The Guide
Harding’s Presidency (1921-1923)
1. Characteristics
Warren G. Harding ran on a platform of a “Return to Normalcy” after World War I, appealing to Americans' desire for stability.
His presidency emphasized pro-business policies, high tariffs (Fordney-McCumber Tariff), and limited government interference in the economy (laissez-faire).
Harding was known for his affable personality but was often criticized for being politically naïve and delegating too much authority to corrupt officials.
2. Programs/Legislation Passed
Fordney-McCumber Tariff (1922): Raised tariffs on imported goods to protect American industries, but led to retaliation from European nations.
Budget and Accounting Act (1921): Established the Bureau of the Budget, improving government efficiency.
Immigration Restriction Act (1921): Implemented the first numerical limits on immigration, particularly targeting Southern and Eastern Europeans.
Sheppard-Towner Maternity and Infancy Act (1921): Provided federal funding for maternal and infant health programs.
3. Cabinet - Members & Positions
Charles Evans Hughes (Secretary of State): Led U.S. efforts in international diplomacy, including the Washington Naval Conference.
Herbert Hoover (Secretary of Commerce): Promoted economic efficiency and standardization of industry.
Andrew Mellon (Secretary of Treasury): Advocated for tax cuts for the wealthy and reduced government spending (trickle-down economics).
Albert Fall (Secretary of the Interior): Central figure in the Teapot Dome Scandal.
Harry Daugherty (Attorney General): Accused of corruption and involvement in scandals.
4. Scandals - Who, What, When, Where
Teapot Dome Scandal (1921-1924): Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall secretly leased oil-rich government land in Wyoming to private oil companies in exchange for bribes.
Veterans’ Bureau Scandal: Director Charles Forbes was caught selling government medical supplies meant for veterans and taking kickbacks.
Justice Department Scandal: Attorney General Harry Daugherty was accused of selling government pardons and liquor licenses.
5. Effects of Scandals on the Republican Party
Severely damaged Harding’s reputation and led to increased public distrust in government.
Strengthened calls for reform and greater government oversight.
Despite the scandals, the Republican Party maintained control, as Coolidge was able to distance himself from Harding’s administration.
Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
1. Foreign Policy
Washington Naval Conference (1921-1922):
First international disarmament conference, led by Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes.
Limited the size of naval forces of major powers (U.S., Britain, Japan, France, Italy).
Aimed to prevent an arms race but lacked enforcement mechanisms.
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928):
Agreement signed by 62 nations renouncing war as a means of resolving disputes.
Symbolic rather than practical—lacked enforcement, leading to its failure when WWII broke out.
Relationship of Government and Business During Republican Administrations
Republican presidents (Harding, Coolidge, Hoover) followed pro-business, laissez-faire policies.
Tax cuts for the wealthy and businesses (Mellon’s economic policies).
Reduction in government regulation (decline in Progressive reforms).
Close relationship with big business—many industrialists benefited from government policies.
Supreme Court rulings favored businesses over labor unions (e.g., Adkins v. Children’s Hospital, 1923).
Economic Boom of the 1920s & Its Results
Mass production (Ford’s assembly line) revolutionized industries, lowering costs and increasing consumer access.
Stock market speculation led to rapid investment growth but created an unsustainable bubble.
Rise in real estate and consumer goods spending.
Unequal wealth distribution: While industry and stock investors thrived, farmers and some laborers struggled.
Credit & Installment buying: People bought goods on credit, increasing consumer debt.
Consumption and Advertising
Growth of radio, billboards, and print ads spread consumer culture.
Companies used psychology-based advertising to influence purchasing habits.
Shift from necessity-based ads to luxury and lifestyle marketing (e.g., cars, cosmetics, appliances).
New Technologies & Inventions in the 1920s
Automobile (Model T) transformed American life, leading to suburban growth and new industries (road construction, gas stations, motels).
Radio & mass communication brought news and entertainment to millions (NBC, CBS founded).
Household appliances (refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines) changed domestic life.
Aviation advanced (Charles Lindbergh’s solo transatlantic flight in 1927).
Labor Movement - AFL-CIO
American Federation of Labor (AFL) remained strong but opposed radical movements.
Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) emerged in the 1930s, focusing on industrial workers.
