America in the 1920s A Curriculum Unit for A.P. U.S. History Bill Hocking September 27, 2012 Introduction th
The first two decades of the 20 century witnessed significant political, social, and economic changes in American society. America’s role in affairs outside the western hemisphere was very limited in 1900, but by 1920 we had taken a large step towards involving ourselves in the problems of lands far beyond our traditional reach. During World War One President Wilson presented his ideas for avoiding future conflicts, including an international organization designed to address problems before they led to more destructive wars. Wilson’s struggles with the Senate over ratification of the Peace Treaty of Versailles reflect the pushback that these new ideas were having from people who wished to return to times when our foreign policy was not so complicated. Warren Harding’s promise to return America to “normalcy” was an attempt to woo those voters who had become disillusioned by the direction Wilson had taken the country the previous decade. Since 1900 American society had changed significantly. Millions of immigrants, many from Eastern and Southern Europe, had poured into the United States and further changed the makeup of many large cities. During World War One many African‐Americans had left the South in search of jobs in northern cities. Women were finally given the right to vote in 1920 and many younger women began to challenge some traditional social norms. These changes were not always seen equally throughout America. While many cities looked drastically different, life in many small towns was almost the same as it was during the last decades of the 19th century. The assassination of William McKinley at the start of the new century gave America President Theodore Roosevelt, the first of three progressive presidents whose reforms were sometimes aimed at improving economic conditions and challenging the supremacy of corporations. While the progressives were able to control most of the trusts with stricter regulations, loopholes remained especially in regards to banking and securities regulations. Though union membership increased during this period, strikes during World War One were often used to brand workers as radical. These battles over working conditions, business regulation, and federal control of the economy would continue to be fought during the 1920s. National economic policies would reflect a business first attitude and its supporters would point to record stock prices as evidence of the effectiveness of those policies. The tensions arising from the economic, political, and social changes during the first two decades of the 20th century would manifest themselves during the 1920s. While progressive reforms continued at a slower pace in some areas of the country, national policy makers often supported legislation which attempted to undo or weaken many of these reforms. Battles over social changes would be carried out in legislatures, court rooms, and through groups like the Ku Klux Klan whose membership saw significant increase during the decade through its stances on immigration and cultural superiority. This unit will examine the tensions of the decade and the extent to which the economic policies of the 1920s contributed to the coming of the Great Depression. Time Frame and Frameworks This unit will take place during six sixty‐five minute A.P. American History classes. Students will have recently examined the extent to which the progressive reforms brought about significant changes, and the impact of America’s participation in World War One. This unit will address U.S. History learning standard 2.10 (Describe how the battle between traditionalism and modernity manifested itself in the major historical trends after World War I and throughout the 1920s), and U.S. History learning standard 2.11 (Describe the various causes and consequences of the global depression of the 1930s) Student Objectives 1. Students will identify trends in the areas of reform, race relations, economic development, culture, and immigration during the 1920s. 2. Students will identify sources of tension in America during the 1920s. 3. Students will analyze the evidence in the Sacco and Vanzetti case. 4. Students will evaluate economic policies of the 1920s and analyze the extent to which those policies contributed to the Great Depression. Background/Preparation On the eve of the 1920s in the aftermath of World War One, a phenomenon known as the Red Scare occurred. It was an unrealistic fear that radicals from Europe were going to ferment another Bolshevik revolution in America. On the national scene the Palmer Raids on suspected radicals led many Americans to admire Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer despite the fact that he never uncovered any plots. On the local level this fear manifested itself in individual acts of violence against those who uttered seemingly dangerous language. Such was the case in Indiana when a jury “took two minutes to acquit a man for shooting and killing an alien because he had shouted ‘To hell with the United States.’” (Allen, 40) In this atmosphere, immigrants were looked upon with suspicion and labor unions were associated with Bolshevism. It is not surprising that the decade would see a significant rise in Ku Klux Klan membership, greater immigration restrictions, and policies designed to inhibit the growth of organized labor. By 1920 many African Americans had seen a sharp decline in their economic and political power, particularly in the South. The courts refused to presume discrimination even in education where per capita spending for white schools was exponentially greater than it was for African Americans. “In eleven states in the former Confederacy, fewer than 5 percent of eligible African‐Americans were registered to vote as late as 1940.” (Kennedy, 19) Changes in social norms during the 1920s brought considerable backlash. “The New York American reported in 1921 that a bill was pending in Utah providing fine and imprisonment for those who wore on the streets skirts higher than three inches above the ankle.” (Allen, 80) Magazines, books, and even movies were pushing the envelope when it came to discussion of sex, and a new phenomenon known as the petting party. “The Lynds quoted the judge of a juvenile court in ‘Middletown’ as declaring that the automobile had