THE STATE, THE
ECONOMY, & BUSINESS
Using the summary of the 1920s economy….
Objective…
Create several generalizations based
on the economic statistics of the 1920s.
Political Overview of the 1920s
• The Executive Branch is dominated by
3 Republicans…
President Warren Harding
* ______________
President Calvin Coolidge
* ______________
President Herbert Hoover
* ______________
• Republicans dominated both the executive and
legislative (Congress) branches in the 1920s.
THE STATE, THE ECONOMY &
BUSINESS
Objective…
Summarize how the administrations of
Harding and Coolidge shape the
domestic and foreign policy of the
1920s.
Republicans in Power
The Election of 1920
• 1920 Census: More people are living in urban areas
• 1920 is the first presidential election in which
women participate... Only 35% of women voted
The Election of 1920
• The reason Harding wins…
• “A good natured man who looked like a
president ought look”
• No active campaigning… A campaign would
expose his shallowness and intellectual
weakness.
• Overwhelmed by the job…
• “I am not fit for this office and should never
have been here.”
• “ I knew the job would be too much for me.”
Warren G. Harding
•
•
•
•
Republican
VP Coolidge
Died in office in 1923
1921-1923
President & Mrs. Harding
THE STATE, THE ECONOMY,
AND BUSINESS
Objective…
Examine the moral and political
corruption associated with the
Harding Administration.
Warren G. Harding
Personal Conduct
• A gambler…
• A hypocrite...
“I cannot hope to be one of the great presidents, but
perhaps I may be remembered as one of the best
loved” … WGH
• Sworn into the KKK in a secret White House
ceremony
• Visited burlesque houses in Washington D.C.
• Two affairs...
-1905-20: An affair with Carrie Phillips…
-1919: An affair with Nan Britton…
Nan Britton
•
•
•
•
•
Affair 1917-23 …30 yrs younger
1919 WGH fathers a daughter
Child support delivered by Secret Service
Nan Britton sued the Harding estate
Scandalous book: The President’s Daughter (1927)
Nan &
Elizabeth Ann
Britton
Carrie Philips
• Affair 1905-20…10 yrs younger
• 1917 -blackmails WGH on WW I vote
• 1920 -Republican National Committee
bribes Philips with $20K & a slow trip
to Japan
• CP lives until the 1960s
Warren G. Harding
“The Ohio Gang”…
17) The Harding scandals (4)…
Justice Department Scandal
- Attorney General Daugherty WGH’s worst appointment
- Friend & advisor of WGH
- Profited from “selling influence”
Veterans' Bureau Scandal
- Charles Forbes - Head of Veterans’ Bureau
- Stole $200M.
- Fled to Europe… Returned, indicted & convicted
- Charles Cramer –VB Attorney, commits suicide
17) The Harding scandals (4)…
Alien Property Custodian Scandal
- Thomas Miller APC
- Managed property in the U.S. belonging to enemy
citizens
Teapot Dome Scandal
- Sec. of Interior Albert Fall illegally leased oil rich
land for a $300K bribe.
- Fall goes to prison
A. Justice Dept.
C. Alien Property
B. Teapot Dome
D. Veterans Bureau
1. Thomas Miller
2. Albert Fall
3. H. Daugherty
4. Charles Forbes
I. Stealing from veterans hospitals
II. Selling influence in the Justice Dept.
III. Selling oil leases
IV. Selling seized government property.
*
A-3-II
Answer Key:
B-2-III
C-1-IV
D-4-I
The “Ohio Gang”...
Corrupt politicians associated with President
Harding's time in office. Harding previously
knew these people as a state level politicians
and appointed them to serve when he was
elected President.
The connection to content?...
Meaning? ... Symbolism??
“Juggernaut” An unstoppable
force, or object
that crushes
whatever is in its
path.
Warren G. Harding
The Scandals
“I have no trouble with my
enemies… But… my Gdmn
friends…, they’re the ones that keep
me walking the floor nights”
…WGH
Objective…
Describe how the Harding &
Coolidge Administrations
shape the economy of the
1920s.
