#Week 9 Week 8 was a hiatus week (Hari Raya Haji) - no class
From the Foner reading (p144 - 161), critically evaluate the new definition of American freedom and modernity concentrate on pg 147-151
pg 147
- Conventional notion of freedom was centered on economic and political sovereignty.
- New notion of freedom: Consumer freedom - more goods on the market, more choice implies more freedom.
- "As opposed to older ones centering on economic autonomy and political sovereignty, freedom was available to women as fully as men.""
pg148 - enabled socially consscious to unite with wage-earners by taking cognizance of the exploitative conditions under which goods were produced.
pg151 - standard of living a sacred acquisition which they will defend at any price; Gave rise to new society & 'consumptionism'; "Elections were no longer "lively centers" of public attention as in the 19th C and voter turnout had fallen dramatically."
- New modernity only benefitted the upper class; middle class had to protest and unionize for their own rights and privileges.
- New values of prosperity and progress as a result of the progressivism movement also eroded the ideas of the old thought on Freedom; society as a whole (regardless of sex) was brought on the bandwagon for consumption and 'choice' - modernity.
Freedom (brought about by what?) - Mass Consumerism
- What we take for granted today started in America just before the first World War
- More than one commercial product; Having a choice in what to buy (Distraction?)
- Behind consumerism: Mass production - industrialisation, progress in technology (Modernity)
- the Great Equalizer: Access to commercial products to all (parallels to Black Slaves that equalized the poor and rich Whites in the South)
pg 148
"Later social critics would see mass consumption as a diminished, depoliticized utopia, which abandoned older foundations of freedom such as active participation in public affairs in favor of passive citizenship and privatized aspirations."
- Consciously/Unconsciously gave away political participation (freedom) in order for economic participation (a disguise) - passive citizenship; loss of decision making power due to distraction of materialist desires
- Consumerism brings out power (newfound freedom) for housewives - consumer power; previously, form organisations and societies to rally for their political activity
- Mass consumption eliminated the desire for 'Want' - everything readily accessible
pg 151
In Muncie, the Lynds found that new leisure activities and a new emphasis on consumption had supplanted politics as the focus of public concern.
- Oblivious to the political realm (loss of freedom?)
How do the Gregory and Coogan readings differ in their interpretation of Woodrow Wilson's neutrality? concentrate on pg 50-71
Zimmerman telegram and Wilson's war message serve as the context for the discussion -- Different in terms of how they intepreted Wilson's neutrality.
- Nationality - Anti-German
- Every paragraph on page 64: "Washington did nothing."
- British kept pushing the boundaries of how the Americans reacted to their submarine warfare
- As opposed to page 66: "note signed by secretary of state"
- Basically went against everything that it stood for in 64-65.
- Every paragraph on page 64: "Washington did nothing."
- Both nationalities are governed under a Monarchy - nothing to do with system of rule, but with regards to where they come from (Nationality)
- Neutrality is not neutral
What is the supposed 'Breaking Point'? - what was the main trigger?
- Submarine Warfare
- Attacked American ships
- Regardless of Nationality (prestige);
pg 58
For all the popular indignation over the invasion of Belgium and other allegedly atrocious German warfare, there still did not develop in the US a large movement for intervention.
pg 60
What had started as efforts to promote prosperity and neutral rights developed into questions of national honor and prestige. Wilson faced not merely the possibliity of abandoning economic rights but the humiliating prospect of allowing the Germans to force him to it. The more hazardous it became to exercise American rights, the more difficult it was to yield them.
Unilateralism (Monroe Doctrine); America did not want to be seen as a "push over"
Two critical events, the end of the First World War and beginning of the Great Depression, marked the bound- aries of the 1920s. In the war’s aftermath, traditional customs and values weakened as women and men sought new forms of self-expression and gratification. A host of effects from modern science and technology—auto- mobiles, electric appliances, and mass media, especially radio—touched the lives of rich and poor alike. Sports and movies made entertainment more accessible. More- over, the decade’s freewheeling consumerism enabled ordinary Americans to emulate wealthier people not only by purchasing more but also by trying to get rich through stock market speculation. The depression that followed the stock market crash stifled these habits, at least for a while. Beneath the “new era” lurked two important phenom- ena rooted in previous eras. One was the continued preju- dice and ethnic tensions that had long tainted the American dream. As Klansmen and immigration restrictionists made their voices heard, they encouraged discrimination against racial minorities and slurs against supposedly inferior ethnic groups. Meanwhile, the distinguishing forces of twentieth-century life—technological change, bureaucratization, mass culture, and growth of the middle class—accelerated, making the decade truly “new.” Both phenomena would recur as major themes in the nation’s history for the rest of the twentieth century.
