1. The Harding Administration
A Return to Normalcy?
The Harding Administration

2. WWI and the Progressive Era
Directly following WWI, America was world weary. The Progressive administration of Woodrow Wilson left many Americans longing to return to a “simpler time” before WWI and American involvement in international affairs. America desired a leader that looked out for American interests and focused primarily on domestic policy. Warren Harding called this “normalcy”

3. Election of 1920 Republicans Democrats
Criticized Wilson’s handling of the war
Advocated for a strong plan for peace
Less government involvement
Isolationism
Argued that the League of Nations was the surest method for peace
Criticized Republican response to Wilson’s handling of the war.
Favored regulated economic policies and labor reforms.

4. Election of 1920
Longing to return to a simpler era, Americans rejected the Progressive ideals of Wilson and the Democratic party and overwhelmingly voted Harding into office. 3% of the vote went to Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs, who campaigned from his cozy cell in federal prison where he was serving time for alleged seditious acts.
(R) Warren G. Harding/Calvin Coolidge: 404 Electoral Votes, 60.3% Popular Vote
(D) James M. Cox/Franklin D. Roosevelt: 127 Electoral Votes, 23.9% Popular Vote

5. Harding Struggles for Peace
Washington Naval Conference
United States
Great Britain
Japan
France
Italy
In 1921, Harding called the Washington Naval Conference, headed by Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes. The purpose of the conference was to bring the five great naval powers together for a conference on ways to encourage a new era of peace. Hughes urged the major nations to disarm by scrapping their largest warships. Russia was excluded due to the recent Communist takeover of the government. Delegates agreed, and later in 1928 many would sign the Kellogg-Briand Pact which outlawed war among the signers. However, with no method to enforce this, the Pact was largely symbolic, and obviously didn’t work.

6. The Almighty Dollar Fordney-McCumber Tariff
60% tax on all goods imported from other countries
Protected US manufacturing from foreign competition
Question: Think-Pair-Share- While the tariff protected American businesses, what effect do you think this had on our trade partners? Why was the tariff a problem for the nations of Europe?

7. The Tangled Web of Reparations
Recall the Treaty of Versailles. One of the conditions placed on Germany was heavy war reparations for the damage caused during the war. Germany entered a deep depression after WWI and had no money to pay the reparations. As we saw previously, France and Britain struggled to pay back loans taken from the US during the war and looked to Germany to help pay off their debts. To solve this issue, the US sent Charles Dawes to negotiate a repayment plan. It was agreed that the US would loan money to Germany to pay the reparations. Germany would then pay the Allies the reparation money owed. The Allies would then take this money and use it to pay the US for debt accumulated during the war.

8. Harding’s Most Trusted Gang
Kitchen Cabinet: a group who advises the President who do not officially sit on the Presidential Cabinet. Warren Harding was brought into politics in Ohio by a political boss who engaged in machine politics. During this era, there was widespread corruption in government. While the President officially appoints cabinet officers who are supposed to advise them in political matters, sometimes the President prefers to deal with other close friends and associates. Warren Harding’s kitchen cabinet was referred to as the Ohio Gang, a group of poker buddies who also happened to like making money on the side. Harding was ill suited to the Presidency. He didn’t understand many of the issues of the time and sought advice from close friends. Think-Pair-Share: If Harding often sought advice from his close friends, many of which were business leaders and aspiring politicians, do you think he always got reliable information? What might some of his advisers done?

9. With Friends Like These…
Charles R. Forbes
Thomas W. Miller
Busted
Convicted
A few of Harding’s friends were caught in small-time scandals, mostly involving graft like taking bribes or selling government property for profit. However, these incidents were small potatoes compared to what would come next.
Caught illegally selling government hospital supplies for profit
Caught taking a bribe

10. I’m A Little Teapot
Teapot Dome is a small, oil-rich area of Wyoming. The United States government had set aside this land for use by the US Navy to extract oil to be used to power naval ships. Albert B. Fall, the Secretary of the Interior under Harding, was a close friend of several oil executives. Fall managed to convince the government to transfer control over the oil rich Teapot Dome area to the Department of the Interior. Fall then secretly leased the lands to two oil companies, and accepted $400,000 (over $5.4 million in today’s dollars) in compensation from the oil companies.

11. Era of Bad Feelings
The Teapot Dome scandal was the first time any cabinet officer had ever been convicted of a felony while holding office. The American public was shocked to hear that a cabinet official was selling vital resources for profit, and two of the oil executives accused of wrongdoing in the Teapot Dome case were acquitted. Harding, who had campaigned on a “Return To Normalcy”, didn’t appear to do anything to promote a return to simpler times. In fact, Harding is often cited as one of the least successful US Presidents to ever serve. Harding died suddenly in 1923, leaving his Vice President, Calvin Coolidge, the office. It was up to Silent Cal to take up the return to normalcy.