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| | {{HS_American_History}} | | {{HS_American_History}} |
| | [[American History Lecture Eleven|Lecture]] - [[American_History_Homework_Eleven|Questions]] - [[American History Homework Eleven Answers|Student Answers]] | | [[American History Lecture Eleven|Lecture]] - [[American_History_Homework_Eleven|Questions]] - [[American History Homework Eleven Answers|Student Answers]] |
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| | + | This lecture we will cover up until about 1950. The next lecture we'll cover until the election of [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1980, and then the last lecture will be the Reagan Administration and the subsequent Administrations. |
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| − | Great American authors wrote … tragedies about (__): F. Scott Fitzgerald (wealth); Sinclair Lewis (business & religion); Ernest Hemingway (war) | + | President Woodrow Wilson served out his two terms from 1913 through 1921, but was very sickly towards the end. Perhaps due to overwork in his unsuccessful attempt to persuade the American public to support the League of Nations, which included a strenuous speaking tour, Wilson collapsed after one of his speeches on this topic in Pueblo, Colorado in the fall of 1919. A week later, on Oct. 2, 1919, Wilson suffered a severe stroke that left him paralyzed and blind in one eye. He never fully recovered, but the incapacity was hidden from the public and not even his Vice President, his cabinet or Congress was allowed to see him. The Constitution provided no means for substituting for an incapacitated president (later the 25th Amendment was passed to authorize a passing of power to the Vice President even if the President is still alive). Wilson's second wife (his first wife had died) essentially acted on behalf of the president for the more than a year that remained in his term. |
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| | + | The election of 1920 brought new faces to the White House, and a "dark horse" candidate won for the Republicans this time: Warren G. Harding. |
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| | + | == The Roaring 20's == |
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| | + | Warren Harding was a conservative president who nominated 4 conservative Justices to the Supreme Court, some of whom later invalidated key parts of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)'s New Deal. Harding also supported Prohibition, which was a conservative Christian women's movement. Harding opposed the League of Nations, which was a form of "world government" that conservatives today still dislike. Harding opposed immigration, and with his support the tightest restrictions on immigration in the nation's history passed in 1924. |
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| | + | Just as the nation became very prosperous under the conservative president James Monroe, the 1920s (the "Roaring 20s") became a very prosperous time under Harding's initial leadership. But unlike James Monroe, Harding did not live to enjoy it. He died from a health problem while in office, leaving his Vice President (and former Massachusetts Governor) Calvin Coolidge to take over. Coolidge received the news that he was suddenly president at 2:30 am on Aug. 3, 1923. By the light of a kerosene lamp, his father (a notary public) administered the oath of office while Coolidge placed his hand on the family Bible. |
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| | + | Coolidge was a character who became famous for saying and doing nothing. He was neither approve of regulations to control the economic boom, nor agree to funding for farmers to help their depressed conditions. His first message to Congress in late 1923 was to limit aid to farmers, isolate the nation in foreign policy, and cut taxes. His popularity increased and he won reelection with 54% of the vote, taking credit for "Coolidge prosperity." |
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| | + | He became so famous for is laconic style of few words, and a young woman a social event whispered to Coolidge's wife that the woman could cause Coolidge to say at least three words. Coolidge must have overheard the whisper, because he then said, "You lose." In 1928, Coolidge lived up to his reputation by giving the following statement to an anxious public, "I do not choose to run for President in 1928." That was it. |
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| | + | But during the Harding and Coolidge Administrations, the rest of the nation was saying and doing a great deal. Great American authors developed who wrote tragedies about wealth (by F. Scott Fitzgerald), business and religion (by Sinclair Lewis, and war (by Ernest Hemingway). |
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| − | Tin Pan Alley "1920s: growing American music in area of NYC, incl. jazz" | + | Americans invented the music of jazz, and "Tin Pan Alley" was a portion of New York City known for its music culture. |
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| − | Scopes trial.
| + | == Stock Market Crash == |
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| − | Onto to 1920. Warren Harding was a conservative president because he nominated 4 conservative Justices to the Supreme Court, some of whom later invalidated key parts of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)’s New Deal. Harding also supported Prohibition, which was a conservative Christian women’s movement. Harding opposed the League of Nations, which was a form of “world government” that conservatives today still dislike. Under President Harding, the government was very prosperous, just as it was under conservative James Monroe.
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| − | But President Harding died from a health problem while in office, and Calvin Coolidge took over. After him was President Herbert Hoover, who extended the Republican dominance over the White House.
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| | Then, in 1929, the stock market suddenly crashed. The era of prosperity was over. The Great Depression had begun. Historians blame this partly on speculators driving up the stock market, but actually no one really knows what the cause of the Depression was. Unemployment increased until it exceeded 20% in 1933, meaning that one out of every five families was out of work and likely without money also. | | Then, in 1929, the stock market suddenly crashed. The era of prosperity was over. The Great Depression had begun. Historians blame this partly on speculators driving up the stock market, but actually no one really knows what the cause of the Depression was. Unemployment increased until it exceeded 20% in 1933, meaning that one out of every five families was out of work and likely without money also. |