Labor unions declined in the 1920s due to government suppression, anti-union sentiment, and prosperity.
Farmer Problems in Time of Plenty (McNary-Haugen Bills)
Farmers suffered from overproduction, leading to falling crop prices.
McNary-Haugen Bill proposed government intervention to buy and store surplus crops—Coolidge vetoed it twice.
Led to rural economic distress and foreclosures.
Heroes of the 1920s
Charles Lindbergh: First solo transatlantic flight (1927).
Babe Ruth: Baseball superstar, symbolized America’s love for sports.
Jack Dempsey: Heavyweight boxing champion.
Clara Bow: Silent film star and "It Girl."
Impact of Automobile on American Society
Increased mobility, suburbanization, and travel.
Created new industries (gas stations, motels, diners).
Led to traffic laws, highways, and urban sprawl.
Characteristics of the 1920s
Economic prosperity, consumerism, urbanization.
Rise of mass entertainment (movies, jazz, radio).
Flappers & changing gender roles.
Anti-immigrant sentiment (Quota Acts, KKK resurgence).
Amendments - 18, 19, 21
18th Amendment (Prohibition, 1920): Banned alcohol, led to bootlegging and organized crime.
19th Amendment (1920): Granted women the right to vote.
21st Amendment (1933): Repealed Prohibition.
Changing Cultural Values of the 1920s
Clash between traditionalism and modernism (Scopes Trial).
Rise of the "New Woman" – Flappers defied social norms.
Harlem Renaissance celebrated African American culture.
Margaret Sanger
Advocated for birth control, founded Planned Parenthood.
Pushed for contraception despite legal opposition.
Intellectual Life of the 1920s
Growth of modernist literature (F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway).
Psychology (Freudian ideas) influenced art and culture.
Lost Generation / Gertrude Stein
Group of writers disillusioned with post-WWI society.
Gertrude Stein coined the term; influenced Hemingway and Fitzgerald.
H.L. Mencken
Journalist and social critic who ridiculed middle-class values, fundamentalism, and Prohibition.
Known for biting satire.
American Writers and Their Works
F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby (1925); criticized materialism and moral decay of the 1920s.
Ernest Hemingway – The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929); part of the Lost Generation, rejected war glorification.
Langston Hughes – The Weary Blues (1926); key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, celebrated Black culture.
Sinclair Lewis – Babbitt (1922), Main Street (1920); satirized middle-class conformity.
William Faulkner – The Sound and the Fury (1929); explored Southern society and race.
John Steinbeck
American novelist best known for writing about the struggles of the working class during the Great Depression.
His novels often depicted migrant workers, poverty, and the American Dream.
Key Works:
The Grapes of Wrath (1939) – Follows the Joad family, who migrate from Oklahoma to California after losing their farm during the Dust Bowl. Highlights exploitation of migrant workers and the failures of capitalism. Won the Pulitzer Prize.
Of Mice and Men (1937) – Story of two displaced ranch workers, George and Lennie, struggling to survive during the Depression. Themes of friendship, dreams, and isolation.
East of Eden (1952) – Multi-generational story about human nature, free will, and morality.
Impact:
Captured the hardships of the Great Depression and humanized poor, struggling Americans.
His works were often critical of social injustice, inequality, and the exploitation of workers.
Won the Nobel Prize in Literature (1962) for his realistic and imaginative storytelling.
Charles and Mary Beard
Historians known for economic interpretations of history.
Charles Beard’s "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution" (1913) argued that the Founding Fathers protected elite financial interests.
Mary Beard focused on women’s roles in history, influencing feminist historiography.
Harlem Renaissance
1920s African American cultural movement centered in Harlem, NYC.
Celebrated Black identity through literature, music (jazz), and art.
Key figures:
Langston Hughes – Poetry emphasizing racial pride.
Zora Neale Hurston – Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937).
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington – Jazz musicians who shaped American music.
Noble Experiment
Another name for Prohibition (1920-1933) under the 18th Amendment.
Intended to reduce crime and improve morality but instead fueled organized crime (Al Capone, bootlegging).
Led to the rise of speakeasies, illegal bars serving alcohol.
Ultimately repealed by the 21st Amendment (1933) due to widespread failure.
