Daily Lesson Guide
Return to Normalcy:

Election of 1920: Who would you vote for? __________ Who won? __________ What do the
overall results (election of president, House, and Senate) tell you in terms of public opinion in
1920? ________________________________________________________________________

Video clip: Overview of the __________ Administration.
1. Americans were tired of P__________ and w____ abroad.
2. ____ He campaigned on a return to (A) nationalism (B) war (C) imperialism (D) normalcy
What did he mean by this (after clip)? ____________________________________________
3. ____ The Budget and Accounting Act was important since the President (A) can’t spend too
much (B) can’t tax too much (C) must present budget to Congress (D) can head the treasury
4. ____ The Washington Conference was a Harding accomplishment and was on (A) budgets
(B) arms limitation (C) the postwar depression (D) limiting the size of government
What was the Five Power Treaty from the conference (after clip)?
_________________________________________________________________________;
What were the consequences (after clip)?
__________________________________________________________________________
5. Harding’s presidency would be hurt by scandals with the biggest being committed by
Secretary of the Interior Albert F____ - the T_______ D_____ Scandal in which he
improperly leased o___ reserves and in return he got illegal k_______.
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Depression of 1920-21:

Reasons: Millions of _________ returned home; ______ were scarce; ______ were high
therefore little incentive for businesses to _____; high _____________; what would you
do? ______________________________

Why it isn’t a popular historical topic/issue? ____________________________________

Treasury Secretary: A_____ M_____ proposed t____ c____, which increased r________

Harding’s decision: _______________________________________________________

Results: incentives for e__________ - led to new g____ and i_______ - increased
c_______ s_________ and in turn increased j____.

Lesson to be learned: When businesses have incentives to grow
_______________________________________________________________________
Scandals within the Administration: some members of the “Ohio Gang” were corrupt, hurt Hardin

Charles Forbes (Veterans Bureau) – sold h______ supplies meant for v________.

Harry Daugherty (Attorney General) – took b_____ for German a_____ seized in the war.

Albert Fall (Interior) – T______ D____ S_____ (definition above).

Harding quote: “I can take care of my e______; I have no problems with my e_______;
its my f______ that keep me w________ the f_____ at n_____.”

Evaluation: ____________________________________________________________________

P&P: _________________________________________________________________________

Did you meet the objective? What decisions led to economic prosperity in the 1920s?
_____________________________________________________________________________
Silent Cal:

Background: Video clip on Coolidge Administration
1. ____ As governor of Massachusetts, he efficiently handled and ended the (A) Boston Tea
Party (B) Boston Massacre (C) Boston Police Strike (D) Boston Marathon (E) all (F) none
What was his reasoning (after clip)? _____________________________________________
2. ____ His policies promoted (A) Progressive principles (B) big government making decisions
for individuals (C) anti-trust legislation (D) business growth (E) all (F) none
3. ____ He led America during the best times of the (A) Roaring 20s (B) Great Depression (C)
war years (D) Industrial Revolution (E) all (F) none
4. ____ Farmers in the Roaring 20s had low prices due to (A) discrimination against them (B)
high taxes (C) competition from world surpluses of crops (D) people didn’t eat (E) all (F) none

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
Coolidge Domestic Agenda: high popularity won him r_-_________ in 1924

America in 1920: not many had a c____, i______ was low, there was high u_________,
not many homes had e_________, and there was low p____________ in businesses.
BUT
America when Coolidge left office: most had a c___, income up by ___%, unemployment
went to __%, e___________ in homes and people could afford new a_________, and
production in the nation grew by ___% a.k.a R________ __s (N____ E____ - best times).

Favored ______ and _______ government – examples: appointees to the ____ and ____
(regulatory agencies) did little to restrict b________, which led to g______ and in the
M___________ flood of 1927, he wanted the p_______ to help themselves and said not
to give a new role to the g__________.

Cut t___ and gov’t s________, which increased r________ and cut the national d____ by
1/3…by 1927 only the wealthiest ___% were paying an i________ tax (98% did have to).

