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America After WWI
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18th Amendment
On the 18th of December 1917, Congress passed a law that forbidded the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors." Forty-six out of the forty-eight states had ratified the 18th Amendment by January 1919 until it was finally ratified by the end of January. In states that opposed the law, they claimed it was the federal government that was responsible for enforcing the law and the state government would have no part in it. -
American Legion was fcunded
The American Legion is the world's largest veterans' organization in which veterans pledge to act in the ways of the principles in which they faught, attempt to help the community, and create a "one hundred percent Americanism". Colonel Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Lt. Col. George S.White, Maj. Eric Fisher Wood, and Lot. Col. William J. Donovan created this group in 1919 while on active duty in France in hopes of increasing morale for the troops. -
Anderson publishes "Winesburg, Ohio"
"Winesburg, Ohio" was a novel written by Sherwood Andersen that became a classic due to its unusual composition. The book is composed of 23 short stories that are interconnecting recurring images that form symbols throughout the novel. -
Chicago Race Riot
After the Great Migration, many whites were angered that blacks had moved Northern and riots broke out. The beginning of the riot occured on July 27th, 1919 when an African American teenager was killed for swimming in a predominantly white beach. Bombings occured in Chicago in formerly white neighborhoods. -
Volstead Act
The Volstead Act, also known as the National Prohibition Act, was created to enforce 18th Amendment. It was introduced by Representative Andrew J. Volstead of Minnesota. Woodrow Wilson vetoed the act, but Congress overrode the veto. The act continued the taxation of alcoholic beverages, fixed penalties for liquor sales, and contained a search and seizure clause. -
Red Scare of 1920
Under the direction of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, federal agents raided pool halls, restuarants, and homes arresting over 4000 alleged radicals or communists, mostly doing this without proper warrants. These were known as the Palmer Raids. -
Merchant Marine Act
The U.S. Merchant Marine was a fleet of civilian owned and crew ships that carry exports and imports during peacetime and naval auxillaries during wartime. This law represented America's desire towards a strong and viable merchant fleet for commerce. -
Radio Broadcasting Begins
Frank Conroad, an engineer at the Westinghouse Company, broadcasted music from his home and some Americans began to use radios for entertainment purposes in their home. The first station emerged as KDKA, and led to growth in the radio industry in which radio stations covered sports and politics. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug00/3on1/radioshow/1920radio.htm -
19th Amendment
In 1920, the 19th Amendment was adopted granting women's suffrage, or the female's right to vote. By the time it was adopted, many states had already adopted women's right to vote after groups such as the National Women's Suffrage Association were created. The 19th Amendment led the path of civil rights toward the future. -
Sacco-Vanzetti Trial
One of the most controversial cases in American history, Sacco-Vanzetti led to the execution of two young Italian immigrants. The two men were prime suspects of a robbery although the facts led them to be very unlikely as the true suspects. The men were most likely accused due to their anarchist mindsets.This was part of the Red Scare and was seen as unfair treatment by many Americans. -
Veterans Bureau
The Veterans Bureau was created to offer pensions and services for disabled veterans under the Sweet Act of 1921. The Langley Act was passed as well to authorize the construction of new veteran hospitals. The bureau expanded benefits to the American veteran. -
Five-Power Naval Treaty
The Five-Power Naval Treaty was one of the seven treaties negotiated at the Washington Conference on Limitation of Armanents in 1922. Limitations were placed upon the construction of bases, capital ships, and aircraft carriers. -
Lewis' "Babbitt"
Sinclair Lewis wrote the novel "Babbitt", earning himself a Nobel Peace Prize over this book that is a satire of the conservative business class of 1920s America. Babbitt is a character that searches for a life other than conformity and represents the troubles of America during its Prohibition Era. -
Teapot Dome Scandal
One of the most notorious scandals of the 1920's, the Teapot Dome Scandal took place during President Harding's presidency and involved Albert B. Fall, secretary of the interior. In Wyoming was an area called the Teapot Dome, in which private oil industries were prohibited from drilling. Fall went against these orders and allowed them to drill. Fall had received money from the oil companies and eventually was thrown in jail. -
Equal Rights Amendment
Alice Paul wrote this in hopes of it becoming an addition to the U.S. Constitution in 1923. Her and her female colleagues in the National Women's Party hoped it would remove sex-based discrimination in the workplace. The issue remained present in Congress for the next forty years until it was finally passed in which women received equal advantages while working. -
"Adkins v. Children's Hospital"
