Chapter 21 U.S. History 2. The Jazz Age 20.1 Presidential Politics 21.2 A Growing Economy 21.3 The Policies of Prosperity.

Chapter 21U.S. History 2

The Jazz Age

• 20.1 Presidential Politics• 21.2 A Growing Economy• 21.3 The Policies of Prosperity

20.1 Presidential Politics

• The Harding Administration

• The Coolidge Administration

Calvin Coolidge

The Harding Administration

• In 1920, Warren G. Harding won the presidency and promised a return to normalcy, or a “normal” life after the war.

• Harding gave most cabinet appointments to his old poker-playing friends.

• They became known as the Ohio Gang.

The Harding Administration

• Some members abused their positions to sell jobs, pardons, and immunity from prosecution.

• Before the public learned of the scandals, Harding fell ill and died in 1923.

Harding’s funeral procession

The Harding Administration

• Harding’s secretary of the interior, Albert B. Fall, secretly allowed private interests to lease lands containing U.S. Navy oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyoming.

• He received bribes totaling over $300,000.

• The Teapot Dome scandal resulted in Fall being the first cabinet officer ever to go to prison.

Albert B. Fall

The Harding Administration

• Another scandal involved Attorney General Harry Daugherty.

• He refused to turn over files and bank records for a German-owned American company.

• Bribe money ended up in a bank account controlled by Daugherty.

• He refused to testify under oath, claiming immunity, or freedom from prosecution.

Harding and Coolidge

The Harding Administration

• He claimed that he had confidential dealings with the president.

• Vice President Calvin Coolidge became president after Harding’s death.

• Coolidge demanded Daugherty’s resignation.

Calvin Coolidge takes oath of office

Last known photograph of Harding

The Coolidge Administration

• Coolidge distanced himself from the Harding administration.

• He focused on prosperity through business leadership with little government intervention.

• He easily won the Republican Party’s nomination for president in 1924.

The Coolidge Administration

• The Democratic Party’s candidate was John W. Davis.

• A new Progressive Party nominated Robert M. La Follette as their candidate.

• Coolidge won the 1924 election with more than half the popular vote.

• Coolidge promised to give the U.S. the normalcy that Harding had not.

Calvin Coolidge

21.2 A Growing Economy

• The Rise of New Industries• The Consumer Society• The Farm Crisis Returns

The Rise of New Industries

• In the 1920s, Americans enjoyed a new standard of living with higher wages and shorter work days.

• Mass production, or large-scale product manufacturing usually done by machinery, increased the supply of goods and decreased costs.

• Greater productivity led to the emergence of new industries.

The Rise of New Industries

• Henry Ford developed the assembly line by dividing up tasks into simple tasks that unskilled workers could perform.

• This greatly improved production.• His Model T sold for $850 the first

year but later dropped to $490 after being mass-produced.

• By 1924, the Model T was selling for just $295.

Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Rise of New Industries

• He increased workers’ wages and cut the work hours to gain workers’ loyalty.

• Henry Ford changed American life with his affordable automobiles.

• Small businesses such as garages and gasstations opened.

• The petroleum industry expanded tremendously.

The Rise of New Industries

• People could live farther away from work–creating the auto commuter.

• By 1919, the Post Office used planes and trains to improve efficiency.

• In 1927, Charles Lindbergh took a transatlantic solo flight.

Replica of the Spirit of St. Louis

The Rise of New Industries

• Americans began supporting the commercial flight.

• By the end of 1928, 48 airlines were serving 355 American cities.

The Rise of New Industries

• In 1926, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) established a permanent network of radio stations to distribute daily programming.

• In 1928, the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) set up coast-to-coast stations to compete with NBC.

The Consumer Society

• Higher wages and shorter workdays led to an economic boom and a consumer society.

• Americans became confident that they could pay back their debt at a later time.

• Advertising convinced Americans that they needed new products.

The Consumer Society

Advertisement for Ford

The Consumer Society

• By the early 1920s, many businesses hired professional managers and engineers.

• The large number of managers expanded the size of the middle class.

The Consumer Society

• In the 1920s, unions lost influence and membership.

• Employers promoted an open shop, a workplace where employees did not have to join a union.

• Welfare capitalism, where employees were able to purchase stock, participate in profit sharing, and receive benefits, made unions seem unnecessary.

The Farm Crisis Returns

• American farmers did not share in the prosperity of the 1920s.

• Prices dropped dramatically while the cost to improve farmers’ technology increased.

• During wartime, farmers produced more for food supplies needed in Europe.

The Farm Crisis Returns

• Farmers borrowed money at inflated prices to buy new land and machinery to raise more crops.

• Farmers prospered during the war.

• After Congress raised tariffs, farmers could no longer sell products overseas.

The Farm Crisis Returns

• Coolidge twice vetoed a bill to aid the farmers, fearing it would only make the situation worse.

• American farmers remained in a recession throughout the 1920s.

21.3 The Policies of Prosperity

• Promoting Prosperity• Trade and Arms Control

Promoting Prosperity

• Harding’s secretary of treasury Andrew Mellon reduced government spending.

• The federal debt was reduced by $7 billion between 1921 and 1929.

Promoting Prosperity

• He applied the idea of supply-side economics to reduce taxes.

• This idea suggested that lower taxes would allow businesses and consumers to spend and invest their extra money, resulting in economic growth.

• In the end, the government would collect more taxes at a lower rate.

Promoting Prosperity

• Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover attempted to balance government regulation with cooperative individualism.

Promoting Prosperity

• Manufacturers and distributors were asked to form their own trade associations and share information with the federal government’s Bureau of Standards.

Promoting Prosperity

• Hoover felt this would reduce waste and costs and lead to economic stability.

Trade and Arms Control

• By the 1920s, the U.S. United States was the dominant economic power in the world.

• Allies owed the U.S. billions of dollars in war debts.

• The U.S. national income was far greater than Britain, Germany, France, and Japan combined.

Trade and Arms Control

• Many favored isolationism rather than involvement in international politics and issues.

• The U.S. was too powerful and interconnected in international affairs to remain isolated.

• Other countries felt the U.S. should help with the war’s financial debt.

Trade and Arms Control

• The U.S. disagreed, arguing that the Allies had gained new territory and received reparations.

• Reparations were huge cash payments that Germany paid as punishment for starting the war.

• Reparations crippled the German economy.

Trade and Arms Control

• Charles G. Dawes, an American diplomat and banker, proposed the Dawes Plan.– American banks would make

loans to Germany so it could pay its reparation payments. – France and Britain agreed to

accept less reparations and pay more on their war debts.

Trade and Arms Control

• The Washington Conference held in 1921 invited countries to discuss the ongoing post-war naval arms race.

• Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes proposed a 10-year moratorium, or pause, on the construction of major new warships.

• The conference did nothing to limit land forces.

Trade and Arms Control

• Japan was required to keep a smaller navy than the U.S. and Britain.

• The Kellogg-Briand Pact was a treaty that outlawed war.

• Participating countries agreed to stop war and settle all disputes peacefully.

Trade and Arms Control

• Eventually, 62 nations ratified it.• The treaty was

considered a victory for peace but had no binding force.

Test Tomorrow!