Download The Harding and Coolidge Presidencies

The Harding and Coolidge Presidencies
Warren G. Harding was a newspaper publisher from Marion, Ohio. As a Republican U.S. Senator Harding
is not remembered for his work ethic, but his love of leisure. As president, he regarded his job as largely
ceremonial.
Harding won the presidential election of 1920 because he avoided taking a stand on issues and he
offered an appealing message - the nation needed to heal and return to “normalcy” post WWI.
President Harding’s answer to the nation’s postwar economic troubles was his campaign slogan, “Less
government in business and more business in government”:
●
●
cut federal budget
reduce taxes on the wealthiest Americans
The Harding and Coolidge Presidencies
Harding took one measure only to help farmers - he signed a tariff raising the cost of foreign-grown farm
products.
Harding’s cabinet had several highly skilled people:
●
●
●
Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, a multimillionaire business person and philanthropist
Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes
Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover
Not all of the cabinet members were respectable.
Harding named a number of old friends (nicknamed the Ohio Gang)
to government posts. Some were convicted of taking bribes.
The Harding and Coolidge Presidencies
The worst Harding-era scandal involved Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall who was convicted of
accepting bribes in return for allowing oil companies to drill federal oil reserves on a piece of federal
land known as Teapot Dome in Wyoming.
Harding died of a heart attack in 1923 while on a trip with his wife. At the time of his death, Harding’s
popularity was high. Over time, the corruption of his administration and his own failings soured his
reputation.
Vice President Calvin Coolidge became the 30th president
of the United States. His reputation for honesty helped him
deal with Harding administration scandals.
The Harding and Coolidge Presidencies
Coolidge’s presidency was characterized by his belief:
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
in the power of business and industry
that business would provide energy and resources to fuel America’s growth
that business would promote the arts and sciences
that business would fund charities to help society
the role of government should be strictly limited
in lowering taxes
in reducing the federal budget
Coolidge chose not to run for re-election in 1928.
The Harding and Coolidge Presidencies
Lingering effects of World War I:
●
●
●
Europe was unable to repay the $10 billion it borrowed from the U.S. during the war
Europe demanded reparations (payments designed to make up for the damage of war) from
Germany
Germany was unable to pay what the Allies demanded and began borrowing from the U.S.
Peacetime brought public pressure to reduce the size of U.S. armed forces to save money and reduce
threat of war. People feared that the naval powers of the world, especially Great Britain and Japan were
on the verge of an arms race (competing nations build more and more weapons in an effort to avoid one
nation gaining a clear advantage).
The Harding and Coolidge Presidencies
Hoping to head off an arms race, the U.S. government organized the Washington Naval Conference in
1921. The conference was a great success:
●
●
●
●
major naval powers of the world attended
parties agreed to cut back on size of their navies
countries scrapped existing ships and some that were under construction
agreement reached to avoid competition for control of China
The Harding and Coolidge Presidencies
Brigadier General Billy Mitchell argued that the U.S. should invest more in building up its air power.
Mitchell conducted tests to prove the superiority of air power over naval power. Other military officials
were not convinced and punished him for his accusations.
Though the U.S. had refused to join the League of Nations, a strong interest remained in preventing
another catastrophic war. The U.S. proposed an agreement that would involve many countries. The
Kellogg-Briand Pact was the result.
The Kellogg-Briand Pact was an agreement signed by a number of nations in 1928,
named after Frank B. Kellogg, United States Secretary of State, and Aristide Briande,
the foreign minister of France. Its intention was to outlaw the use of war to resolve
disputes between signatory states. Its first signatories, on August 27, 1928, were the
United States, France, and Germany; most other powers signed afterwards.