1920’s
Politics- Three Republican presidents controlled the executive branch throughout the 1920's. Congress
as well was solidly Republican throughout the decade when US business boomed and farmers and
unions struggled. Republican leadership in the 1920's accepted limited government regulation as an aid
to stabilizing business. Harding was the first president and promised a "return to normalcy". He pardoned
Socialist leader Eugene Debs and released him from federal prison, demonstrating Harding's generous
spirit. Harding approved a reduction in income tax, an increase in tariffs under the Fordney-McCumber
Tariff Act, and the establishment of the Bureau of the Budget which created a single budget for Congress
to review and vote on. His administration was marked by scandals and corruption; he had selected
incompetent and dishonest men as officials (Teapot Dome scandal). Harding died suddenly in 1923 and
Coolidge succeeded him. Nicknamed "Silent Cal", Coolidge summarized his presidency and era in the
phrase: "The business of America is business". In the Election of 1924, Coolidge won easily. He believed
in limited government that allowed business to conduct its own affairs. Cutting spending to the bone,
Coolidge vetoed even the acts of the Republican majority in Congress (McNary-Haugen Bill). Hoover won
the Election of 1928 in a landslide and promised to extend the "Coolidge Prosperity".
Foreign Policy- Although Americans pledged isolationism in response to WWI, US foreign policy didn't
necessarily retreat completely back to the isolationism of the Gilded Age. Instead, it actively created
arrangements in foreign affairs that advanced American interests while maintaining world peace. The
Republican Presidents of the 1920's attempted to promote peace and scale back expenditures on
defense by arranging treaties. Secretary of State Charles Hughes attended the Washington Conference,
where major world powers agreed to scrap a percentage of their existing battleships, cruisers, and aircraft
carriers. Tariffs were raised and resulted in other nations raising their tariffs as well. The Kellogg-Briand
Pact renounced the aggressive use of force to achieve national ends, but it proved ineffective. The
presidents also used diplomacy to advance American business interests in Latin America and other
regions. While US military influence was reduced in South America, the economic impact of the US on its
neighbors increased, as American investments in Latin America doubled between 1919 and 1929. The
US had emerged from the war as a creditor nation, having lent billions of dollars to the Allies. Britain and
France could not pay back all the borrowed money. Germany was bankrupt, had soaring inflation, and
was near anarchy. In response, Charles Dawes negotiated a compromise that established a cycle of
payments that provided loans to Germany so it could stabilize its currency and continue its reparations
payments, which, in turn, would enable England and France to pay off loans to America.
Economy- The standard of living improved for most Americans as indoor plumbing, central heating, and
electricity became commonplace. A business boom resulted from increased productivity and scientific
management in the manufacturing world, energy technologies such as increased use of oil and electricity,
and government policy which favored the growth of big business by offering corporate tax cuts and not
enforcing antitrust laws of the Progressive era. Consolidations of business continued in the 1920's and
corporations controlled most major industries, raising money through the sale of stocks and bonds.
Consequently, the demand for corporate loans decreased and so banks invested their funds in the stock
market. This created the illusion of prosperity until the stock market crash in 1929. Farmers, however, did
not thrive with business. After the war, farmers were left with a heavy burden of debt. New technologies
helped farmers increase their production in the 1920's, but it only served to increase their debts as
growing surpluses produced falling prices. Consumer spending drove economic growth as new consumer
products and advertising techniques were created. To facilitate spending, consumer credit was greatly
expanded and installment plans offered money upfront for families to spend. This increased use of credit
and resulting careless spending created a superficial prosperity that crashed with the Stock Market in
1929. The union movement went backwards in the 1920's and companies insisted on open shops and
practiced welfare capitalism. Union efforts at strikes usually failed.
Culture and Society- Women gained the right to vote and more opportunities in the 1920's asserted their
independence. More liberal divorce laws permitted women to end marriages more easily and they could
achieve a greater degree of sexual liberation as birth control became more available. Fashions were less
constricting. Religion endured the struggle between modernism and fundamentalism. Divisions among
Protestants reflected tensions in society as modernists defined their faith in new ways, opposing the
fundamentalists who taught that every word in the Bible must be accepted as literally true. "Lost
Generation" writers such as Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Lewis, expressed the disillusionment from
hypocriticism in religion, sacrifices from war, and fraud perpetrated by money interests. The Harlem
Renaissance was the artistic achievements of African American actors, artists, musicians, and writers
who lived in the Black community of Harlem, New York. Marcus Garvey advocated individual and racial
pride for Blacks and developed political ideas of black nationalism. He established an organization for a
back-to-Africa movement. Du Bois and other Black leaders disagreed with this idea. The Scopes Trial,
prohibition, nativism, Ku Klux Klan, and the case of Sacco and Vanzetti all underlined the idea of
fundamentalism vs. modernism, and the social changes of the 1920's.