This court case protected the rights of those entering contracts and was justified by the 14th and 15th Amendment. The case held the District of Columbia minimum-wage statute unconstitutional. "Adkins" inhibited regulation of women's hours and wages. -
Immigration Act of 1924
Congress passed a law to limit the immigration into the United States. The act required immigrants to receive permission to come to the United States from their country and only 2 percent of the census of Americans in 1890 can be admitted every year. -
Dawes Plan
The Dawes Plan was adopted in 1924 because of Germany's failure to pay its war reparations in World War I. Charles G. Dawes devised a plan where American and British banks would provide Germany loans. The loans exceeded the reparations leading to "reverse reparations". -
Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"
"The Great Gatsby" highlights the outward glitter and inward corruption of the 1920's. This work was hailed as a literary success right after it was published and wrote of the decade of prosperity and excess that occured after World War I. -
Occupation of Nicaragua
In order to assert its hemispheric supremacy, the U.S. supported Latin American indepedence movements. America loaned money to Nicaragua to help improve its infrastructure and economy U.S. Marines remained stationed in Nicaragua to preserve domestic tranquility and to stop the nationalist revolution. -
Lindbergh flies Atlantic
Charles Lindbergh became the first man to fly over the Atlantic Ocean. He flew nonstop from New York to Paris, France in hopes of winning a contest and emerged an American hero. -
First Talking Motion Picture
The Jazz Singer became the first film to use sound and ended the reign of silent movies. This new movie offered synchronized sound with image. Theaters had to be altered to accomodate sound. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Also referred to as the Pact of Paris, the Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed by 15 nations in hopes of preventing of a recurrence of World War I. The pact renounced war yet proved faulty when World War II came into play and Germany began its expansion. -
Stock-market Crash
Overconsumption and indulgence led to the eventual stock market crash in 1929. Over 50 billion dollars were lost in October alone and stock prices dropped rapidly. The bond market was smashed and America fell into a period of recession. -
Federal Farm Board
Herbert Hoover attempted to tackle the farm debt problem by creating a government bureaucracy to help farmers maintain prices. After farm foreclosures and bank failures, the Federal Farm Board had a $500 million budget to help raise farm prices. However, Hoover didn't commit enough money to the program to make the Farm Board work. -
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act led to duties of imports being increased, especially under Republican administrations. The Hawley-Smoot Tariff addressed the agricultural crisis and increased U.S. tariff levels. -
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Under Hoover's administration, Congress established the Reconstruction Finance Corporation which would use government money to loan banks, railroads, and insurance companies. -
Hundred Days Plan
Roosevelt created a Hundred Days Plan in which he produced sixteen major pieces of legislation and worked to end the recession and stabilize the economy. -
Emergency Banking Relief Act
Congress established presidential powers to regulate transactions in foreign exchange, gold, and silver during any emergency. The secretary of treasury could require delivery to the treasury of gold, silver, and bullion. -
20th Amendment
The 20th Amendment stated that the president, the vice-president, and Congress begin their terms in the January following their elections. This would eliminate the long "lame-duck" session of the former president. -
21st Amendment
The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment that approved prohibition. The second clause of the 21st Amendment forbid the transportation/importation of alcohol into states of local law. -
Social Security Act
Roosevelt created this act to provide unemployment insurance, aid to the poor, and pensions to the elderly. The Social Security Act is now the largest and costliest program in the history of the United States and still exists today. -
Works Progress Administration
This was created in 1935 by FDR as a federal work-relief program. Almost nine million people became employed and employed labors with a number of skills such as improving the infrastrucutre or preserving the environment. -
"Court-packing" Plan
Roosevelt devised a plan in which that Congress should reorganize the federal judiciary and that younger blood would vitalize the court. He claimed that presidents had the ability to appoint judges if judges had served a long enough time. Democrats overpowered the amount of Republicans in both houses of Congress. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
This was the Second New Deal legislation of FDR and it placed federal standards on both minimum wages and maximum work hours. It eliminated child labor and successfully put federal requirements upon business. -
Reorganization Act
The Reorganization Act of 1939 restructured the executive branch in the wake of the New Deal. The president could now hire six assistants, propose reorganization plans, and make economy in government a priority. -
Hatch Act
The Hatch Act regulates partisan political activities by U.S. civil servants. This act banned federal employees from participating actively in political campaigns or to influence voters.
