The USA 1918-29 (part 1)

Reaction to WW1
1. The Origin of the LoN
  1. The LoN was the idea of American President Woodrow Wilson
  2. He thought it would act like a world parliament where the major powers could discuss matters of international importance
  3. He was sure that such an organisation could prevent another war
2. The USA never joined the LoN
  1. Wilson wanted the USA to join the LoN, but he needed the approval of the US Congress
  2. The problem was that most Americans didn't want to join
  3. Instead, the majority of the American people favoured 'isolationism'
  4. They wanted the USA to remain isolated from foreign entanglements
3. Americans didn't trust the LoN (WASTE)
  1. War-They were upset by the loss of lives during WW1, where 116,708 American troops died
    1. They didn't want to feel obliged to interfere in conflicts that were none of their business
  2. ToV-Many American citizens were German or Austrian immigrant and they didn't want the USA joining an organisation which was linked to the Treaty of Versailles
    1. They were opposed to the USA joining an organisation that was forcing Germany to pay vast amounts of reparations
  3. Anti French & British-Americans thought that Britain and France would control the League of Nations
  4. Self determination-They didn't agree with colonies and believed that Britain and France would use the LoN to defend their own colonies
    1. This didn't fit in with America's ideas about freedom and democracy
  5. Economy-America didn't want to give lots of money to European countries, which they would be pressured into doing if they joined the LoN
Growth of Isolationism
1. How the USA gained from WW1
  1. The American economy boomed as a result of the First World War
  2. The USA exported weapons and food to Europe during the war
  3. The USA joined the Allied side in 1917-but no fighting occurred on US soil
  4. After the war, European countries whose industries had been damaged bought American goods with the help of American loans
2. European Imports & Tariffs
  1. American businesses were afraid that the USA would be flooded with cheap European imports
  2. Unemployment was higher in Europe so European workers were willing to work for less pay in America
  3. Businessmen were worried that American consumers would start buying European products rather than expensive American ones
    1. This would mean the loss of American jobs ,lower profits for US companies and ess money in taxes for the US government
  4. Emergency Tariff Act of May 1921- Increased the tariff rates on imported farm products. Set by Warren G Harding
  5. Fordney-McCumber Tariff 1922- Gave the President the power to raise and lower the tariff rates
    1. Harding used this to raise duties on both factory and farm goods
3. Immigration control
  1. Before the First World War, America had followed an 'Open Door' policy that allowed almost anybody into the USA
  2. After WW1, many Americans believed that immigrants threatened their jobs and they wanted the 'open door' to be closed
  3. The most power and wealthy cultural group in America were WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants)
  4. Many WASPs believed that people such as anarchists and communists were coming to the USA and undermining the American way of life
    1. They were also alarmed at the number of Asian, Catholic and Jewish people who were entering the USA
  5. Laws were put in place to try and restrict immigration
    1. Immigration Law 1917-Immigrants had to take a literacy test (read 40 words) to prove that they could read English before being allowed in
      1. This put poor people from Eastern Europe and Asia at a disadvantage as they could not afford to learn English
    2. Emergency Quotas Act 1921-Set a maximum of 357,000 immigrants for each year and also stated that the number of people emigrating from one country should be no more than 3% of the people from that country currently living in the US
      1. This favoured Western and Northern European immigrants as they had started arriving before 1910
      2. National Origins Act 1924-Changed this to 2% and max number of immigrants per year was 150,000

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The USA 1918-29 (part 1)

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	Created by jamesbrudy97 about 10 years ago