become a ‘house of prostitution on wheels’.” (Allen, 87) While the battle between the forces of traditionalism and modernity was being fought, many Americans were more focused on buying new consumer goods which were now being mass marketed and offered for purchase on credit. The result of this was a widening income gap between traditional agricultural interests and manufacturing. “While American farmers brought 50 percent more product to market in 1930 than they had in 1900, manufacturing output had doubled and redoubled again to four times its earlier level.” (Kennedy, 20) Soaring stock prices gave the illusion of a robust economy. In 1928 agricultural interests, automobile manufacturing, construction, the Florida real estate collapse, rising inventories, and overvalued stocks provided ample warning of a looming financial crisis that was mostly ignored by national politicians. Procedures for Each Lesson Day One: Document Analysis: America during the 1920s Using the documents provided, students will create statements about what was happening in America in the 1920s in each of the following areas: reform, race relations, economic developments, ideas, and immigration. Day Two: Identifying sources of tension in America during the 1920s Students will watch part of volume 1 of The Century: America’s Time( 1920‐1929: Boom to Bust) and identify sources of tension in America during the 1920s and how those tensions manifested themselves in the events of the decade. Day Three: Analysis of the Sacco and Vanzetti Case Students will take a quiz on the Sacco and Vanzetti article in After The Fact: The Art of Historical Detection. Following the quiz students will discuss how the Sacco and Vanzetti case reflects the fundamental tensions of the 1920s. Day Four: Stock Buying Simulation Students will participate in a stock buying simulation based on actual stock prices from 1929. In this activity students will be given a portfolio of stocks which they have purchased with 10% and a loan for the additional 90%. The object of the simulation is to decide when to sell the stock so you maximize your profits. Since the prices come from 1929 they are over‐valued to begin with which makes it more challenging to sell them at their high price and still turn a profit. This activity is designed for use with a smartboard. Stock prices for each company in their portfolio are shown in a power point presentation. Each set of stock prices also indicates how the market was doing that day (excellent, good, bad, horrific). If they want to sell their stocks they have to roll the dice. The worse the market is doing, the harder it is for the student to roll a number that would allow them to sell. At the end of the simulation any remaining stocks in a portfolio are to be sold at the “margin call” price. After students total up their balance sheet they are shown additional stock prices to illustrate what happened to the value of those stocks over the next two years. The simulation will help the students understand the impact of speculation and trading in stocks whose values were over‐inflated. Day Five: Economic Policies of the 1920s Students will analyze the impact of various economic policies from the 1920s and rank those policies from most beneficial to least beneficial. Students must justify their placement of each policy. Day Six: Essay Assessment on Economic Policies and the Great Depression Students will write an essay as a final assessment on this unit. Bibliography Allen, Frederick Lewis. Only Yesterday. New York: HarperCollins, 2010. Bailey, Thomas A & Kennedy, David M. The American Spirit. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1984. Brady, Marion & Brady, Howard. Idea and Action in American History. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1977. Davidson, James West & Lytle, Mark Hamilton. After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2005. Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Touhill, Blance M. Readings in American History. River Forest, IL: Laidlaw Brothers, 1970. Handouts Day One: Document Analysis: America during the 1920s Day Two: The Century: 1920s Day Three: After The Fact: Sacco and Vanzetti Quiz Day Four: Stock Market Simulation Day Five: Economic Policies of the 1920s Day Six: Essay Assessment A.P U. S History Name_________________________ Document Analysis: America During the 1920s Directions: Using the documents provided, write a statement which explains what was happening in America during the 1920s in regard to each of the following broad topics: reform, race relations, economic development, ideas, and immigration. After writing your statement, list the documents you used to draw your conclusions. Document A Document 1 The people of the State of California do enact as follows… 403a. Any person who displays a red flag, banner, or badge or any flag, badge, banner or device of any color or form whatever in any public place or in any meeting place or public assembly, or from or on any house, building or window as a sign, symbol or emblem of opposition to organized government or as an invitation or stimulus to anarchist action or as an aid to propaganda that is of a seditious character is guilty of a felony. Approved April 30, 1919 Document B No person, individually or as a teacher, shall, in any private, denominational, parochial or public school, teach any subject in any other language other than the English language. Nebraska State Law (Siman Act) passed in April 1919 Document C The desire of the legislature to foster a homogeneous people with American ideals prepared readily to understand current discussions of civil matters is easy to appreciate. Unfortunate experiences during the late war and aversion every characteristic of truculent adversaries were certain enough to quicken that aspiration. But the means adopted, we think, exceed the limitations of power of the State and conflict with rights assured to plaintiff in error. The interference is plain enough and no adequate reason therefore in time of peace and domestic tranquility has been shown. James C. MacReynolds (Majority Opinion in Meyer v. Nebraska, 1923) Document D It is impossible to tell whether prohibition is a good thing or a bad thing. It has never been enforced
in this country. There may not be as much liquor in quantity consumed to-day as there was before
prohibition, but there is just as much alcohol….
