Topic 6

American Politics and Life in the 1920s

 

 

A. The Election of 1920

 

  1. The Republicans and – and Warren G. Harding

 

–        The Republicans almost certain to win because Americans were tired!

 

–        The Republican frontrunners:

§         Senator Hiram Johnson of California

§         Governor Frank Lowden of Illinois

§         General Leonard Wood

 

–        Meanwhile, Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio (and Harry Daugherty) conducted a low-key, behind-the-scenes campaign for Harding.

 

–        None of the frontrunners broke out of the pack, and at a sweltering convention in Chicago (no air-conditioning in that day!) tired, restless delegates gradually began swinging to Harding. 

 

–        Calvin Coolidge, Governor of Massachusetts – reputation for law and order. Boston Police, 1919

 

–        Democrats:

§         Governor James M. Cox of Ohio

§         Franklin D. Roosevelt of NY

 

  1. The campaign

 

–        Harding: great admirer of McKinley and waged a McKinley-style campaign – Tried to explain his view of League membership but mostly confused things. Also, “Elect me and I will take the country back to normalcy.”

–        Cox and Roosevelt waged a Bryan-style campaign but did them little good

–        Harding won by an earthquake

 

B. The Harding Presidency

 

  1. So, who was Warren G. Harding, anyhow? Was he America’s first black president?

–        Born in Blooming Grove, OH (1865); eventually his father, a self-taught physician, moved the family to Marion, OH

–        A rumor that dogged the Hardings was that they had black blood flowing in their veins. Probably grew out of the fact that the first members of the Harding family to settle in Ohio were abolitionists, and that was often said about abolitionists.

–        Taught school; did not like it and with borrowed money bought the local newspaper, Marion Star. Over time built it into a fairly successful small town, Republican, newspaper.

–        Married Florence Kling, 1891 (once a homeless, unwed mother). A psychic told her Harding would be nominated and win but would die in office.

–        State senator; lieutenant governor; U.S. Senate in 1916 – always known for his good humor and graciousness. But did nothing of importance in the Senate, nothing at all.

 

  1. Appointees good and bad

 

–        Charles Evans Hughes – Secretary of State – Man of vision who believed that problems left over from WWI needed to be addressed, such as taking steps to preserve peace.

 

§         Disarmament was the Republican substitute for the League of Nations – We will try to promote peace by getting countries to disarm, in particular to reduce the size of their navies.

 

§         Washington Naval Conference – 1921-22

 

§         Five Power Naval Treaty: U.S., England, France, Italy and Japan – Set limits on their capital ship strength; would not allow their capital shipping to rise above the levels set in the treaty.

 

–        Andrew Mellon – Secretary of the Treasury

 

§         Cut federal expenses and

 

§         Cut federal taxes – Benefited the wealthy; many paid no income taxes at all.

 

§         Pay down the federal debt

 

§         Return to a high tariff policy: Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act, 1922: this return to the high tariff policies of the late 19th century aimed at protecting the American business community.

 

–        Harry Daugherty – Attorney-General – bribes from bootleggers

 

 

–        Albert B. Fall – Secretary of the Interior – The Teapot Dome scandal

 

–        Harding: “It’s not my enemies I have to worry about,…”

 

 

  1. Buying time: the trip of understanding and the death of Harding

 

 

 

 

 

  1. The aftermath and a final word on Harding

 

–        A very ordinary man; had no ideas to speak of and no vision for where he wanted to lead the country.

 

–        Along with that, he lacked intellectual curiosity and book learning and the ability to think deeply about the nation’s problems. “I wish there was a book I could read ….”

 

–        In sum, a pretty pathetic character, badly out of place in the presidential office.

 

 

C. Calvin Coolidge: Mr. Average in the White House

 

  1. A very ordinary man but very popular. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5puwTrLRhmw

 

 

  1. Why? Why was this very ordinary man such a popular president in his time? Championed small government and low taxes, and that is what most Americans, weary of reform, wanted in the 1920s. Wanted the government and the president to leave them alone, and Coolidge did that.

 

 

 

  1. Easily reelected in 1924
  2. Prohibition – the ever-present issue of the 1920s – wets vs. dries

 

–        America was in the middle of a cultural and political divide – country vs. city. Conservative country folk and somewhat more tolerant city folk argued bitterly over what kind of country we should have.

 

–        This division reflected in the constant controversy over prohibition – dries vs. wets

 

 

 

 

 

 

D. Herbert Hoover and the Election of 1928

 

  1. Herbert Hoover vs. Al Smith: Republicans crack the Solid South

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Hoover extremely popular at the time of his election, but he was probably the unluckiest president in U.S. history. And by 1932 millions hated him.

 

 

 

 

  1. The stock market crash and the Great Depression

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Hoover and rugged individualism

 

 

 

 

  1. Hoover’s first response: limited to a policy of reassurance – the economy is sound, stay calm and the good times will return. But it did not happen!

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Hoover’s eventual response: more forceful, but it came too late

 

–        Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act

 

 

 

 

 

–        Federal Home Loan Bank Act

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. The eviction of the bonus marchers from Washington: reinforced the image of Hoover as a cold, uncaring, out-of-touch president

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E. The election of 1932

 

  1. Hoover vs. Franklin D. Roosevelt: “a new deal for the American people…”

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Roosevelt wins in a landslide