Identifications
Andrew Mellon - Secretary of the treasury who managed the budget very well
Herbert Hoover - Secretary of commerce and eventually became President
Albert B. Fall - a schemer and anti- conservationist who was secretary of the interior to manage natural resource
Robert LaFollette - The senator who was endorsed by the American Federation of Labor and a Progressive party candidate for the 1924 election
Alfred E. Smith - the Catholic drinker who had the people's touch and was nominated by the Democrats for the election of 1928
Ohio Gang - Network of politicians including President Warren G. Harding that came during his term as senator of Ohio
Washington Conference- The conference in Washington during the time when the veterans decided to strike and ask out for bonuses
Kellogg-Briand Pact - The treaty signed by many countries that stated that they wanted to outlaw war which was very naive
Fordney-McCumber Tariff Law - The tariff rate law that increased it from 27 to 38.5%
Teapot Dome Scandal - The scandal in which a oil rights in an area were given to a company who bribed Albert Fall
Dawes Plan - America would loan money to Germany, Germany would make payments to Britain and France, and they would pay off their debt to US
Hawley-Smoot Tariff - Raised the tariff to 60%
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) - Lent money to finance massive governments of FDR's New Deal
Bonus Army - 20000 WWI veterans who marched to Washington, set up camp, and demanded their bonuses for saving the world for democracy
Hoover-Stimson doctrine - Stated that the U.S. would not recognize any territories taken by force.
Guided Reading Questions
1. What flaws did Warren Harding possess?
He was of average intelligence and gullible. It was said that he couldn't tell a liar.
2. What pro-business policies were taken by the government during the Harding administration.
It passed the Merchant Marine Act which authorized the Shipping Board to sell WWI era ships to private ships. It also hiked up the tariff with the Fordney McCumber Tariff to 38.5%.
3. What effects did the war have on the post-war economy?
New technologies made farm work easier and increased production. However, increased supply with the same demand yielded decreased prices, putting farmers on hard times.
4. How did the U.S. take the lead in disarmament in the 20's?
It held a disarmament conference which invited all the major powers except Russia. The Five Power Treaty set up the 5:5:3 ration of ships (US:Britain:Japan), the Four Power Treaty which required Britain, Japan, US to keep the status quo in the pacific and the Nine-power Treaty which kept open the Open Door Policy with china.
5. What effects were produced by high American tariffs?
There was a snag in the system, Europe owed money to the U.S. for WWI, in order to pay it back they needed to export, but the U.S. tariff crippled those exports.
6. "Such was his [Harding's] weakness that he tolerated people and conditions that subjected the Republic to its worst disgrace since the days of President Grant." Explain.
Harding was an honest man, but he was oblivious to corruption and didn’t want to believe that the people he chose could pull such a feat off. He simply tried to ignore the scandals that were were happening, but he couldn’t prevent nor did he want it to happen. Forbes was a worker for the Veteran’s and he skimmed money from them and later went to jail from it, although first successfully taking $300 dollars. Teapot Dome Scandal was another time where corruption happened just like how it did in Grant’s administration. Fall was selling the land of oil for bidding instead of actually monitoring it. Harry M. Daugherty also took bribes and gave away liquor licences.
7. Do the nicknames, "Silent Cal" and "Cautious Cal" accurately describe the Coolidge presidency?
Coolidge was very soft spoken, and also very traditional at the time earning him the name Silent Cal and Cautious Cal. He was a shy and boring president, unlike most other politicians which is why they called him something of that nature. He was also very pro-business and went even more laissez-faire than what Harding tried to be. He believed that the factory was a temple that rich people built and the workers there worship at it.
8. What had changed for the farmer since 1890? What had remained the same?
Farmers had enjoyed a boom during WWI, meeting the supply for demand of food. However, improved technology and increased production lowered food prices which hurt the farmer.
9. Why did Calvin Coolidge easily win the 1924 election?
The times were good and prosperous, thus he was reelected easily.
