector struggles due to expensive mechanisation which leads to overproduction and falling prices, industry slowed during 1920’s, upscale consumption with unsustainable credit levels - Features and impacts: unemployment 25%, 294 banks failed, world trade halted, overproduction - Hoover administration: not interventionist enough, schemes fail - Impacts: poverty, unemployment, hoovervilles Its effects of the Depression on different groups in society: workers, women, farmers, AfricanAmericans Workers - Unskilled workers - Average income 681 in 1929 to 495 in 1933 - Gaol populations up by 40% in 19030’s - Unemployment 4 million in 1930 to 14 million in 1933 - Banks collapsed Women - Clerical jobs grew - Forced into poverty looking for work → friction in households - By the end of the depression many women had entered the workforce - Women provided basic necessities for family Farmer - Inability to sell crops  - Mechanisation and WW1 → Overproduction → less valuable/less profitable - Deflation - Lack of housing - 2.5m dispolaced - Drought 1931-1935 - Hoovervilles - Farmers in oklahoma and Kansas particularly affected → forcibly removed by Roosevelt Government African Americans - Unemployment 50% in 1932 - Sensitive to economic cycle - ‘Last hired, first fired’ Attempts to halt the Depression: the Hoover Presidency, the FDR years - Feature: Laissez Faire approach where capitalism produced growth, poor working conditions, lack of regulation, FDR increased government and regulation Hoover Presidency Background - Rugged individualism - Highly involved in charity/relief; American Relief Commission, National Food Commission - Not experienced politician Beliefs - Rugged individualism → minimal reliance on government (self-preservation) - Literally wrote book on individualism; “American Individualism” - Believed to coordinate capital and labour → balance amongst peoples desire and wider community - Inflexible to handle depression - Job of the state and local government to solve great depression - unresponsive/slow to respond - Harding and coolidge similarly laid out the same foundation Presidency - Feared creation of ‘big government’ - Increased tariffs by 30% (protected industry and reduced world trade - Cut spending by 10% and raised tax by 30% more so during hoover dam - Poor reconstruction Finance Corporation → spent 1.5 billion on public works Reasons Depression Lasted so Long Foreign Economic Crisis - Blamed foreign economy for depression - American Tariff restricted INT trade, noticeably after Hawley-Smoot Tarrif 1930 - Didn’t devalue currency  Nature of American Business - Opposing nature; free v controlled market - Non-interventionist → small groups controlled wages, prices - Low wage/unequal prosperity → overproduction and excessive capacity Extent of the Depression - Absence of alternative employment - Geographical extent affected rural and urban scope Insufficient Government Intervention - Radical economists argued Depression caused by overproduction; 8% of people controlled 42% of wealth - 60% earned 23% of wealth - Unregulated capitalist economy couldn’t maintain level of earnings suitable to goods; insufficient wages:goods Monetarist Theory - Milton Friedman: argued decline in money indicated depression, money declined 33% 1929 - 1933, rise of discount rate 1.5 - 3.5% caused 25% fall in industrial production - Monetarists: 3 - 5% annual increase is necessary to achieve comparable growth Policy/Legislation Impact Agricultural Marketing Act (1929) and Grain Buy wheat and store it → returned to circulation Stabilisation Corporation → 40c per bushel Tarriffs (Hawley-Smoot) 49.1% tax, reduce 65% of trade, highest in american history Voluntarism Business, state and local government would deal with depression Federal Farm Board Reconstruction Finance Corporation 500 million in loans to banks → no one wanted to invest, 50% of wealth went to 7% of population National Credit Corporation Act Repudiation of War debts Moratorium, suspended loans for 18 months, repealed under FDR from congress tension with the introduction of the Johnson Reed Act Veterans Administration Federal Home Loan Bank Act 1932 Intended to save mortgages by making credit easier, maximum loan 50% of value of property, FDR years - Aims: Relief, Recovery, Reform - Forceful closure of banks → Emergency Banking Act - Prohibition ended 1933 - 13 laws passed - By 1935 30% of African Americans relief on relief - National Recovery Agency (NRA) → - Wagner Act 1935 → labour unions protection - Committee for Industrial Organisation (CIO) - First 100 days significant to new initiatives - The 100 Days → fast acting, 15 bills, ‘alphabet soup’ of agencies, close gap between people and government, - radio