The United States has a rich historical background that consists of a continuum of ups and downs, which have been credited with making it the country it is today. The country’s history unfolded as a series of eras and periods, each with its own unique triumphs and challenges.
For instance, the revolutionary war that facilitated the establishment of the United States as an independent country back in the 18th century had its share of triumphs and challenges, but in the end, it led to the birth of a nation in which “the advancement, prosperity and glory of human liberty, human rights and human nature” were esteemed over everything else (Baker 37). The period that is of interest to this paper is the interwar period.
Like all other periods that constitute the history of America, the interwar period had its own ups and downs as the country endeavored to deliver the vision of its founding fathers to its citizenry. This paper explores the achievements and challenges of the interwar America with a focus on the political and economic realms. It seeks to find out the extent to which the developments of this period were influenced by the vision of the country’s founding fathers and how they contributed to the modern day American way of life.
An Overview of the Interwar Period
The interwar period refers to the period of calm and peace between the two world wars (A’Hearn 38). It may not have been a peaceful time per se, but there was relative calm across the world. In addition, it was a time when the world’s leading nations concerned themselves with seeking world peace through the establishment of the League of Nations, which sought to prevent the occurrence of another world war (“Book Notes” 37).
In the United States, it was a period of non-involvement in any war. After the devastating effects of World War I, the country resolved never to get involved in another war that was not its own (A’Hearn 39). In fact, it even declined an invitation to join to the League of Nations (“Book Notes” 37).
Thus, in the American context, this period commenced at the end of World War I and ended when the country was compelled to get involved in World War II after Japan’s devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. The dates and that have been given for the start and the end of this period vary. However, it should be noted that in the context of this paper, the interwar period began with America’s last activity in the First World War and ended with its first activity in the Second World War.
Politics of the Interwar America
At the onset of the interwar period, there was a presidential election in which the Republican candidate Warren G. Harding emerged victorious (A’Hearn 39). The conservative approach of the Republicans seemed endearing to Americans at the time because the just concluded world war had subjected them to so much suffering that they did not want anything to do with war again.
All indications showed that Americans were tired of involvement in international affairs when numerous issues needed their attention at home. Woodrow Wilson, the previous president, believed in idealism, forcing America to get involved in international issues that did not directly affect it (A’Hearn 39).
His belief was that by virtue of the country’s economic and military might, it could not sit back and watch the world disintegrate into a state of anarchy. Therefore, Wilson believed that America had a responsibility to help maintain world peace and foster freedom and stability. Apparently, his leadership left American’s weary due to the enormous responsibility he had bestowed upon the country. This position was confirmed when Americans gave Harding a landslide victory in the presidential elections of 1920.
This transition brought about a paradigm shift in the political outlook of the American public. Harding promised Americans a return to normalcy, which they found appealing (Underdal 25). The Senate echoed the same sentiments when it failed the Treaty of Versailles and stopped America from joining the League of Nations.
The same pattern was replicated when President Harding went ahead to facilitate the Washington Conference in which the world’s leading countries met and agreed to reduce their naval armaments (“Unearthing America’s Ancient History” 99). Feasible deals were negotiated and every participating country agreed to respect the territorial integrity of the other.
These agreements successfully placed America on a seemingly peaceful course with minimal international commitments. In other words, President Harding had successfully returned the country to normalcy as promised. Unfortunately, President Harding’s leadership came to an abrupt end with his sudden death in 1923 (Woods Jr. 22). The then Vice President Calvin Coolidge took over and was officially elected to office the following year.
President Coolidge came in as a stronger leader than his predecessor and got himself busy with setting the country on a business-supported growth path. His tenure was characterized by strict enforcement of the Republican Party’s economic policy. Unlike his predecessor, Coolidge tackled vices such as corruption head-on.
Nonetheless, World War I had left numerous issues unattended and despite the prosperity that seemed to be taking root across America, the stability of the world was in a fragile state. However, since America had resolved to stay away from issues that did not concern her, it continued with its recovery agenda. Her post war prosperity reached its peak under the administration of President Coolidge.
Intriguingly, Calvin Coolidge declined the opportunity to run for a second term (Edwards 49). Nonetheless, Americans were still convinced that the Republicans had all the solutions they needed at the time. Consequently, another Republican candidate, Herbert Hoover, was elected to the presidency in 1928 (Edwards 50).
