1. List as many “forgettable” Presidents as you can.
Why are the three Presidents of the 1920s considered to be “forgettable”?
What other time periods in U.S. History have “forgettable” Presidents?

2. The Politics of Boom & Bust 1920 - 1932 APUSH
Warren G. Harding (died in office)
Calvin Coolidge
All the presidents of the 1920s were Republican
Herbert Hoover

3. The 1920 Election
“Return to Normalcy” was Harding's campaign slogan

4. Harding is considered one of the worst Presidents in U.S. History
Warren G. Harding
Harding is considered one of the worst Presidents in U.S. History
Elected 1920
Plagued by self-doubt
High Tariffs p. 751
Scandal ridden administration
“Teapot Dome”

5. The Ohio Gang President Harding’s Cabinet Secretary of the Treasury:
Members of Harding’s cabinet - these old friends from Ohio who were extremely corrupt
President Harding’s Cabinet
Secretary of the Treasury:
- Andrew Mellon
Secretary of the Interior:
-Albert Fall
Head of the Veteran’s Bureau:
- Charles Forbes
Forbes embezzled close to $200 million from Veteran’s Bureau construction projects

6. The Teapot Dome Scandal
Gov’t Oil reserves in WY & CA
Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall accepted a bribe to lease government land to oil executives
One of these areas was called “Teapot Dome” in Wyoming
Fall was sent to prison
Was President Harding aware of the amount of scandal in his administration?
Did he ever find out?

7. Calvin Coolidge “ Forced corrupt officials to resign
“The business of America is business. The man who builds a factory builds a temple. The man who works there worships there.” – Calvin Coolidge
Forced corrupt officials to resign
Believed in little gov’t interference in the economy
Fiscal conservative
Anti-Union
Increase in Americans income
What does President Coolidge believe American prosperity rests on?

8. Kellogg-Briand Pact Signed by 62 nations in 1928
Prohibited the use of war as "an instrument of national policy.”
How was this flawed?
How would this contribute to growing American Isolationism after WWI?

9. Unraveling the Debt Knot
Dawes Plan:
Rescheduled German war reparations & opened the way for more private loans to Germany.
Who was Germany supposed to make reparation payments to?
Long term effects?
Does the U.S.
ever really get
their $ back?

10. Herbert Hoover Elected President in 1928 Self-made millionaire
Rejects planned economy supports laissez-faire
Gains power during an age of incredible prosperity
Agricultural Marketing Act
Hawley-Smoot Tariff increased duties from 38.5 % to nearly 60%
Hoover’s fortunes will be
tied directly to the US economy

11. End of Prosperity Stock prices continued to increase – why?
B/c of booming 1920's economy, $ were plentiful, so banks were quick to make loans to any investor
The booming economy suggested a never ending era of prosperity – false sense of security
Stock prices continued to increase – why?
What was “buying on the margin”?
Investors only had to pay for 10% of the stock's actual value at time of purchase
Hoover tries to slow speculation
through the Federal Reserve Board

12. Buying stocks on “the margin”
What does it mean to buy on the margin?
Investors only had to pay for 10% of the stock's actual value at time of purchase
How is this risky?
What affect will this have on the future of the United States?

13. Black Tuesday
1920's had been a period of good economic times
beginning in Oct. 1929, investors’ confidence dropped, leading to a market collapse
all tried to sell at once and bottom fell out of market = panic selling… (many bankruptcies as banks called in loans)
Tues. Oct. 29th, NYC Stock market crashed, causing a depression that would last until the 1940s.
Over 16 million shares of stock were
Sold on Black Tuesday.
The crash had a huge ripple effect on the
economy…

15. Ragged Individualists
By million Americans are jobless
5k banks close
“Firing not hiring”
Breadlines, soup kitchens
Birth rate sharply declines
What are Hoovervilles?
Hoover Blankets?
Hoover Flags?

16. What caused the Great Depression?
Overproduction
Underconsumption
Stock market speculation - fueled by buying on the margin
What made the Great Depression worse?
Overexpansion of credit
High tariffs – Hawley-Smoot
Major drought on the Great Plaines
Inactivity of President Hoover

18. The Bonus Army
Thousands of WWI veterans descend on Washington D.C. & demand promised bonus for military service
Vets refuse to leave & set up Hoovervilles all over D.C.
Gov’t response?
What did this signify?