DO NOW: Page 667 answer the two questions under “Analyzing Political Cartoons”

Ch. 20 Sec. 2 The Business of Government

The Harding Administration – (R)Warren G. Harding ran on a pro-business platform and a return to _____________________ – Some see it as a rejection of ______________________ reform/others see it as a return to ____________________economics (D) James M. Cox-focused on perpetuating Woodrow Wilson’s League of Nations Harding domination The Election of 1920

His Secretary of the Treasury, __________, was for low taxes and efficiency in government. He cut the federal budget from a wartime high of $___ billion to $___ billion.

Secretary of Commerce ____________sought voluntary cooperation between labor and business. Instead of relying on legislation to improve labor relations, he got business and labor leaders to work together.

Harding was a popular, fun-loving president who trusted others to make decisions for him. Some advisors, such as Mellon and Hoover, were honest, capable, and trustworthy. Others, including a group known as the ______Gang, were not so civic-minded.

Some Scandals of Harding’s Administration Charles Forbes, head of the Veterans’ Administration, wasted hundreds of millions of dollars. For example, he bought overpriced, unneeded supplies. Attorney General Harry Daugherty accepted money from criminals. Secretary of the Interior ________________took bribes in return for federal oil reserve leases.

The Teapot Dome scandal was the biggest scandal of Harding’s administration. In 1921, Fall took control of federal oil reserves intended for the ______. He then leased those reserves to private oil companies. Fall was sent to prison. President Harding did not live to hear all of the scandal’s details. He died in 1923.

Quiet, honest, frugal Vermonter. As President, he admired productive business leaders. After Harding’s death in August 1923, Vice President __________________became President.

Restoring the Reputation: Fired many of those involved in the scandals Won 1924 election in landslide (15.7 million votes to 8.4) Even more pro-business than Harding

Coolidge believed that “the chief business of the American people is business.” Coolidge continued Mellon’s policies to reduce ___________ ________, trim the budget, and lower taxes. The country saw huge industrial profits and spectacular growth in the stock market. There was general prosperity, especially for urban Americans.

Farmers struggled as prices ________. Labor unions fought for higher pay and better working conditions. ____________ ___________ faced severe discrimination. Not everyone shared in the era’s prosperity. Coolidge ignored such issues, believing it was not the federal government’s job to legislate social change.

Under Harding and Coolidge, the United States played an increasingly important role as a world leader. The ____________ ____________limited construction of large warships. The__________ __________ ______, signed by 62 countries, outlawed war, unless its in self-defense Much of U.S. foreign policy was a response to the devastation of World War I. Senator Hiram Bingham “about as effective to keep down war as a carpet would be to smother an earthquake”

During this period, the United States also became a world economic leader. To protect American businesses, Harding raised tariffs on imported goods by ____percent. European nations retaliated, creating a tariff war.

The _____________loaned money to ____________ so it could pay reparations to Britain and France; in turn, those countries could repay the U.S. for wartime loans. This program damaged the reputation of the United States.

Election of 1928 Coolidge decides not to run

1928 Election Hoover takes the republican nomination Promises to continue policies that led to the economic boom of the past 8 years (D) Alfred Smith, NY Governor – Championed progress and liberal ideas; core support from urban immigrants Catholicism, prohibition opposition, and connections to NYC’s Tammany Hall brought Smith down