Module 5

The Roaring Twenties

  1. Political Situation in the 1920s
    1. The Return of Isolationism: fall out from bad experience and casualties in WWI, US wants to stay out of foreign affairs and military conflicts at all costs
      1. World balance of power drastically altered with the era of free security gone and destabilized governments so globe is very dangerous place, open to threats and war mongering
      2. Technological developments boosted US position in world affairs and the marketplace but US does not join League of Nations (blocked in Congress) and, in fact, the US never signs/ratifies the Versailles Treaty which had ended WWI
      3. The resurgence of American isolationism in reaction to its increasing global role and conflicts in which it had been embroiled became a political and international embarrassment for America in the 1920s and the 1930s. Wilson had been one of the main sponsors for a “league of friendship” as well as a leading figure for pacifism and negotiation while the US military was lauded as the apparent “savior” of Europe (England and France, certainly) during WWI yet it declined, in a sense, to participate in the post-war and peacemaking process. As such, it was a virtual slap in the face of global interests and placed the US in a vulnerable position with not only its allies but its potential enemies.
    2. Foreign Policy (with political and military isolation but still supporting the ultimate goal of economic expansion and investment)
      1. Challenges:
        1. Red Scare (1919): rising fears of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia (1917) and paranoia that subversive elements were in US to topple it, rise of American Communism and resurgence of the American Socialist Party catered to these fears
        2. Kellogg-Briand Pact (1920): meeting of 62 major nations to discuss peace and disarmament led by American James Kellogg and Frenchmen Auguste Briand, essentially tried to outlaw warfare (a noble aim but one which created a paradox in which to defend peace one must eventually wage war in the name of peace against aggressors and tyrants)
      2. US participated in naval arms conferences, arms reduction agreements, joined the World Court, and took other symbolic steps toward world peace but tried to maintain a distance from military alliances or agreements which would obligate service by the American military
    3. Party Politics and its Members
      1. Republicans in power drew support from northern farmers, corporate leaders, small businesspersons, and some skilled workers.
      2. Democrats drew on the white South and the political machines of the immigrant cities.
    4. Presidential Politics
      1. Presidency changes from Woodrow Wilson (D) to Warren G.Harding (R): unfortunately for America, it was a very corrupt presidency, Harding made poor choices for advisors and appointments as well as himself—hurt the image of the presidency and the federal government yet the Republican party weathered his scandalous image to win the next two presidential races
        1. surrounded by his Ohio cronies, hard drinking man (in an age when temperance ruled and Prohibition would take off)
        2. Scandals
          1. Nan Britton Affair (illicit affair, sired an illegitimate child; as a result political pundits mocked him with the rhyme “Ma, Ma Where’s my Pa? He’s gone to the White House. Ha, Ha, Ha” during his campaign for office
          2. Tea Pot Dome, Albert Fall (Secy of Interior)–sold off oil interests of the US government and took kickbacks, only cabinet member in US history up to that point to be jailed while still in office
          3. Charles Forbes, director of Veteran’s Administration, took kickbacks, sold off 1/4 of the US medical surplus (leftover from WWI) and kept profits for himself
          4. Harry Daugherty, Attorney General–sold pardons, paroles, etc. to the highest bidder
        3. Overall, a mediocre president but some accomplishments/changes which did spur the economic boom of the 1920s
          1. Under the advice of his Secretary of the Treasury, Andrew Mellon, Harding pursued policies to trim the federal budget and reduce taxes by the wealthy, very pro-business approach which provided direct stimulus to the economy.
      2. Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge (R): As VP, assumes office in 1923 when Harding dies; strong contrast to Harding’s foul reputation and antics. Coolidge’s 1924 Election campaign slogan was “Keep Cool with Coolidge”.
        1. believed that government should stay out of business (extreme laissez-faire supporter), least interference or activity best
        2. worked only about 4 hours each day, took long naps and generally was very low key, stern, benefit was that he was considered honest whereas Harding had not been
        3. vetoed farm price supports because was too much government even though contrary to agro-business interests and developments (led to problems with farm production/prices later on though it did temporarily provide benefits to small farmers versus large corporate interests)
        4. Some of the positives: reduced federal spending, cut taxes, and blocked congressional initiatives when he felt they overstepped federal bounds
      3. Herbert Hoover (R) emerged as a leader by the end of the 1920s: hero of the people and the poor, great humanitarian and administrator, served as Secy of Commerce for Harding and Coolidge
        1. 1928 Election pitted Hoover (Small-town, dry (temperance supporter), Protestant, Republican) vs. Al Smith (urban, wet (pro-saloon and alcohol industry), Catholic, Democrat). Smith’s Catholicism was widely attacked.
        2. Hoover won and pursued much domestic aid. Promoted business cooperation by creating trade associations and coordinating conferences to promote business efficiency. He was truly a good president who was solidly pro-citizen and social responsibility while acknowledging the necessity of supporting American business and the economy.
