USA unit 1 (0.1) Flashcards
What political party was Wilson part of? Did he get elected for two terms?
What war did Wilson take the USA into?
-Wilson, a progressive Democrat, was relelected president in 1916 and served a second term from 1917-21.
-He took the USA into WWI the end of the war did not leave the USA as bad as the rest of Europe.
What feeling did WWI create in the USA?
A mood of disillusionment. By 1920, Wilsonian, was out of fashion.
What happened to Wilson in 1919 and what did this mean for reforms?
Incapacitated by a stroke in 1919, Wilson proposed no further reform mesaures during his last two years in office.
What happened in the 1920 election
campaign?
-Republicans chose Harding, a conservative as their presidential candidate. Democrats chose Cox.
-Cox tried to make membership of the League of Nations his main campaign issue.
What were voters more concerned about?
-Voters were more concerned about rising inflation and industrial strife which they blamed on the party in power.
What did Harding say to win the election?
-Harding said little about anything. In a bland speech, he declared that ‘America’s present is not heroics but healing, not nonstrums but normalcy’.
-This won him 61% of the vote.
During Republican dominance in 1921-29 what were they sympathetic to?
Big business. Republicans believed that government intervention in the economy should be kept to a minimum.
What were Harding’s values? Who did he appoint to posts?
An amiable conservative. He appointed able men to posts. I.e. Hoover became secretatry of commerce.
-Harding gave other posts to his ‘Ohio gang’.
What emerged about Harding’s adiministration in 1923?
It emerged that there was extensive corruption in his administration.
-Several men were imprisoned for misapporpriating funds or accepting bribes.
-Harding himself was not personally implicated in the activities.
How did Coolidge first become president?
-After the death of Harding (1923) Vice president Coolidge took charge.
What comments can be made about the character of Coolidge? What economic philosophy did he subscribe to?
-Honest, incorruptible, he did not smoke, drink play cards or chase women like Harding.
-Had a laissez-faire philosophy. ‘Business of America .. is business.’
What was Coolidge a symbol of to Americans? Did he do or say a lot during his time in power?
-Coolidge became a symbol of traditional values threatened by the forces of change.
-He did and said very little but the USA remained prosperous.
What happened in the 1928 election?
Who was Hoover?
-Coolidge refused to stand in 1928, Republicans selected Hoover to replace him.
-A self made millionaire before age of 40.
-Smith a Catholic who campaigned for prohibition were two issues of his campaign.
Who was Hoover?
Efficient and a humanitarian, nicknamed ‘wonder boy’.
What problems did Hoover face.
Hoover soon faced serious economic problems.
-1929 the value of stocks and shares plummeted .
-Wall street crashed bringing the Great Depression.
How many Americans were unemployed during the Great Depression?Who was blamed?
12 million Americans were unemployed.
-Many blamed Hoover. He was seen as doing to little to improve the situation or help the needy.
What did Hoover do?
He intervened in the economy far more than his predecessors.
-Nearly doubled federal public works expenditure in 3 years.
-Few politicians advocated more radical measures than he supported.
What happened in the 1932 election?
-Hoover was renominated as Republican candidate.
-Democrats chose Roosevelt.
-1932 Roosevelt pledged himself to the New Deal. Did not exactly define his intentions.
-Roosevelt had 22.8 million votes to Hoover’s 15.8 million popular votes.
-Roosevelt 472 electoral votes Hoover won 59.
-Democrats also won large majorities in both houses of Congress.