broadcasts/‘fireside chats’ → build trust and cultivate cooperation → successful - Measures save 500 million US dollars funneled into relief or other agencies - For: Driving force behind new deal leaving long term value within us society; roads schools, public buildings, relieved suffering of millions, rescued banking system, saved business, raised morale - Against: didn’t get US economy out of the depression, policy did not compensate for high unemployment, not enough for certain groups eg. black people, central govern,net damaged power of supreme court, took away self-reliance, regulations inhibited business development/growth Program 1933 Explain Proclamation 2039 Imposition of 4 day bank holiday and embargo on gold and silver Executive Order 6073 Procedure for banks reopen and demonetising gold Emergency Banking Act (EBA) Banks reopen Economy Act (EA) Beer and Light Wine Act (BALW) Farm Relief Act (FRA) Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Employed men in environmental projects, irrigation, construction Emergency Relief Administration (ERA) Funds for local and state relief organizations to improve equity and parity Public Works Administration (PWA) Revive industry and fight unemployment Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Full disclosure for info on stocks and bonds Farm Mortgage Assistance (FMA) Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Funds for development and electrification of Tennesse Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) Refinance home mortgages Railroad Coordination Act (RCA) National Recovery Administration (NRA) Glass-Steagall Banking Act (GSBA) Social Security Act (1935) Relief for aged, infirm and unemployed → basis of 2nd new deal Second New Deal - Reform targeted - 1935+ Second new deal: regulation, relief, banks kept to checks, comprehensive social welfare - Targeted aid for increasingly to struggling groups; workers, women, African Americans to promote equity - In some ways recognised that particular groups were affected on varying levels - Critics from left argued not enough intervention whereas right argued too much Legislation Description National Emergency Relief Act (NERA) 1935 Provided jobs for millions of unemployed Americans through public works projects, Works Progress Act (WPA) including the construction of roads, bridges, public buildings → highly effective in providing employment when at its peak supplied over 3.3 million people with positions Social Security Act 1935 Security System, pensions, unemployment insurance, assistance for disabled → significant role in providing relief during GD, although limited in its immediate impact due to gradual implementation of its programs. Social benefits began in 1940; 222,488 received retirement benefits National Labour Relations Act 1935 (NLRA) - Protected rights of workers to organize and reform bargain collectively through labor unions → resulted in growth of union membership increasing the conditions of workers and  ensured fair labour practices across various industries Rural Electrification Administration 1935 - Aimed to electrify rural areas of U.S by Reform providing low-cost loans to electrical cooperatives for the construction of power supply infrastructure → highly effective at bringing electricity to rural areas which had previously been undeserved by private utilities and by 1940 over 6 million farms had electricity Revenue (Wealth Tax) Act 1935 - Recovery Raised taxes on wealthy and corporations; higher estate taxes, corporate taxes, income taxes generating fund for New Deal Programs → faced opposition from whom it targeted it provided much needed funding for relief efforts and social welfare programs; by 1940 federal tax revenue more than doubled since 1932 Resettlement Administration 1935 Addressed rural poverty and assist farmers struggling from economic hardship from GD and Dust Bowl → made efforts that were limited by various factors including the scale of its programs, funding constraints and the complexity and depth of the issues it sought to ease Reform Positives Negatives - Intended to rescue capitalist system from excesses and Economic implement sustainable framework - Reformed baking system making efficient through centralisation - Holding companies exposed and reformed - Partnership between employers, employees and govt - FDR realised - Failed to reform expansion of the govt supreme court was permanent - Failed to pass Political - Set up executive office anti-lynching laws  of pres to manage expansion to ensure govt could cope with demands - Regulation of capitalist - Lost opportunity to system bring in a socialist - Accepted more economic system with Social responsibility in greater