*
Secretary
of
Treasury
Andrew Mellon
18) What policies
prevailed under his
leadership?
• Run government like a business
• Reduce the federal budget
• Cut all types of taxes
• Free up capital for business investment
*
Herbert Hoover
Sec. of Commerce under Harding & Coolidge
20) The experiences & principles
of Herbert Hoover…
- The “associative state”…
• America would prosper most with a
voluntary cooperation between business,
government, and workers
*
• What policies
prevailed under his
leadership?
• BIG BUSINESS
• Corporations gained power &
wealth… 1929: 200 corps hold 50% of
corporate wealth
• Maximum freedom for private
enterprise
* 21) Financially, how did America
emerge from the war?
• The strongest nation in the world .
• We made large profits from selling war supplies & suffered
no damage from the war.
• We are owed $10 billion in war debt.
• NY replaces London as the financial capital of the world.
* 22) What was the Dawes Plan and
•
how successful was it?
1920s - War debt is crushing the European economies…
Germany owes 33B & the Allies owe 11.5 B
• US cancels some of the debt
• The Dawes Plan restructured the war debt… lower
interest rate longer time
Secretary of
State
Charles Evans
Hughes
*
23) What policies prevailed under his
leadership?
• Policies that would expand American business
growth & investment overseas
• Sell American goods overseas
• Maximum freedom for private enterprise
Objective…
Summarize how President Harding
shaped U.S. domestic policy in the
1920s.
*
Warren G. Harding
Domestic Policy
•
•
•
•
•
“America First” policy…
Fordney- McCumber Tariff (1922)…
Immigration Act (1921)…
Revenue Act (1921)…
Civil Liberties...
Objective…
Summarize how President Harding
shaped U.S. foreign policy in the
1920s.
Foreign Policy: Warren G. Harding
“Isolationism”
*
•
•
•
•
•
“We seek no part in directing the destiny of the
world” WGH
Washington Conference (1921)…
Treaty with Germany (1921)…
Allied war debt…
The League of Nations…
The actions taken supporting
“Isolationism”…
How is an ostrich similar to US foreign
policy in the 1920s?
Isolationism
Harding’s Death
• 1923: Died of a heart attack in San Francisco, CA
• Mrs. Harding refused an autopsy
• Rumors circulate...
The Election of 1924
Calvin Coolidge
“Silent Cal”
“You don’t have to explain
something you never
said”…Coolidge
President
&
First Lady Coolidge
Personal Conduct…
• Conscientious, honest & impeccable manners
•Supports Prohibition
Objective…
Summarize how President
Coolidge shaped U.S. domestic
policy in the 1920s.
*
Domestic Policy: Calvin Coolidge
“The business of America is business”
• Pro business… Supported limited government &
cutting spending
• Over speculation was rampant in the stock market
• Immigration Act of 1924…
• Tax cuts…
• The impact of tax cuts...
• “Trickle-Down Economics”…
• Veterans benefits…
• Civil Rights Laws...
• Accomplished very little
Objective…
Summarize how President
Coolidge shaped U.S. foreign
policy in the 1920s.
Foreign Policy: Calvin Coolidge
*
•
•
•
•
Isolationism…
Kellogg-Briand Pact…
22) Dawes Plan…
Relations with the Soviet Union…
A) Fordney- McCumber Tariff
B) Washington Conference
C) Kellogg-Briand Pact
D) Isolationism
E) Dawes Plan
1) An international disarmament agreement
2) Raised taxes on U.S. imports
3) An agreement among nations that renounced
war.
4) A international agreement that restructured
German war debt & maintained paying back their
war debts.
5) The U.S. foreign policy of the 1920s
*
Answer Key: 1) B; 2) A; 3) C; 4) E; 5) D
Review Harding & Coolidge…
• Evaluating Harding & Coolidge...
Which of these two U.S. Presidents was
the best of the worst? Construct an
argument that cites specific policies that
support your point.