I am for temperance; that is why I am for modification.
I believe that the percentage of whisky
drinkers in the United States now is greater than in any other country in the world. Prohibition is
responsible for that….
Fiorello La Guardia at Hearings before the Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary (1926)
Document E The Increase in home owning is another evidence that money wasted in drink is now used for the benefit of the family. Improved living conditions are noticeable in our former slums districts. The Bowery and Hell’s Kitchen are transformed. Safety first campaigns on railroads and in the presence of the increasing number of automobiles are greatly strengthened by prohibition…. The wonderful advances in mechanics in the application of electricity and in transportation demand brains free from the fumes of alcohol, hence law enforcement and law observance continue to this progress…. You attention has been called to the failures. We claim these to have been the result of lax enforcement. The machinery of enforcement should be strengthened. Ella A. Boole (President of the W.C.T.U) at Hearings before the Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary (1926) Document F The White Ones I do not hate you, For your faces are beautiful too. I do not hate you, Your faces are whirling lights of loveliness and Splendor, too. Yet why do you torture me, O, white strong ones, Why do you torture me? Langston Hughes “The White Ones”, in The Weary Blues (1926) Document G “KKK wedding” in Serdo Wooley, Washington (June 16, 1926)
Document H Cabinet Meeting – If Al Were President (1928) Document I List Five Conclusions about the challenges of ratifying the constitution. (List documents supporting each conclusion) 1) 1928 Advertisement Document J Comparisons of Quotas of Selected Nationalities under the 1921 and 1924 Immigration Laws Country United Kingdom Germany Norway France Poland Yugoslavia Czechoslovakia Hungary Italy Rumania Quota under 1921 law 77,342 67,607 12,202 5,729 21,076 6,426 14,557 5,638 42,057 7,419 United States Bureau of Immigration, 1924 Quota Under 1924 Law 34,007 51,227 6,453 3,954 5,982 671 3,073 473 3,845 603 Relative Percentage 44.0 75.8 52.9 69.0 28.4 10.4 21.1 8.4 9.1 8.1 Document K The changes in new models should be so novel and attractive as to create dissatisfaction with past models. Automobile design is not, of course, pure fashion, but the laws of Paris dressmakers have come to be a factor in the automobile industry. Woe to the company which ignores them. Alfred P. Sloan Jr (1922) Document L Document M Jane’s a flapper. That is a quaint, old‐fashioned term, but I hope you remember its meaning. As you can tell by her appellation, Jane is 19. If she were 29, she would be Dorothy; 39, Doris; 49, Elaine; 59, Jane again‐and so on around. This Jane, being 19, is a flapper, though she urgently denies she is a member of the younger generation. The younger generation, she will tell you, is aged 15 to 17; and she professes to be decidedly shocked at the things they do and say. That is a fact which would interest her minister, if he knew it poor man, he knows so little! For he regards Jane as a perfectly horrible example of wild youth‐paint, cigarettes, cocktails, petting parties‐ooh! Yet if the younger generation shocks her as she says, query: how wild is Jane? Not since 1820 has feminine apparel been so frankly abbreviated as at present; and never, on this side of the Atlantic, until you go back to the little summer frocks of Pocahontas. This year’s styles have gone quite a long step toward genuine nudity. Nor is this merely the sensible half of the population dressing as everyone ought to , in hot weather. Lasts winter’s styles weren’t so dissimilar, except that they were covered up by fur coats and you got the full effect only indoors. And improper costumes never have their full force unless worn on the street. Next year’s styles, from all one hears, will be, as they already are n the continent, even More So. The fact is, as Jane says, that women to‐day are shaking off