Transcript Document
Mr. White’s US History 1
Main ideas:
The Harding administration appealed to America’s desire
for calm, peace, and “normalcy” after the war, but
resulted in scandal
Consumer goods fueled the business boom of the 1920s
as America’s standard of living soared, though the
prosperity had weaknesses and flaws.
Big questions:
How did the scandals of Harding’s presidency lead to a
loss of credibility for Harding?
How did Coolidge and Hoover’s administrations use
government to foster business and industry?
What were signs of increased prosperity and a higher
standard of living in the United States?
What were signs of weakness in the economy in the
1920s?
Warren G. Harding’s administration worked to
encourage peace and deal with post-war issues.
After
the war, Warren G. Harding held the
Washington Naval Conference to discuss
naval disarmament between the great
powers
The U.S. suggested that they, Britain, Japan,
France, and Italy decrease naval armaments
All nations agreed to the Kellogg-Briand pact,
but there was no way built into the
agreement to enforce the treaty
As
a result of the war, Britain and France had
debts to the U.S. – had taken out loans to
pay for the war
Britain and France planned to use German war
reparations to pay these debts
However,
Germany was increasingly not able
to pay the war reparations
When Germany defaulted on its loans, France
invaded the Rhineland in Germany
To avoid further conflict, the United States
agreed to lend money to Germany, to pay
Britain and France, to pay the United States
Harding’s administration was plagued by scandals
that resulted in a loss of credibility.
Harding
had a great deal of trouble as
president
He appointed political cronies and friends to his
cabinet – the “Ohio Gang.”
Many of these men got rich off government graft,
kickbacks
Harding also had a great deal of trouble
understanding the problems of his presidency –
often couldn’t make a decision
The government had set aside oil reserves at
Teapot Dome, Wyoming, for the use of the U.S.
Navy
Albert B. Fall, secretary of the interior, had the
reserves transferred from the department of the
Navy to the department of the Interior
The reserves were leased to two private oil
companies
Fall received nearly $400,000 in loans, bonds,
and cash as “gifts”
Fall was found guilty of bribery – this basically
destroys Harding’s credibility
Harding dies shortly thereafter and Calvin Coolidge
takes over as president
Coolidge and Hoover’s administrations used government
to foster business and industry, which flourished.
Both
Calvin Coolidge and his successor,
Herbert Hoover, adopted pro-business
government policies
Used protective tariffs to foster American
business
Worked to keep taxes low
Worked to make credit available to business that
wanted to expand
The automobile industry grew in the United States at
this time
More and more people owned cars
More cars resulted in changes in society
Rural families could go into the cities for shopping and
entertainment
Families could now travel long distances for vacations
Women and young people found new freedoms with the
automobile
Workers could now live further away from their jobs –
urban sprawl results
The automobile came to be a cultural symbol of
prosperity
Henry
Ford’s innovate assembly line methods
had sped up mass production
Cars could be produced cheaper – more people
could afford them
Cars could be produced more quickly – expanding
markets
Ford’s
Model T was a great example of using
these assembly-line methods
Parts were completely interchangeable; basically
nothing was hand-crafted
As production increased, Ford streamlined and
offered the car only in black
The
airplane also grew as a means of
transportation
In the United States, the plane was first used
to carry mail – first flight was a failure, but it
caught on gradually
As the science of weather forecasting caught
on, planes began to carry radios and
navigational instruments
In 1927, Pan American began transatlantic
flights
As industry flourished, America’s standard of living rose.
However, many signs pointed to a superficial prosperity
Industry
had grown during World War I and
continued to be strong after the war
The United States produced more consumer
goods as time went on
Electricity and electrical conveniences and
appliances grew
Advertisers, to sell their products, began to
use psychology and related methods to
encourage people to buy their products
Even
though the U.S. seemed prosperous, many
signs pointed to weaknesses in the economy
Consumer goods were growing; not as much growth
in heavy industries
The income gap between the rich and poor grew –
sign of a weak, small middle class
Iron and railroad industries weren’t making much
profit
Farmers weren’t making much money, either, and
many had taken out loans to meet World War I
production
Spurred
by this consumer spending, more and
more people began to buy goods on credit,
instead of cash
An installment plan was an arrangement to buy a
product and pay over time for an interest rate
More and more people used credit to buy goods;
some went into debt that they couldn’t pay
Some
economists pointed to this as the sign
of a weak economy, but many people felt
that the economy was strong.
Remember our big questions:
How did the scandals of Harding’s presidency lead to a loss of
credibility for Harding?
How did Coolidge and Hoover’s administrations use
government to foster business and industry?
What were signs of increased prosperity and a higher
standard of living in the United States?
What were signs of weakness in the economy in the 1920s?
So…
Harding lost credibility as a president because…
One way that Coolidge and/or Hoover fostered business or
industry was…
One of the signs of increased prosperity and a higher
standard of living in the U.S. was…
One of the signs of weakness in the economy in the 1920s
was…