Timeline:
1918:
*Wilson announces 14 Points
*Sedition Act limits free speech
*Armistice ends the First World War
1919:
*Paris Peace Conference punishes Germany and launches League of Nations
*May Day bombings instigate Red Scare
*Senate rejects Treaty of Versailles and US membership in League of Nations
*Schenck v. US
*18th Amendment prohibits alcoholic beverages
*Strike wave breaks out
1920:
*Palmer Raids
*19th Amendment ratified, legalizing the vote for women in federal elections
*Harding elected president over other runners Cox and Debs
1921:
*Federal Highway Act funds national highway system
*Emergency Quota Act establishes immigration quotas
*Sacco and Vanzetti convicted
*Washington Naval Conference
1922:
*Economic recovery raises standard of living
*Coronado Coal Company v. United Mines Workers
*Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Company
*Federal government ends strikes by railroad shop workers and miners
*Fordney-McCumber Tariff raises rates on imports
1923:
*Harding dies and Coolidge assumes the presidency
*Adkins v. Children's Hospital
*Teapot Dome scandal
1924:
*National Origins Act revises immigration quotas
*Teapot Dome scandal occurs
*Dawns Plan enacted
1925:
*Scopes trial highlights battle between religious fundamentalists and modernists
1927:
*Sacco and Vanzetti executed
*Lindbergh pilots solo transatlantic flight
*The Jazz Singer opens
1928:
*Stock market soars
*Hoover elected president
*Kellogg-Briand Pact Signed
1929:
*Stock market crashes; Great Depression begins
Presidential AdministrationsWarren Harding (1921-1923)- Republican
Election of 1920- Harding was a Republican who was unclear about where he stood on every issue
but he asserted America would "return to normalcy". He ran against James Cox, a Democrat. Harding
was elected by a landslide which was a sign that the idealism and activism that had characterized the
prewar years of the Progressive Era were over.
Actions- *Pardoned Debs
* Approved a reduction in the income tax
*Passed an increase in tariff rates under the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act of 1922
*Established the Bureau of the Budget which created procedures for all government
expenditures to be placed in a single budget for Congress
*Scandal in office (Teapot Dome)
Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)- Republican
Death of Harding- Harding died in 1923 while traveling in the West.
Election of 1924- Coolidge ran against John Davis, a democrat and Robert LaFollette, a new
Progressive Party candidate.
Actions- *little was accomplished except a close watch on the budget
*vetoed acts of Congress, even those of the Republicans
*vetoed the McNary-Haugen Bill of 1928
Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)- Republican
Election of 1928- Herbert Hoover campaigned against Alfred Smith, a Democrat. Smith was a Roman
Catholic and appealed to many immigrants. Republicans boasted of "Coolidge Prosperity" and Hoover
won in a landslide.
Actions- *Stock Market Crash
Vocabulary and Terms:
"Roaring Twenties"- the time period characterized by a seemingly strong economy which recovered and
grew after World War I and remained strong until the stock market crash of 1929.
Isolationism- the belief that the United States should not be involved in world affairs. This is one of the
policies the Harding Administration is best known for.
Prohibition- the outlawing of the manufacturing, selling, or transporting of alcoholic beverages which
took effect in 1920. Also known as the "noble experiment".
Consumerism- it largely drove the economic growth of the 1920's. Electricity in homes enabled millions
of Americans to purchase the new consumer appliances of the decade- refrigerators, vacuum cleaners,
and washing machines. Automobiles became more affordable and advertising expanded
Harlem Renaissance- a creative outpouring among African American writers, artists, and musicians.
Modernism- the definition of faith in a new way. It was influenced by the changing role of women, the
Social Gospel movement, and scientific knowledge. It took a historical and critical view of certain
passages in the Bible.
Fundamentalism- opposed the modernizing forces of the cities and upheld traditional values. It blamed
the liberal views of modernists for causing a decline in morals. Protestant preachers condemned the
modernists and taught that every word in the Bible must be accepted as literally true.
