The 1920s: Republican Dominance

• Guiding Question: to what extent was the individualism promoted by the Republican Presidents a guiding philosophy for them?

I. Underlying Principles

• 1. The Promotion of Individualism

• 2. Laissez-faire Economics

• 3. Actively favoring corporate growth

• 4. Isolation from international affairs

II. Harding

• Harding as President (1920-1923)

– Chosen as candidate because of his anonymity.

– Easily won election of 1920 by means of a conservative platform.

– “A Return to Normalcy”• No League of Nations• Anti-progressive

II. Harding

II. Harding

• Harding the Orator– "I would like the government to do all it can to

mitigate, then, in understanding, in mutuality of interest, in concern for the common good, our tasks will be solved."

– “The only man, woman, or child who ever wrote a simple declarative sentence with seven grammatical errors is dead.” – E.E. Cummings

II. Harding

• Government to Serve Business– By 1926, a person earning $1 million annually

paid less than a third of the income tax he had paid in 1920. This was largely through the efforts of Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon.

– Encouraged Federal Trade Commission to cooperate with corporations- little regulation or antitrust actions.

II. Harding

• Corruption in Office– “Ohio Gang”

• Excluding Hoover and Coolidge

– Flagrant violation of Prohibition• General Harry Daughtery

– Teapot Dome Scandal (1923) • Secret leasing of oil reserves to private

corporations

– Extramarital Affairs• Don’t go in that closet!

III. Coolidge

• “Silent Cal” as President (1923-1924, 1924-1928)

– Placed on Harding ticket in 1920 for squashing Boston Police Strike.

• “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anyone, anywhere, any time.”

III. Coolidge

III. Coolidge

• Government to serve Business– “After all, the chief business of the

American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world.”

– Supported more tax cuts for the rich (Mellon)– Unsympathetic to Labor (PA Coal Strikes)– Coolidge benefited from the general economic

prosperity as Harding had.

III. Coolidge

• Social Policies– Vetoed…

• Farm Relief Bill• Veterans Bonus Bill

– Refused to aid MS flood victims of 1927

IV. Hoover

• Hoover as President (1928-1932)

– Soundly defeated Al Smith in 1928 (more on that later). Ran on reputation as efficient and honest.

IV. Hoover

• Associative State:– Not premised on governmental coercion or

intervention.– Preferred a voluntary, non-governmental

approach to economic matters, the better, he reasoned, to protect the "American character.“

– E.g., gov. to encourage cooperation between unions and corporations, not regulate them.

V. Republican Foreign PolicyV. Republican Foreign Policy

• Republican Foreign Policy– Emphasized focusing energy on domestic

rather than foreign affairs

V. Republican Foreign PolicyV. Republican Foreign Policy

Five Power Treaty (1921) Five Power Treaty (1921)

A battleship ratio was achieved through this ratio:A battleship ratio was achieved through this ratio: US Britain Japan France US Britain Japan France ItalyItaly 5 5 3 1.67 5 5 3 1.67 1.671.67

Japan got a guarantee that the US and Britain Japan got a guarantee that the US and Britain would stop fortifying their Far East territories would stop fortifying their Far East territories [including the Philippines].[including the Philippines].

LoopholeLoophole no restrictions on small warships no restrictions on small warships

V. Republican Foreign PolicyV. Republican Foreign Policy

V. Republican Foreign PolicyV. Republican Foreign Policy

V. Republican Foreign PolicyV. Republican Foreign Policy

(Kellogg-Briand Pact (1926)(Kellogg-Briand Pact (1926)

15 nations dedicated to outlawing aggression and war 15 nations dedicated to outlawing aggression and war as tools of foreign policy.as tools of foreign policy.

62 nations signed.62 nations signed.

ProblemsProblems no means of actual enforcement and gave no means of actual enforcement and gave Americans a false sense of security. Americans a false sense of security.

V. Republican Foreign PolicyV. Republican Foreign Policy

• Intervention in Latin America– American forces occupied Haiti and

Nicaragua in the Harding and Coolidge administrations

– Forces from the Dominican Republic were withdrawn in 1924

– On the whole, military intervention was used to maintain American economic interests.

Review

• To what degree did the Republican presidents adhere to their stated principles?