Supported rights of w______ and b______ (opposite of Wilson); bill gave full citizenship
to I_______; called for anti-lynching bills, but blocked by __________________________

Union membership declined since Coolidge kept the government ____ of l_____ disputes
+ w______ c________ - businesses offered benefits to workers without union pressures.
Coolidge in Foreign Affairs:

Dawes Plan (1924) – loans to Germany to help them with r____________

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) – outlawed w____; became a basis for international law after
WWII for c_____ against p______ to convict N____ and J_________ war criminals.
In his own words:
1. How would 4/5 of our problems disappear? _______________________________________
2. What is the chief business of America? ___________ - to provide more ____ and _________
This quote is often used to portray Coolidge as greedy or favoring greedy businesses, but the
remainder of the quote shows that he believed things of the ______ came first.
3. What is the true meaning of freedom? ___________________________________________
4. What did he mean in an inauguration quote? ______________________________________

Evaluation: ____________________________________________________________________

Did you meet the objective? How did Coolidge’s policies improve America?
_____________________________________________________________________________
The New Era:

Video clip – the Roaring 20s (best times of the decade were called the “New Era”)
1. ____ Harding and Coolidge promoted (A) industrial growth (B) the League of Nations (C) high
taxes for government stimulus programs (D) government run businesses (E) all (F) none 
…and as a result unemployment d______, production i_________ and wages r____
2. Utilities such as n______ g___, running w___, and e_______ become more widely available.
3. ____ New goods available included (A) steam powered appliances (B) gas powered
appliances (C) electrical appliances (D) appliances from the stone age (E) all (F) none
4. ____ What made people more mobile? (A) trolleys (B) mass transit (C) buses (D) mass
produced automobiles (E) all (F) none
5. ____ Why was radio an important innovation? (A) best form of communication (B) to stay in
touch with friends (C) listen to music in the car (D) news and entertainment (E) all (F) none
6. ____ What was the new music of the 20s? (A) rap (B) jazz (C) blues (D) ragtime (E) all
7. ____ New dress style for women that challenged social norms of the time: (A) hip hop (B)
flappers (C) Southern Belle (D) Gibson girl (E) all (F) none
8. The 1920s was the decade of enforcement of the 18th amendment – P_____________
9. One of the dangers and fears was the Red Scare over the spread of c_____________

How did standard of living improve?
Mass production of the a___________; competition between F____, ___, and C_______;
D_____ became Motown; production increased _____%; increased the demand and
therefore industries of m____, l______, s_____, c______, l______, p____, r______,
g____, and g____ and overall made one of the biggest changes on society in American
history. How? ___________________________________________________________
New form of news and entertainment in the r_____; new use of b_________, started by
F____ C______; W_________ (a partner of RCA) saw potential and began _____, the
first radio station, located in Pittsburgh; ____ and ____ formed networks in the 1920s;
overall this made change in society. How? ____________________________________
Utilities using e_______ were being applied more; consumers purchased i____, v_____
c_____, w_____, r_________, and t_________ use spread changing communication.
Overall, how would this aspect change society? ________________________________
The m______ p_______ would rival radio in the area of entertainment; W_____ Brothers
led end of the “silent” era with “t______” – The J____ S______ starring Al Jolson; famous
actors/actresses included __________________________________________________
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
What made the Roaring 20s a consumer society?

I_________ - buying on credit; how is this good? _______________________________;
bad? __________________________________

Persuasive a____________ became an industry itself.

New career of the m________ to head divisions (sales, marketing, accounting…).

W_____ C________ - benefits for employees.
Did you meet the objective? Why is the 1920s decade called the Roaring 20s (there have been
other economic boom years)? _____________________________________________________
Economic Collapse:


Election of 1928: H______ H________ defeated A__ S______.
o
Hoover believed p______ was coming to an end; promised a c_______ in every p____
and a c____ in every garage  e________ p__________ aided his victory.
o
Smith being C______ hurt him (some worried he’d take orders from the p____.
o
Hoover ideology: believed g__________ could solve all problems and end all e________
dips; saw high w_____ as critical and d_______ as what counted, not supply (Keynesian
approach); opposite approach of H______ and C________.
Video clip: Hoover Administration
1. F_____ Administrator in WWI and Secretary of C_________ under Harding and Coolidge.
2. Became the scapegoat for the d___________
3. Created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to aid b__________ in hard times.