Inspired by the popularity of Coolidge’s approach to administration, Hoover vowed to continue the Coolidge prosperity. Unfortunately, barely eight months after Hoover’s accession to the presidency, the stock market crashed, throwing the country into a spiraling downward economic trend that led to the Great Depression of 1929 (Middleton and Lickorish 33). This development was a curse on President Hoover because when he sought the presidency for the second time in 1932, he was resoundingly rejected by Americans.
The Great Depression of 1929 hit Americans so hard that when Franklin D. Roosevelt promised them a “New Deal” that would change the state of affairs in the country, his election to the presidency was almost automatic (Garry and Okura 208). Hoover had strongly objected to direct government involvement in the lives of suffering Americans because to him, relief programs characterized socialist and communist governments.
He awoke to the reality of the devastating effects of the depression too late. The public works program he attempted to initiate to improve the condition of jobless Americans flopped, costing him his political career because Americans saw him as the president who sat back and did nothing as people suffered (Mitchell 61).
Immediately after President Roosevelt’s election, he undertook numerous reform programs that sought to bring relief to Americans. He started by ending the banking crisis followed by the establishing agencies and bureaus that delivered relief to the jobless (Eichengreen and Portes 71).
He also unveiled programs that supported the recovery of the business industry and conservation of resources. In a nutshell, President Roosevelt’s New Deal programs were elaborate. However, analysts argue that they were slow in changing the economic course of America (Davis and Hughes 93). Nonetheless, the popularity of his endeavors led to Roosevelt’s reelection to serve a third term in 1940 and later, the fourth term, making him the only president to have served for more than two terms.
Nonetheless, although the political landscape of the time was marked by some notable achievements, this era also had its flip side. Apart from the depression and the tough times that it brought upon Americans, there were other developments as well. The ‘Red Scare’ for instance, was an embodiment of the political intolerance that emerged in America in the 1920’s (“Unearthing America’s Ancient History” 99).
A. Mitchell Palmer, the then attorney general, led Americans through a massive campaign and raids that sought to rid the country of radical people who exhibited ‘un-American’ lifestyles. Numerous people were deported as a result.
It is during this same period that the Ku Klux Klan, which was against almost everything emerged in the South. Contrary to the widespread notion that this group was only against blacks, its list of unwanted items extended way beyond blacks. The Ku Klux Klan was against the Catholic Church, anything foreign, Jews, gambling, and adultery among many other things (“Unearthing America’s Ancient History” 99).
The group’s extremist position was backed by bizarre actions and rituals that made it apparent that they were prepared to go any extent to impose their rules and make their position known. Lawlessness also emerged as people began to depart from the idealistic and moral principles that were enshrined in the American constitution. Therefore, America’s prosperity during the Coolidge presidency and its subsequent recovery from the depression during the Roosevelt presidency were not without some notable challenges.
America’s reputation as the land of the free also diminished to some extent because the country started imposing quotas on the number of immigrants who were allowed into the country. It was no longer the place where those sought freedom could come at will. America was for the first time, concerning itself with its internal affairs and leaving the rest of the world to chat its own course. In the overall sense, politically speaking, America had departed from the ideology of its founding fathers.
The Economic Landscape of the Interwar America
When it became apparent that the First World War over, Americans started focusing on their domestic developmental issues and for a short period immediately after the war, the economy picked an upward trend. However, since the boom only lasted a short while, there was unrest across the country with over four million workers striking in the year 1919 alone (Linder and Groove 46).
Thus, Harding’s short presidency was a tempestuous period in which workers were dissatisfied with the terms of service under which they served. They sought better terms of service. Although Harding had promised a return to normalcy and had strived to deliver the promise, allegations of corruption within his administration brought his ability to deliver the desired leadership in question. Nonetheless, his administration set the stage for the economic boom that began in 1920 and lasted till 1929.
The sudden demise of President Harding paved the way for President Coolidge, who is credited with the economic prosperity of the 1920s. In a famous statement, he declared that “The chief business of Americans is business” (Mitchell 16). The Republican Party held the belief that the government’s core concern was to provide ambient conditions for American businesses to grow. Reportedly, by the onset of the depression, American industries had almost doubled their productive capacity of 1920.
This growth had been inspired by several constitutional developments and other adjustments. One year before Coolidge ascended to power, the government had enacted a tariff act that raised the level of tariffs for non-American goods, effectively setting the stage for American industries to enjoy a monopolistic market structure in the domestically (Davis and Hughes 126).
