Topic 1 - Changing Political Relationships Flashcards
what impacts the American Dream in a general sense
- search for a better way of life not just equality
- the economy
- political and social issues (often unexpected)
- technology
- travel
- media impact
- foreign affairs and domestic
- changing political ideology
- civil rights
- immigration
name 5 things that impact the reality of the American Dream
MORALE - government actions affect it especially in social and economic spheres
FALSE PROMISES - not all American citizens are able to achieve the American Dream
CONGRESS - government success can often depend on the relationship of Congress and the President
MEDIA - government success also depends on relationship between President and media (but more so in later years - 1950s TV and radio)
INTERNAL INFLUENCE - social policies
EXTERNAL INFLUENCE - wars/international crises
what is the legislative and what is their role
Congress which is the senate and the house of representatives
- writes laws
- confirms or rejects appointments made by the executive (including judges)
- can override veto’s with a 2/3 vote
what is the executive and what is their role
the president and the vice president
- enforces laws
- appoints judges
- can veto laws
- has the power to pardon
- can issue executive emergency laws
- in charge of army
what is the judicial and what is their role
the supreme court
- interprets laws
- can declare acts of the executive or legislative branch as unconstitutional
who had access to the American Dream before 1945
wealthy white men
Woodrow Wilson term and party
1913-21
democrat
why was Woodrow Wilson elected and re-elected
- insisted that the USA would keep out the war
- America’s population was growing and he wanted to equally share the economic boom
- social equality
- interfere in society
- he was re-elected 1916 - ‘he kept us out of war’ - but went to war in 1917
- he was only the second democrat to be elected since the Civil War of 1861-65
what was the Domestic policy of Woodrow Wilson
- 19th amendment - 1920 - all women given vote
- 21st amendment - 1920 - introduced prohibition (ban on alcohol) with religious aims and of cleaning the streets/improving lifestyle - but it did increase back-alley sales and the mafia threat
what was the foreign policy of Woodrow Wilson and why he had to get involved in the war
- he kept US out of war in Europe in his 2nd year of presidency just supplied arms to the allied powers to get money but not lose men
- but German U-Boats were sinking American ships - they said they had a right to sink ships sailing to the enemy even though US neutral
- they sank the Lusitania in 1916 with 1400 abroad
- he negotiated with Germans in 1917 and got them to limit their naval programme
- Zimmerman Telegraph Crisis
what was the Zimmerman Telegraph Crisis and why didn’t many people understand what it was
February 1917
- Wilson intercepted a secret message of Germany encouraging Mexico to invade the US
- Germany sent them goods to do so
- it was essentially a declaration of war from Germany that Wilson said threatened the national security of the USA
- he addressed Congress on 2nd April 1917 and so began the Great Crusade against aristocratic tyranny
- people didn’t understand
- many illiterate and only the rich read the newspaper
- confusion
- Wilson left people in the dark
what was the legacy that Wilson left behind
- economic problems
- people lost trust in the democrats, he tarnished their reputation by making false promises
- TV and radio not popular so style not really needed
- he suffered a stroke in the latter years of his presidency, his wife primarily ran the white house
- democrats didn’t have enough time to get a new candidate for re-election
- his fourteen points which led to the creation of the League of Nations - international security
- one the war was over he tried to involve the USA even more closely in international affairs which alarmed many
- people felt the war was a mistake even though it boosted the economy
- women’s voting rights
- presidency more concerned with domestic affairs now
what were Wilson’s fourteen points and what did this lead to
- his attempt to end all wars through international cooperation and disarmament
- led to the creation of the League of Nations which he was keen for the US to join
give some reasons for why there was a Republican president and majority in Congress between 1921-31
- Wilson tarnished the Democrat reputation and they didn’t have enough time to find a new candidate
- republican ideals
what was the the term and party of Warren G Harding
1921-1923
republican
why was Warren G Harding elected
- promised a return to normalcy and policies of isolationism