In the 1930s, a major economic crisis threatened the future of the nation. By 1933, almost one-quarter of America’s workers were unemployed. Millions of people did not have enough to eat or adequate places to live. Herbert Hoover, elected president in 1928, believed that government should play only a limited role in managing and regulating the nation’s economy. He tried to solve the nation’s economic problems through “associational- ism,” a voluntary partnership of businesses and the fed- eral government. In the 1932 presidential election, voters turned to the candidate who promised them a “New Deal.” President Franklin Delano Roosevelt acted decisively to stabilize America’s capitalist system and then worked to ameliorate its harshest impacts on the nation’s people. The New Deal was a liberal reform program that developed within the parameters of America’s capitalist and democratic system. Most fundamentally, it expanded the role and power of the federal government. Because of New Deal reforms, banks, utilities, stock markets, farms, and most businesses operated in accord with rules set by the federal government. The federal government guaranteed workers’ right to join unions without fear of employer reprisals, and federal law required employers to negotiate with workers’ unions to set wages, hours, and working conditions. Many unemployed workers, elderly and disabled Americans, and dependent children were protected by a national welfare system administered through the federal government. And the president, through the power of the mass media and his own charisma, became an important presence in the lives of ordinary Americans. The New Deal faced challenges from many direc- tions. As the depression wore on, populist demagogues blamed scapegoats or offered overly simple explanations for the plight of the American people. Business leaders attacked the New Deal for its new regulation of business and its support of organized labor. As the federal govern- ment expanded its role throughout the nation, tensions between national and local authority sometimes flared up, and differences in regional ways of life and in social and economic structures presented challenges to national policymakers. Both the West and the South were trans- formed by federal government action, but citizens of both regions were suspicious of federal intervention, and white southerners strongly resisted any attempt to chal- lenge the racial system of Jim Crow. The political reali- ties of a fragile New Deal coalition and strong opposition shaped—and limited—New Deal programs of the 1930s and the social welfare systems with which Americans still live today. It was the economic boom created by America’s entry into World War II, not the New Deal, that ended the Great Depression. However, New Deal programs helped many of America’s people live better, more secure lives. And the New Deal fundamentally changed the way that the U.S. government would deal with future eco- nomic downturns and with the needs of its citizens in good times and in bad.
- Prohibition: 18th Amendment, 1919; 1933--21st amendment repealed
- Flapper – modernity, independence & sexual freedom
- Jazz –1920s
- Sacco - Vanzetti Case 1921
- Scopes Monkey Trial
- Great Depression
- Herbert Hoover
- Franklin D Roosevelt (FDR) 1933-45 – longest serving president – elected 4 times – died in beginning of 4th term (each term= 4 years)
- FDR was the only president who was elected 4 times; he was given 2 more terms because it was believed that in the dire circumstances of the beginning of WWII, it might have created great uncertainty to choose an inexperienced and new president.
- Many of the new federal regulations were passed to ensure that the financial crisis that triggered the Great Depression would not be repeated; financial institutions, eg banks, were the target of many of the legislations.
- Eleanor Roosevelt - wife
- First Hundred Days (of new presidency)
- New Deal – Legislative Program to overcome Great Depression
- Federal Regulations
- Scottsboro, Alabama 1931'
Legacy of WWI
-- impact of war on development; public opinion and thinking of its leaders --
- US turns inward to enjoy benefits of material prosperity
- isolationism
- distaste for the power politics of the Old World (attempted to distance themselves from developments in Europe)
- disillusioned with results of WWI
- reaction against idealism of Wilson’s campaign & ideas for a better peace (Structuring a new world order based on stability and multi-lateralism)
4 elections of FDR
- No legislation at the time prohibiting more than 2 consecutive terms.