wealth equality people's lives - Black americans were - Social Security Act still second class expanded agencies citizens → widespread and role of govt racism and - Indian reservation Act discrimination 1934 gave native - Segregated CCC indians the right to camps manage their own - Unions gained greater affairs even setting up protections and individual and freedoms → end of independent cultural 1930’s labor unrest had court systems → transformed union entitled to cultural and membership of over 7 religious traditions million across most stripped throughout industries colonization - Women joined the workforce → new deal agencies gave rise to positions for women Relief - One of the greatest - SSA was not a strictly achievements of the relief measure as it was ND was altering the financed through role of govt to support contributions paid by less fortunate members recipients of society - Expenditure inadequate - Relief agencies such as to needs FERA and WPA - SSA set up a national system of pensions and unemployment benefits Recovery - Saved capitalist - Less successful in economic system achieving economic - Deficits throughout the recovery, partly due to years; 1936: 4.4 billion, contradictory measures 1937: 2.7 billion, 1938: 1.2 billion Assessment of the New Deal - First → business and bank focused to support economy - Second → address needs of the poor, unemployed, farmers, disadvantaged groups such as Social Security Act, Revenue Act, Welfare Tax Act designed to make the welfare system increasingly equitable - Pros of First wave → degree of recovery, unemployment reduced and business revived - Banking centralised - Labour unions given legal voice, SSA first national system of benefits, - Not all legislation was keenly effective US society 1919–1941, including: Implications of growing urbanisation and industrialisation → has not been asked yet - USA → leading world power end of WW1 - Agricultural sector plummets → encouraging migration/urbanisation - Pull factors; employment, opportunity, wealth, affordable - Age of mass production and mass consumption - Social implications: migration, urbanisation, - Urbanisation prompt social tensions: racism → black communities, european migrants (red scare of communism) ‘loss of culture’, ‘loss of jobs’ - prompting enclaves of ethnic communities within major cities such as Chicago, Boston and New York; Irish, Italian, Eastern European, Jewish - Between 1900 (rural;60.4, urban;39.6) to 1930 (rural;43.9, urban;56.1) → growth of 16.5% - From 1900-1930 → over 18 million migrated to US (80% fro europe, 20% from italy) - Immigration Act: strict quota limiting immigration to 2% of totally recorded nationality - 1910 three US cities with populations over one million: New York (4 766 883), Chicago (2 185 283) and Philadelphia (1 549 008) - Great Migration - African american population of northern cities grew by 35% by 1920 - ‘Sharecrop’ → high interest rates, credit systems, not regulated, debt - Domestic terrorism → KKK - Jim Crow Laws: enforced racial segregation - Push: disadvantage, racism, segregation, ‘sharecrop’, low income, violence, - Pull: employment, opportunity, minimised racial segregation/prejudice, - Impacts: racial tensions, population growth, industry growth, southern economy cripled with labor shortage, cultural implications (freedom of expression → eg. jazz music) Growth of Industry: - 1920’s (second american industrial revolution) - Population changes 1910 - 1920; NY: 4.7 - 6.9, Chicago: 2.3 - 3.3, Philadelphia: 1.5 - 1.9 - Production double between 1922-1927 due to rising population fueling growing labour forces sustained through electrical power - Automobile industry dominated almost doubling sales between 1922-1929: 2.5m - 5.3m  - Steel plants operated beyond capacity to manufacture skyscrapers - Electrical sales up by 12% Mobilisation of the military and war production 1939–1941 - 5 days after outbreak of war in europe FDR called limited national emergency including the expansion of the military - US military production 39th in the world - Mostly obsolete aircraft - Army growth → 1939: 190,000 to 1941: 1,647,000 - Aircraft production growth → 1939: 5,865 to 1941: 26,277 - Reason behind weak military: detachment from foreign affairs, american hostility to war post-WW1, neutrality laws, distrustful labour unions - increased federal spending by 1000% - Roosevelt struggled with: - Isolationist sentiment in US remained resistant and strong and opinion polls stated opposition to entry - The US was VERY unprepared both militarily and economically to take on Germany Measures for the mobilization of the military - 1936: UNited States Maritime Commission - May 1940: Office of Emergency Management - May 