- promised to lower taxes, restore the economy, mass employment and more money for all
- promised to look into the race issue and improving lives of AA - got their vote
- he promised to slightly stray from republican beliefs and promised help for the poor with the Department of Public Welfare directing state efforts - necessary under circumstances
for Harding what would a return to normalcy mean
removing the problems of:
- the 2 years of economic depression that followed the end of the war resulting in an unemployment rise from 950k to 5 million in 1921
- social discontent - riots, protests and strikes
what was the domestic policy of Warren G Harding
- reduce high wartime tax/balance deficit
- Volstead Act 1919 maintained prohibiting the commercial manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol
- ‘less government in business and more business in government’ - laissez-faire
- he put a high tariff on import of foreign goods - less trade - tariffs raised back at USA - people buy American goods though which meant more jobs and money :)
- emergency quota act to reduce immigration - 1/2 million people a year to prevent overpopulation - they only want rich self sustaining white Americans not immigrants taking jobs - stop communism rising by shutting it away - May 1921
what was the foreign policy of Warren G Harding
isolationism
- declared that he sought ‘no part in directing the destinies of the world’
- the USA refused to join the League of Nations
- focus on America - very Republican
- helped curb immigration alongside his emergency quota act of May 1921
- however (-) that if war then not many allies - not as easy to trade - run out of people to sell to with no overseas trade - once you buy a car you don’t buy a second
- global trade networks are necessary
what was the style/personality of Warren G Harding
- provided nationwide radio - free for disadvantaged families (to boost US industry and expand national communication and spread his ideas)
- not massively significant but first to advocate radio
- isolationism and immigration policies made him popular
what is isolationsim
- America’s reluctance to be involved in European alliances and wars
- isolationists held the view that America’s perspective of the world was different from that of European societies
- view that US can advance the cause of freedom/democracy by other means than war
- not complete disengagement from world stage nor idea that US should not expand its territorial and economic interests
who was President during the first red scare
Woodrow Wilson - his term was 1913-21 and the first red scare was 1919-1920
why did the country lose faith in Woodrow Wilson
- he promised to keep them out of war but didn’t
- left people in dark about Zimmerman Telegraph
- seen as too involved in foreign affairs
- during the post war recession he was ill and not present
- he had a poor relationship with Congress
why following Woodrow Wilson were the Democrats an ‘Unelectable Opposition’
- they created a society that was disenchanted with foreign contact, xenophobia, cynicism, race riots, strikes and calls for immigration restrictions
- they were riddled with internal problems partly due to their 2/3s rule dating back to the 1830s
- it required Presidential nominees to obtain 2/3s of the delegate votes meaning selecting a candidate was always difficult
- in 1924 election, 103 ballots took place to pick John Davis who lost heavily to Coolidge
- Coolidge had 382 electoral votes against Davis’ 136
- despite scandals like the Teapot Dome affair of 1923 that shamed the Harding Administration, the Democrats were unable to compete
- they also had connections to the KKK
what was the term and party of Calvin Coolidge
1923-9
republican
why was Calvin Coolidge elected
- Democrats were unelectable
- Harding did all the hard work for him and the people had already bought into Republicanism
- America was prosperous
- Laissez-faire
- he was Harding’s VP
- he intended to change nothing epitomised by his election slogan ‘keep cool with Coolidge’
what was the Domestic and foreign policy of Coolidge
- radio licensing act - Feb 23rd 1927 - regulates radio to stop communist channels
- keeps tax low
- laissez faire
- keeps Republican ideals
- isolationism
- continued work of Harding
what was the personality and style of Coolidge
- silent Cal
- responsible for Wall Street Crash as everyone got in debt and he didn’t regulate the banks or stock market
- while Coolidge napped in the White House, the nation was engaged in an orgy of speculation, spending and extravagance which he did nothing about
- he declined to stand for re-election which was lucky as he shrewdly avoided the forthcoming economic disaster which arguably he caused
when was the term and what was the party of Herbert Hoover
