Homework Quiz
1. Which president’s administration was full of
scandal?
2. What was the name of the meeting of eight
nations and the United States that was aimed to
end a costly naval arms race?
3. What did the Kellogg-Briand Pact do?
4. Which invention of Henry Ford made cars
available to more people?
5. What economic state was viewed as
shameful until the 1920s?
Bonus: What plan was used to help with
European World War I debts?
Political, Economic, and
Social Life in the 1920s
Goal 9
Essential Idea
The “Roaring Twenties” was a time of
economic growth and a raised standard of
living.
Warren G. Harding
Warren G.
Harding:
Won the Election
of 1920 by
campaigning for a
“return to
normalcy”
The “Ohio Gang”
Scandal #1:
The Ohio Gang –
Harding hired his
poker buddies into
government positions
The Ohio Gang sold
government jobs and
gave unethical
pardons
Teapot Dome Scandal
Scandal #2:
Teapot Dome Scandal –
Secretary of Interior,
Albert Fall, took a bribe
from an oil company to
drill in Wyoming
Harding Dies
 End of Harding’s
Presidency
 In June 1923,
Harding had a stroke
and died
 Calvin Coolidge
became president



Isolationism
American Post-war
Feelings:
Isolationism – the
belief that the United
States would be safer if
it stayed out of foreign
affairs
When Isolationism
started: when the
United States refused
to join the League of
Nations
Economic Trouble in Europe





Coolidge’s Goals:
Promote peace, stability,
and economic growth
How did it conflict with
isolationism?
European economies were
suffering after World War I
American businesses
needed European markets
in order to prosper
The Dawes Plan
The Plan: The Dawes Plan
Who: The United States
What they did: U.S. banks
loaned money to Germany
Who: Germany
What they did: Germany
used this money to pay
reparations according to
the War Guilt Clause
Who: Britain and France
What they did: lowered
reparations and paid back
money owed to the United
States in war debts
Return of Militarism?
 New Problem: Many countries began to take
part in a naval arms race (militarism again!)
The Washington Conference
•
•
Solution #1:
Washington
Conference – United
States, Britain,
France, Japan, and
Italy agreed to ban
naval production for
ten years
•
•
•
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Solution #2:
Kellogg-Briand Pact – United States and 14 other
countries agree to outlaw war
Why funny? You can’t outlaw war!
The Economy Grows
Production:
Henry Ford’s
Assembly Line
allowed cars to be
produced quickly (12
hours to 93 minutes
per car) and cheaply
($850 to $295)
The Model T
Five Dollar Days:
Ford’s workers
made $5 a day,
which was a lot at
the time
Many workers
used this high pay
to buy cars, which
helped Ford
The Automobile Changes America



Impact of Cars:
Millions of people could now afford cars
People could live farther from work and now rural areas were
not so isolated
Airplanes
 Airplanes:
 Wright Brothers
invented the
airplane
 Charles Linburgh
was the first to fly
solo across the
Atlantic Ocean
 Businesses saw
potential for
commercial flights
Buying on Credit
Pros – installment
plans: making
payments over time
People were able to
afford more
expensive things
Cons – eventually
people have to pay
off the expensive
things!
Changes in Culture
The Group: The Lost Generation
Who they were: writers who were
disillusioned by World War I
Their motto: “Eat, drink, and be merry, for
tomorrow we die”
Famous Writers
 Ernest Hemmingway:
wrote “For Whom the
Bell Tolls”, which
reflected the idea of
the Lost Generation
 F. Scott Fitzgerald:
wrote “The Great
Gatsby”, which
reflected life in the
1920s
Leisure Time
 The Result of the Booming Economy of
the Roaring ’20s:
 There was a higher standard of living
and more leisure (free) time
Movies and Music
Leisure Activity #1: Movies
The Jazz Singer – the first
“talkie” (had sound)
Leisure Activity #2: Radio
Jazz became popular and
was listened to by millions
Louis Armstrong – most
famous jazz musician
Sports
Leisure Activity #3:
Sports
Baseball – most famous
player was Babe Ruth
Boxing – most famous
boxer was Jack
Dempsey
Bringing the Country Together?
Mass media: the use of radios, movies,
newspapers, and magazines to reach a broad
audience
Mass Media and Advertising
Economic Impact:
businesses could use
advertising to sell more
products to more people
Social Impact: people all
over the country were
reading/watching/listening
to the SAME things