Assembly line- a method of mass production whereby the products are moved from worker to worker,
with each person performing a small, repetitive task on the product and sending it to the next for a
different part until the item is assembled. Henry Ford invented the moving assembly line.
Advertising- the promotion of products in various media. Modern advertising, employing psychology,
expert testimony, and other innovations developed in the 20's
Speakeasies- illegal bars and saloons that operated during Prohibition
Bootleggers- people who illegally manufactured, sold, or transported alcoholic beverages during the
Prohibition period
Consumer credit- it was greatly expanded to facilitate spending. The increased use of credit was only
superficial prosperity, which was proven by the Stock Market Crash in 1929
Installment plans- the practice of paying for goods at regular intervals, usually with interest added to the
balance
Flappers- a youthful and rebellious ideal that replaced the Victorian matronly style of petticoats and
corsets. this ideal valued shorter hair, waist less dresses cut above the knee, and a degree of selfassuredness. Flappers, more likely to be found in urban settings, even began smoking and drinking in
public
Nativism- anti-immigrant sentiment that had been present in the US as far back as the first waves of Irish
immigration in the 1840's. It gained strength during the latter part of the 19th century as Eastern and
Southern Europeans began immigrating to the US. Protestants feared an influx of Jews, Catholics, and
members of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Organized labor feared that an influx of unskilled workers
would drive wages down and make organizing unions more difficult. Some Americans just simply
resented different cultures and languages entering the US.
Ku Klux Klan- It reemerged in 1915 as African Americans began leaving the South in large numbers as
part of the Great Migration. It was strongest in the South but felt everywhere. It resorted to repressive
tactics, including cross burnings and lynchings, largely directed at African Americans. After the death of
the leader Grand Dragon David Stephenson, its influence and membership declined rapidly.
Open shops- keeping jobs open to nonunion workers
Welfare capitalism- voluntarily offering employees improved benefits and higher wages in order to
remove the need for organizing unions.
EventsGreat Migration- half a million African Americans made the move from the rural South to the urban North
in the 1910's to work in war-related industries since many workers had joined the army. It continued into
the 20's. This migration was fueled by Jim Crow discrimination and low-paying jobs in the South. While
African Americans did find work in war-related industries in the North, they still suffered discrimination and
violence. Over 25 race riots erupted in Northern cities in 1919.
Red Scare- It was both a government attempt to expose and punish communists, anarchists, and
radicals, and a grassroots fear of the spread of a worldwide communist revolution. It was ignited first in
1917 when communists staged a successful revolution in Russia and publicly expressed their hopes for a
general uprising around the world, and second, in 1919 when strike waves convinced some that a
communist uprising was imminent.
Palmer Raids- characterized the Red Scare. Investigations of labor leaders and radicals occurred across
the nation. Government agents raided homes, union halls, offices, and meetings, often without warrants,
in search for communist subversion.
Seattle general strike and Boston police strike- significant incidents of the 1919 strike wave. Union
membership declined after 1919 as employers pushed for open shops.
Scopes Trial- conservative fundamentalist Protestants led by William Bryan had been pushing for the
elimination of evolution for high school curricula. Tennessee passed legislation prohibiting the teaching of
evolution in 1925. American Civil Liberties Union was eager to challenge the law, and found a biology
teacher, John Scopes, who was willing to break the law to create a test case. Scopes was found guilty in
this trial that attracted national attention, as Bryan argued against evolution and the lawyer Clarence
Darrow defended Scope's right to teach it. The northern press, however, asserted that Darrow and the
modernists had thoroughly discredited fundamentalism.
Sacco and Vanzetti Trial- two Italian immigrants, Sacco and Vanzetti, were convicted in 1921 in a
Massachusetts court of committing robbery and murder. Liberals protested the two men were innocent
and they had been sentenced to death simply because they were poor Italians and anarchists. After six
years of appeals and national and international debates over the fairness of their trial, they were executed
in 1927.
Teapot Dome scandal (1921-23)- the most notorious of the number of scandals the Harding
administration was embroiled in. It involved bribery and the transfer of rights to precious oil reserves at
Teapot Dome, Wyoming. The whole affair, when made public, demonstrated the administration's shaky
ethical foundation as well as its pro-business slant, although Harding himself was not involved.
