CHAPTER 33
REPUBLICANS GALORE The 1920s see three GOP presidents Warren Harding was elected in 1920 Scandal, scandal, scandal Sec. of State - Charles Evans Hughes Sec. of Treasury - Andrew Mellon Sec. Of Commerce - Herbert Hoover Sec. Of Interior - Albert Fall
Election of 1920
End of Progressivism The reforms largely end after WWI Taft is the new Chief Justice very conservative Adkins v. Children s Hospital reversed the Mueller decision Took away minimum wage for women and special treatment for women in jobs - why?
Aftermath of the War Corporations did what they wanted and no one stopped them Labor unions continued tough times 1919 Steel Strike 1922 - RR workers suffered a 12% wage decrease 1921 - Veteran s Bureau created Built hospitals and provided rehab for vets American Legion founded - benefits for vets
Return of Isolationism The U.S. sent observers to the L. of N. Did sign a big deal that gave us rights to some oil in the Middle East Isolationism returns Still looking for a way to avoid future wars Disarmament became a major focus
Washington Conference all countries except the U.S.S.R. invited Agreed to a 10 year naval holiday Five Power Treaty 5:5:3 ratio agreed upon b/n the U.S., G.B. and Japan G.B. & the U.S. agreed to not fortify possessions in the Far East
Washington Conference Four Power Treaty Bound the U.S., Japan, France, and G.B. to preserve the status quo in the Pacific Nine Power Treaty Formalized the Open Door to China Failures No restrictions on small warships, U.S would not agree to intervene to maintain the Four Power Treaty
Kellogg-Briand Pact Frank Kellogg AKA the Pact of Paris Signed by 62 nations Agreement to not use war as an instrument of foreign policy Said nothing about defensive war No enforcement mechanism Aristide Briand
Tariffs in the 1920s Americans had lots of $ and U.S. business wanted it spent on their goods Fordney-McCumber Tariff (1922) tariffs were almost doubled Included tariffs on farm produce - bad Allowed the Prez to adjust if needed Harding & Coolidge okayed 32 increases, only 5 reductions Really hurt Europe - needed $ to rebuild and pay us back
Harding Scandals Col. Charles Forbes - Veteran s Bureau stole about $200 million Teapot Dome - U.S. oil reserves Naval oil reserves transferred to the Interior Dept. (Albert Fall) The land was then leased to 2 private businessmen for a $400,000 bribe Fall convicted, bribers acquitted Attorney General Daugherty resigned
Calvin Coolidge Became President upon the death of Warren Harding Honest, moral, incredibly short with his words Brought dignity back to the White House
Farmers in the 1920s Made lots of $ during WWI Feeding the armies and citizens of the countries at war After the war lost certain markets and protections from the U.S. govt. Had increased their production so now had a surplus (prices fell) Technology improved and made it more expensive to farm
Farm Bankruptcies in the 1920s
Election of 1924 GOP nominated Coolidge Democrats were split on a # of issues wet v. dry, urban v. rural, fundamentalist v. modernist Nominated John Davis Progressives still lingering Nominate Robert LaFollete Got 5 million votes (farmers, socialists, AFL)
Election of 1924 - Results
Coolidge & Foreign Policy Isolationism (except Latin America) WWI debt was a big issue Other Allies didn t think they should have to pay Paid in loss of life, war was responsible for an economic boom in the U.S. Took it out on Germany - $52 billion in reparations Dawes Plan (circle of debt)
Election of 1928 GOP nominates Herbert Hoover Very popular Success story Great for business Made his own $ and thought govt. should stay out of the way Dems nominate Al Smith wet, urban, accent (radio didn t help), abrasive Catholic - lots of religious undertones
Election of 1928
Hoover s Presidency Despite prosperity, was signs of trouble Farmers still hurting Agricultural Marketing Act Created the Federal Farm Board $ to form cooperatives (bought equipment and storage facilities) Had promised to call for and agricultural tariff Hawley-Smoot Tariff Started out good, ended up being largest in our history (Depression) Made the Depression worse
Stock Market Crash Oct. 29, 1929 - major sell off $40 billion lost in 2 months By 1930 were 4 million without jobs Tripled in 2 years Those who had jobs lost hours and were paid lower wages Made worse by mass bank closures
Stock Market Crash
Causes of the Great Depression Overproduction Were making more than the market needed Income gap All the$ was concentrated in the hands of the rich Credit Problems in Europe Were being made worse by U.S. policies
Hoover & the Depression He took a lot of blame Hoovervilles, Hoover blankets, etc. Hoover refused the kind of govt. help that was needed rugged individualism Idea of direct relief not too popular Eventually tried to help - too little too late Top down help - not popular
Hoover s Actions Public works projects - provided jobs Ex. Hoover Dam Reconstruction Finance Corporation $500 million in loans to RRs, insurance companies, banks, state and local govts. Good, but not enough Did more than any other President before him - still not enough
Bonus Army WWI vets were supposed to get a bonus in 1945 - needed it now 20,000 veterans converged on D.C. to lobby Congress Bonus Expeditionary Force Congress said no and Hoover orderd them to leave They didn t and were a few incidents including a small riot He used the army to get rid of them - MISTAKE!
League of What, Kellogg-Briand Who? 1931 - Japanese invade Manchuria Alleged it was defensive - needed iron Knew no one would stop them- why? League of Nations did nothing Stimson Doctrine Henry Stimson Sec. of State U.S. would not recognize territory gained by force - oooooohhhhh!
Good Neighbor? Hoover did improve relations with Latin America Went on a goodwill tour as part of his new Good Neighbor policy Withdrew U.S. troops from Nicaragua and Haiti Saved us money