Historical+Background

Historical Background
=At a Glance=
 * The Great Depression
 * "Dirty Thirties" Dust bowl
 * Teapot Dome Scandal
 * Franklin Delano Roosevelt
 * World War 2

=American Political Corruption= Power corrupts. For as long as there has been government there have been instances where its power has corrupted individuals. In American history this is most prevalent in the 1920s. The election of Warren G. Harding in 1921 was good news to the rich business tycoons yet it marked an end to the previous Wilsonian progressive movement. Harding passed the **Fordney-McCumber Tariff** which prohibited Europe from exporting goods to the United States, which boosted the US businesses but deeply hurt Europe, that desperately needed to recover from its war debt and loans. During Harding's term, speculators began using their future earnings (money they did not have) to obtain stocks, this **"buying on margin"** lead to corruption and the great stock market crash of 1929. Yet the most famous example of corruption during Harding's term was the Teapot Dome scandal of 1923, which involved a private company that __bribed the secretaries of the interior and of the navy__ in order for them to overlook illegal drilling of oil from government lands in Teapot Home, Wyoming-Harding was implicated in this scandal but died before he was charged. This is similar to what occurred in the film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, where James Taylor attempts to bribe the senators of his state to overlook the creation of a dam that would only benefit the wealthy.

"I was ready to tell you that a certain man in my state, a Mr James Taylor- Wanted this dam for his own profit. A man who controls a political machine!" -Jefferson Smith

"That's why they sent you here. You don't know a dam from a bathtub." -Clarissa Saunders

Why is it important to expose these minor crimes in government? In business, do the ends justify the means?
The two main factors that significantly weakened America during 1929 and 1939 were the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl was a name given to drought-stricken areas in America during the Great Depression era. This period experienced many blizzards, tornadoes, floods, droughts, and dirt storms that pushed farmers West in search of new opportunities in agricultural fields. In this weakened state America mirrored Germany who had just faced hyperinflation and the complete collapse of their economy, leaving them vulnerable. Thus priming them for complete obedience to a charismatic leader. Putting in jeopardy the one value that America holds so dear: liberty. Would America sacrifice this sacred value because of the pressure of financial depravity? "Liberty is too precious a thing to be buried in books. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day and say: 'I'm free... to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn't. I can. And my children will.' " -Jefferson Smith

FDR and Jefferson Smith, Heroes. Capra's character of Jefferson Smith is very similar to Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was a prominent heroic figure in the 1930s. Both charismatic figures were saviors who attempted to create political and economic reform. Roosevelt became president during The Great Depression and attempted to uplift America with his New Deal, Social Security, heavier taxes on the wealthy, new controls over banks, enormous work relief program for the unemployed (when he was first elected in 1932 there were 13,000,000 unemployed) and continual optimism. Like Smith, He was also a supporter of the Boys Scouts of America, and believed in empowering children by practical constructive means. He even organized the first "National Jamboree" in 1937--similar to Smith's Boy's Camp Out. By using a heroic figure of the time as a template, Capra elevates his character to a higher status and gives credit to his argument that government and big businesses are corrupt by having his hero echo an already famous and adored hero of the time.

"Well, I have got one idea... I think it would be a wonderful idea - - To have a national boys camp out in our state... - And let them learn something about nature and American ideals." -Jefferson Smith

**Are issues of economic and political corruption as big of an issue today? What are some examples of current political corruption?**
=Tensions Build on the World Front=

In the time frame leading up to 1939,-- the date when this film was released-- numerous historical events were taking place around the globe. Germany, following World War 1, was devastated by war debts and loans causing the country to spiral into a deep depression. Charismatic leader, Adolf Hitler used his depression to his benefit and dominated the weak country, eventually rising to chancellor in 1932. His army mobilization escalated in 1939 with Plan Z, which would begin the path towards World War 2. The concept that America was in a similar state as Germany-both in depressions- frightened Americans. They felt that with so much corruption already it was possible to slip into the same position as Germany and lose their freedoms and liberty. Italy's democracy also fell, Benito Mussolini transformed Italy into a Fascist nation and was involved with numerous government controversies and political corruption. Similarly in Russia, with the Soviet Union's creation in 1922 offered its own version of a corrupt government system that America could succumb to, destitute of the liberty it knew. These events made Capra's film exceptionally influential due to the climate in which it was released. As these powerful governments fell and their concepts of democracy were diminished, Capra viewed the corruption of business and government as the single detrimental factor that could cause the entire country to collapse, thus it was imperative that these atrocities be uncovered.

=Global Time line 1939=
 * January 27 – Adolf Hitler orders **Plan Z**, a 5-year naval expansion programme intended to provide for a huge German fleet capable of crushing the Royal Navy by 1944.
 * January 30 – Hitler's "prophecy" speech where he warns that if "Jewish financers" start a war against Germany, the "...result will be the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe"
 * March 17 – British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain opposes any effort at world domination on the part of Germany.
 * April 3 – Adolf Hitler orders the German military to start planning for Fall Weiss, the codename for the invasion of Poland.
 * April 18 – The Soviet Union proposes a "peace front" to resist aggression.
 * April 28 –__Hitler renounces the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact.__
 * Sweden, Norway, and Finland refuse Germany's offer of non-aggression pacts.
 * Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.
 * August 23 – Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact: Hitler and Stalin agree to divide Europe between themselves
 * August 25 – Adolf Hitler postpones Fall Weiss for 5 days, due to a message from Benito Mussolini that he will NOT honor the Pact of Steel if Germany attacks Poland in 1939
 * September 1 – World War II: At 04.45 Central European Time, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opens bombardment on the Westerplatte, a Polish military base outside Danzig, firing what are, according to many sources, the first shots of World War II. At the same time, regular Wehrmacht troops begin crossing the border into Poland.
 * September 1 – World War II: Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland declare their neutrality.
 * September 2 – World War II: Following the invasion of Poland, Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) is annexed to Nazi Germany.
 * September 2 – World War II: Spain and Ireland declare their neutrality.
 * September 3 – World War II: The United Kingdom, France, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany.
 * September 4 – World War II: Nepal declares war on Germany.
 * September 5 – World War II: The United States declares its neutrality in the war.
 * September 6 – World War II: South Africa declares war on Germany.
 * September 10 – World War II: Canada declares war on Germany.
 * September 17 – World War II: The Soviet Union invades Poland and then occupies eastern Polish territories.
 * September 28 – World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree on a division of Poland after their invasion.
 * October 8 – World War II: Germany annexes Western Poland.