Similarly, the Transportation Act of 1920 was also aimed at fostering the growth of private business. The privatization of the Marine Merchant also had a similar effect on the American economy. As such, when Coolidge took over the reins of power, the stage was set. His strong administrative skills were the only ingredient that America needed at the time to propel itself forward.
Several economic achievements were recorded during this period. Besides the doubling of America’s industrial output, there was an increase in real wages and a decline in the rampant unemployment rates. This period also marked the emergence of the automotive industry as the leader in the export business (Bernstein 178). The export business had previously been dominated by the cotton industry. Thus, this period marked the beginning of America’s departure from overdependence on agriculture.
The promising economic outlook of the country encouraged over speculation in the financial markets and over extension of credit buying (A’Hearn 39). The financial industry in itself was highly skewed as only one percent of the players in the industry were in control of 46 percent of the country’s banking business. The industry structure and the carefree attitude that Americans had developed over the short period of economic boom ushered in an unprecedented occurrence.
On October 29, 1929, the financial market collapsed. This development threw the country into a period of economic downturn. Savings that had been kept in the banks were withdrawn and used to cater for essential needs because numerous jobs that had been created by the economic boom disappeared because the economy could not support them. The reduced buying power prompted a decline in the production of goods and services by American industries.
The depression peaked in 1932 when average employment rates fell below an average of 18 percent (Bernstein 33). Banking institutions, which were supposed to provide the financial support required by the business sector to fuel the recovery of the economy, were in no shape to do so (Eichengreen and Portes 72).
In fact, their continued failure instigated panic among citizens, prompting them to withdraw all the money they had in banks in fear of losing their money permanently. Thus, the banking industry remained in a constant state of crisis until President Roosevelt intervened with a series of programs under the New Deal arrangement.
The effects of the depression were so sharp that they instigated all sorts of reactions from different groups of people across America. About 20,000 of the country’s First World War veterans were affected beyond their ability to endure. They decided to demand additional bonuses to ease the effects of the depression, but their demands were turned down by President Hoover (A’Hearn 40).
It was an interesting development because Hoover strongly believed that the depression would ease away in a short while. This belief was the reason behind his objection to government involvement in helping scores of jobless Americans. He only swung into action after realizing that the depression was not a short-lived economic hitch. Hoover attempted to intervene through a variety of public work programs, but his initiatives were not well received by the public.
The comprehensive economic stimulus programs that were unveiled by Roosevelt after his accession to power turned out to be the solution America needed at the time. The programs were criticized by many as being socialist or communist oriented because they encompassed extensive government involvement in the lives of helpless Americans. In fact, the High Court repealed up to 11 of Roosevelt’s New Deal legislations on grounds that they were not constitutional (Garry and Okura 211).
This development was applauded by the business community because Roosevelt’s measures were popular among the people, but not as popular in the business realm since they led to reduced margins for business owners and industry operators. They compelled the business community to provide American workers with friendly working conditions at the expense of profits. Nonetheless, despite the criticism and opposition, Roosevelt forged on with his relief measures until the American economy made a slow comeback.
The depression, although severe, did not stop America from engaging in ambitious projects that placed it on the world map as a leading nation. The depression is reported to have reached its worst point in 1932, but despite its ravages, America still went ahead to construct the world’s tallest building in 1931 (the Empire State Building). This move can be interpreted as representative of the resilience and tenacity of America.
It also proves that despite the tough economic time the country was undergoing, it did not lose its focus on all the dreams of its founding fathers. It is therefore important to point out that although America swung back and forth from the vision of its founding fathers during the interwar period, some of the good legislations that were enacted at the time still continue to affect the lives of her citizens to date.
A good example is the legislation that gave women the right to participate in the electoral process. It is a decision that was made at the onset of the interwar period, but has never been regretted to date because it was in line with the country’s fundamental principles.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is apparent that so much happened during the interwar period. Like any other period in the history of America, good and bad decisions were made. However, the focus should be on the good decisions that were made at the time because the bad ones have since been corrected.
Trends that continue to characterize modern America also emerged at the time. Thus, the activities of the interwar period were largely influenced by the beliefs of America’s founding fathers and their contribution towards the development of modern America are still observable in the lifestyles of Americans today.
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