1940: Council of national Defence and its Advisory Commission - Sep 1940: Selective Service Act - Jan 1941: Office of Production Management - Mar 1941: National Defence Mediation Board - Aug 1941: Committee of Fair Employment Practices - Apr 1941: Office of Price Mediation and Civilian Supply - Mar 1941: Lend-Lease Act Growth and influence of consumerism including entertainment - Rise of middle class → unprecedented prosperity - American dream – fueled consumerism - WASP’s greatly opposed the rise of consumerism and the accompanied culture - Consumerism allowed for change → women increased liberty, music - Rise of goods and services → rise of entertainment - Consumerism accompanied industrialisation → expansion and mass production of consumer goods available at lower prices - Credit allowed middle class to buy newly released products and technologically advancing appliances eg. vacuum, washing machine, toilets - New industry boomed; cars, chemicals, electricity/electrification → standardised appliances Film - Hollywood was the capital of 1920 - 1920 → 40 million cinema tickets sold each week - 1930 → 100 million per week - Films were mass produced → 3 rolled out of hollywood each week  - Comedies were most popular - ‘Birth of A Nation’ → blockbusters - Commercialized a culture of liberty (increased rights for women) - Hays Code 1930 introduced and prohibited; miscegenation, nudity, profanity Mass Advertising - Appealed massively to the emergence of the new market → consumerism - Radio advertising took off - Appealed to middle class - Increasingly persuasive - Fundamentally consumption based Transport - Transport transformed - Emergence of transport eg; bus → drew away from trains - Aviation emerged by 1920’s making 162,000 flights by 1929 - Trucks tripled to 3.5 million by 1929 → greatly impacted consumerism and mail order/mass delivery and supply → ‘domestic consumer revolution’ Construction - Industrial growth created demand for factories - Boom of banks, insurance, advertising → increased presence of office spaces - ‘Age of skyscrapers’ - Construction → show of power and prestige - Influx of wealth saw construction of hospitals, schools, public buildings Shopping - Chain stores opened to new goods and mass production - Clothing for women mass produced → increased variety, standardized sizing - Clothing sales +427% in 1920’s - Improved connectivity with roads, routes and trucks increased demand for mail order - Mail order such as Roebuck and Co → supplied ⅓ of American mail order with sales of +347 million in 1928 Newspaper and Magazines - Business expanded - 1919 ‘Daily News’ included crime, cartoons, national disasters - Minimized serious articles  - 10 companies claimed circulation of over 2.5 million Sport - Major and profitable business - Baseball most popular - 1924 → 67,000 people watched football between illinois & Michigan - 1926 → 145,000 boxing between Jack Dempsey & Gene Tunney Social tensions, including: immigration restrictions, religious fundamentalism, Prohibition, crime, racial conflict, anti-communism and anti-unionism Religious Fundamentalism - What is it; literal interpretation of religious texts should be adopted into social, political and economic aspects of a society - Protestants → bible ultimate authority, human beings are saved only by ‘gods grace’, all christians are priests - Protestants predominantly have liberal theology while evangelicalism predominantly have a fundamentalist or moderate conservative theology - Revivalism and evangelicalism grew throughout this period - Evangelicalism → money, influence, power - Revivalism → renewed religious fervor with a christian group (spiritual and protestant dedication) - Stronger in the south - “Bible belt” eg. Billy sunday - Immoral city living; Chicago, NY godless behavior, alcohol consumption, distrust of jazz and cinema - Love it → Dancing is a divorce feeder: It is heathen, animalistic and damnable. It degrades womanhood and manhood. Now is the time to say plainly that it is one of the most pernicious* of all modern customs.