Washington Naval Conference (1921 secretary of state Charles Evans Hughes initiated talks on naval
disarmament, hoping to stabilize the size of the US Navy relative to that of other powers and to resolve
conflicts in the Pacific. Representatives to the Conference came from Belgium, China, France, Great
Britain, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Three agreements to relieve tensions resulted from
the discussions:
Five-Power Treaty- Nations with the five largest navies agreed to maintain a specific ratio with respect
to their largest warships. Britain and the US also agreed not to fortify their possessions in the Pacific.
Four-Power Treaty- The US, France, Great Britain, and Japan agreed to respect one another's
territory in the Pacific.
Nine-Power Treaty- All nine nations represented agreed to respect the Open Door policy by
guaranteeing the territorial integrity of China.
Acts/Amendments/Laws/Tariffs18th Amendment (1919)- banned the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcoholic beverages.
Wartime concerns to conserve grain and maintain a sober workforce moved Congress to pass this
amendment.
Volstead Act (1919)-the federal law that enforced the Prohibition amendment.
19th Amendment (1920)- gave the women the right to vote.
Fordney-McCumber Tariff (1922)- raised tariff rates in fear of a flood of goods from a revived postwar
Europe. This act, which was especially high on agricultural goods, was an expression of American
isolationism desires. It increased the duties on foreign manufactured goods by 25 percent. It was
protective of US business interests in the short run, but was destructive in the long run because other
nations responded to the high US tariffs by imposing tariffs of their own on American imports which
ultimately weakened international trade and the world economy.
McNary-Haugen Bill (1927 and 1928)- was twice vetoed by Coolidge. It would have provided price
supports to struggling farmers.
Emergency Quota Act (1921)- established by Congress as European immigration increased after WWI.
It set quotas for different nationalities based on the number of people from that nationality that had lived in
the US in 1890, thus discrimination against new immigrant groups.
National Origins Act (1924)- a variation of the formula designed in the Emergency Quota Act. The net
result was a dramatic decrease in European immigration from 1921 until 1965.
Dawes Plan (1924)- a compromise that established a cycle of payments flowing from the US to Germany
and from Germany to the Allies. US banks would lend Germany huge sums to rebuild its economy and
pay reparations to Britain and France. In turn, Britain and France would use the reparations money to pay
their war debts to the US. This cycle helped ease financial problems on both sides of the Atlantic.
However, it collapsed in 1929 when US bank loans stopped and the stock market crashed.
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)- outlawed war, but it was little more than a statement of intent with no
powers of enforcement. It reflected the naive hope that America could avoid international entanglements
through gestures and good intentions.
PeopleWilliam Jennings Bryan- argued for the prosecution in the Scopes Trial. He himself took the stand as an
expert on religion and science, defending fundamentalist views on the Bible.
Clarence Darrow- represented the defense in the Scopes Trial.
Babe Ruth- famous baseball player
Charles Lindbergh- flew nonstop across the Atlantic from Long Island to Paris in 1927. He was a popular
hero of the decade and many Americans listened to updates of his flight on the Radio.
Margaret Sanger- advocated birth control which achieved growing acceptance in the 20's.
Henry Ford- created the moving assembly line which revolutionized industry
Eugene V. Debs- was a socialist leader who was imprisoned for violating the Espionage Act in wartime,
but was pardoned by Harding.
Marcus Garvey- headed the Universal Negro Improvement Association. He believed blacks should
separate from corrupt white society. He cultivated racial pride with mass meetings and promoted blackowned businesses. He also founded a shipping line to help blacks immigrate to Africa.
LiteratureErnest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Extra Pound, and T.S. Eliot- writers of the
"lost generation" which expressed disillusionment with the ideals of an earlier time and with the
materialism of a business-oriented culture. Eliot and Hemingway expressed their unhappiness by moving
into exile in Europe.
Nuggets"Return to normalcy"- the campaign slogan for Republican nominee Warren Harding in 1920. This was
both a rejection of the activist government of the Progressive era and a call to isolate America from war
and revolution-torn Europe.
"100 percent Americanism"- the devotion of the KKK. This entailed opposition to African Americans and
Catholics, as well as to Jews and immigrants in general. It also stood for fundamentalist Protestantism,
Prohibition, and what is seen as traditional moral values.
"A dollar down and a dollar forever"- a critic quipped about installment plans
"Bright with hope"- how Hoover proclaimed his administration would be. He said this at his inaugural
address.
"The new woman"- the intriguingly of independent women who were asserting a new social equality with
men and remaking the image of feminity.