This document contains all 5 chapters and their detailed notes in accordance with the specification. This is for the unit 1f in search of the American dream. These ultimately can be used as the core of your revision or any essay plans.
Various factors influenced the political landscape: changing ideas about the role of government
in society, pressures put on government by wars and the reaction of Americans to government
actions. To understand the changes it is important to understand how the government set up by
the American constitution in 1789 worked.
Multi level system: federal ( the whole country, state and local (counties and cities in each of the
50 states) two party system: republicans and democrats. The Supreme court has final say.
Separation of powers is in place due to tensions over federal and state law making. The
president is head of the executive arm of government. Voters vote for electors who then elect
the president.
Change in political environment:
Woodrow Wilson took the usa into the first world war in 1917 after several German attacks on
US shipping and the discovery that Germany was sounding out Mexico as an Ally. The
involvement in the war was deemed as a mistake despite the economic boost it had given the
USA. Americans wanted to stay out of international affairs.
President Harding who became president in 1921, promised the American people a return to
normalcy. There had been a short sharp economic depression caused in part by the end of the
war. Unemployment rose from 950000 in 1919 to 5010000 in 1921. Lots of social discontent
such as protests, strikers and riots. He said to balance the government's books, reduce taxation
and introduce tariffs to protect US trade and industry he also said there should be a committee
set up to study the race question.
Isolationism.
Harding expressed many people's views after the war when he said the USA should be
supportive of other nations but not to become entangled with them. Buy american became a key
watchword, isolationism had supporters and opponents among both republicans and
democrats. It meant introducing tariffs that favoured us businesses and not joining the league
of nations. It also meant cutting back on the t=number of immigrants coming in. The 1921
emergency quota act restricted immigration to 357000 a year. Later revised to 15000 in 1924.
Between 1935-39 neutrality acts also restricted the help the USA could give to other countries if
they went to war. It helped Europe rebuild economically and brokered the Washington
conference.
Tariffs such as the fordney-mccumber tariff act did encourage people to buy american.
Consumerism prospered and hire purchase allowed people to buy these goods over a period of
time. All this contributed to a boom which suggested that republican policies were working.
, Presidency change:
Woodrow Wilson took a big part in government decision making. He took America into the war
despite campaigning to keep out and he did not consult congress about promoting the league of
nations. His involvement in government decision making was not ideal and this brang a
unwelcome change in the presidential behaviour and came close to breaking the separation of
powers principle.
The appeal of republicanism:
Reaction to Wilson's behaviour as president and to the first world war led people to turn to
republican ideals. Wilson was replaced by Harding, whose slogan was less gov in business and
more business in gov. This encapsulated the republican notion of laissez faire. It was believed
that the government's job was to keep its own spending under control, it also fixed the
republican party as the party of big business as it was not willing to control wages, working
hours or prices.he did not try to drag the usa into international politics. The republican
candidate, Calvin Coolidge combined laissez faire with dignity and morality which republicans
hoped would restore faith in their party. During Coolidge's presidency , the usa entered a period
of prosperity and recovery. The boom economy of the 1920s had serious flaws. As herbert
hoover took over it was clear that the usa had growing economic and social problems. Despite
this, Hoover's election campaign announced that the republicans had eliminated poverty,
encouraged equality and restored the economy.
The first red scare:
Communism encouraged worldwide revolution by the workers against their capitalist masters.
This made many people in the capitalist USA very disturbed. When worker conditions did not
improve post war workers began to strike. The cpusa was formed as was the communist labour
party of America. Anarchists distributed pamphlets in many cities urging revolt, in 1919 there
were more than 3600 strikes with one in four workers on strike. January 1919 35000 shipyard
workers went on strike. The strikes became national news. Red hunting began to break out. The
US post office discovered 36 bombs addressed to various state officials.
Anti communist feelings escalated. Some businesses sacked employees they suspected of left
wing views, people began to suspect their neighbours, there was considerable violence for left
wing opinions especially by the KKK, 556 people were deported after their cases were
considered. The government, the media and most people began to react to communism in a
more balanced way. However, communist feeling never went away.
Rugged individualism:
Herbert Hoover gave the republican laissez faire policy a spin that dwelt less on inaction and
more on allowing people to take responsibility. In his pamphlet Hoover outlined the ideas he
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