* harmful by Rev Burke Culpepper, 1925 - 1925 Tennessee teaching about evolution became ‘misdemeanor → case of John Scopes’ - Growing divide between rural and urban americans - Monkey Trial → republican v democrats regarding evolution and its inclusion within the school curiculum Tennessee Immigration Restrictions - Declaration of Independence 1776 - Statue of liberty → symbol of hope for immigrants entering NY - 1900 → less land, industry mechanized → worker demand declined - ‘Quality of workers declined’ → increasingly laborers without formal education  - Since war → anti-immigration sentiments increased - After war → problems for immigrants in post-war depression worsened and ghettos were prevalent - Ghettos were harsh places; violent, drunkenness, prostitution - Rise of ghettos made americans feel threatened in northern cities - Ultimately immigrants were to blame for urban problems causing distrust of foreigners continuing into the 1920’s - In 1921 → presidents harding election into office prompted a series of legislative reform introducing immigration restrictions - Population growth 1850: 23 million - 1920: 106 million Response to immigration: - Mass migration → division and foreigners easy target in the age of anti-communist movements - Fueled by nativism = policy of protecting the interests of the native population - National climate of isolationism 1917 Immigration Act 1921 Emergency Quota Act 1924 Johnson-Reed Act (National Origins Act) Imposed literacy tests; Quota system (Immigration Act 1924) 30 - 40 words/passage introduced; 3% of Listed inadmissible immigrants to america Quota reduced to 2% persons; including ratio or 150,000 political categories Introduced by harding Asia-pacific barred Barred immigration Addressed american including japan and from asia-pacific region fears and enforced singapore including Japan and isolationist policies Adjusted ⅙ of 1% of Philippines ‘Preserve homogeneity’ 1920 census figures Quota determined by foreign born population data from 1910 census Drastically reduced immigration from eastern europe Undesirable Aliens Act 1929 (Blease’s Law) Criminalised border crossing outside of port entry Restricted south american migration Anti-Communism  Red Scare: - 1917 Russian Revolution - Threatened american way of life - Immigration → dangerous radicals/anarchists/communists - 24 states passed legislation criminalising social or communist parties such as NY, California, Montana → Supreme Court upheld - Strikes in 1919 → 3600 strikes involving 400,000 workers convinced of communism as an active threat - Seattle 1919 General Strike → believe to be evidence of communism plot led by Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) - Strikes and anarchism → result of poor working conditions, long hours, insufficient wage to cost of living, disillusionment fueled anarchism - Bombs: fear of radicalism increased by a series of bombing incidents during 1919 → Attorney-General Mitchell Palmer Palmer Raids: 1919 - 1920 - Mitchell palmer himself following attack → detained 4000 - 6000 ‘red’ suspects across 36 cities, deported 556 ‘aliens’ later found to be in no direct connection with a communist plot - Hysteria excused attacks on any groups; Catholics, Jews, Blacks or new immigrants - Trade unionism were regarded as ‘un-american’ and in association with communism Sacco and Vanzetti Trial → Key features; Racism, conservatism, unionism - Conservative judge Webster Thayer → greatly opposed radicals/anarchists/racist - Paraded through Boston during trial → depict defendants as malicious/dangerous - Verdict → sparked outrage amongst workers in support of Sacco and Vanzetti - Trial reached global audience → reported on in newspapers across europe - American Embassy in Paris → bombed in response to verdict - Trial was unfair → 1970’s Massachusetts granted Sacco and Vanzetti a formal pardon and accepted mistrial - Trial process lasted 6 years → appeals were never accepted  - Death took place on 2th August 1927 Anti-Unionism - Sustained attack on labour unions post WW1 → union supporters; socialists, communist, targeted ‘suspicious’ - Unionism was ‘UnAmerican’ → fueled by immigration (or so they thought) - Conflation of unionism and communism - Maintain WASP social order - Unions were a threat; american labour was an obstacle to economic success - Union action in major strike; in 1919 over 4 million on strike → Boston Police Strike Boston Police Strike - Riots commenced over consecutive days - Conditions were poor, hours were long, pay was obscenely low (less than factory worker $2) - The close involvement of government officials → made it significant Steel Strikes 1919 - Foundational industry of war effort - Revocation of benefits introduced during WW1 → prompted strikes - Biggest industry in america at the time - Unfavorable outcomes such as; unable to return, in case of return conditions were purposefully worsened United Automobile Workers (UAW) - Attempted to unionise the industry → improved wages, conditions → met considerable resistance - Henry Ford → utilised legal mechanisms and illegal mechanisms to resist against National Labour Board - UAW succeeded in 1941  Key Events: The American Plan - drove down union membership by at least 25% between 1921 -1923 - open shop strategies (don’t have to join unions as part of your working as a condition of