Chapter 20 Section 2 The Harding Presidency

The Harding Presidency

Who was Harding? Good-natured man with poor judgment Ohio senator who described “normalcy” as simpler days His words of peace and calm comforted a healing nation

Working for Peace Post WWI problems: arms control, war debts, & reconstruction Harding’s Washington Naval Conference (Russia left out)

Charles Evans Hughes “Stop building warships for ten years” Asked five powers (US, GB, Japan, France, & Italy) to scrap many warships What will this do to the economy?

Kellogg-Briand Act 1928 World Powers agree to disarm Renounced war as national policy (peace not war) No means of enforcement

High Tariffs and Reparations Harding favoring isolationism but trying to head off trouble. Britain and France can’t debt to U.S. ($10 Billion) Could do this in two ways: sell goods to US collect reparations from Germany

Fordney-McCumber Tariff 1922 – raised taxes on US imports to 60% Protected U.S. businesses Made it impossible for Britain & France to sell enough goods in the U.S. to repay the debts

What did they do? Demanded Germany to pay and sent in troops To avoid war, banker Charles Dawes went to negotiate loans

Dawes Plan American investors loan Germany $2.5 billion to pay Britain & France who in turn pay the US Caused resentment: Britain and France say US not paying fair share, US benefited from German defeat while Europeans paid for victory with lives US considered Britain & France financially irresponsible.

Limiting Immigration Fueling Nativism: Union disputes with immigrant anarchists and socialists Unskilled labor jobs decreasing

Quota System Congress under pressure from nativists votes for the Emergency Quota Act 1921 System establishes a maximum number of people who could enter the U.S. from certain countries. Goal was to limit European Immigration

System discriminated against those from Eastern and Southern Europe (Roman Catholics and Jews) National Origins Act 1929 – reduced immigration further by admitting only 150,000 a year

Law excluded Japanese immigration all together Did not apply to Western Hemisphere (Canada and Mexico)

Does who you hang out with determine who you are? Think About It: Does who you hang out with determine who you are?

Scandal Hits Harding’s Administration Harding favored limited government on domestic issues (business affairs and social reform) Set up Bureau of the Budget to help run government more efficiently Urged US steel to abandon the 12-hour day

Harding’s Cabinet Charles Evans Hughes – secretary of state who became chief justice

Herbert Hoover – secretary of commerce (goof job handling food distribution & refugee problems during war)

Andrew Mellon – extremely wealthy, secretary of treasury (set measures to cut taxes and reduce national debt)

Ohio Gang (President’s Poker Playing Cronies)

Charles Forbes Head of Veterans Bureau, was caught illegally selling government and hospital supplies

Colonel Thomas Miller Office of Alien Property (caught taking a bribe) Charged w/defrauding government & sentenced to 18 months

The Teapot Dome Scandal Government had set aside oil-rich public land at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, and Elk Hills, California, for use of the Navy

Secretary of Interior, Albert B Secretary of Interior, Albert B. Fall transferred the oil reserves from the navy to Interior Department Secretly leased land to 2 private oil companies

Found guilty of bribery first to be convicted of a felony while holding cabinet post Harding died shortly after of stroke Calvin Coolidge is now president & regained faith of people in the post of President

Scandalous Writing: Read the “cartoon” strip On the back, explain how the writer was accurate about Harding and his administration. When completed, put it in the bin.