10. What are the arguments for America canceling the WWI debt of European countries?
The high tariffs hurt European exports which hurt the European's ability to repay their debt. As a result, The Dawes Plan solved the problem even though the US never got repaid for the loans.
11. What were the world-wide repercussions of America’s insistence on debt repayment?
America got resentment from Britain and France who thought the U.S. was a greedy bully.
12. Why was Herbert Hoover so much more popular with voters than Al Smith?
Herbert Hoover was so much more popular than Al Smith mostly because Hoover did a successful job at commerce, but also because he sounded much better on the voice radio media than Hoover did. Hoover was born in a city and he was also New Yorkian and Irish and Catholic. The normally Democratic south disliked the fact that he was Catholic so they were split on the vote. Hoover also spoke of individualism, and he lived a lifestyle of being an individual, and that appealed to many Americans.
13. Did Hoover’s attempts to help farmers produce positive results? Explain.
Hoover’s attempts to help the framers help produce more money ended up to help them in the end, although his other policies would ultimately worsen the conditions of all of America. The Agricultural Marketing Act was passed and it set up the Federal Farm Board to lend money to the farmers that needed it. Another thing they did was create a company that bought the surpluses of food and sold them to other nations, thus allowing the price to stay high. However, the Hawley-Smoot Tariff would ultimately hurt everyone in America and cause a depression to hit because it raised tariffs so high that it was impossible for foreign imports to be bought. Trade would slowly stop with America.
14. What were the immediate effects of the stock market crash?
It caused many businesses to go out of business, increased unemployment, closed many banks and also created many homeless people. What caused such a crash was that the stock market shot higher and higher until suddenly the bottom of the stock market dropped some mauvais news from Britain which dropped the prices of stocks and stockholders lost about $40 billion by the end of 1929. This catastrophic caused one of the greatest depressions known to the United States.
15. What causes contributed to the Great Depression?
The stock market crash, over speculation, and over production all contributed to the Great Depression.
16. How did President Hoover’s beliefs affect the way he handled the Depression?
President Hoover was known for being very individualistic, and he was known for showing his rugged individualist nature around in his governmental actions, as in he takes a long time to perform them. Many people pointed out that he was willing to help people of other nations but not people of his own nation. They also questioned his conservatority when he decided to have no laissez-faire. His beliefs led him to think that all this was part of a natural business cycle and if he did nothing it would fix itself.
17. Is Hoover’s reputation as ultra-conservative well deserved? Explain.
It is not well deserved because although he was very conservative at first, especially with his waiting out and laissez-faire since the depression started, he also did many things that were new to help prepare America for the depression such as for example spending money to create the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and its purpose was to lend money to the finance and finance many government projects. He also helped pass the Norris-La Guardia Anti-Injuction Act, which limited the power of union, which is quite conservative.
18. What happened to the Bonus Army? Why?
President Hoover critisized the BEF as being made up of riffraff and reds. As a result, General Douglas MacArthur used bayonets, tear gas, and fire to rout the BEF.
19. How did the Japanese attack on Manchuria demonstrate the weakness of the League of Nations?
It showed that the League of Nations could not do much about aggression without America and it was just all talk.
20. What was President Hoover’s policy toward Latin America?
He wanted to fix US-Latin American Relationships and went on a good will tour to extend the hand of friendship. Due to the Depression, Americans stopped engaging in dollar diplomacy and pulled soldiers out of Haiti and Nicaragua.
