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NORMALCY & GOOD TIMES1921-1929

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THE HARDING ADMINISTRATION• Ran on the campaign slogan to

return to normalcy- a return to “normal” life after the war.

• Harding surrounded himself with a group of friends known as the “Ohio Gang”.

• En-route from Alaska to California Harding became ill and died of what seemed to be a heart attack

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TEAPOT DOME SCANDAL• Harding’s secretary of the interior

Albert B. Fall, secretly allowed private interests to lease lands containing U.S. Navy oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyoming and Elk Hills, California, in return for bribes.

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THE COOLIDGE ADMINISTRATION• Coolidge looked to move past all of the

turmoil and corruption of Harding's administration.

• Coolidge won re-election of 1924, he promised that by avoiding war, reform, and scandal, he’d give the United States the normalcy Harding failed to deliver.

• Coolidge philosophy of government is that government should interfere with business and industry as little as possible.

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A GROWING ECONOMY• Shortened work hours, shortened work weeks, and paid vacation became

available to workers.

• Thanks to mass production- large scale product manufacturing created more supply and reduced consumer costs. This formula reshaped the American Economy.

• Another major industrial development was the perfected assembly line- it divided operations into simple tasks that unskilled workers could do and cut unnecessary motion to a minimum.

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• Assembly line credited to Henry Ford maker of the Model T.

• The auto industry spurred growth in other industries such as rubber, plate glass, nickel, and lead and led to the tremendous expansion of the petroleum industry.

• The automobile also created new small-business opportunities as garages and gas stations.

• Electric razors, disposable facial tissues, frozen foods, and home hair dye.

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• After first successful flight of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk in 1903, the aviation industry began to develop rapidly.

• Bessie Coleman 1892-1926

• First African American woman to receive a pilot’s license and the first to become a stunt pilot.

• Amelia Earhart (1897-1937)-Most celebrated woman pilot, 1932 flied solo across the Atlantic.

• Charles Lindbergh- former airmail pilot, in 1927 flew “Spirit of St. Louis in the first solo flight across the Atlantic.

Aviation Takes Off

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• The prosperity of the 1920’s gave many Americans the confidence to “Buy now and pay in easy installments”, consumers began purchasing on credit.

• “The Managerial Revolution”- many companies turned to hire managers to free themselves from the day-to-day business of running their companies.

• Welfare Capitalism- companies allowed workers to buy stock, participate in profit sharing, and receive benefits such as medical care and pensions

• Open Shop- workplace where employees were not required to join a union.

20’s Prosperity

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THE FARM CRISIS RETURNS• American farmers did not share in the prosperity of the 1920’s. As a group they

earned less than one-third of the average income for workers in the rest of the economy.

• Equipment prices went up while prices for their agricultural products went down.

• The “quiet depression” the government had encouraged farm growth to help feed the needy in Europe which led to a surplus once the war was over.

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POLICIES OF PROSPERITY• The Mellon Program- Three major goals to

balance the government budget, to reduce government’s debt, and to cut taxes. Cut WWI debt by $3 billion.

• Supply-side economics-theory that lower taxes will boost the economy as businesses and individuals invest their money, thereby creating higher tax revenue.

• Hoover tried his own philosophy of cooperative individualism- idea involved encouraging manufacturers and distributors to form their own trade associations sharing information.

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TRADE AND ARMS CONTROL• United States had gone from the

debtor to the debt collector.

• The U.S. had favored Isolationism - to be left alone, United States were tired of being entangled in the baffling, mutually hostile, and dangerous politics of Europe.

• Charles G. Dawes- American banker and diplomat, negotiated an agreement with France, Britain, America and Germany.

• The Dawes Plan- was an attempt in 1924, following World War I for the Triple Entente to collect war reparations debt from Germany.

• Kellogg-Briand Pact- signed August 27, 1928 Treaty that outlawed war, 62 nations signed.

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• Washington Conference, Charles Evans Hughes- Secretary of the State proposed a 10 year moratorium or pause on the construction of major new warships.

• Five-Power Naval Limitation Treaty- Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States agreed to Hughes plan.

• Four-Power Treaty- U.S. Japan, France, and Britain recognized Pacific island claims.

• Nine-Power Treaty- all signed guaranteed Chinas independence.