Domestic Politics in the 1920s

• Warren Harding’s 1920 election victory marked another shift in American politics.

• American politics saw a period of Republican dominance up until 1934 and a return to Republican conservatism.

  • It has been argued that Conservatism was in backlash to Progressivism.

    • Progressivism caused significant divisions within the Republican party.

      • The business-friendly policies promoted by Republican conservatism seemed to aid the economic boom and were gaining popularity.

• The prosperity in the 1920s was brought to a dramatic end in 1929 with the Wall Street Crash.

  • The failure of the Republican president Hoover to deal with the subsequent depression led to the election of the Democrat politician Franklin Roosevelt.

    • This began a 20-year-period of Democrat dominance.

  • However up until 1929, the Republicans were much stronger politically than the Democrats.

Warren Harding

• Warren Harding was involved in scandals related to extramarital affairs, ignoring prohibition and political corruption.

  • The biggest example of political corruption was the Teapot Dome scandal.

    • The Minister of the Interior had rented public lands to oil companies in exchange for gifts and personal loans.

  • There were however numerous other examples of Harding’s political associates engaging in political misconduct like accepting bribes.

• Harding was relatively popular in office since his policies fit with the mood at the time and people wanted a return to normalcy.

  • Harding pursued typical Conservative pro-business policies like protective tariffs, reduced taxes and limits to immigration.

• Here are some examples of domestic policies by Warren Harding

  • The Wardney-McCumber Act 1922: This act raised tariffs to the highest level in American history to boost the post war economy. It was supposed to protect post war industries and aid farmers. There were both supporters and critics of this act.

  • The Budget and Accounting Act 1921: This act allowed the president to present a unified budget for the first time and created the General Accounting Office to audit government expenditure.

  • Immigration Quota Act 1921: The annual number of immigration from a given nation could not exceed 3% of the number of that nationality living in the USA. This act existed to restrict immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, partially because these immigrants were likely to become Democrats.

  • Substantial tax cuts for the rich and for corporations.

  • Warren Harding encouraged the Federal Trade Commission, the Justice Department and the Interstate Commerce Commission to cooperate with corporations rather than to regulate them.

• While Harding was in no way economically progressive and he was socially conservative on immigration, he was in some ways more socially progressive than his predecessors.

  • For example, he criticised the treatment of African Americans in the South and supported full civil rights for African Americans.

    • He backed the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill in 1920, but it failed to pass the Senate.

  • Harding supported suffrage for women and was popular amongst female voters as a result.

• Harding’s legacy has been affected by his scandals and he is seen as one of the worst presidents.

  • He died on a tour of the Western states and Alaska in 1923 and his vice-president took over.

Calvin Coolidge

• Calvin Coolidge continued the pro-business policies.

• His honesty and integrity helped restore trust into the presidency and he easily won the election in 1924.

• Coolidge was a popular president in office during a time of economic prosperity and cultural change.

  • He cut taxes and limited government spending, ensuring regulatory commissions were filled with pro-business voices.

• The laissez-faire policies would later come to haunt the Republican party as they contributed to the economic problems leading to the Wall Street crash in 1929.

  • But at the time these policies and Coolidge were widely supported.

• Coolidge decided not to run again in 1928, but Herbert Hoover easily managed to secure another victory for the Republican Party.

  • This was partially due to the prosperity, but also because the Democratic candidate Al Smith was a Catholic of Irish origin who gained support in the cities, but could not win over rural, Protestant areas.

Herbert Hoover

• Herbert Hoover was highly regarded in America due to his successful tenure as the Head of the Food Administration and then head of the American Relief Administration once the war had ended.

  • He organised food shipments for millions of starving people in Central Europe.

• He also served as Secretary of Commerce