The Changing Political Environment, 1917-80 Flashcards
What did unemployment rise to between 1919-1921?
950,000 to 5,010,000
What did Harding see as a return to ‘normalcy’?
Return to a steady, stable way of life, a focus on the USA again
What did isolationism entail?
Not joining the LoN
Cutting back on the number of immigrants
Restricting the help the USA could give to other countries through Neutrality Acts (35-39)
What was the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act of 1922? What did it do?
Tariffs on imports, encouraging people to buy American
What was Harding’s main policy?
Laissez-Faire
What was hire purchase? What did it lead people to believe in the 1920’s?
Buying goods on credit - led to people believing that Republican policies were working as the economy boomed
What did Wilson come close to doing?
Breaking the separation of powers
What was Harding’s weakness as president?
He gave jobs to friends who were corrupt
What did Coolidge combine Laissez-Faire with?
Dignity and morality
What was the First Red Scare in 1919 caused by?
Russian revolution
Who distributed pamphlets in many cities, urging revolution?
Anarchists
What parties were formed in response to a rise in communism?
Communist Party of America & Communist Labor Party of America
Of the thousands arrested on suspicion of Communist beliefs, how many were deported?
556
How many strikes took place in 1919?
3,600
What were the core policies of ‘Rugged Individualism’?
People were weakened by govt support
The USA should isolate itself
Immigration should be restricted
How many workers went on strike in 1919?
4 million, or 1 in 4
Who did the KKK target during the Red Scare?
‘Un-American’ people
When was the Wall St Crash?
1929
What agency did Hoover set up in 1930? What did it do?
President’s Emergency Committee for employment. Found employment for the poor and persuade businesses to create jobs
The govt received 2 billion in 1923. How much did Hoover spend?
over 5 billion
What were huge shanty towns named in the 1920’s?
Hoovervilles
How much were army veterans paid for their service in 1924? Bonus payment
Just $50, the rest of it was to be given in 1945
How many veterans marched on Washington in 1932?
150,000 to 200,000
What was the make-up of the House of Reps and Senate in 1931 under Hoover?
House of Reps was majority Democrat and Senate was increasingly Democrats
How was the Bonus Army protest stopped?
Troops marched in with tear gas, bayonets, tanks and machine guns
What was Hoover’s Republican campaign led by, according to Roosevelt?
Destruction, Despair, Delay and Doubt
What were the ‘alphabet agencies’ set up by Roosevelt?
National Recovery Agency
Agricultural Adjustment Agency
Civilian Conservation Corps
Works Progress Administration
How many people voted in the 1932 elections?
40 million, the largest number ever recorded in American history
What did the alphabet agencies do?
NRA - set up and enforced codes of practice for businesses
AAA - regulated major crops and bought up surplus crops and subsidised farmers to grow less
CCC - found work for unemployed, unmarried 18-25 year old men
WPA - find employment for men on public works projects - usually men with no formal education
Why was Roosevelt popular to the voters?
He was confident, charming and persuasive
What was a weaknesses of Roosevelt?
He did not understand economic policy very well.
How did Roosevelt manage the presidency media wise?
He instituted ‘fireside chats’ and understood the power of the media and the need for their support. He held ‘off the record’ chats with selected reporters - they understood Roosevelt in-depth, helped keep them on his side
How many terms was Roosevelt elected for?
4
Who disliked Roosevelt?
Wealthy businessmen
Some Dems
Opponents compared him to dictators
What was ruled unconstitutional in 1937?
NRA and AAA
Where did Roosevelt ‘overstep’ in his presidential powers?
He proposed adding a new judge for every judge over 70 (6 out of 9) to pack the court with his supporters
What was the scheme introduced in 1940 to allow Britain to ‘borrow’ supplies?
Lend-lease scheme
How much worth of supplies did the lend-lease scheme give to Britain?
51 billion
What was another scheme designed to help Britain prior to joining WWII?
Destroyers-for-bases schemes
Within the first year of joining WW2 in 1941, how much did the USA produce in war goods?