- 1929-33
- Republican
discuss Republicanism under Hoover
- 1928 election was an endorsement of Republican conservatism
- Coolidge claimed that the USA was in ‘a state of contentment seldom seem before’
- despite prohibition leading to increased organized crime the 1920s were a ‘boom’ time
- Hoover’s rugged individualism theories epitomised the principles of Republicanism
- laissez-faire - isolationism - restriction on immigrations
why was Hoover elected
- promised to continue the laissez-faire attitude
- America already convinced by Republicanism - roaring 20s
what was the Domestic policy of Herbert Hoover
- 1929 - agricultural marketing act - federal farm board that could buy key crops to stabilise prices
- 1930 Committee for Unemployment Relief
- 1931 National Credit Cooperation - funded by healthy banks and businesses to help failing ones it starts with $500million budget - by end of war lent just $10 mil
- Jan 1932 - Reconstruction Finance Cooperation - set up with $300 mil to lend to states for relief projects
- July - it can also be given to farmers/public works set up
- July - Federal Home Loan Bank Act - has a federal fund to lend money to people in trouble with their mortgages
what was the foreign policy of Hoover
- June 1930 - Hawley Smoot Tariff Act - tariffs high so people only bought American goods - get rid of overseas income :( - there’s no money in America to buy things :(
briefly explain the Wall Street Crash
- the boom of the 1920s had flourished in Republican laissez-faire attitudes and ‘America first’ principles
- Hoover’s ‘Rugged Individualism’ encouraged equal opportunities but this led to economic inequalities
- boom funded largely by credit
- banks lent too much money
- people invested in shared ignoring or ignorant of risk
- more money on loan than in circulation
- the stock market crashed
- decade of economic depression
how was Hoover’s smoot hawley tariff act partially responsible for the Wall Street Crash
- raised tariff to highest level in American history thereby hindering international trade with American businesses
- thus we no international income into the US people couldn’t buy their own US products they’d been encouraged to buy
- Hoover’s advisers strongly advised him to veto the bill but he signed it anyway
discuss some of the reasons for the Wall Street Crash
- Hoover’s Laissez-faire attitude
- Hoover was arguably a poor politician
- ‘buy now pay later’ mentality led to such a rapid increase in loans and bank credit that there was more money on loan than in circulation
- over production due to the mass production led to falling profits for many firms - food wasted
- an agricultural recession led to falling food prices and a drop in farmer’s profits
- a weak banking system - the US had over 30,000 small banks - some of the rural banks went bankrupt due to the agricultural recession
- the banks were not regulated due to the laissez faire attitude and neither were the stock markets
what is the bull market and how did the contribute to the wall street crash
- encouraged people to buy shares on the margin - paying only 10/20% of the value of the shares and borrowing 80/90% of the rest
- buy everything and go crazy
- investing loans into the stock market
- rushing in without weighing up the risk like a bull in a china shop
- people lost their money to the stock market and were then in debt to the bank whose loan they had invested
summarise hoover
his ideas weren’t awful just bad timing and worse depression
his own congress stitched him up a bit because when he tried more federal intervention the republican congress rejected it and didn’t give him the chance to fix things
discuss the Bonus Army March under Hoover
- American FWW veterans hit hard by the depression asked for early payment of their service bonuses due in 1945
- Hoover’s administration refuse so in June 1932, a ‘Bonus Army’ compromised of some 200,000 veterans marched to Washington
- Hoover lost a significant amount of popularity as a result of the way the Bonus Army was treated but if he paid the, everyone would want money, teachers, firemen… and the economy couldn’t handle that
- America is very patriotic tho and supports the army so it was in Hoover’s interests to look after them
how did Hoover deal with the Bonus Army March and was this appropriate and what followed
- some of the veterans brought weapons on their march to Washington and so Hoover deployed the military and the best commanders even deploying tanks
- he shouldn’t have given them the bonus but shouldn’t have shot two of them either
- 100s injured 2 dead
- the media supported the people and Hoover was demonised in the election year
- Roosevelt goes on to pay the bonus and everyone loves him
