Politics & Prosperity in the 1920s

1. WW1 had helped the economy • - When it began – Eu. ordered tons of supplies from U.S. factories • - ____________________________________- factories expanded rapidly meeting demands for military supplies • “The change is amazing” • March 4th, 1921 – _____________becomes president (R) • Wilson (D) was out • “______________________” was Harding’s slogan • When war ended – 2 million soldiers came home looking for jobs & factories stopped turning our war materials • Result: sharp ____________________________: economic slump • Harding Takes Office: • Recession fed voter discontent with Democrats (held power for 8 years) • Cabinet positions: he filled with men who followed pro-business policies • ___________________________________: balanced budget/ lowered taxes • secretary of commerce: helped American businesses ________________________ Politics & Prosperity in the 1920s • - Albert Fall (secretary of the Interior) had been bribed by 2 ____________________ • - He secretly leased them gov’t ______________in California & at Teapot Dome in __________________ • - Fall = _____ cabinet official ever sent to prison • Corruption & Scandal • Harding brought in friends for most other Cabinet posts • _________________: “old friends” & Cabinet members of Harding’s administration who saw government service as a way to enrich ______________________; resulting in a series of __________________ • Harding felt betrayed with scandals created by his “friends” • August, 1923 Harding died of a __________________________ • Coolidge believed that prosperity for all Americans depended on _______________________ • - Cut back _______________on business - Named business leaders to head gov’t agencies • His pro-business policies contributed to a period of rapid economic growth • For ________________Americans, income rose • Many were able to buy a flood of new consumer products (fridge, radios, vacuums, appliances) • Encouraged people to think their __________________depended on owning a wealth of shiny new products • - People often wanted to buy things they ________________________