“The Roaring 20s”
At the end WWI, much of the world was in economic shambles. Many
Americans feared that the effects of WWI had permanently altered the
world for the worst. This view quickly changed when the year 1920 brought
about the time period that people know today as the “Roaring 20s”. This
decade was a time of great change throughout all aspects of American life.
Change spread like wildfire as people began to improve on the life that the
aftermath of WWI had left them with. This decade is responsible for the
establishment of much of the modern society and diverse culture that lasted
throughout the rest of the century and that we know today.
Section I –1920’s Government:
U.S. Attorney General Mitchell Palmer (pictured) was assigned the duty of
ending all possible communist threats in the U.S. During his anticommunist search Palmer conducted the famous “Palmer Raids.” Palmer
raided the offices of suspected communists in the U.S. and arrested
anyone suspected of being involved with these offices while completely
ignoring people’s civil rights. Many people that were arrested were not
American citizens. In one specific case, 249 “commies” were arrested and
deported to Russia on a ship named the Buford. This ship is more
famously known as the “Soviet Ark”. The Red Scare in general led many
Americans to be distrustful of all foreign people throughout the 1920s
thinking that they were communists.
The Red Scare:
Prohibition:
Combining the uncertainty of the world
caused by WWI and the Russian
Revolution, there was a general fear for
the spread of communism which is more
popularly known as the “Red Scare”.
The event that started this fear was the
Russian Revolution. Governments
around the world were unstable after the
devastation of WWI. Many government
officials and people were fearful that a
communist leader might rise to power and
bring stability to their troubled government
just as Vladimir Lenin did in Russia during
the famous Russian Revolution. This
revolution established Russia as the 1st
communist country in the history of the
world as it changed its name from Russia
to the United Soviet Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R). The more popular name
for this “new” communist Russia was the Soviet Union. Making this
communist fear much worse was the establishment of the Soviet Union
sponsored Communist International (Comintern), which was a group that
“advocated the overthrow of any capitalist economic system by providing
money to any revolutionary group in the world that desired to establish a
communist government in their country.”
On January 16, 1920 the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into
effect. It was implemented under the Volstead Act. This amendment
established the prohibition law, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, or
distribution of alcoholic beverages that contained more than 1% of alcohol
by volume. Advocates of this amendment were supporters of the
temperance movement that was sweeping the U.S. Supporters of the
temperance movement saw liquor as the prime source of the problems
throughout the U.S. They felt that drunkenness led to crime, child abuse,
accidents on the job, infidelity, and adultery. Supporters of prohibition felt
that the elimination of alcohol would eliminate all of these problems. As
you will see, the problems that the 18th Amendment aimed to fix only made
problems worse.
Warren Harding:
Warren Harding (pictured) became president of
the U. S. in a landslide victory in the election of
1920 in which he received 60% of the popular
vote. He used the catchy campaign slogan “less
government in business and more business in
government” to pull in his voters. It is safe to say
that he delivered on his promise. To help him
achieve his promise to the people, Harding had 2
like-minded individuals at his side who would both
become U.S. Presidents themselves. These two
men were Vice President Calvin Coolidge and
Secretary of Commerce (trade) Herbert Hoover. All 3 men shared the
The U.S. was not free from this fear of communism spreading. Various
bombings and riots increased this fear amongst the American population.
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same view of the government’s role in business, a role that should be
virtually non-existent. His economic views were great, but the possibility to
achieve this view was put on hold when Harding inherited a country that
was still feeling the effects of the recently ended WWI. Although the U.S.
was not as bad off as Europe, having been the battleground of WWI, the
U.S. was still suffering economically. While Europe was in the beginning
stages of the Great Depression, the U.S. suffered from a “recession”.
While a depression is the low point of the economic cycle when little or no
economic activity is taking place, a recession is a short step above when
economic activity slows down considerably. After experiencing a recession
for over a year, in 1921 the U.S. economy got back on its feet. Harding
himself called this change for the better a “return to normalcy” after the
disruption caused by WWI. Although Harding got the U.S. back on its feet
after WWI, his time in office was not very successful due to the fact that it
was marked with corruption and scandal.
Calvin Coolidge:
Needing a president after the death of
Harding, Vice President Calvin “silent Cal”
Coolidge (pictured) was sworn into office.
Harding’s scandalous administration left a
“black mark” on the presidency and the
Republican Party. Coolidge was given the
task of restoring both, which was a task he
more than fulfilled. When he first took
office he took an isolationist stance on
foreign policy vowing not to get involved in
Europe’s problems as America did in WWI.
Coolidge also continued Harding’s
economic beliefs of keeping the
government’s role in the economy limited.
Having done well while filling in for Harding,
Coolidge easily won the 1924 election.
Herbert Hoover remained in his cabinet position as the Secretary of
Commerce, and the economy continued to prosper without any help from
the government.