the shreds and patches of their age‐old servitude. “Feminism” has won a victory so nearly complete that we have ever forgotten the fierce challenge which once inhered in the very word. Women have highly resolved that they are just as good as men, and intend to be treated so. They don’t mean to have any more unwanted children. They don’t intend to be debarred from any profession or occupation which they choose to enter. They clearly mean (even though not all of them realize it) that in the great game of sexual selection they shall no longer be forced to play the role, simulated or real, of helpless quarry. If they want to wear their heads shaven, as a symbol of defiance against the former fate which for three millennia forced them to dress their heavy locks according to male decrees, they will have their way. If they should elect to go naked nothing is more certain than that naked they will go, while from the sidelines to which he has been relegated mere man is vouchsafed permission only to pipe a feeble Hurrah! Bruce Bliven, “Flapper Jane” , The New Republic (1925) Directions: Write a statement which explains what was happening in America during the 1920s in regard to each of the following broad topics: 1) Reform Documents 2) Race Relations Documents 3) Economic Development Documents 4) Ideas and beliefs Documents 5) Immigration Documents A.P U.S History Name___________________ The Century: 1920s Directions: Take notes on each of the following aspects of the 1920s. Sources of Tension Where the tension manifested itself A.P U.S History Name________________________ After the Fact: Sacco and Vanzetti 1. Why were Sacco and Vanzetti initially arrested for the payroll robbery at the Slater and Morrill Shoe Company of South Braintree? (10 pts) 2. Upon their arrest, what other evidence appeared to raise further suspicions about Sacco and Vanzetti? (10 pts) 3. What were the three main points of District Attorney Katzmann’s case against Sacco and Vanzetti? (15 pts) 4. How would the cases of Miranda (1966) and Escobedo (1964) have impacted the Sacco and Vanzetti investigation? (10 pts) 5. Provide three examples of weaknesses in the prosecution’s case against Sacco and Vanzetti. (15 pts) 6. Why was Judge Thayer a controversial figure in this case? (10 pts) 7. Why did the Supreme Court refuse to review the evidence presented at Sacco and Vanzetti’s trial? (10 pts) 8. Two nations‐that was the reason for “all the fuss” (After The Fact, 284). Briefly explain the meaning of this statement as it relates to the debate surrounding the Sacco and Vanzetti case. (20 pts) The Stock Market Game A 1920s Economic Simulation Overview: It is 1929 and you’ve invested money in the stock market by securing several loans from local banks. As you can see from the table below, you’ve put down just over $12,000 of your own money and borrowed over $108,000 to invest in the stock market. Since the companies you’ve invested in have been very strong throughout the 1920s, you should be able to turn a decent profit in no time. For example, to turn a profit with American Can, you need to sell the stock when it is at least $128 a share. To calculate these for each stock just move the total investment decimal point two spaces to the left. Below are brief descriptions of each company you’ve invested in, along with a spread sheet showing how much you’ve invested in each company. Stock Name American Can A T + T General Electric General Motors Montgomery Ward NY Central Railroad U.S. Steel Total Investment Original Purchase Price $116.75 Price for 100 Down Shares Payment (10%) $11,675.00 1,167.50 Credit Owed Loan (90%) Interest (10%) $10,507.50 $1,050.75 Total Investment $219.75 $21, 975.00 $2,197.50 $19,777.50 $1,977.75 $23,952.75 $257.00 $25,700.00 $2,570.00 $23,130.00 $2,313.00 $28,013.00 $83.75 $8375.00 $837.50 $7,537.50 $753.75 $9,128.75 $140.50 $14,050.00 $1,405.00 $12,645,00 $1,264.50 $15,314.50 199.50 $19,950.00 $1,995.00 $17,955.00 $1,795.50 $21,745.50 183.50 $18,350.00 $1,835.00 $16,515.00 $1,651.50 $20,001.50 $12,007.50 $108,067.50 $10,806.75 $12,725.75 $130,881.75 American Can This company was part of the tin can trust. Formed in 1901, it controlled the majority of the tin cans produced in America during the 1920s. American Telephone and Telegraph (A T+ T) Formed in 1885, this company provided communications service for most of the country. General Electric Since 1892 this company was involved in providing electrical service, and in the 20th century it had branched out into appliances, and radio communications. It was considered one of the strongest companies in the world in the 1920s. General Motors This car company was formed in 1908 and produced U.S brands like Buick, Cadillac, GMC, and Chevrolet. Montgomery Ward Since the 1860s this retailer had been provided household goods to farmers through its extensive catalog offerings. A main competitor with Sears, it had begun opening retail stores in towns with populations over 10,000 during the 1920s. This expansion had sent stock prices up during the last half of the decade. New York Central Railroad This railroad connected New York City with major cities in the Northeast and Midwest. Freight and passengers could travel throughout the east coast and west to Chicago on the company’s rails. U.S. Steel Founded in 1873 by Andrew Carnegie, this company was the backbone of American industry during the late 19th and early 20th century, becoming the first billion dollar company in the United States. Its steel fueled industrial expansion, railroad building, and urbanization throughout the country. While the company’s share of the steel market was smaller by the 1920s it still continued to make healthy profits. Directions At the beginning of each day’s trading you will see a list of prices for the stock of each of the 7 companies you’ve invested in. When you are ready to sell a stock you need to roll one of the dice on the smartboard. Depending on how the market is doing that day (Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor,and Horrific) will determine what number you need to roll in order for your sale to go through. If the sale doesn’t go through you will have to try and unload that stock the next day and hope it doesn’t go down any further. You must roll the dice separately for each stock sale. Dice Rolls for Stock Sale Excellent Day (All stock are up) Roll a 2,3,4,5,or 6 for a sale Good Day (Majority of stocks are up) Roll a 3,4,5, or 6 for a sale Fair Day (Mixed day with 3 or 4 down stocks) Roll a 4,5,or 6 for a sale Poor Day (Most Stocks are down) Roll a 5 or 6 for a sale Horrific Day (All stocks are down) Roll a 6 for a sale Stock Market Sales Sheet Selling Price Multiply the selling Subtract the price by 100 total investment you made $12,725.75 American Can A T + T General Electric General Motors Montgomery Ward New York Central Railroad U.S Steel Totals Net gain or loss on this stock $23,952.75 $28,013.00 $9,128.75 $15,314.50 $21,745.50 $20,001.50 Stock Market Game: Teacher’s Guide 2/1 2/2 (G) 2/11 (P) 2/16 (P) 2/28(E) 3/5(G) 3/11(H) 3/22(G) 4/2(P) 4/10(F) 4/12(E) 5/12(G) 5/13(F) 5/14(H) 5/16(F) 5/17(G) 5/22(P) 5/23(H) 5/31(G) 6/1(G) 6/14(E) 6/15(F) 7/2(E) 7/3(F) 7/31(G) 8/1(G) 8/6(G) 8/7(F) 8/9(F) 8/10(F) 8/20(G) 8/21(G) 9/3(E) 9/4(H) 9/5(P) 9/12(P) 9/13(H) 9/18(G) 9/19(G) 9/20(G) 9/21(H) 9/25(P) American Can 116.75 116.50 120 110.50 119.50 119.50 119 126 118.75 126.50 132.25 151.25 147 141.50 142.75 143 138.75 131.25 132 134.25 143 141.25 156.75 156.50 158 162 164.75 164.50 162 157.25 181.25 180.25 181.75 180.75 177.75 172.75 167.75 174.25 178 180.75 176.50 170.75 A T+ T 219.75 221 209 208.75 216.50 216 214.75 215 218.50 216 220 227 230 217 216.75 216 210.75 208.50 209 206.50 213.25 211.50 235.75 233.25 267.50 267 286 282 266 271.50 295.25 295.50 304 302.50 298 292.75 288 295.50 304 304.75 301.50 293 General Electric 257 255.50 238 227.75 242.75 238 237.75 232 230.25 228 234.25 268 264 263 278.75 281 278 269 265.75 266 301.75 297 331 349.50 371.25 377.50 386.25 385 371 367.75 398.75 392.50 396.25 389 390 379.50 370.50 370 372 370 367.25 359 General Motors 83.75 83 79.75 79.75 83.25 82.25 80.25 89.25 82.25 81 84.25 83.50 82.75 80.50 83 81.25 77.25 73.25 71.50 70 71.75 71.75 76 75.25 72.75 70.50 72 72.25 65.25 68.25 70.50 70.50 72.75 72 74.25 75.75 74 75.25 75 74.75 73 70.50 Montgomery
