The Republican Old Guard Returns(brittan)

• Warren G. Harding was inaugurated in 1921
• one of the best-liked men of his generation
• was easy going and gracious
• Harding was unable to detect moral halitosis in his evil associates
• hated to hurt peoples feeling
• Chose Charles Evans Hughes as his secretary of state
• secretary of the Treasury was Andrew W. Mellon
• Secretary of the Interisor was Albert B. Fall
• Attorney general was Harry M. Daugherty

GOP Reaction at the Throttle(Bryce)

-Harding was good for enterprising industrialists

    -desired to imrpove old Laisses-faire

 -In 3 years Harding appointed 9 supreme court justices

           -chose Taft as chief justice

Supreme Court exed progressive legislation, killed fed. child labor law, stripped away a lot of labor's hard-won gains, and rigidly restricted gov't intervention in the economy

Adkins v. Children's Hospital (1923)

-reversed Muller v. Oregon

-Woman can now vote because they are the legal equals of ment and could no longer be protected by special legislation.

• Under Harding Corportaions were expanding and antitrust laws were often ignored.
  -ICC managed by men who were managers of the the rail road.
            -Business began to regulate themselves and stop cutthroat competition.

The Aftermath of War(Brittan)

•   War Industries Board pisappeared
• Railroads were returned to private management
• Esch-Cummins Transportation Act of 1920, encouraged private consolidation of the railroads and pledged the Interstate Commerce Commission to guarante their profitability
• Merchant Marine Act of 1920 authorized the Shipping Board which controlled about fifteen hundredvcessels, to dispose of the wartime  fleet at bargin-basement prices
• La Follette Seaman's Act of 1915, American shipping could not thrive in competion with foreigners, who all too often provided thier own crew with wretched food and starvation wages. 
• Railway Labor Board ordered a wage cut of 12 percent in 192, provoking a two-month strike.
• Unions wilted and membership droped by nearly 30% between 1920 and 1930
• Veterans Bureau created in 1921
• American Legion founded in 1919 in Paris by Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
• Adjusted Compensation Act passed in 1924

America Seeks Benefits w/o Burdens

Hiking the Tariff Higher (Carlson)

1)Cause: protect our economy

2)Fordney McCumber Tariff (1922)

            -raised tariffs even more to 38.5%!

3)Effects: prolonged the recovery of Europes economy

             -Europe raised their tariff too

 The Stench of Scandal (Dan)

•  In 1923,  Charles Forbes, head of Veterans Bureau, ( a deserter of the army) and his accomplices looted the gov't of $200 million.
• In 1921, the Teapot Dome scandel involved oil reserves in Wyoming and California being leased out by Albert Fall (Secretary of Interior) and he accepted plentiful sums of money.
• In 1923, people began to speculate when details about the issue leaked out.
• In 1924, Attorney General Doughtery was accused for the illegal sales of pardons and liquor permits. He later resigned and was tried and released as the jury failed to convict him.
• The scandels that erupted during Harding tenure as President  possibly led to his death on Aug. 2, 1923. He died from pneumonia while touring the country.
• As a result of the numerous scandels, Harding was not a good man for presidency and was awarded the title of worst President since Grant.

"Silent Cal" Coolidge

• opposite of Harding
• was a New Englander of morality and frugality vs. Harding's "backslapping" nature and mediocre mind
• pro-business and laissez-faire; liked Treasury Secretary Mellon's tax cuts

Frustrated Farmers(Brittany)

• While the fighting had raged, farmers had raked in the money
• By the spring of 1920, the price of qheat had shot up to an incredible $3 a bushel
• Peace brought an end to government-guaranteed high prices and to massice purchases by other nations
• Machines threatened to plow the farmers under an avalanche of their own overabundant crops
• A depression swept through agricultural districts in the 1920's; 1 in 4 farms was sold for debt or taxes
• Congress passed the Capper-Volstead Act, which exempted farmer's marketing cooperatives from antitrust prosectution
• Farmer's favorite proposal was teh McNary-Haugen Bill, which sought to keep agricultural prices high by authorizing the government to buy up surpluses and sell them abroad
• Congress passed the bill twice, but Coolidge vetoed it twice