47 billion
How many people went to fight in WWII?
Over 16 million
How many Americans died in WWII?
over 400,000
How many Americans were wounded or captured in WWII?
nearly 600,000
When was the Second Red Scare?
1947-54
Who was the government employee who told HUAC she had been part of a Moscow spy-ring in 1948?
Elizabeth Bentley
Who was the leader of the Chinese opposition to Communism who Truman was accused of not supporting adequately?
Chiang Kai-Shek
Under which president did a wave of Liberalism begin?
Kennedy
What idea did liberal politicians produce?
Positive discrimination
What liberal ideas were increasingly supported in the 1960’s?
civil rights, equal opportunities and legalising abortion
What was the 1956 Interstate Act designed for in light of the USSR having nuclear weapons?
Rapid evacuation
What happened on the 4th of May 1970?
The Ohio National Guardsmen shot 4 unarmed students and injured 9 during a student protest against the invasion of Cambodia
What did small radical groups do on the 24th of August 1970 in protest of the Vietnam War in Madison,Wisconsin?
Detonated a bomb outside an army research centre, killing 1 researcher and causing 60 million in damages
What was the conservative reaction to counter-culture?
New-Right
What org was the USA a founding member of in 1945?
UN
What system was designed by Truman to stop the spread of communism by giving aid to war torn countries?
The Marshall Plan
In 1958 during the Cold War, how much did a fallout shelter cost?
$1,300
Between June 1947 and June 1948, how much did the US holdings of atomic bombs increase?
13 to 50
What was one example of the media lying about the presidency during the Korean War?
In 1950, headlines announced that the press wanted to use the draft and was considering using atomic bombs
How were soldiers for the Vietnam war chosen?
A lottery
What special substance was used on empty fields as part of a scorched earth policy?
Agent Orange
What village was massacred entirely in Vietnam?
Mai Lai
What reporter had returned from Vietnam in 1968 with a scathing critique of the way the war was run?
Walter Cronkite
In 1960, 70% of Americans said they trusted the govt. What was the % by 1974?
40%
What events in particular impacted the public’s confidence in the presidency in the early 1960’s/1970’s?
Watergate Scandal
Vietnam War
What was the newspaper that began to investigate the Watergate Scandal in 1971
The Washington Post
What were the two things Reagan was against?
Big Govt and high govt borrowing
What was an example of a radical student group during the counter-culture era? What did they object to?
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
All forms of bigotry incl racism
What did the Cold War also do in terms of tech advancement?
Began the space race
What did the National Security Act create?
The CIA who answered directly to the White House
How many people died in the Vietnam War?
3.8 million, nearly half civilian
Who was Harding’s friend that got indicted in 1924?
Charles Forbes (Senate inquiry in 1924 indicted him of defrauding the government & convicted for the misuse of $250 million USD
How did Coolidge increase potential consumer spending power & create an economic climate that encouraged business investment throughout 1923-29?
Gave big business free reign
1926 Revenue Act which
Took personal tax maximums from from 40% to 20%
Halved the estate tax
Abolished the gift tax
What did Hoover do to combat the GD?
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Federal Farm Board
President’s Emergency Committee for Employment
How many fire chats did FDR deliver throughout his presidency?
31 addresses throughout the 4,422 day presidency
What did the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 do?
Effectively separated commercial banking from investment banking and created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
What did the 1934 Securities Act do?
Created the Security Exchange Commission
What did the AAA do to combat the surplus of cotton?
burned10.5 million acres of cotton
What did the AAA do to combat the surplus of pigs?
Bought & slaughtered 6 million piglets
What impact did FDR’s policies have on the total farm incomes between 1932-35
1932 - 4.5billion
1935 - 6.9 billion
When was the Second Red Scare?
1947-54
Date of the Korean War
1950
What was the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961?
a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba
Who was president between 1963-69?
Johnson
By 1968, what % of the pop. had a TV?
96.6%
When was the Watergate Scandal?
1972-74
