1. The Harding Years
Unit 9.1

2. A New Era: The 1920s President- William G. Harding (R)
Vice President- Calvin Coolidge
Harding’s campaign slogan- “a return to normalcy”
Through the 1920s, three Republican presidents were elected while the majority of Congress was also Republican
A time when businesses boomed and farmers and unions struggled

3. A New Era: The 1920s
The death of Theodore Roosevelt in coupled with public disillusionment over WWI allowed for the return of “old guard” (conservative) Republicans
Regulatory commissions established in the Progressive era were now administered by appointees that were more sympathetic towards businesses than the general public

4. A New Era: The 1920s
Harding was not a very good leader, but appointed very able men to his cabinet:
Charles Evan Hughes Secretary of State
William H. Taft Chief Justice
Andrew Mellon Secretary of the Treasury

5. Domestic Policy
President Harding did little more than sign into law the measures passed through the Republican Congress
A reduction in the income tax
Passage of the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act raised taxes on U.S. imports
Established the Bureau of the Budget
Oversaw procedures of government expenditures being collected into a single budget for Congress to review and vote on

6. Scandal in the White House
Teapot Dome Scandal: Albert B. Fall, Secretary of the Interior, was accepting bribes for granting oil leases on federal land near Teapot Dome, Wyoming
Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty and others uncovered the dealings, but also took bribes for agreeing not to prosecute certain suspects
Harding died in August shortly before the scandals were uncovered

7. Characteristics of the 1920s: Union Decline
Wages rose, but union membership declined
“open shop” policies keeping jobs open to nonunion workers
Some companies began offering improved benefits and higher wages to remove the need for their workers to unionize
Efforts to unionize in the South were violently resisted by police, state militia, and local mobs
During the era, union efforts often failed and were set back by Conservative courts

8. Characteristics of the 1920s: Anti-Internationalism
After WWI, immigration shot upward
Over a million entered the U.S. from
Once again, nativist prejudices were aroused
Feared competition for jobs
Immigrants viewed as radicals who might incite revolution
Quota laws severely restricted European and Asian immigration and policies of unlimited immigration had officially ended by 1927
Sacco and Vanzetti
Two Italian immigrants convicted of robbery and murder in 1921; executed in 1927

9. Characteristics of the 1920s: Effects of the 19th Amendment
Passage of the Amendment did not change women’s lives or politics as much as had been anticipated
Most middle-class women still expected to spend their lives as homemakers and mothers
Employed women usually worked in the cities and were limited to certain professions (clerks, teachers, nurses)
Received lower wages than men

10. Characteristics of the 1920s: Effects of the 19th Amendment
Revolution in Morals:
There was a revolt among young people against sexual taboos
Movies, automobiles, novels, and new dances also encouraged greater promiscuity
Margaret Sanger and advocates for birth control achieved growing acceptance in the 1920s
Flappers
Influenced by movie actresses; shocked the older generations by wearing hemmed dresses at the knee, “bobbing” their hair, smoking, and driving
Liberalized divorce laws

11. Flappers of the 1920s

12. Washington Naval Conference
In 1921, the major naval powers of the world agreed to renounce war by downsizing their navies, respecting each other’s territorial possessions in the Pacific, and maintaining an open door policy in China

13. Kellogg-Briand Pact
15 nations around the world signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which renounced the aggressive use of force to achieve national ends
Proved to be ineffective
Permitted defensive wars
Failed to provide for taking action against violators of the agreement