The Roaring Twenties

THE 1920SOVERVIEW

PoliticsElections Policies Scandals

EconomicsEconomic PerformanceLaborFarmers

Society“Days gone by versus the days ahead”

The 1920 ElectionDemocrats – James M. Cox/Franklin D. RooseveltRepublicans – Warren G. Harding/Calvin Coolidge

Campaigned on the theme: “Return to Normalcy”RESULTS: Harding – 16,143,407 pop. vote (60.4%)

(404 electoral votes) Cox – 9,130,328 pop. vote (34.2%)

(127 electoral votes)Who was Harding?

Senator from Ohio Considered a “good second-rater” Willing to follow the party bosses Portrayed by the press as a wise and effective leader Delegated much of his authority and responsibility to others In way over his head (Quote)

James A. Cox & Warren G. Harding

Harding as PresidentPOLICIES

Very Pro-BusinessLowered corporate, personal and inheritance

taxes by 50%Raised the tariff to an average rate over 50%Repealed progressive reforms Appointed pro-business justices to Supreme

Court that struck down child labor laws, minimum wage laws, and upheld business associationalism

Harding as PresidentAppointments

Attorney General – Harry Daugherty Sec. of Interior – Albert Fall Sec. of Treasury – Andrew Mellon (3rd richest man in

America) All cronies – members of the “Ohio Gang”

Scandals Ohio Gang appointees sold government offices,

accepted bribes and bribed Congressmen for votes Head of the Veterans Administration sold hospital

equipment and pocketed the money Teapot Dome

The Teapot Dome ScandalTeapot Dome – Naval oil reserves in

Wyoming At Sec Int Fall’s urging, Harding transferred the oil

reserves to Interior Fall leased the oil to the Pan-American Oil Company and

the Sinclair Oil Company Fall received $400,000 in unsecured “loans”

Results Harry Sinclair spent 9 months in jail for

contempt of the Senate and jury tampering Fall served 1 year in jail, fined $100,000. Oil was returned to the government

The S.S. SinclairThis Should’ve Been Mine!

Teapot Dome Scandal

Death of HardingJune, 1923 – ate Japanese crab and fell ill. His

Surgeon General (an Ohio crony) diagnosed it as food poisoning.

August 2, 1923 – died of a heart attack.

Point 1 – His doctor was incompetent and misdiagnosed the food poisoning. He really had a heart attack the first time.

Point 2 – Because of Harding’s death, the scandals never hurt his reputation.

Coolidge as President Known as “Silent Cal” Continued Harding’s pro-business policies Believed the wealthy were the creators of

prosperity (today’s “Job Creators”) Allowed business associationalism – the

evolutionary end-stage of monopolies. Elected in 1924 under the slogan “Keep Cool

with Coolidge” Did not seek re-election in 1928

Calvin Coolidge

Election of 1928Republican

Herbert Hoover• Sec. of Commerce• Iowa (mid-west)• Protestant (Quaker)• Self-made millionaire• Farm boy• Rural• Dry• Represented Old Stock

America• 21,391,993 (444)

DemocratAlfred E. Smith• Governor • New York (north-east)• Catholic• Son of immigrants• Lived in a tenement• Urban• Wet• Represented New, Modern

Urban America• 15,016,169 (87)

Herbert Hoover & Alfred E. Smith

Hoover as President Promised “A Chicken for Every Pot” Stock Market crash Oct. 29, 1929 Started the Great Depression

ECONOMICSEconomic Performance During the

1920s output rose 60% GNP up 5%/yr Per capita income up 33% (for top earners) Reasons:

Feeding/supplying Europe after WWI Auto industry and spinoffs Radio industry Aviation Electronics Appliances Cheap energy Layaway purchasing

ECONOMICSStock Market Crash

Oct. 29, 1929 – “Black Tuesday” Dow Jones Industrial Average fell from 260.64 to 230.07 16.4 million shares sold Value loss: 37% By July, 1930, the Dow -198 By Nov., 1930, the Dow – 41 $16,000,000,000 lost from Oct-Nov, 1929 March, 1933: value of market @ 20% 1929-1932: personal incomes fell from $82m to $40m

Economics

EconomicsWhy the Market Crashed

Over speculation Value of stock was worth more than the actual

companies Buying on margin

Buyer purchases stock with 10% cash and borrows balance from a bank, stock is used as collateral

Margin – difference between cash down payment and total price of stock

When value of stock rises, stock owner sells stock, repays bank loan and still makes a profit.

Profit is used as a down payment for another stock purchase also bought on margin

However, if the value of the stock drops, the buyer must make a cash payment on the loan to balance the value of the loan and the value of the stock. This usually involves selling stock

If everyone sells at the same time, the market crashes.

EconomicsLabor Unions

Membership down by over 50%Annual Income $1500 (Standard-$1800)Unemployment 5-7%Why?

Welfare Capitalism – businesses supplied benefits to workers to avoid strikes

Company UnionsAmerican Plan – created open (non-union) shops Red Scare – Marx predicted communism would start

with labor unions

EconomicsFarmers

Average income: $223/yr by 1929 Only segment of economy that saw a decline Prices dropped due to overproduction Why?

# of tractors quadrupled Foreign markets closed Ladies’ fashions

Consumerism True consumer society for the 1st time Commercially processed foods sold at chain stores Availability of new appliances, automobiles Why?

Advertising in newspapers and magazines Lay-a-way purchasing (going into debt)

1920s SocietyFads and Fashion

The Charleston Stunts (pole sitting, planes, etc) Flappers Low necklines, high hemlines Speakeasies

Speakeasies

Years gone by vs. Years Ahead

Prohibition Started by the 18th Amendment – outlawed sale,

manufacture, transportation and consumption of alcohol

Total consumption decreased, per capita consumption of drinkers increased

Liquid tonsillectomies Created an aura of lawlessness: gangsters, rum-

runners, bootleggers, and the speakeasies Drys - rural, agricultural , Protestant, South and

Midwest: Old Stock America Wets - urban, industrial, Catholic, Jewish, Northeast,

west coast: New America (1st and 2nd generation )

Rum Runners

Gangsters

Years gone by vs. Years Ahead

Ku Klux Klan Reborn in 1915 after the release of Birth of a

Nation Founded by William J. Simmons Focused attention on anyone who was not a WASP:

Jews, blacks, Catholics, immigrants, etc Pro-prohibition, anti-immigrant, hyper-nationalist 6,000,000 members in 1924 (6,000 today) Controlled elections in many states

Ku Klux Klan

Years gone by vs. Years AheadThe Scopes Trial

July 23, 1925 – trial of John T. Scopes, science teacher in Dayton, TN

Charged with teaching evolution in a public school Defended by Clarence Darrow Prosecuted by William J. Bryan AKA “The Monkey Trial” Scopes convicted, fined $100. Overturned on appeal. Trial represented the battle between religion and

science (the past vs. the future, old vs. new, rural vs. urban)

The Scopes Trial

The Scopes Trial

The Scopes Trial