Great Depression: What happened?

Beginning (clip): people bought stock on the basis of b________ money; Black Thursday
the S_____ M_______ crashed and continued to go down; result was p_____; people
lost jobs and homes and some lived in shanty towns call H___________ showing the
blame for President Hoover; the unemployment rate was ___% when Hoover left office.

Then (clip): hundreds of banks lost a lot of m_____ and when people heard about bank
problems, people t____ their money o___ and banks didn’t have it – called a bank r___
and banks collapsed; FDIC created to insure m_____ in the b____ (we have today).

What went wrong?

o
Farming sector: p_____ d______ + n______ s______ = problems since
m________ farm equipment increased production…eventually b____ in
agriculture sectors struggled and closed…weakened the b______ system.
o
Federal Reserve: should’ve reduced i_______ rates on member banks so they
could b_______ money – did opposite; Fed didn’t keep the m_____ supply
increasing with output = less incentive for businesses to e______.
o
Smoot-Hawley Tariff: increased t______ by an average of ___% on goods;
E______ raised theirs; resulted in stopping w_____ t______.
Hoover Accelerates Decline: How?
o
Increased s________ (Reconstruction Finance Corporation and public works);
why was the RFC a negative? P______ the names of b____ that borrowed.
o
Increased t____ to generate revenue for government programs.
o
Situation in 1932: b___ failing, ___% unemployment, money supply down 1/3
(Hoover stuck to the gold standard – no elasticity), no i_______ from Hoover.
o
Lesson to learn: ___________________________________________________
o
Bonus Army vs. Hoover (P&P): _______________________________________
o
Amount of blame to Hoover: _________________________________________

Evaluation: ____________________________________________________________________

Did you meet the objective? What were the causes of the Great Depression?
_____________________________________________________________________________
1920-1929:

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
Video clip (from the web quest):
o
Music: New music of the decade was j____.
o
Inventions: liquid fueled r______, traffic s_____, radio broadcasting in P_________,
home r__________ available so people would have to buy ice off of trucks, first d___
w______, a___ c________, pop up t_______, and s______ bread.
o
Medical advances: b____ a___, i________ injections for diabetes, p________ invented
by Alexander Fleming and launched the age of a_________ (medicine to fight diseases).
Video clip (science and technology):
o
What made prosperity of the 1920s possible? ________________
o
Most government money in the 1920s was spent on building h_________.
o
Most homes had e___________ and 10 million new t___________ installed in the 1920s.
o
The new form of entertainment would be the r______.
o
Refrigeration increased m____ production and therefore better health – before this,
people had to buy i____ off of a truck.
o
A___ travel greatly increased in the decade.
Literature and the Arts:
o
The A________ R_____ T______ formed to discuss literary works.
o
Books: The G_____ G______, The S___ Also R____ and A F_________ to A_____
o
H______ R_________, literary and artistic black movement; showed a_______ of blacks.
Fads and Life:
o
Entertainment for children: M_____ M______ (in Steamboat Willie), R___ T___ T___ and
W_____ the P____ by A.A. Milne.
o
Sports: B___ R___ in baseball, J___ D_______ in boxing, R___ G______ in football.
o
Religion: F_________ was a Christian movement against teaching e________; seen in
the famous court case called the S_____ M________ T_____.
o
Great Migration: movement of b______ to the North for f______ jobs.

Fashion: young women called f_______ wore dresses with hemlines up to the knees.

New items: ____________________________________________________________________

Did you meet the objective? How did life in America change in the 1920s?
_____________________________________________________________________________
Overview:

Lesson to learn: T____ and s________ cuts encourage b_________ growth and hiring as well as
c__________ spending.

Lesson to learn: B_________, not g_________ creates permanent jobs and grows the economy.

Lesson to learn: When Progressives have power, there is civil u_____, u_______ want
everything, and e__________ problems.

Lesson to learn: An increase in t____ doesn’t always generate more r___________

Lesson to learn: Government action ______________ the Great Depression.