- No president ran for more than 2 terms out of respect for the founding father G Washington.
- Reason why FDR was elected 4 terms - needed to recover from Great Depression
- Served 3 Terms + 1 year of 4th term
- After FDR, no other president can have more than 2 terms
- Ranked consistently among the top 5 presidents;
Expanded role of Federal Govt
- FDR's decision for the government to step in to resolve the ilk of the Great Depression
- Bureaucrats & ‘Brain Trust’ (finance & other university experts)
- Federal Legislation & Regulation to solve Great Depression
- New & permanent expectations of Americans that future Federal govt must act in times of economic crisis
- Consequence of Great Depression: whenever there is a crisis, the government must step in to do something
Concept of ‘Imperial Presidency’
- Increasing importance and power of presidency, cf. legislature supposed to be most powerful
- New Deal
- WWII - precedents
Creation of Democratic Party coalition
- urban, immigrants & blacks
- majority of black votes went to Democrats
- social legislations of in the 1930s led to the support of the blacks
Key characteristics:
Prosperity; leading to stock speculation, causing Great Depression
Mass Culture
1919-1929 – GNP 40% growth; stock market boom
Period of Materialism
- crass?
- focus on getting rich
- enjoyment of material wealth
- US relatively unscathed by WWI
- period of middle class prosperity
When thinking of a developed society, the largest percentage of the population should be the middle class (>50%)
Business consolidation of big firms further strengthened
- Republican presidents, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge & Herbert Hoover favoured business over labour
- Rationale that business creates jobs for middle class, trickle down economics
Consumerism – age of radio, cars, stocks, home electrical devices, accelerated consumption of leisure: sports & films (talkies, 1927)
Mass Advertising & age of heroes, movie stars & sports heroes; Advertising & the urban consumer
Further growth of suburbs (middle class) – inner cities, immigrants; - more prosperity in suburbs
Undercurrents (1) - INTOLERANCE
Prohibition & crime:
- 18th Amendment, but eventually cancelled
- prohibit manufacture, sale & transportation of alcohol
- does not say anything about consumption
- openly flouted; illegally obtaining alcohol
- gave rise to a culture of crime: mafia mobs & ‘molls’
- ‘bath-tub gin’ & ‘moonshine’
- ‘criminalization’ of US
- Prohibition laws were openly disobeyed by ‘respectable’ members of society, doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc – this disobedience made them ‘criminals’
- fear that if Prohibition continued, a climate of indifference to other laws would spread
- The Mafia gangs, originally with Italian roots, benefitted greatly from Prohibition since they were main sellers of illicit alcohol
- Criminalization also meant that Officials and jurisdiction were breaking the law and taking bribes
Undercurrents (2) - RACISM & IMMIGRATION
(Case) Sacco-Vanzetti Trial of 1921:
Oppression of govt – sometimes resistance & terror;
(Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.)
- Robbery in Massachusetts (North) – murder conviction
- Italian immigrants & Anarchists
- Judge: prejudiced - in private called them ‘anarchist bastards’
- Executed within 6 years (1927), case against them was not strong
- Symbol of American injustice
1921 legislation
- limitation of immigration
- quotas favoring those from N & W Europe
- quota based on proportion of population in 1910
1924 legislation – quota on proportion of population in 1890
The further back the year selected for the baseline of the population, e.g. 1890, the greater proportion of Northern and Western Europe in the total population. The native-born Americans preferred that the immigrants came from Northern & Western Europe. The new legislations, 1921, 1924, 1927 (next slide) basically discriminated against immigrants from Southern & Eastern Europe and the rest of the world.
1927 ‘National Origins’ law - even more restrictive – In total for admission every year only 150,000 – birth or descent, fraction of population
- favor north american descent or white european
Undercurrents (3) - WOMEN
Occupation & Pay Discrimination
- very limited role in legislature?
