Monday, March 21, 2011

Chapter 33 Study Questions

63) According to the text, America's tighfisted insistence on getting its money back helped to harden the hearts of the allies against the Germans. The Allies hoped to settle their debts to the US with the reparation money from Germany.

63 #2) With Germany "teetering on the brink of mad anarchy" sensible statesmen began to urge that war debts and reparation be drastically scaled down or even canceled. Americans did not look fondly on the new proposals. The admin insisted that there was no link between debts and reparations.




[The patient Germany is dripping blood into a pail entitled reparations; with various bandages and casts representing the treaties and international agreements alledgedly responsible for Germany's misery]



65) The Dawes Plan of 1924 rescheduled German reparation payments and opened the way for further American private loans. The US was willing to loan money to Germany because then Germany could pay back the Allies, and the Allies could pay back the US.




66) The US never did get its money; instead the "harvested a bumper crop of ill will", they were essentially disliked everywhere in Europe.

67) Political liabilites of presidential canidate Alfred E. Smith



  • "wet" when country was still devoted to "noble experiment" of prohibition
  • abrasively urban
  • Roman Catholic in a overwhelmingly Protestant country





68) Radio was the new technology used for the first time in the presidential election of 1928. It benefited Herbert Hoover the most; Smith could not manage to send his "personal sparkle" through the radio, whereas Hoover sounded better on the radio than in person.


href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/presidency/images/medium/09_G_012_M.jpg">



69) Hoover was a living example of the American success story and "an intriguing mix of two centuries" because he was a poor orphan boy that had managed to make to Stanford Univ, he absorbed the 19th cent copybook on maxims of industry, thrift, and self-reliance: and he became extremely successful as an engineer and businessman.



70) Hoover's Cons: quite shy, standoffish, and stiff. Personally colorless in public, thin-skinned in the face of criticism, did not adapt readily to the necessary give and take of policital accomodation.

Hoover's Pros: traveled and worked abroad extensively, deep determination, strong faith in American individualism- free enterprise- and small goverment. Integrity, humanitarianism, passion for assembling the facts, efficiency, talents for admin, and ability to inspire loyalty in close associates.



71) Some anti-Smith slogans of some of Hoover's (irresponsible) supporters: " A vote for Al Smith is a vote for the Pope"; "Rum, Romanism, and Ruin."; and " city slicker"





72) The fact that many Democrats (especially in the South) were offended by the "wettish, Catholicism, foreignism, and liberalism" of their own party's candidate resulted in many Democrats supporting Hoover, who enjoyed a landslide victory. Hoover was the first Republican candidate (except for Harding's TN victory in 1920) to carry a state that had suceded. [He swept 5 states of the former Confederacy as well as all of the Border states].

Now to Allison

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Monkey Business in Tennessee

Along with everything else "roaring" in the 1920's education also took off.




More and more states were starting to pass law's requiring kids to remain in school until a certain age or until they had graduated.


"Most revolutionary contribution to educational theory" during this time was Professor John Dewey ( faculty of Columbia Univ) Brought principle of " learning by doing" to light. He believed that "education for life" should be the primary goal of the teacher.








Rockefeller Foundation in the South in 1909 wiped out hookworm! Better nutrition and health care were helping to increase the life expectancy of new generations.






However, the Foundamentalists had a hard time with science and progressive education.


They claimed the teaching of Darwinism was " destroying faith in God and the Bible"





Bible Belt South ( "spirit of evangelical religion was still robust") included TN.


"Monkey Trial" John T. Scopes indicted to teaching evolution. Fundamentalist's won, but were made to look ridiculous; but was strong in the Baptist Church and in rapidly growing Churches of Christ.




Tag to Tom

Friday, March 4, 2011

Creel Maunipulates Minds & The Nation's Factories Go to War



Creel Manipulates Minds

18. The Committee on Public Information was led by George Creel, and its job was to sell America on the war and sell the world on Wilsonian war aims- employed some 150,000 people.



[ In this movie Sonora is motivated to pursue her dreams from an Atlantic City flyer, much like the Americans were motivated to support the war from the media]

19. "Information" and Inspiration about the war came in the form of posters, leaflets, and pamphlets, Hang- the kaiser movies, songs.


20. To say that Creel was too good at this job and actually "over sold" the war meant that he oversold the ideals of Wilson and lead the world to expect too much.