Immigration/National Origins Act (1924)
Restricted immigration from Southern & Eastern Europe using quotas.
Banned immigration from Asia entirely.
Reflected nativist & xenophobic attitudes of the 1920s.
Fundamentalism
Religious movement opposing modern science, especially evolution.
Led to the Scopes Trial (1925), where teacher John Scopes was tried for teaching evolution.
Defended by Clarence Darrow; opposed by William Jennings Bryan.
Highlighted the conflict between modernism vs. traditionalism.
Intolerance and the Red Scare
First Red Scare (1919-1920) – Fear of communism and anarchism after the Russian Revolution (1917).
Palmer Raids – Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer ordered mass arrests of suspected radicals.
Sacco and Vanzetti Trial (1921) – Italian immigrants executed with little evidence, reflecting anti-immigrant bias.
Ku Klux Klan (KKK) (1920s)
Resurged in 1915 with anti-Black, anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish, and anti-immigrant views.
Gained political power in Midwest & South.
Used violence, intimidation, and white supremacy rhetoric.
Declined after scandals, including corruption within leadership.
Xenophobia
Fear of immigrants intensified in the 1920s.
Reflected in laws like the National Origins Act (1924) and Sacco-Vanzetti trial.
Tied to fears of communism, anarchism, and job competition.
Characteristics of the 1930s
Great Depression – High unemployment (25%), bank failures, homelessness.
Dust Bowl (1930s) – Severe drought in the Midwest forced farmers to migrate.
Rise of New Deal programs under FDR to provide relief.
Isolationism in foreign policy; U.S. avoided European conflicts.
Stock Market Crash (1929)
Black Tuesday (Oct. 29, 1929) – Stock market collapsed, erasing billions in wealth.
Caused by speculation, buying on margin, and lack of regulation.
Triggered bank failures and corporate bankruptcies.
Causes of the Great Depression
Overproduction – Factories & farms produced more goods than people could buy.
Stock Market Crash (1929) – Wiped out investments and savings.
Bank Failures – No federal deposit insurance led to lost savings.
Unequal wealth distribution – Middle class & farmers struggled.
High tariffs – Smoot-Hawley Tariff (1930) worsened global trade.
Hoover’s Measures to Combat Depression
Relied on voluntary business cooperation instead of government intervention.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) – Government loans to banks & businesses, but too little, too late.
Public works projects, such as Hoover Dam, to create jobs.
Refused direct relief to individuals, fearing dependency.
Stimson Doctrine (1932)
U.S. refused to recognize Japan’s conquest of Manchuria (China) after their invasion in 1931.
Symbolic protest with no enforcement power.
Showed U.S. commitment to isolationism in foreign policy.
Farm Holiday Association
Farmers protested low crop prices by destroying crops & livestock instead of selling at a loss.
Attempted to reduce supply to raise prices, but largely failed.
Veterans’ Bonus March (1932)
WWI veterans marched in D.C., demanding early payment of their war bonuses.
Hoover ordered the U.S. Army (led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur) to remove them violently, using tear gas & cavalry.
Public outrage hurt Hoover’s re-election chances.
Differences Between Hoover and Roosevelt
Hoover – Believed in limited government, rugged individualism, and voluntary action. Opposed direct aid.
Roosevelt (FDR) – Advocated for active government intervention, direct relief, and New Deal programs.
Bank Failures
Banks collapsed due to bad loans & panic withdrawals.
No FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) at the time, so people lost their savings.
FDR’s Banking Holiday (1933) stopped the panic and led to reforms under the New Deal.
First 100 Days (1933)
FDR’s first 100 days in office saw major legislation to combat the Great Depression.
Passed Banking Relief Act, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA).
Created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and other New Deal programs.
Alphabet Programs (New Deal Agencies)
CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) – Employed young men in conservation projects.
AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act) – Paid farmers to reduce production.
WPA (Works Progress Administration) – Built infrastructure and provided jobs.
SSA (Social Security Act, 1935) – Retirement benefits & unemployment aid.
FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) – Protected bank deposits.
Schechter Case (1935)
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States – Supreme Court struck down the NRA (National Recovery Administration), ruling that the federal government overstepped its authority.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Government agency that built dams and power plants in the Tennessee Valley.