A 3-way race for the White House in 1924 (Carlson)

•  Coolidge (Rep.) vs. Davis (Dem.) vs. La Follete (Progressive)

                                  -wealthy lawyer        -wanted gov't ownership of RR

                                                            - Af of L voted for him

• "Wets" vs. "Dry"; Urbanites vs. Farmers; Fundamentalists vs. modernists

Foreign Policy Flounderings

Unraveling the Debt Knot(Bryce)

-French and Britain were making Germany pay reparation payments totalling $32 bill.

-French sent troops to Ruhr Valley in 1923 to get reparation payments.

-As a result Berlin inflated its currency astronomicallly.

The Triumph of Herbert Hoover, 1928

President Hoover's First Moves

The Great Crash Ends the Golden 20's (Laura)

• stock market prices spiral upwards
• British raise interest rates to lure American investors and they begin to sell stock abroad
• on "Black Tuesday," October 29, 1929 stockholders paniced and sold 16 million shares in a huge scramble
• losses totaled $40 billion after two months
• at the end of 1930 more than 4 million workers were jobless and over 5,000 banks collapsed

Hooked on the Horn of Plenty

Rugged Times for Rugged Individualists(Hillary)

• Hoover convinced of powerful industry, not giving money to individuals
• Hoover proved that the trickle-down theory wasn't effective

"Hoovervilles"

• shantytowns constructed of cardboard and other materials made by homeless people
• they sprang up all over cities

Hoover Battles the Great Depression(Aaron)

• Although Hoover was an anti-spender he secured $2.25 billion for pubilc works projects. An example of a project is the Hoover Dam.
• vetoed the Muscle Shoals Bill- create a dam at the Tennesse River. Hoover vetoed it because he opposed the government selling electricity in competion with citizens.
• In response to Hoover's veto, congress created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). Became a government lending bank, designed to provide indirect relief by assisting insurance companies, banks, railroads, and hard pressed state governments. However there were no loans to individuals.
• Created to late for maximum usefullness. Giant Corporations benefited  greatly that the RFC was nicknamed "The Millionaires' Dole".
• Passed Norris-La Guardia Anti-Junction Act in 1932.-Outlawed antiunion contracts and forbade federal courts to issue injunctions to restrain strike and boycotts.
• Despite criticsm Hoover did create some significant New Policy. Had Started down the road of government assistance.
• Had a highlty uncooperative congress and some of Hoover troubles were actually created by them.

Routing the Bonus Army in Washington(Hillary)

• WWI Vets suffering through the Great Depression wanted their granted bonus NOW
• They marched to Washington and demanded Congress for their money and refused to leave
• Hoover responded by using bayonets and tear gas
• Now the most booed man in the country-"ditched, drained, and damned the country

Japanese Militarists Attack China (Jordan)

• Invaded Manchuria China in 1931 noting that the Western Hemisphere was in a Depression.
• Shortly after invading the proceeded to bolt shut the Open Door in the area that was conquered.
• Americans were stunned over this naked aggression.
• In 1932 the Japanese bombed Shanghai after a boycott from the Chinese.  Americans were outraged with the Japanese and there was a brief informal boycott of Japanese goods.
• http://www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/geogres/maps/eagif/jpempire.gif

Hoover Pioneers the Good Neighbor Policy (Jordan)

• Shortly after is election in 1928 he had undertaken a goodwill tour of Latin America.
• Economic imperialism became even less popular than it was in the Golden twenties in the U.S.
• Hoover strove to Theodore Roosevelt's twist to the Monroe Doctrine.
• In 1932 he negociated a new treaty with Haiti folloed by a withdrawal of American platoons in 1934.