HIST 2112 1nd Edition Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 13 20 Lecture 13 October 1 Return to Normalcy Warren G Harding Ohio Back to Normalcy was the platform of Harding his conservative values and voters desire for stability and order Reformers still actively worked for good and efficient government at the local level but overall the drive was for a return to normalcy conformity and moral righteousness Harding was not an outstanding senator had little political record Roaring Twenties A Mitchell Palmer Red Scare Red Scare Communist Scare Palmer conducts unconstitutional mass arrests and deports American citizens For example in 1912 Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested and convicted of murder and robbery of a shoe factory They had a record of anarchist association which lead to them being treated unfairly The judge referred to them as anarchist bastards They may have been innocent but didn t get a fair trial because of anarchy relation 18th Amendment Prohibition 1919 90 of criminals were whiskey made People began dealing alcohol modern organized crime Prohibition wanted to apply morality but it didn t work Mort Mortimer was rumored to give Harding booze Evangelism There was an emphasis on evangelic behavior People used their fame to preach evangelism Billy Sunday was a former baseball player against prohibition and he was evangelic flamboyant Aimee Semple McPherson was beyond an evangelist she was a news item Evangelism created a tug of war 1925 Scopes Trial John Scopes was convicted and fined 100 for teaching evolution in his Dayton Tenn classroom They staged a trial the first highly publicized trial concerning the teaching of evolution the Scopes trial also represents a dramatic clash between traditional and modern values in America of the 1920s The jury found Scopes guilty of violating the law and fined him 100 Featured two controversial figures Clarence Darrow a renowned defense attorney for labor and radical figures an avowed agnostic in religious matters Williams Jennings Bryan The state s attorney a Christian and pacifist agreed to take the case because he believed that evolution theory led to dangerous social movements he believed the Bible should be interpreted literally Died within a few days of trial conclusion Henry Ford Ford introduced first assembly line which increased Fords in circulation 1900 4 000 1929 4 8 million The Model T became an icon The cost was reduced because of assembly line 1908 825 1925 260 There was no fuel pump and dangerous to operate crank start The car Depended on gravity it couldn t go up hills or would stall Still 15 million sold and the newfound mobility meant greater freedom for the American people Suburban life forms the Model T was a revolutionary introduction new and exciting Automobile creates havoc in terms of dating patterns morality Film Advancing technology in film flourishes major movie stars become widely known Silver screen becomes big such as Clara Bow it girl or Rudolph Valentino the craze among women Sets styles and appearances for culture Radio The radio set standards for mass programming KDKA was the 1ST Radio broadcast Proliferation of radio is binding element of America Materialistic impulses were fed Teapot Dome Harding s administration was most corrupt administration Their major scandal Teapot It was the catchphrase for the climate of corruption surrounding the Harding administration The Teapot Dome was a government owned oil field in Wyoming that was set aside as an oil reserve for warships Haring decided to move administration from the navy to interior Thereafter Albert B Fall began signing sweetheart contracts with close friends executives of oil companies for access to the oil field They took about 400 00 worth of brides little black bag Albert B Fall profited from secret leasing to private oil companies of government oil reserves Coolidge Back to Business After death of Harding Vice President Calvin Coolidge becomes President Coolidge was conservative and pro business he would only answer in one word hints Silent Cal Coolidge believed that the nation s welfare was tied to the success of big business and he worked to end government regulation of business and industry as well as reduce taxes In particular he focused on the nation s industrial development Andrew Mellon As President Harding s secretary of the Treasury he sought to generate economic growth through reducing government spending and lowering taxes However he insisted that the tax reductions mainly go to the rich because he believed the wealthy would reinvest their money and spur economic growth In order to bring greater efficiency and nonpartisanship to the government s budget process he persuaded Congress to pass the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 which created a new Bureau of the Budget and a General Accounting Office Europe s Downfall Europe was falling into a post WWI depression they lost manpower and money In 1922 US instated the Fordney McCumber Tariffs They raised American tariffs in order to protect factories and farms Congress displayed a pro business attitude in passing the tariff and in promoting foreign trade through providing huge loans to Europe which in turn bought more American goods War Debts 10 billion and US demanded War Debts must be repaid Therefore in 1923 they created the Dawes Plan to help Europe repay the debt The Reparations Commission of the Allied nations was headed 1923 24 by Charles G Dawes Germany and the Allies accepted the plan the same year The Dawes committee consisted of ten representatives two each from Belgium France Great Britain Italy and US it made a solution for the collection of the German reparations debt set at almost 20 billion marks Germany was failing to make payments the Dawes Plan provided that reparation payment should begin at 1 billion marks for the first year and should rise over a period of four years to 2 5 billion marks per year French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr Dawes also recommended the reorganization of the German State Bank and increased foreign loans which gave other countries control of Germany s economy The plan went into effect in Sept 1924 While German business picked up and reparation payments were made quickly it became obvious that Germany could not long continue those huge annual payments As a result the Young Plan was substituted in 1929 The US distanced itself from global affairs Red Scare laws limiting immigration and high tariffs but could not ignore international events because