1920S PRESIDENTS AND THE ECONOMY 11/11 – 11/14

WARMUP What was the syndrome called that World War 1 veterans and survivors suffered from? Shell-shock

AGENDA Warmup 1920s Presidents and the Economy PPT & Notes 7th Period only – America: the Story of Us Movie Notes

*President Warren G. Harding *President from 1921 – 1923 (died)

HARDING (1921-23) Return to “normalcy” after the war

• Less ambitious foreign policy • Emphasize prosperity at home

Supported racial and religious tolerance Appointed friends to key positions (Ohio Gang)

• Friends stole from and cheated the government • Teapot Dome Scandal

• Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall was accused of accepting bribes from oil companies

• First Cabinet member to go to jail Harding died in office (heart attack)

TEAPOT DOME Teapot Rock – Wyoming Oil fields It used to look like a teapot >>

Teapot Dome Scandal “Teapot Dome” became synonymous with government corruption

“Bargain Day in Washington” Government corruption under Harding’s administration Americans began to mistrust the government

Calvin Coolidge Vice President for Warren G. Harding Succeeded to presidency after Harding’s death

COOLIDGE (1923-29) Pro-business

• “The business of America is business”

Laissez-faire approach to the economy • Do nothing to interfere with business • “Hands off” • Rapid economic growth (Roaring Twenties)

He restored public confidence in the American government

Herbert Hoover

HOOVER (1929-33) Self-made millionaire Predicted the end of poverty if he was elected president Believed in “rugged individualism”

• People will succeed on their own without government interference

• “Pull yourself up by the bootstraps”

REPUBLICAN ECONOMIC POLICIES Lower Taxes on the Wealthy Relaxed enforcement of anti-trust laws and regulations

• Business was free to do as it pleased

High Protective Tariffs • Makes foreign goods more expensive, so people buy more

American goods

“Trickle-down economics”

The Model T Car

ECONOMY: AUTOMOBILE Assembly line perfected by Henry Ford

• In 1925, a new Ford Model T was rolling off the assembly line every 10 seconds

Mass production led to lower prices • Model T now priced in range of “average” Americans

Cars ended isolation of rural life, enabled people to work farther from home, and connected the country with government built roads and highways

Home radio

ECONOMY: RADIO First radio broadcast in Pittsburg in 1920 By 1926, NBC had a permanent network of radio stations to distribute daily programs By 1928, CBS had a coast-to-coast network Radios connected the many regions and populations in America and created a shared cultural experience

• Everyone listening to the same soap opera, the same news cast, the same boxing match or baseball game

• An “American” experience

ECONOMY: ADVERTISING

Advertising became a booming industry in the 1920s

• Convince someone to buy something they did not know they needed

Advertising connected the products with qualities of the era:

• Convenience, leisure, success, fashion, style

Bread slicer invented in 1928

• “Greatest thing since sliced bread” • Betty White is older than sliced bread

(born 1922)

ECONOMY: CREDIT Following the economic downturn of the early 1920s, many Americans experienced an increase in wages The prosperity of the 1920s gave many people the confidence to buy on credit

• 75% of radios bought on credit • 60% of automobiles bought on credit

In many instances, people bought on credit at a faster rate than their incomes increased