        3. Unfortunately, the poor choices of the previous ten years left Hoover in a bad position when the market crashed in 1929 (a symptom of widespread instability), the economy failed, and the depression set in.
        4. Though Hoover was not responsible for the culmination of the hard living, tumultuous 1920s decade, he got all the blame. In reality, the few months he was in office before events spiraled downhill had already moved beyond the federal system’s ability to cope with its still mainly laissez-faire structure. To give him credit, however, he did set the recovery effort in motion by 1930 but it was too little, too slow (in relation to the size of the problem) to save his image in terms of reelection by 1932.
  2. Military Situation in the 1920s into the 1930s
    1. warfare had changed to horrible slaughter, each nation seeking technologies to break the deadlock of fighting
      1. new weapons such as tank, airplane, submarines (these 3 had best potential for stealth and breaking deadlock), machine gun, M1 rifle–most reliable hand combat weapon until M16, flamethrower, chemical weapons/poison gas
      2. poison gas most horrifying of the war and most nations banned its development and use (along with most all chemical weapons) after WWI
    2. Major naval buildup from 1916-19 but back away after WWI to secure arms control agreement
      1. Washington Naval Conference (WNC): meeting to talk about military disarmament
      2. Five Power Treaty (formulated and signed at the WNC) : treaty between US, Britain, France, Germany, and Japan (note these are the same major nations who will take sides in WWII, except Russia)
        • agreement to limit or reduce numbers of naval warships and production, also limited the size of these ships (most did comply but in fact destroyed the obsolete and broken down ships while continuing to build larger, faster, and more deadly ships)
    3. Advancements in the American Military of the 1920s (in brief)
      1. Navy: US built high quality submarine fleet but had inferior torpedoes (inaccurate guidance, premature timers/blast ratios)–best used for commercial raiding or protection (in which intimidation and “warning shots” were common) rather than warfare when destruction of the enemy is the goal. This deficiency in aquatic explosives would seriously hurt American naval/sub efforts in the Pacific and Atlantic engagements during WWII and, until new torpedoes were developed and implemented after 1943, allowed the Axis Powers to dominate the oceanic theatre of war.
      2. Air power–Air Corps Act (1926) established the first official air division of the US military. These services was not taken seriously nor did it receive steady funding until after 1929, when naval aviation was integrated into this branch and two battleships were converted into aircraft carriers (Lexington and Saratoga). In the 1930s, the military aviation unit began developing long range aircraft, specifically the B-17 bomber, with knowledge that remote bombing of enemy targets would be necessary in any large scale war of the future. Experts had predicted that aerial assault and support, especially in land-sea operations, would be the next
      3. Marine Corps (USMC), with emphasis from Major Earl Ellis, elevates and revamps amphibious operations (their image had been very negative after amphibious assault failures at Gallipoli in WWI) by creating amphibious assault doctrine Operation Plan 712D–responsible for new idea of Marines as spearheading troops for the US, specifically targeted Marines as front-line and advance troops (sometimes called “shock troops”)
      4. Army: National Defense Act (1920) creates the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) to train officers in colleges, initially compulsory for first 2 years of college (produced approximately 80,000 officers by WWII); professional training before this point was limited to career service officers but the ROTC sought to fill the gap in the event that a draft became necessary in future conflicts. It was also a measure to raise standards and improve the officers’ corps throughout the military while passing some of the cost for training to colleges, universities, and individuals.
    4. Though the US spent little on the military during the years after WWI and before WWII, many advances were made and positioned the US to be better prepared should war come again.
  3. The Economic Surge of the 1920s
    1. Emerged from WWI as strongest economic power and world’s most important creditor, insisted that former allies pay back war loans but, in an effort to ameliorate the impact on war-torn Europe (and appear a little less greedy perhaps?) many financial institutions reduced the amount of payments in late 1920s and helped Germans refinance reparations debt which they had owed under the Versailles Treaty.
    2. A decade of prosperity and advancement:
      1. Pro big business–Federal Trade Commission regulates trade, some Progressive legislation overturned by Supreme Court (under President Howard Taft, Supreme Court pro-business/anti-labor who were still often viewed as subversives)
      2. Technology: electricity, automated machinery, assembly lines methods, corporate consolidation (oligopolies), trade associations, appliances (convenience gadgets like stoves, vacuums, refrigerators, etc)), automobiles, aviation, radio, motion pictures, chemicals/pharmaceuticals
      3. Managerial revolution:
        1. increase of corporate executives as board members who are salaried and not shareholders, stressed scientific management and behavioral psychology
        2. welfare capitalism: new corporate programs designed to improve worker well-being and morale and to reduce the challenge of unions, ex. keep employees with cafeterias, stock-purchase options, group insurance, some safety improvements
        3. open shops (do not have to be union member to be hired), decline of unions and counter to Progressive era

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