'Flapper'
- (refers to the emergence of a new type of modern women of that period who believed in their own female empowerment)
- Radical attire: showing ankles, period of women wearing short skirts.
- Tended to be people of the upper middle class, entertainment people; more edgy, not the traditional middle class type; who enjoyed sexual & social freedom
Margaret Sanger
- nurse; noticed that women keep having children, no means of controlling their own reproduction;
- campaigned for birth control; birth control was not legal in US in the day (criminalized)
- Sanger put in jail; regarded as a heroine in the Feminist Movement.
Undercurrents (4) - SOUTHERN CONSERVATISM
1925 Tennessee, conservative Southern State
(Test case) John Scopes, teacher
- Scopes Monkey Trial – convicted
- taught Darwinism & evolution
- social & religious conservatism – period of transition
- Famous case – attracted great publicity within the US & internationally
Gave southern states a reputation – to this day, some southern states still contest the idea of evolution – belief in the bible that says that man was created as man, not evolved from an ape
Undercurrents (5) - BLACKS & SEGREGATION
Era of revival of Ku Klux Klan (KKK), 1915
-- against blacks, Jews & others –-
- KKK Kreed - radical Christians?
Scottsboro, Alabama 1931 (deep South state)
- injustice –– 9 blacks accused of raping 2 white women
- innocent but 8 sentenced to death
- some in jail till 1950
Three-quarters of blacks still in South
- by all measures, relatively less well-off compared to whites
- less education, wealth, health care, life expectancy etc – still true today
Discrimination in the South was serious, but it was happening in the North as well (New York: parents were demonstrating against integration of school system)
Undercurrents (6) - Rapid change & status anxiety
Jazz age
- improvisation, creative, spontaneous
- Music of Blacks, Soundtrack of Modernity
- Pop music, hip-hop etc today - musical antecedance springs from Jazz
Sense of alienation & aloneness in mass culture
- Some people stayed traditional
- Alienation is a modern phenomena; in a large urban community, a person doesn't fit in
- Split between those who fear change and those who are modern
- Edward Hopper - illustrations and art depicting Alienation, not belonging, not connecting
Clash of values
Tension between the modern culture of consumerism, materialism & enjoyment, AND the traditional values of Christianity & hard work
####Great Depression 1929 Crash & Great Depression
World-wide – Oct, NY stock market crash – after boom & speculation
Result of Over-production & mal-distribution of income (under-consumption); Inventory was very big, and not enough middle class to consume domestically
Prosperity of US in 1920s not matched by conditions in Europe – war indemnities & reparation – less investment in Europe, invest at home, -- default – inability to borrow fr US & inability to sell to US (tariffs)
Introduction of High tariffs - import taxes on foreign goods; restricts; & the restriction of trade (volume of World Trade shrunk)
1929 - 1933 – GNP fell by 50%
1933 – Quarter of population, unemployed
Banks failed
- mass bankruptcy
- farms hardship
- prices fell - farmers cannot make enough to cover their cost
- hunger in US - food distribution system to the urban folk collapsed
- great hardship
- loss in consumption
- homelessness & movement westward to California (seen as propserous, opportunity)
Dust Bowl of certain mid-western states, 1930s – ‘Grapes of Wrath’ (Film)
Two things that couldn't be controlled - Weather & Farming practices
Great loss of faith & confidence
Dust Bowl of the 1930s - coincided with the period of the Great Depression:- Over-cultivation of the land- top soil blown off during seasons of strong winds. Inability to cultivate and harvest crops. Migration of farm workers & families westward to California in search of jobs and food. Real hunger existed.
Hoover – elected 1928
Unable to solve problem – 2 beliefs:
Belief in personal responsibility - no direct welfare payments to individuals, that helping individuals would undermine people’s individualism & character – create dependency – therefore help business to recover so that economy & employment will recover – seen as pro-biz
Belief in balanced budget - tried to restore business confidence - proven wrong today; balanced budget - spend less because revenue is falling: partly because of Great Depression and partly because of Keynesian Economics (idea of deficit spending did not come until 1936)
Govts at that time had no policy instruments & ideas on aiding the economy – John Maynard Keynes’ idea on Govt activism formulated in response to Great Depression (1936)
Keynes’ book, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, was published in 1936 and provided govts with ideas and policy instruments on how to recover from the Great Depression. He is one of the most influential economists of the 20thC. People still refer to Keynesian economics.