employment) pursued by employers in the US in the 1920s Yellow Dog Contracts - agreement that an employee will not be a member of a labour union as a condition of their employment Welfare Capitalism - capitalism that includes social welfare policies Great Steel Strike 1919 - William Z. Foster’s past as a Wobblie (Industrial Workers of the World) and syndicalist (radical current in the labour movement = advancement through strikes) - Whole thing was masterminded by the Communists Great Railroad Strike 1922 - US Attorney General Harry M Daugherty = charged the strikers with a conspiracy worthy of Lenin and Zinoviev Norris-La Guardia Act (1932) - Banned Yellow Dog Contracts  - Employees are free to join Trade Unions without employer interference - Federal Courts can’t issue injunctions in non-violent disputes National Industrial Recovery Act (1933)/Wagner Act (1935) - President could regulate industry for fair wages, part of the New Deal, protected collective bargaining rights - Seeks to correct the inequality of bargaining power Battle of the Overpass (1937) - Henry Ford’s security guards beat protestors = caused the popularity of Ford and his company to decrease Memorial Day massacre - Judicial and police prejudice against union movements = the ten who were killed were unarmed and the killings were declared to be justified Racism - Industrialisation → Great Migration → over 500,000 left the south (detroit population; 465,766 in 1910 to 993,675 in 1920 - Race riots occurred in 23 cities in 1919 - Lynchings occurred most frequently in the south however occurred also in the north - Lynchings declined between 1920 - 1930 - EJI → over 4,000 - Anti-Lynching Laws: unsuccessful, bill passed by house in 1922 however blocked by southern senators, - 1923 → 5 million KKK members Prohibition and Crime → Conservatism, Church and State integration - ‘Nation of drunkards’ - Temperance groups → for prohibition, demon drink, un-american - Germany → rise of beer - Between 1920 - 1933 prohibition functioned within America - Purer, traditional, rural values of the 19th century - Marketed to protect family, - Rise of black market to meet demand → boosted organized crime - 18th amendment; “the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors” - Volstead Act 1919; enforced prohibition, “intoxicating Liquors” anything over 0.5% alcohol in force on January 1920 - Impacts: galvanised tension between groups/demographics greatly opposing each other - ‘Moonshine’ - Alcohol poisoning related deaths → 98 deaths in 1920 - 760 in 1926 - Prohibition Bureau employed 1500 - 2300 agents → badly paid and bribed (1 in 12 agents sacked for bribery) - Famous; Elliot Ness, Moe Smith, Izzy Einstein - Ganga activity → rose, powerful, extended to federal government, business and trade unions through extensive demand and made possible by cars and Thompson Sub-machine guns - Introduced corruption to society - Rise of organized crime and corruption Supporters Opponents - Dry - Wets - Women - Men - Criminals - Law-abiding citizens - WASP’s - Migrants comms with relaxed attitudes - Protestants - Roman catholics - Republicans - Urbanites - Religious fundamentalists - Individual workers - Conservative seeking ‘moral regulation’ - Big Business → Rockefeller Failures Geographical Difficulties: had 18,700 miles of coastline and land border (impossible for total regulation) Bootlegger: chemists could still sell alcohol on prescriptions → open to widespread abuse = bootlegger went into business as producers + distributors of illegal alcohol Industrial Alcohol: diverted and re-distilled into moonshine  Popularity of Speakeasies: became fashionable to city dwellers and high class Treasury Agents: 3000 = employed, most corrupt and bribed Divisions Among Supporters: dry lobby ill-equipped to enforce prohibition eg. Anti-Saloon League heavily divided Role of Government: Congress didn’t do enough to alienate rich and influential voters who enjoyed alcohol Link to Organised Crime - Prohibition enabled the organised crime to become a business; Chicago outfit led by El Capone set up illegal breweries and smuggled alcohol across canadian border - Al Capone: made $100 million in 1927 grantig power through the ability to bribe police, government and thereby boost his political influence - St Valentine's Day Massacre 1929: shot 7 members of rival gang → failed to prosecute on criminal charge therefore prosecuted for tax evasion US foreign policy, including: The nature, aims and strategies of US foreign policy 1919–1941 - Isolationism - Interventionism - Aims: disarmament - Frightened by Japan's expansion - Foreign policy: govt strategy for dealing with other nations led by domestic interest/agenda - During depression → inward facing attitudes - Militaristic growth in europe; Germany, Italy, Japan → militaristic expansion - 1930’s neutrality → eg. Dawes Plan - Concerns of Japan → Washington Conference 1921 limiting navy - 1930 Neutrality Acts; stopped Americans from selling weapons to countries at war making trade with the US difficult for European nations - Integrated interventionist elements → promote open trade, political superpower, - Pursued isolationist - US policy towards china; refusal to intervene showcased their unwillingness to engage and was a powerful consideration for Japan’s later invasion of China taking into account the U.S would not intervene and viewed them as weak - Ludlow Amendment → allowing the public to vote on whether or not to go to war Treaties: Four-Power Treaty 1921; UK, USA, France, Japan → respect interest in the pacific region, met in the instance of aggressive behavior → no alliance, no obligations, no written, not binding Washington Naval Treaty 1921 (Five Power Treaty); USA, UK, Japan, Italy, France → reduce tonnage for 10 years, naval disarmament, easing regional tension Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928; renouncing war as a means of settling international grievances Dawes Plan 1924 and Young Plan 1929; outlined economic policy and repayments from Germany and Europe Impact of domestic pressures on the USA 1919–1941 - Roosevelt's foreign policy 1933 - 1939: good neighbor → neutrality → rearmament - Threatened by Japan expansion - Japan and US constantly struggled over tensions within the pacific → Japan felt restricted by US while the US did not appreciate ambitious agendas by Japan 1937 - Japan invades China→ deteriorating US/Japan relations 1939 - Re-armament began with allocation of 500 million; standing army less than 100,00 - US arms manufacturers increased sales when the war began selling to allies and central powers 1940 - FDR started to re-educate americans with interventionist favored media that promulgated anti-nazi propaganda - December 1940 fireside chat “the arsenal of democracy” - Rearmament demonstrated pathway to becoming armed giant 1941 - Lend-lease: US would supply allies with weapons, mainly Britain - Atlantic Charter: expression for the vision of post WW2 int-peace, national self determination and freedom of the seas - American involvement in the Atlantic: US ships patrolled the north atlantic, occupying greenland and iceland to prevent Nazi intervention - Japan declared open door policy obsolete → FDR retaliated by lending funds, Congress limited supplies of oil and scrap iron to Japan. - Japan bombs naval base at Pearl Harbour → triggering US official entry into war 1920 1930 - Overwhelming support for isolationism - Concerned for Japan expansion in the - Rejection of wilson's internationalist Pacific idealism and american decision not to - Depression minimized aid and support join the league of nations were clear for neutrality remained strong signs of inward american attitudes - Making it difficult for roosevelt to act  - Anti-foreigner sentiment fueled by threat against rise of european dictators of communism in the ‘red-scare’ - In a democracy such as America, Roosevelt could not afford to take the country to war without the support of a large majority of the population. This support only came with Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. 1920 1930-1937 1938-1941 Refusal to join the League Pressures intensified due to America First Campaign - of Nations Great Depression anti-war Rise of Republicans had Domestic focus → economic Roosevelt and Wilkie (Pres major impact on politics recovery and rebuilding the candidates) lied to the US Paris Peace Treaties not nation people ratified Adopt ‘protectionist’ War was inevitable Did not benefit from WWI measures - Hawley-Smoot Roosevelt slowly steered Conservatism/nativism/natio Tariff US to intervention nalistic thinking → WASPs Anti-war sentiment is strong Neutrality Acts overturned Religious fundamentalism Most Americans believe Lend-Lease Anti-immigration they never should have Atlantic Charter Anti-left → entered WWI Trade embargoes on Japan anti-unionism/communism Merchants of Death [selfish Racism bankers/munition makers] dragged US into WWI - the Nye Report (1936) Rise of fascism solidified isolationist sentiment → Germany, Italy and Japan Implications of growing urbanisation and industrialisation Question Plan To what extent were growing urbanisation and industrialisation the dominant influences on US society in the period 1919 - 1941? To what extent did urbanisation and industrialisation affect US society from 1919 - 1941? Explain how industrialisation affected America’s economy during the 1920’s and 1930’s?