The 1920s: Republican Dominance

Guiding Question: to what extent was the individualism promoted by the Republican Presidents a guiding philosophy for them?

I. Underlying Principles 1. The Promotion of Individualism 2. Laissez-faire Economics 3. Actively favoring corporate growth 4. Isolation from international affairs

II. Harding Harding as President ( ) –Chosen as candidate because of his anonymity. –Easily won election of 1920 by means of a conservative platform. –“A Return to Normalcy” No League of Nations Anti-progressive

II. Harding

Harding the Orator –"I would like the government to do all it can to mitigate, then, in understanding, in mutuality of interest, in concern for the common good, our tasks will be solved." –“The only man, woman, or child who ever wrote a simple declarative sentence with seven grammatical errors is dead.” – E.E. Cummings

II. Harding Government to Serve Business –By 1926, a person earning $1 million annually paid less than a third of the income tax he had paid in This was largely through the efforts of Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon. –Encouraged Federal Trade Commission to cooperate with corporations- little regulation or antitrust actions.

II. Harding Corruption in Office –“Ohio Gang” Excluding Hoover and Coolidge –Flagrant violation of Prohibition General Harry Daughtery –Teapot Dome Scandal (1923) Secret leasing of oil reserves to private corporations –Extramarital Affairs Don’t go in that closet!

III. Coolidge “Silent Cal” as President ( , ) –Placed on Harding ticket in 1920 for squashing Boston Police Strike. “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anyone, anywhere, any time.”

III. Coolidge

Government to serve Business –“After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world.” –Supported more tax cuts for the rich (Mellon) –Unsympathetic to Labor (PA Coal Strikes) –Coolidge benefited from the general economic prosperity as Harding had.

III. Coolidge Social Policies –Vetoed… Farm Relief Bill Veterans Bonus Bill –Refused to aid MS flood victims of 1927

IV. Hoover Hoover as President ( ) –Soundly defeated Al Smith in 1928 (more on that later). Ran on reputation as efficient and honest.

IV. Hoover Associative State: –Not premised on governmental coercion or intervention. –Preferred a voluntary, non-governmental approach to economic matters, the better, he reasoned, to protect the "American character.“ –E.g., gov. to encourage cooperation between unions and corporations, not regulate them.

V. Republican Foreign Policy Republican Foreign Policy –Emphasized focusing energy on domestic rather than foreign affairs

V. Republican Foreign Policy Five Power Treaty (1921) A battleship ratio was achieved through this ratio: US Britain Japan France Italy Japan got a guarantee that the US and Britain would stop fortifying their Far East territories [including the Philippines]. Loophole  no restrictions on small warships

V. Republican Foreign Policy

(Kellogg-Briand Pact (1926) 15 nations dedicated to outlawing aggression and war as tools of foreign policy. 62 nations signed. Problems  no means of actual enforcement and gave Americans a false sense of security.

V. Republican Foreign Policy Intervention in Latin America –American forces occupied Haiti and Nicaragua in the Harding and Coolidge administrations –Forces from the Dominican Republic were withdrawn in 1924 –On the whole, military intervention was used to maintain American economic interests.

Review To what degree did the Republican presidents adhere to their stated principles?