PRESIDENT
Woodrow Wilson pres 1913-21
Warren Harding pres 1921-23
Calvin Coolidge pres
1923-29
Herbert Hoover pres
1929-33
FDR pres 1933-45
PARTY
Democrat
Republican
Republican
Republican
Democrat
1. Politics in the 1920s
Republicans
• Republican party dominated national politics during the
1920s
• 1920- Warren Harding>16 million to 9 million votes>admin plagued by scandal veterans bureau Chief Forbes was imprisoned for squandering $200 million, Teapot Dome
Scandal>secretary of the interior fall>involved in corrupt leasing of oil reserves
• 1924-Calvin Coolidge, Silent Cal or Pres. Do nothing- ultra laissez fair> sought to keep govt out of things ‘the business of America is business’
• 1928- Herbert Hoover
1. A. Republican Economic policy
• Republicans conservative business policies>help big business in the areas of tax, tariffs or assistance in building monopolies • Treasury secretary Mellon reduced taxes for rich and big businesses • Fordney-Mccumber Tariffs (1922)>tariffs highest in history
• Always sided with business rather then unions
1. B. Long term causes of the Great Depression (GD)
Business prosperity 1920s
• Unparallel prosperity
• Car industry set tone> mass production, assembly line
>prices down, car ownership universal >car sales helped related industries e.g. road construction, paint manufacturing and scrap metals>boomed
• Mass production> refrigerators, stoves, irons> advertising made many think they needed such products
• People took advantage of credit facilities
• Per capita income rose by a quarter b/t 1921 and 1929
• Building boom
Speculation boom
• Prosperity allowed people to invest savings in stock market>stock prices continually rose
• Buy more stocks with credit>people confident stock prices could only go up
• As more people entered the market, the boom become self liquidating Rural Problems
• Farming remained depressed after recession