The Changing Political Environment 1917-80 Flashcards
Republicans
- Associated with the idea of minimal gov. intervention with business & daily life.
- Agreed with low taxes & conservative social policies.
Democrats
- Associated with the idea of civil rights, unions in the workplace & progressive reform.
- 1930’s Democrats associated with gov. intervention for social & economic reforms.
Separation Of Powers
- Laws made by the legislative group.
- Carried out by the executive group.
- Enforced by the judicial group.
- Each group could curd action of some of the others, making sure no group had all the power.
Congress
- Law making body of the USA.
- Two elective bodies, senate & house of representatives.
- Both have to agree with laws before they become active.
- President can veto any laws agreed by Congress.
How is power shared out?
- Jury Trial- 12 decide rather than the judge.
- Legislature- Senate & House Of Representative both keep laws.
- Search & Seizure- Can’t come in & search.
- Taxes - Right to make policy.
- Freedom Of Speech.
Woodrow Wilson (Democrat).
1913-21
In what ways did Woodrow Wilson behave in a controversial way during his presidency?
- Took US into WW1 (despite campaigning to keep out of it).
- Tried to involve the USA even more closely to international affairs once the war was over.
Warren G. Harding (Republican).
1921-23
What did President Harding mean by the term ‘Normalcy’?
- Normalcy meant a return to things as they had been before the war.
- Harding defined ‘normalcy’ as a normal stable, steady way of life.
What problems did Harding try to remove to achieve normalcy?
- Harding didn’t want to turn the clock back, wanted to shift focus back on the USA.
- The government had to do several things straight away: reduce taxation on American people, introduce tariffs to protect the industry.
Isolationism
-Remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other groups, especially affairs of other countries.
What steps did the USA take to achieve isolationism?
- 1921 Emergency Quota Act- cutting back n number of immigrants coming into the country.
- Introduced trade tariffs that favored US businesses.
Why did Republicanism seem more appealing after Democrat Presidency of Woodrow Wilson?
- Wilson took American into previous wars and fought to keep them.
- People liked the idea of laissez-faire.
- Harding seemed like a president that wouldn’t interfere.
When was the First Red Scare?
1919-20.
Communism Revolution
- Many Americans frightened by the Communist Revolution that happened in October 1917.
- American Socialist Party & American Communist Party established during this period.
- Some believed the communist revolution was going to happen in America, immigrants in America were under suspicion of being involved in plotting a revolution.
Industrial Unrest
- Happened in 1919.
- 100,000 members of Boston police force went on strike.
- The communists were blamed for this too.
- Feelings of anger and animosity arose towards communists and many Americans believed some of the events of 1919-20 were linked to communism.
September 1920
- The bomb exploded on Wall Street killing 38 people.
- Another bomb destroyed the front of the Attorney General, Mitchell Palmer’s house.
What were the Palmer Raids?
- A Mitchell Palmer organised attacks against left-wing organisations.
- Spread Rumours about Red Scare saying over 150,000 communists lived in the country.
- Stated Communists were working on behalf of the government to spread communism.
What was the purpose of the Palmer Raids?
- Palmer Raids were a response to imaginary threats.
- As many as 6,000 were arrested and held in prison without a hearing and thousands were deported.
- Most immigrants were peaceful people.
- Eventually, they were released and the Red Scare receded.
What was the First Red Scare?
- Refers to the fear of communism in the USA in the 1920s.
- 150,000 anarchists or communists in the USA in 1920 alone (represented only 0.1% of the overall population of USA).
What did the communists do in Russia 1917?
-Overthrown the royal family in Russia and murdered them in the following year.
Bomb Explosions 1919
- On New Year’s day, 1920, over 6,000 people were arrested and put into prison.
- Many released a few weeks later and only 3 guns were found in their homes.
- The judicial system turned a blind eye as America’s national security was paramount.
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.
- Arrested in May 1920.
- Charged with wages of robbery in which 2 guards were killed.
- Anarchists, when they were found both had two loaded guns on them.
- 61 people claimed they saw both men at the robbery/murders but 107 claimed they had seen both men elsewhere, both were found guilty.
- Spent 7 years in prison, despite protests and petitions two men were executed on the 24th August 1927.
KKK
- A racist group established by people who believed that white people were better and who wanted to see black people remaining slaves.
- By 1921, had 100,000 members. By the mid-1920s had 5 million members.
- The KKK lynched people.
- Membership reduced by 1928, only had a few hundred thousand members.
