The postwar administration and landscape

What was the economic state of the US during WWI?

• Economic + manufacturing boom.

• Mechanization of agricultural practices.

• Farmers mortgaging land and equipment.

• High tariffs on exported goods to Europe.

What did the economic landscape look like after the end of WWI?

• Worker surplus: return of veterans demanding work.

• Agricultural depression: slow exportation, unsold goods, inability to pay mortgages.

How did the agricultural depression change the rural landscape?

• Farmers left the south and Midwest for cities for better job opportunities.

• Explosion of sharecropping in the south, majority black tenant farmers.

What are examples of agricultural advocacy groups ?

• The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry

• The American society of Equity

• The National Non-partisan league

They did not manage to gather much support which led to no meaningful changes.

What is the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 ? Effect ?

• A 5 million dollar initiative to relieve agricultural depression by bringing scientific advances to farming and farmer by setting up farm bureaus in each state.

• Successful: a National American Farm Bureau Federation established in Chicago in 1919.

What is the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 ?

It was the 1st time a national annual budget had to approved by Congress. approved by Warren G. Harding.

What were the first bills passed by the Warren Harding republican administration in reaction to postwar depression ?

• Budget and Accounting Act of 1921

• Revenue Act 1921

• Emergency Tariff 1921

• Fordney-McCumber Act 1922

What is the Revenue Act of 1921 ?

Corporations got refunds and tax breaks for their wartime efforts.

What is the Fordney-McCumber Act 1922 ?

Protectionist policy where tariffs were raised dramatically to assure profit. It did not work because European nations were suffering financial difficulties to buy, retaliatory tariffs.

What is the Emergency Tariff of 1921 ?

Republicans returned to power and responded to mini-depression; raised agricultural rates to protect farmers; only a stopgap measure until new law written; (Harding Administration)

When did the postwar depression reach its height ?

Late summer of 1921. August 1921: ~5 Million unemployed