THE STATE, THE
ECONOMY, & BUSINESS
Using the summary of the 1920s
economy….
Objective… Create generalizations
based on the economic statistics of
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
The Election of 1920
• Rep: Warren Harding - Ohio
• Dem: James Cox - Ohio
Harding
Cox
- Electoral Vote: 404 127
- Popular Vote: 16 m
9m
- Percentage:
60 %
34%
• 1920 census indicates more people are living
in urban areas
• 1920 is the first presidential election in which
women participate
• Only 35% of women voted in 1920
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.”…Harding
• “ I knew the job would be too much for me.”
Political Overview of the 1920s
• The Executive Branch is dominated by 3
Republicans…
* ______________
* ______________
* ______________
• Republicans control Congress during the
1920s
Warren G. Harding
•
•
•
•
Republican
Ohio
VP Coolidge
Died in office on
Aug 2, 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
• Visited burlesque houses in Washington D.C.
• 1905-20: An affair with Carrie Phillips…
• 1919: An affair with Nan Britton…
Nan Britton
•
•
•
•
•
Affair 1917-23 …30 yrs younger
1919 daughter of WGH born
Child support delivered by Secret Service
Sued the Harding estate
Book: The President’s Daughter (1927)
Nan &
Elizabeth Ann
Britton
Carrie Philips
• Affair 1905-20…10 yrs younger
• 1917 -blackmail on WWI vote
• 1920 -RNC bribes Philips with $20K &
a slow trip to Japan
• CP lives until the 1960s
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
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… 1925- 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 connection to content?...
Meaning? ... Symbolism??
Juggernaut –
An
unstoppable
force, or object
that crushes
whatever is in
its path.
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?
• Encouraged trade associations
• 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…
Both Germany (33B) & the Allies (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.
Warren G. Harding
Foreign Policy –
“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
• Did not object to Prohibition
*Objective…
Summarize how President
Coolidge shaped U.S.
domestic policy in the
1920s.
Calvin Coolidge
“The business of America is business”
• Pro business…Supported limited
government & cutting spending
• No interest in world leadership
• Over speculation was rampant in the
stock market
• Accomplished very little
Calvin Coolidge
Domestic Policy
•
•
•
•
•
•
Immigration Act of 1924…
Tax cuts…
The impact of tax cuts...
“Trickle-Down Economics”…
Veterans benefits…
Civil Rights Laws...
*
Objective…
Summarize how President
Coolidge shaped U.S.
foreign policy in the
1920s.
Calvin Coolidge
Foreign Policy
•
•
•
•
Isolationism…
Kellogg-Briand Pact…
22) Dawes Plan…
Relations with the Soviet Union…
A) Fordney- McCumber Tariff D) Isolationism
B) Washington Conference
E) Dawes Plan
C) Kellogg-Briand Pact
1) An international disarmlament agreement
2) Raised taxes on U.S. imports
3) An agreement among nations that
renounced war.
4) A plan that restructured German war debt
and allowed them to maintain paying back
their war debts.
5) The U.S. foreign policy of the 1920s
*
Discussion…
Which Americans
economically gained the
most, and which were left
out during the post war
prosperity? …Why?
Review Harding & Coolidge…
*
What were the key policies and
goals (domestic & foreign)
articulated by the Republican
political leaders of the 1920s?