Ward 140.50 141.50 127 124.75 132 133.75 129.25 128.50 117.50 112.75 117.75 132 124 119.50 118.75 121 117.75 113 104 103 114 113 115.50 114 111.50 113.25 115.25 116 129 127.75 123.50 128 137.75 133.25 132.50 130 126 126.50 126.50 129.50 127 125.50 NY Central Railroad 199.50 202.50 190.50 188.50 194.25 195 190.25 189 180 181.25 184.50 183.75 184 181.25 181 182.50 188.50 183 191 195.50 196.50 196.50 212.50 219 231 209.75 234 232.25 228.25 227.50 242.25 246 256.50 251.75 249.25 243.50 239.50 240 239.75 241.25 239.75 235 U.S. Steel 183.50 187 173.75 171.25 186 186.75 185.25 186.75 179 183.75 189.75 183 179.50 176.25 175.75 175.75 171 168 164.50 166 175.25 176 194 196.25 208 235.25 212 211.75 216 213.50 251.50 247.75 261.75 257.75 254.50 242.75 235 233.75 241.50 242.25 231.75 233 9/26(P) 10/3(P) 10/4(H) 10/9(G) 10/10(F) 10/12(G) 10/16(P) 10/17(H) 10/18(G) 10/19(P) 10/29(H) 10/30(F) 10/31(E) 11/6(P) 11/7(P) 11/8(E) 11/9(P) 11/13(P) American Can 170.50 169 163.25 173.75 170.50 181.50 173.50 166.25 168.50 166.50 130.25 119.50 131 121 115 118.50 115.25 86 A T+ T 292.50 291.25 285 295 296 304.50 293.50 284 286 286.50 225 210.50 240 231.25 215 229 222 197.25 General Electric 359.75 362 351.25 355.50 367 373 368 349 349.50 348.50 219 223 247 230.25 206 220.25 215 168 General Motors 70 69.25 68.75 66.75 65.75 64.50 65.50 64 64.25 62.50 45.25 50.75 69 45 40.25 43.75 43 36 Montgomery
Ward 124.50 113.25 106.25 108.75 110.50 111.75 107.50 105 102.50 99 52 55.25 66 66.25 57.50 61.75 58.50 49.25 NY Central Railroad 232.75 222.25 216.25 226.25 224.50 227.75 226 221 220.50 221 192.75 190 199.50 149 179 185.50 184.25 160 U.S. Steel 231.50 223 213 219 218 230.75 223 213.50 216 211.25 183.75 177 185 181.75 169 174.50 171 150 Bold numbers indicate the high and low marks for the stock from February to November 1929 Letters: (E) Excellent Day (G) Good Day (F) Fair Day (P) Poor Day (H) Horrific Day Epilogue (Stocks during the Great Depression) American Can A T+ T General Electric General Motors Montgomery Ward 5/7/30 11/13/30 5/7/31 11/13/31 5/7/32 10/29/32 11/2/33 11/8/34 137.75 113.75 107.75 83.50 41.50 53.50 89 103.50 218.50 187 181.75 142.50 101.25 104.50 110.75 111.75 80.75 47.25 44.25 32 14.75 15.50 18.50 18.75 46.25 34.50 42 29.50 11.25 13.50 27.50 30.50 42.50 17.50 18.50 12.25 7.75 12.50 18.50 29 NY Central Railroad 174.25 132 97.75 49.50 15.75 25.50 29.50 22 U.S. Steel 173 144 113 71.25 30.75 37.50 37.75 38.50 A.P U.S History Name_______________________________ Economic Policies of the 1920s Part A: Match each term with the appropriate description below and write the term in the space provided. Adkins v. Children’s Hospital Dawes Plan of 1924 McNarry‐Haugen Bill Vetoes Agricultural Marketing Act Eswch‐Cummins Act “Mellonites” tax policies Bureau of Budget “on the margin” Forney‐McCumber Tariff Law Buying on Credit Mass Consumption Railway Labor Board __________ Finding Markets for large amounts of goods buy convincing consumers that they “need this now”! __________ Consumers are offered easy credit. As long as there is prosperity you can accumulate debt and just pay it back later. __________ Buying stocks by putting 10% down and receiving a loan (sometimes directly from a back) for 90% of the cost. __________ Created in 1921 (in response to the 23 billion dollars in debt we accumulated in World War One) to assist the President in preparing the budget for the next fiscal year. __________ Reduction of taxes for the very wealthy so they could invest in business. Money that isn’t taxed will often go into stock speculation. National debt is reduced from 26 billion to 16 billion. __________ Now that women had the right to vote they don’t need special protection in the workplace anymore. __________ Ends the nationalization of the railroads from World War One. Railroads are put into private hands and guaranteed profitability through