Ch.32 Study Guide
1-7
The Republican “Old Guard”
Returns
1. What flaws did Warren Harding possess?
• Warren Harding- The 29th president of the United States who
famously promoted a return to “normalcy”.
• Ohio Gang- A group of tightly linked politicians and industry leaders
that regularly met with Harding. The group is also infamous for being
responsible for the Teapot Dome scandal.
• Warren Harding, the republican president after Wilson, was noted
for being very popular with the people and also very friendly.
However, he was also known for being very easily tricked, in other
words gullible, and not that much smarter than the average citizen.
He sought to have the best cabinet around him, and although he
chose a few of the best people suited for their jobs such as Charles
Evans Hughes, Andrew Mellon and also Herbert Hoover; he also
chose people he thought he could trust but actually couldn’t such as
Albert B. Fall who was a schemer and against conserving and also
Harry M. Daugherty, who was easily bribed as attorney general.
GOP Reaction at the Throttle
• 2. What pro-business policies were taken by the
government during the Harding administration.
• Harding’s administration was a very traditional one, in which
many of the progressive cases were halted or even reversed.
Harding had to appoint 4 new judges for the Supreme Court,
and he chose 3 traditional ones and also former president
William Taft, who was the most liberal of the 4 new judges.
With the Harding administration, America returned back to
laissez-faire, which encouraged less government limitations on
companies. They also reversed child labor laws and in Adkins v
Children’s Hospital, they actually overturned the women’s
minimum wage. They also turned back many anti-trust laws
and encouraged big businesses to reign again.
The Aftermath of War
• 3. What effects did the war have on the post-war economy?
• Railway Labor Board- successor body to the wartime labor boards that
ordered a wage cut of 12% in 1922, which provoked a 2 year strike
• American Legion- founded in Paris in 1919 by Colonel Theodore
Roosevelt, Jr.; became distinguished for its militant patriotism,
conservatism, and antiradicalism
• Adjusted Compensation Act- (1924) gave every former soldier a paid-up
insurance policy due in twenty years, which added $3.5 billion to total
war cost
• The economy did not prosper after the war. In addition to war debts,
many ex-soldiers demanded 'adjusted compensation' to make up for the
wages they 'lost' after joining the army. Congress passed the Adjusted
Compensation Act in 1924, which gave every former soldier an
insurance policy due in twenty years and added about $3.5 billion to the
total war cost. Labor also suffered; strikes were brutally dealt with by
exploiting ethnic and racial divisions among the workers.
America seeks Benefits without
Burdens
• 4. How did the U.S. take the lead in disarmament in the
20's?
• Unofficial Observers- sent to the League of Nations meeting to watch and make sure things
did not get out of hand (even though America itself did not join the League of Nations)
• Charles Evans Hughes- President Warren G. Harding's Secretary of State that secured for
American oil companies the right to share in the exploitation of the Middle East's oil
• Five-Power Naval Treaty- (1922) Warren G. Harding proposed that America, Britain, and
Japan respectively should enjoy parity (excluding Japan) in battleships and aircraft carriers
in a 5:5:3 ratio. Eventually compensation was offered to the Japanese and America and
Britain conceded that they would refraid from fortifying the Middle East and the Philippines
• Four-Power Treaty- replaced the twenty-year-old Anglo-Japanese alliance and bound
Britain, Japan, America, and France to keep the peace in the Pacific
• Nine-Power Treaty- agreed to keep the Open Door Policy in China
• Kellogg-Briand Act- Calvin Coolidge's Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg signed the Pact of
Paris which was ratified by sixty-two nations. Permitted defensive wars
The United States, led by then-president Warren G. Harding, took the
lead in disarmament in the 1920's by creating the Five-Power Naval
Treaty and the Four-Power Treaty between Britain, Japan, France, and
the United States. These treaties said to cut down on the amounts of
battleships and aircrafts produced and used.
Hiking the Tariff Higher
• 5. What effects were produced by high American tariffs?
• Fordney- Mcumber Tariff Law- A tariff that was designed to
help boost agricultural productivity for the purpose of
equalizing the cost of American and foreign production.
Since businesses in America need to have a higher tariff to
protect themselves against cheaper European goods, the
Fordney-McCumber Tariff Law was passed. Rates were raised
from 27 % to 38.5%. Although this was good for America, Europe
owed them some money, and because of the high tariffs, they
aren't able to pay back the money they owed.
The Stench of Scandal
• 6."Such was his [Harding's] weakness that he tolerated
people and conditions that subjected the Republic to its
worst disgrace since the days of President Grant." Explain
• Charles R. Forbes- The first director of the Veterans Bureau.
• Albert B. Fall- The Secretary of the Interior under President Harding who’s
department was in control of the Elk Hills Oil Field in the Teapot Dome scandal.
• Teapot Dome- A scandal in which Albert B. Fall leased off U.S. Navy petroleum to
private companies at lower rates with no competitive bidding.
• Harry M. Daugherty- The Attorney General of both President Harding and
President Coolidge who was involved in the Ohio Gang.
During Harding's term, there has been much corruption in it. Charles R.
Forbes skimmed money as Chief of veteran Bureau. One of the worst
scandals was the Teapot Dome, secretary of interior Albert B. Fall had a
land with oil in it placed under his command. At that point, he accepted
bribes for oil drilling rights. Also, Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty
was heard of selling pardons and liquor permits during prohibition.
These scandals made people skeptical of the trust in the court system.
Calvin Coolidge aka “Silent Cal” and
“Cautious Cal”
• 7. Do the nicknames, "Silent Cal" and "Cautious Cal"
accurately describe the Coolidge presidency?
• Calvin Coolidge- The successor to Harding who was renowned
for his quiet demeanor.
• Both of Coolidge's nicknames were true descriptions for the
five and a half years of his presidency. During the duration of
his presidency he never performed or authorized any rash or
controversial actions and decisions. Businesses favored him
because he didn't bother to take any risks in their domain
unlike many of his predecessors. His nickname "Silent Cal"
suits his personality perfectly because he actually didn't talk
much and his inability to have powerful speeches most likely
stemmed from his silent personality.