Harding’s Cabinet:
Harding’s home state was Ohio, and many of his self-appointed cabinet
members were also his close friends from Ohio. This helped his cabinet
earn its 1st nickname, the “Ohio Gang”. Because they were also criticized
for spending more time playing cards than planning national welfare for the
country, Harding’s cabinet also earned a 2nd nickname, the “Poker
Cabinet”. Harding was a good man from a small Ohio town, and often
admitted how he was overwhelmed with the responsibilities that came with
being the president of the U.S. Harding’s biggest problem was not
controlling the country, but controlling his cabinet. On numerous occasions
Harding’s closest friends and cabinet members betrayed him. Because of
his cabinet friend’s betrayals, Harding is included the “scandalous
presidents” category with names of Grant, Nixon, and Clinton.
Many felt that Coolidge had a unique talent that contributed to his success,
which was his talent of “effectively doing nothing”. Some historians point to
the death of his son during his presidency as the reason for Coolidge’s
silence due to suffering from some mild depression. Nonetheless, his
leadership style was a perfect fit for the U.S. given the time period. As one
politician said in 1926, “His active inactivity suits the mood and the certain
needs of the country admirably. It suits all business interests which want to
be left alone, and it suits all those who have become convinced that the
government in this country has become dangerously complicated and topheavy (Red Scare).” A great story about Coolidge that supports his
nickname “Silent Cal” takes place at a banquet. A lady sitting next to
Coolidge explained that she had made a bet with a friend she could get him
to say 3 words during the banquet. Coolidge responded to her by saying,
“you lose”. Although successful during his time in office, Coolidge chose
not to run for re-election in 1928.
Teapot Dome Scandal:
Of all the scandals during the Harding administration, the Teapot Dome
Scandal is the most famous. In 1915 the U.S. set aside 3 oil fields as
reserves for the nation’s future if an energy crisis were to occur. Secretary
of the Interior, Albert Fall, managed to get the control of these reserves
transferred to the Department of the Interior, which was the U.S department
that he controlled. He then secretly leased, or rented, 2 of the reserves
(Teapot Dome, Wyoming and Elk Hill, California) to 2 private oil companies
in exchange for $325,000 in bonds and cash plus a large herd of cattle.
Fall was forced to pay $100,000 fine and was sentenced to 1 year in prison.
Shortly after the scandal, Harding died of a heart attack on August 2, 1923
1 year before his presidential term was up. Many of Harding’s closest
friends point to his friend’s betrayals as the cause of his death.
Herbert Hoover:
After capably serving as Secretary of Commerce under both Harding and
Coolidge, Herbert Hoover (pictured) was the logical choice to be the next
U.S. president when Coolidge decided not to run for office in 1928.
Because of the engineering degree he earned from the University of
Stanford, Hoover was given the name the ‘Great Engineer”. Proof of
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Hoover’s engineering talents lies in an
engineering process that Hoover envisioned
and would be responsible for starting when
he became president. The finished product
of this process is one of the greatest
projects in U.S. history which is also fittingly
named after him, the Hoover Dam. This
went right along with the belief held by many
Americans that Hoover was responsible for
“engineering” the economic prosperity that
took place during the 1920s due to his role
as the Secretary of Commerce. Because
of his reputation, Hoover won the 1928
election vowing to continue his ‘laissez-faire”
capitalist economic policies. Below is a
famous yet ironic quote said by Hoover shortly after he was elected
president of the U.S.
10. What “movement” was prohibition a part of, and what were the aims of
prohibition?
11. What was Harding’s presidential campaign slogan in 1920?
12. What was Europe in the beginning stages of after WWI? Give an
educated guess as to why.
13. Explain the difference between a depression and a recession.
14. Explain what Harding meant by the phrase “return to normalcy”.
15. What were the 2 nicknames given to Harding’s cabinet?
16. Explain the Teapot Dome Scandal.
17. How did Coolidge gain his first presidential term?
“We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever
before in the history of any land. The poorhouse is vanishing among us.
We shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will
be banished from this earth”
18. What did Coolidge mean when he said the U.S. foreign policy would be
“isolationist”?
19. What was Coolidge’s “unique talent”, and how did it help his
presidency?
Section I Questions: The following questions are to be completed on a
separate sheet of paper.
1. Why was this decade labeled the “Roaring 20s”?
20. What was it about Coolidge that helped ease the Red Scare in
America?
2. Explain what the Red Scare is?
21. What was Hoover’s position under Harding and Coolidge?
3. What event started the Red Scare?
22. What was Hoover’s nickname?
4. What country became the 1st communist country in the world?
23. Give 2 reasons why Hoover had his nickname.
5. Who was leader of the 1st communist country in the world?
24. What major project is Hoover responsible for and is also named after
him?
6. Explain what the Comintern is.
25. What was Hoover’s economic policy, and why do you think it is
significant to the 1920’s?
7. Explain what “Palmer Raids” are, and why they were given this name?
8. What was the “Soviet Ark”?
26. What do you find ironic about the quote from Hoover at the end of the
reading?
9. What amendment to the U.S Constitution created prohibition?
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