the Interstate Commerce Commission. __________ Orders 12% wage cut in all railroads. Harding administration used injunctions to break labor strikes. __________ Boosts tariffs by an average of 38.5%. __________ Authorized the government to buy surplus agricultural products and sell them abroad. __________ Rescheduled German reparations and payments and opened the way for further American private loans to Germany. __________ Provided loans to farm organizations seeking to buy, sell, and store agricultural surpluses. The idea was to bolster prices by buying surpluses. Part B: Impact of the economic policies Rank the policies from most economically beneficial to least beneficial and justify your choices. Most Beneficial Why? Least Beneficial A.P. U.S. History
Essay Exam: The 1920s
Name____________________________
Directions: Answer the essay question below. You are advised to spend 5 minutes planning
and 30 minutes writing your answer. Cite relevant historical evidence in support of your
generalizations and present your arguments clearly and logically.
To what extent and in what ways did the economic policies of the 1920s contribute to the
coming of the Great Depression?
Essay Rubric Exemplary Proficient Developing Introductory Paragraph *establishes setting *contains an insightful comment for basis of analysis *establishes major sub‐
topics including appropriate evidential examples *contains clear thesis statement *easily identifiable *original thesis *plausible * complex‐split or “gray area” thesis *conveys complexity of the subject *extensive relevant evidence throughout the essay *supports thesis *no significant historical errors *shows deep understanding of topic *establishes setting *contains an insightful comment for basis of analysis *establishes major sub‐topics *contains clear thesis statement *may be lacking setting and/ or insightful comment *contains major sub‐
topics *contains thesis statement *easily identifiable *original complex thesis *contains a partition *contains analysis *identifiable but may be unclear *complex‐simple or simple‐split thesis *may be lacking partition or analysis *not clearly identified *simple thesis *no partition or analysis * evidence provided to support each major point * supports thesis *no significant historical errors *demonstrates understanding of topic *some deeper analysis *some discussion of conflicting information *analysis supports the thesis *evidence not as extensive *may contain significant historical errors *shows basic understanding of topic *basic evidence *evidence may be irrelevant *contains significant historical errors which detract from essay *lacks understanding of topic *basic analysis *lack of discussion of conflicting information *analysis relates to the thesis but may not obviously support it *lacks analysis and discussion of conflicting information *simple explanations *no analytical support for thesis *organized and well‐
written *essay moves logically from point to point *writing enhances main arguments *some organization *inconsistent transitions *writing may detract from main arguments *may lack adequate introduction or conclusion *may simply re‐state thesis and opening paragraph’s main points *confusing organization *lacks clear transitions *conclusion or introduction is non‐
existent or confusing Thesis Historical Evidence Analysis Essay Organization Concluding Paragraph *extensive in depth analysis *confrontation and discussion of conflicting sources and/ or information throughout the essay *analysis clearly supports the thesis *clearly organized and well‐written *transitions skillfully move the reader from point to point *essay invites the reader to think beyond presented issue *restates thesis differently *puts essay answer in a larger not so obvious historical perspective (trends/movements/ideas) *summarizes information in thesis in a different way *contains some simple historical perspective Beginning *lacks setting, insightful comments * thesis and major sub‐topics are not clearly identified *may contradict thesis *simple summary