1. The Politics of boom and bust
Chp. 32
By: Ben LaValley
Period 7-1

2. The republican “old Guard” Returns
Warren G. Harding Inaugurated
Unable to detect moral halitosis in associates “The difference between George Washington and Warren Harding was that while Washington could not tell a lie, Harding could not tell a liar.”
“Best Minds” of the Cabinet – Charles Evans Hughes, Andrew W. Mellon, Herbert Hoover,
“Worst Minds” of the Cabinet – Albert B. Fall, Harry M. Daugherty (scheming anti-conservationists)

3. GOP reaction at the throttle
Hopeful improvement of laissez-faire
Government guides business along the path to profits
The Supreme Court
Ex – President Taft was made Chief Justice
Adkins vs. Children’s Hospital – Supreme court reversed its decision in the Muller v. Oregon case and declared that women deserved special protection rights in the workplace

4. The aftermath of war Railroads return to private management (1920)
Esch-Cummins Transportation Act of 1920: Encouraged private consolidation of the railroads
“Save the railroad from the country”
The Merchant Marine Act of 1920: Authorized the Shipping Board to dispose much of the wartime fleet at bargain-basement prices
An increase in Labor Strikes
Railway Labor Board: 12% cut since wartime, lead to a two month strike
Veterans Bureau (1921)
Aggressive “Doughboys” wanted compensation for their service
Adjusted Compensation Act (1924)
Vetoed by Coolidge, but Override by Congress

5. America seeks benefits without burdens
July 1921 – America officially ends war with the Central Powers
1922
Five Power Treaty (U.S 5: GB 5: J 3: I 1.67: F 1.67) Number of Battleships and Cruisers
Four Power Treaty Status quo of the Pacific
Nine Power Treaty: Internationalization of the Open Door Policy
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

6. Hiking the Tariff higher
Fordney-McCumber Tariff Law (1922): Equalize cost of American and foreign production
Europe soon constructed tariffs on American goods
Hurt not only American made goods but European goods as well
In favor of the new tariff

7. The stench of scandal Harding took over the Veterans Bureau
Looted 200 million government dollars
Teapot Dome Scandal (1921)
A secret deal involving the priceless naval oil fields in Wyoming and California
Leaked out in 1923
Court cases dragged until 1929 where Fall was found guilty of taking a bribe and sentenced to one year in jail
1924 – Illegal sale of liquor permits and pardons by Attorney General Daugherty
Harding Died of pneumonia and thrombosis on August 2, 1923

8. “silent cal” coolidge
“Stern faced Vermonter” “Embodied New England virtues of Honesty, Morality, Industry, and Frugality”
Painfully shy with mediocre powers of leadership
Hands off economic leadership led to sympathy with the Secretary of Treasury on the subject of tax reduction

9. Frustrated farmers
The “Steel Mule” or tractor was a huge time saver, and now the farmers could produce more
Depression swept through the farmers in the 1920s
One of every four farms were sold for debt or taxes
Capper-Volstead Act – Exempt farmers from antitrust prosecution.
McNary-Haugen Bill – Kept agricultural prices high by government buy up of surplus and selling them on a global scale

10. A three-way race for the white house in 1924
Candidates
Coolidge (R) 72% Electoral Vote
Davis (D) 26% Electoral Vote
La Follette (P) 2% Electoral Vote
Coolidge holds onto Presidency

11. Foreign-policy flounderings
Mexico 1926 – Business leaders wanted military action against Mexico because it claimed sovereignty over oil reserves, Coolidge handled the crisis with diplomacy and not a single shot was fired
1914 – Debtor nation of 4 billion dollars
1922 – Creditor nation of 16 billion dollars
American investors loaned 10 billion dollars and Allies refused to accept the terms of paying them back
Europe argued that the new American tariffs made it impossible to make back the money when selling goods to America

12. Unraveling the debt knot
Dawes Plan
Rescheduled German reparations payments and opened the way to further American private loans to Germany
Explained by Diagram

13. The triumph of Herbert hoover
Candidates
Hoover (R) Electoral Vote 83.6%
Smith (D) Electoral Vote 16.4%
Hoovers “Whistle-Stop” Campaigns

14. President Hoover's first moves
Agricultural Marketing Act – Designed to help the farmers help themselves, largely through producers’ cooperatives
Hawley-Smoot Tariff – Designed to help the farmers, but turned into the highest protective tariff in the nation’s peacetime history

15. Hooked on the horn of plenty
Reasons for depression
Over expansion of credit
Unemployment because of labor machines
Shortsightedness
America in debt because of the Great War
People slept under Hoover Blankets, and lived in Hoovervilles

16. Rugged times for rugged individualists
Hoover was becoming less popular as a president
Government agencies broke down
Hoover compromised to help the railroads, banks, and rural credit unions in hopes of restoring financial health
People soon saw him as the man who would help the people who put us in the depression (Helped big business)

17. Hoover battles the great depression
Created the Reconstruction Finance Cooperation (RFC)
The Norris-La Guardia Anti-Injunction Act was passed by congress in 1932
Created the Bonus Army for veterans
Hoover looks to restore good neighbor policy in the Western Hemisphere