Transcript The 1920s Economy & Politics

The Economy,
Society, and
Politics of the
1920s
• VIDEO QUESTION: Stock Market
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foo
oDFF9Dgs (4:05-9:00)
• Describe urbanization in the United States
and the growth of the cities in the 1920s
• Describe the growth of the stock market in
the 1920s and its impact on the
economy/growth of wealth:
• VIDEO QUESTION: Technology, Credit,
and Radio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJu
Ei-U6pmo (beginning to 4:45)
• Describe the impact of technology and
infrastructure on the development of life in
the 1920s
• Describe the use of credit in the 1920s
• Describe the impact and use of the radio
on the 1920s
• VIDEO QUESTION: Automobile and
movies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxZ
Mwv5vqAc (8:40-9:40)
• Describe the growth and impact of the
automobile:
• A. Expansion
– Upside of the business cycle
– Supply and demand are both high
– Unemployment is decreasing
• B. Peak
– Highest point in the business cycle
– Supply and demand are both at their highest point
– Unemployment is at its lowest point
• C. Contraction
– Downside of the business cycle
– Supply is high but demand is low
– Unemployment is increasing
• D. Trough
– Lowest point in the business cycle
– Supply and demand are both at their lowest point
– Unemployment is at its highest point
The Growing & Prosperous
Economy
• 7% growth rate with a 22% increase in
average income
• Work hours and days of the work
week decreased with paid vacations
beginning
• President Coolidge said, “The
business of America is business.”
Causes for Growth
• A. World War I
– Caused economy to grow rapidly to supply
the war
– War industries and equipment adapted for
civilian industries and use after temporary
decline
• B. Consumer Income
– People earned more money causing the
growth of the middle class
– This growing middle class was able to buy
more goods which helped the economy
– Many items were bought on credit
• (down payment + monthly payments)
– 1928: 70% of major appliances bought on
credit
• C. Increased
Technology
– New technology helped
increase productivity
– Henry Ford’s assembly
line divided operations
into simple tasks
– Automobiles and
airplanes increase ability
to travel and ship goods
– Radio broadcasting
provides opportunities for
advertising
• D. Productivity
– Workers produced more goods by using more
efficient technology which lowered prices
– Cheaper prices meant more people could buy
goods
• Describe why the
American economy grew
significantly in the 1920s
(slow right after WWI –
see NB#12)
• VIDEO QUESTION: POLITICS AFTER
WORLD WAR I
http://youtu.be/W14Yn2wJsJU
• Describe the issues influencing the
country directly after World War I and
during the Election of 1920:
• Describe the presidency of Warren G.
Harding
• Describe the presidency of Calvin
Coolidge
Harding
Administration
• Republican and U.S.
Senator from Ohio,
elected in 1920 with a
campaign to “return to
normalcy”
– Defeats Ohio Governor
James Cox in a
landslide election based
primarily on debate
between isolationism
and joining the League
of Nations
• Carefully selects some nominees for posts, but
many come from the “Ohio Gang”
– Friends/allies (poker buddies) of Harding’s from Ohio
– Members of the Ohio Gang committed numerous
scandals such as selling government jobs, pardons,
and protection from prosecution
– “The air [would be] heavy with tobacco smoke, trays
with bottles containing every imaginable brand of
whiskey…cards and poker chips at hand – a general
atmosphere of waistcoat unbuttoned, feet on desk,
and spittoons alongside.” –The Perils of Prosperity.
• Teapot Dome Scandal
– Albert B. Fall, Secretary
of the Interior, is bribed
to allow private
companies to lease land
(Teapot Dome, WY and
Elk Hills, CA) with U.S.
Navy oil reserves
– Secretary Fall is first
cabinet member to go to
prison
• Death of Harding
– Harding goes on tour
of West during
height of scandals in
Washington, D.C.
– Dies of heart attack
in San Francisco
August 2, 1923
– Vice President John
“Calvin” Coolidge
takes over
•Describe the
presidency of
Warren G Harding:
V. Coolidge Administration
• Coolidge distances himself from scandals by replacing
many Harding appointments
• Coolidge believed that government should not interfere
with business and its leadership
• Nicknamed “Silent Cal” for his simple and frugal manner
VI. Election of 1928
• Republican Herbert
Hoover was commerce
secretary for eight years
and food administration
head during WWI
• Democrat Alfred Smith,
governor of NY, was the
first Catholic candidate
• Although religion and
Prohibition were major
issues, the election was
decided on the economy
• Hoover wins in landslide
(444-87 Electoral
College)
• Describe why Herbert
Hoover was elected
during the Election of
1928:
VII. U.S. Isolationism
• U.S. afraid of another lengthy foreign war
• U.S. is dominant economic power
• U.S. refuses to join the League of Nations and
adopts a policy of isolationism
– Dawes Plan-Negotiations to help Germans pay war
reparations and Allies pay back the U.S.
– Washington Conference-Major powers (except
Germany) freeze naval production and agree to
respect territories in the Pacific and access to China
– Kellogg-Briand Pact-A treaty to outlaw war signed by
62 countries (Major powers from WWI)
•Describe the foreign
policy of the United
States in the 1920s:
Resistance to Modernity
• VIDEO QUESTION: KKK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJu
Ei-U6pmo (12:05 to end)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPP
7FE8RIbY (beginning to 1:00)
• Describe the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and
racial tensions in the 1920s
Resistance to Modernity
• VIDEO QUESTION: Rural Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foo
oDFF9Dgs (14:00-end)
• Describe life in rural America in the 1920s
• VIDEO QUESTION: Scopes Trial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJu
Ei-U6pmo (7:55 to 12:05)
• Describe the Scopes Trial and other
resistance to modernity in the 1920s
PROHIBITION
• VIDEO QUESTION: Prohibition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=foooDFF9Dgs (0:42-3:35)
• Describe the issues facing the United
States in Prohibition