Provided cheap electricity, flood control, and jobs to a poor region.
Gold Standard
The U.S. abandoned the gold standard in 1933 under FDR to allow for inflation and economic recovery.
Allowed more flexibility in the money supply, aiding New Deal efforts.
FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 1933)
Created under FDR’s Banking Act of 1933 (Glass-Steagall Act).
Insured bank deposits up to a certain amount to restore public confidence in banks.
Prevented bank runs by guaranteeing that people wouldn’t lose their savings if a bank failed.
Still exists today as a key part of the U.S. financial system.
Court and New Deal Programs (Court-Packing Plan, 1937)
FDR’s New Deal programs faced opposition from the Supreme Court.
The Court struck down major programs like the NIRA (1935) and AAA (1936), arguing they gave the federal government too much power.
FDR’s Response:
Proposed the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill (Court-Packing Plan).
Goal: Allow the president to appoint up to six new justices for every sitting justice over 70 who didn’t retire.
Seen as an attempt to control the judiciary and faced major backlash.
Ultimately failed, but the Court became more supportive of New Deal programs afterward.
Townsend, Coughlin, Long – Their Objectives
Dr. Francis Townsend – Proposed the Townsend Plan, which called for $200/month pensions for seniors (precursor to Social Security).
Father Charles Coughlin – Catholic priest and radio personality who at first supported FDR but later turned against him.
Wanted nationalization of banks and criticized FDR for being too moderate.
Spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, lost influence.
Huey Long ("Kingfish") – Senator from Louisiana.
Advocated the "Share Our Wealth" program – high taxes on the rich to fund income redistribution.
Wanted government-guaranteed incomes and social programs.
Assassinated in 1935 before he could challenge FDR.
Second New Deal – Major Differences from the First New Deal
First New Deal (1933-1934) – Focused on relief & recovery (short-term fixes).
Second New Deal (1935-1938) – Shifted towards reform & social welfare.
Key Programs:
Social Security Act (1935) – Provided retirement pensions, unemployment benefits.
Wagner Act (1935) – Strengthened workers' rights to unionize.
Works Progress Administration (WPA, 1935) – Provided jobs in public works & the arts.
Wealth Tax Act (1935) – Raised taxes on the wealthy.
More progressive & long-term reforms compared to the First New Deal.
Frances Perkins
First female cabinet member in U.S. history (Secretary of Labor, 1933-1945).
Key architect of the New Deal, including:
Social Security Act (1935).
Minimum wage & overtime laws.
Stronger labor protections (workers’ rights, ending child labor).
Played a huge role in expanding the role of women in government.
Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act, 1935)
Guaranteed workers’ rights to form unions and collectively bargain.
Created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to oversee labor disputes.
Strengthened union power, leading to a surge in union membership.
Opposed by businesses, but became a foundation of modern labor rights.
Keynesian Economics
Developed by John Maynard Keynes, a British economist.
Argued that government spending should increase during economic downturns to boost demand.
Supported deficit spending – the idea that government should spend more than it takes in to stimulate economic growth.
Justified New Deal spending as a way to pull the U.S. out of the Great Depression.
Later influenced post-WWII economic policies and FDR’s war spending.
Successes and Failures of the New Deal
Successes:
✅ Reduced unemployment with public works programs (CCC, WPA, PWA).
✅ Restored confidence in banks (FDIC, Banking Act).
✅ Established Social Security, providing long-term economic security.
✅ Strengthened labor rights (Wagner Act).
✅ Modernized infrastructure (TVA, roads, dams).
Failures:
❌ Unemployment remained high until WWII.
❌ Many programs were ruled unconstitutional (NIRA, AAA).
❌ Racial inequality persisted – many programs excluded Black Americans.
❌ Increased federal government power, which faced conservative opposition.
❌ Did not fully end the Great Depression – WWII finally revived the economy.
Good Neighbor Policy (1933-1945)
FDR’s foreign policy toward Latin America.
Ended U.S. military interventions (unlike T. Roosevelt’s "Big Stick" policy).
Withdrew U.S. troops from Nicaragua & Haiti.
Strengthened ties with Latin American countries, especially during WWII to ensure regional stability.