After this, fundamental change in way govt role is conceived – activism – BUT question of freedom vs equality – more govt intervention (Big Govt) means less autonomy & freedom of action & choice for individuals & companies Other down-turns always compared to this Great Depression http://www.newsweek.com/id/162138 - Is this a replay of 1929?
FDR – The Presidency – wife, Eleanor – optimistic – restored confidence
- Inauguration Speech: ‘only thing we have to fear is fear itself’
- Unlike Hoover, flexible; willing to try anything
- "1st rate character vs 3rd rate intellect"
- fire-side chats
- Did not pull US out of recession – deficit spending of WWII did that
Set precedence for subsequent presidents – activist politics – e.g. First Hundred Days (of his 1st term) - extremely popular during the period, legislation is easier to pass; engaged the American people with Radio (fire-side chats: 19/30 on Great Depression) - was enabled to do that because 20th Century allowed direct media communication (very effective)
(Because he took so much action) Change balance between executive & legislature – hence, ‘Imperial Presidency’ – idea that the executive branch has too much power, behaving like a king
It has been said of FDR that he had a 3rd rate intellect and a 1st rate character or temperament; he was flexible and open to new ideas. He understood that the American people needed assurance and between 1933-44, he gave 30 radio talks, called them fire-side chats, to create impression of personal, intimate conversations with the people. Out of the 30, most of the 19 chats, given before Pearl Harbor, were about the Great Depression and the recovery.
The Bureaucracy
- use of lawyers & university academics (‘Brain Trust’) to help economic recovery
- role of bureaucracy
Role of Federal Govt
- to regulate big business
- govt spending to ameliorate effects of economic downturn – creation of agencies to deal with problems
- alphabet soup, eg. TVA, WPA, CCC etc
Idea of Big Govt
Argument that big govt means less freedom for businesses, individuals & states
The Politics
- Coalition of Democratic Party – urban, immigrants, blacks
- Blacks benefited but not to same extent; no legislation targeted to benefit blacks, only programs to help the poor
- Employment of high profile blacks by Roosevelt (Tokenism)
FDR won office without all Americans knowing that he had Polio and was in a wheelchair. Journalists knew but helped keep a secret because America was in a bad state and wanted to project an image of strength; being in a wheelchair cannot be seen as a position of strength. FDR's disability would have cost him the elections
The ‘New Deal’
- Not just to spend its way out of the recession
- Also as a legislative program - idea that govt should correct social injustice – e.g. recognition of workers’ right to organize and strike, regulation of banks
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): $100,000
- Accountability & transparency
- (Social security - think pension; was created for the first time) social security payments
- Govt activism
- FDR big on Healthcare - 'social safety net'
- Interest Group politics – farms & labor & women
- Opposition from left and right
- saw encroachment of rights – ‘socialism’ etc
Big business learned that it had to share political power & access with labor & other interest groups – increasing democratization
It is from this period that all bank deposits up to $100,000 are FDIC insured: in other words, the US federal govt guarantees that if your bank went bankrupt, you will regain up to $100,000 of your deposits. This new regulation reflected the experiences of Americans who lost all their savings in the Great Depression when their banks declared bankruptcy
From this period to the 1960s, American presidents from the Democratic party would give 2-word labels to describe their legislative programs of economic and social reforms. For instance, Truman had the ‘Fair Deal’, Kennedy the ‘New Frontier,’ and finally LBJ, the ‘Great Society’. Republican presidents did not have the same tradition
1930s - US preoccupied with problems of 1/3 of nation, ‘ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-fed’ – less attention to rise of Hitler & Nazis in Europe
Poverty of Great Depression – great blow to idea of US as land of opportunity, equality & liberty, loss of confidence & faith in the ‘American Dream’
American Dream = the freedom and right to pursue opportunities for economic success, e.g. the ability to own their own homes and achieve social and economic mobility; the idea that poor immigrants can aspire to a better life for their children.