Presidents of the 1920’s

HARDINGCOOLIDGEHOOVER

Learning Target:

• Explain how the new Republican policies of Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover differed from those of the Progressives (Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson)

• Explain the results of the new Republican policies

• Explain American foreign policy after WWI

President #1: Warren G. Harding

• Year Elected: 1921• In office: 1921-1923 - died in office

Warren G. Harding

• Background – Born in 1865 – Blooming Grove, OH

• Profession – publisher – governor of Ohio – US Senate – President

• US Senate from 1915-1921. Horrible attendance record – missed 2/3 of votes – including the 19th Amendment!!

Warren G. Harding

• Won the Presidential nomination because of political machines

• Election key topic = continue progressive work of Wilson, OR back to laissez-faire

• In the White House… as a senator, voted against Prohibition, while in office, always had bootleg booze available

“Return to Normalcy”

• In your own words, what does the above quote mean?

• America needs a rest from the deprivation of WWI and the pressure to make reforms from the Progressive Movement

• Want to return to the ways of the US before WWI

Warren G. Harding• “Ohio Gang” – nickname given to

his “pals” that Harding appointed into government positions – the cabinet

• Favored Big Business• Had 2 long lasting affairs – the 2nd,

Nan Britton, had a daughter• Died of what was believed to be a

heart attack – VP Calvin Coolidge came into office

How did the “Ohio Gang,” hurt President Harding?

• His friends used their positions of power as a way to improve their personal lives

TEAPOT DOME SCANDEL • Teapot Dome – Harding proved to be a poor leader

– cabinet essentially ran office – became known as the “Ohio Gang.”

• TEApot Dome Oilfield in Wyoming – secretary of interior Albert B. Fall – rented government lands to Oil Companies in return for personal loans and gifts.

• US holding lands as oil reserves for the US Navy. Fall leased lands to two oil companies – 1. Mammoth Oil Company 2. Pan American Petroleum Company.

• Fall received $404,000 in loans and gifts.

What was the Teapot Dome Scandal?

• Harding’s Sec. Of Interior leased gov’t oil fields in exchange for money & bribes

President #2 – Calvin Coolidge

• Year Inaugurated – 1923 – VP to Harding, took office after death. Ran for president in 1924

• In Office: 1923-1928

Calvin Coolidge

• Background – from Vermont – became governor of Massachusetts

• Wanted to preserve the old moral and economic principles of the US

• Policies = 1. Isolation in foreign policy 2. Tax cuts 3. Limited aid to farmers

• Known as being the “most negative and remote of presidents, and the most accessible.”

Calvin Coolidge

• Silent Cal – because he said almost nothing during interviews – “yes,” and “no”

• Elected for 1924 term, did not run in 1928

Coolidge – Policies towards Business

Gave Businesses a BOOST in 3 ways:1.Appointed business people to

commissions to regulate businesses2.Selected supreme court judges that

voted against progressive legislation3.Named conservatives to powerful

cabinet positions

“Business of America is Business”

• In your own words, what does this quote mean?

• Now that WWI is over, government should do everything possible to encourage business to grow (laissez-faire policies)

During Coolidge’s presidency…

• How were anti-trust agencies (ICC, FTC) weakened?• He appointed people to regulatory commissions

who opposed regulation. They overlooked violations of anti-trust laws

• How did the Supreme Court weaken laws

protecting workers (women/children?)• Child labor laws & minimum wages laws declared

unconstitutional

During Coolidge’s presidency…

• How did appointing conservatives (Andrew Mellon) to the cabinet (gov’t positions) help big business?

• Reduced taxes for business owners & people with high level incomes

During Coolidge’s presidency…

• During Coolidge’s presidency, did the above actions encourage or discourage laissez-faire business practices? Explain your answer

• Encourage b/c the government presence of controlling trusts and protecting workers was reduced greatly, therefore there was very little presence of government in business.

Calvin Coolidge

• Andrew Mellon – secretary of Treasury under Harding Coolidge, and Hoover – 1921 – 1932

• Favored giving millionaires tax cuts – overturned almost all of the progressive tax policies of Wilson

• Coolidge and Mellon both agreed that government should interfere as little as possible with big business

President #3 – Herbert Hoover

• Year Elected – 1928• Years in Office – 1929-1933

Herbert Hoover

• Background – born in Iowa 1874, grew up in Oregon• Stanford – mining engineer• Head of Food Administration during WWI• Secretary of Commerce under Harding and

Coolidge – helped organize food to be sent to Europe and Russia

• After the crash – cut taxes and expand public works spending

• Became a scapegoat for the Great Depression

Herbert Hoover – “Wonder Boy”

• Secretary of Commerce in the 1920’s• Control and regulate airlines, radio, and other new

industries• Minimize price competition• Pushed for the Bureau of Standards (standardization) • Supported 8 hr work days, conservation of natural

resources, food for children• Pollution Act of 1924 – control oil pollution on the

coastline

Provide 2 examples of what Herbert Hoover accomplished as Sec. of Commerce, which earned him the nickname “Wonder Boy.”

• Expanded Commerce Dep’t to regulate airlines, radio, and new industries.

• Organize trade associations: groups of firms in the same line of business

• Standardize everything manufactured in the nation

• Supported zoning laws, 8 hour work days, improved nutrition for children

Herbert Hoover – Attitude towards Business

• Volunteer effort• Free enterprise

Hoover believed in “volunteer effort” and free enterprise. What do you think that means?

• Government should have as little as a role possible in both business and citizen’s lives.

• 1920’s Crash Course• Republican Presidents