Enforcing Loyalty and Stifling Dissent

21. Fear of Germans and antiwar Americans was reflected by the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition act of 1918. Under these laws anitwar Socialists and members of the radical Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) tended to be prosecuted.

22. Under these laws virtually any criticism of the government could be censored and punished.


[ The Incredible family was persecuted under the laws that forced them to go into hiding as superhero's and become "normal" people. They too had to be extremely careful with what they said and did to not be "punished".]


23. Schenck vs. US (1919)
  • Supreme Court affirmed their legality, arguing that freedom of speech could be revoked when such speech posed a "clear and present danger" to the nation.

24. After things had cooled off presidential pardons were rather freely granted to people convicted under these policies- however, a few victims lingered behind bars into the 1930's.

Take it away Micheal...

http://michaelswh2final.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Progressive Era Foreign Policy Acts

Panama Canal Tolls Act (1912)

Exempted American coastwise shipping from tolls and provoked sharp protests from Britain.






Jones Act of (1916)

Granted the Philippines the boon of territorial status and promised independence as soon as there was a "stable government" established.


[Both under Wilson Admin]

Progressive Era Conservation/Land Use Acts

Desert Land Act (1877)

Federal Goverment sold arid land cheaply on condition that the purchaser would irrigate the soil within three years.









Forest Reserve Act (1891)


Authorized president to set aside public forests as national parks and other reserves.


Carey Act (1894)

Distribute federal land to the states on the condition that it be irrigated and settled.


("Give a little more than you take"- song)


Newlands Act (1902)


With this act Washington was authorized to collect money from the sale of public lands in the western states and then use the funds for the development of irrigation projects.

[All acts under TR admin]




The progressives view of nature were split into three categories; those who wanted to preserve nature for beauty, those who wan't to use natures resources not caring about beauty, and those who wanted to preserve nature's beauty and use her resources.

New Federal Agencies

Women's Bureau 1920 & Children's Bureau 1913
Both in Department of Labor

Gave female reformers a national stage for social investigation and advocacy.




Federal Trade Commission (1914)


Empowered a presidentially appointed commission to watch industries engaged in interstate commerce. The commerce was expected to crush monopoly at the source by catching unfair trade practices, etc.



Federal Reserve (1913)

The Federal Reserve Board oversaw a nationwide system of twelve regional reserve districts, each with its own central bank. Guaranteed a substantial measure of public control.


Federal Farm Loan Act (1916)


Made credit available to farmers at low rates of interest.

Ammendments to the Constitution

16th Amendment (1913)

Allowed congress to make and collect income taxes.




17th Amendment (1913)
Allowed senators to be elected by popular vote.
[Both under Wilson Admin]



18th Amendment( 1919)
Sale or manufacture of intoxicating liquors is forbidden.
( repealed in 1933)




19th Amendment (1920)

Guareenteed women the right to vote!

[ Under Harding Admin]




Protecting Workers

La Folette Seaman's Act (1915)

Required sailors to be treated with decency and given a living wage on merchant ships.




Worker's Compensation Act (1915)

Granted assistance to federal civil-service employees during periods of disability.

[Both passed under Wilson Admin]


Anti-Trust

Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)

Forbade comninations in restraint of trade, had many loopholes and was ineffective.

Stardard Oil Company was taken down with this act.


Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914)

Brought overdue benefits on labor.

Sought to exempt labor and agricultural organizations from antitrust prosectuion, while legalizing strikes and peaceful picketing.

Lenghtened list of objectionable buisness practices from Sherman Act.
[ Under Wilson Amdin]

Food Safety

Meat Inspection Act (1906)
Decreed that prepared meat was now subject to federal inspection. They could now also receive the governments seal of approval on the exports.
[ Passes during TR admin]

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

Designed to prevent the adulteration and mislabeling of foods and pharmaceuticals.

[Passed during TR admin]

Railroads

Elkins Act (1903)

When this legislation was passed it was aimed at the railroads that gave rebates and the shippers that accepted them; meaning that heavy fines could now be imposed on them.
[ Passed during TR admin]

Hepburn Act (1906)

Free passes were stricty restricted. The Interstate Commerce Commission was expanded and now included express companies, sleeping-car companies, and pipelines. The commission was also now authorized to "nullify existing rates and stipulate maximum rates".

[Passes during TR admin]