Andrew Mellon - Secretary of the treasury who managed the budget very well
Herbert Hoover - Secretary of commerce and eventually became President
Albert B. Fall - a schemer and anti- conservationist who was secretary of the interior to manage natural resource
Robert LaFollette - The senator who was endorsed by the American Federation of Labor and a Progressive party candidate for the 1924 election
Alfred E. Smith - the Catholic drinker who had the people's touch and was nominated by the Democrats for the election of 1928
Ohio Gang - Network of politicians including President Warren G. Harding that came during his term as senator of Ohio
Washington Conference- The conference in Washington during the time when the veterans decided to strike and ask out for bonuses
Kellogg-Briand Pact - The treaty signed by many countries that stated that they wanted to outlaw war which was very naive
Fordney-McCumber Tariff Law - The tariff rate law that increased it from 27 to 38.5%
Teapot Dome Scandal - The scandal in which a oil rights in an area were given to a company who bribed Albert Fall
Dawes Plan - America would loan money to Germany, Germany would make payments to Britain and France, and they would pay off their debt to US
Hawley-Smoot Tariff - Raised the tariff to 60%
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) - Lent money to finance massive governments of FDR's New Deal
Bonus Army - 20000 WWI veterans who marched to Washington, set up camp, and demanded their bonuses for saving the world for democracy
Hoover-Stimson doctrine - Stated that the U.S. would not recognize any territories taken by force.
Guided Reading Questions
1. What flaws did Warren Harding possess?
He was of average intelligence and gullible. It was said that he couldn't tell a liar.
2. What pro-business policies were taken by the government during the Harding administration.
It passed the Merchant Marine Act which authorized the Shipping Board to sell WWI era ships to private ships. It also hiked up the tariff with the Fordney McCumber Tariff to 38.5%.
3. What effects did the war have on the post-war economy?
New technologies made farm work easier and increased production. However, increased supply with the same demand yielded decreased prices, putting farmers on hard times.
4. How did the U.S. take the lead in disarmament in the 20's?
It held a disarmament conference which invited all the major powers except Russia. The Five Power Treaty set up the 5:5:3 ration of ships (US:Britain:Japan), the Four Power Treaty which required Britain, Japan, US to keep the status quo in the pacific and the Nine-power Treaty which kept open the Open Door Policy with china.
5. What effects were produced by high American tariffs?
There was a snag in the system, Europe owed money to the U.S. for WWI, in order to pay it back they needed to export, but the U.S. tariff crippled those exports.
6. "Such was his [Harding's] weakness that he tolerated people and conditions that subjected the Republic to its worst disgrace since the days of President Grant." Explain.
Harding was an honest man, but he was oblivious to corruption and didn’t want to believe that the people he chose could pull such a feat off. He simply tried to ignore the scandals that were were happening, but he couldn’t prevent nor did he want it to happen. Forbes was a worker for the Veteran’s and he skimmed money from them and later went to jail from it, although first successfully taking $300 dollars. Teapot Dome Scandal was another time where corruption happened just like how it did in Grant’s administration. Fall was selling the land of oil for bidding instead of actually monitoring it. Harry M. Daugherty also took bribes and gave away liquor licences.
7. Do the nicknames, "Silent Cal" and "Cautious Cal" accurately describe the Coolidge presidency?
Coolidge was very soft spoken, and also very traditional at the time earning him the name Silent Cal and Cautious Cal. He was a shy and boring president, unlike most other politicians which is why they called him something of that nature. He was also very pro-business and went even more laissez-faire than what Harding tried to be. He believed that the factory was a temple that rich people built and the workers there worship at it.
8. What had changed for the farmer since 1890? What had remained the same?
Farmers had enjoyed a boom during WWI, meeting the supply for demand of food. However, improved technology and increased production lowered food prices which hurt the farmer.
9. Why did Calvin Coolidge easily win the 1924 election?
The times were good and prosperous, thus he was reelected easily.
10. What are the arguments for America canceling the WWI debt of European countries?
The high tariffs hurt European exports which hurt the European's ability to repay their debt. As a result, The Dawes Plan solved the problem even though the US never got repaid for the loans.
11. What were the world-wide repercussions of America’s insistence on debt repayment?
America got resentment from Britain and France who thought the U.S. was a greedy bully.
12. Why was Herbert Hoover so much more popular with voters than Al Smith?
Herbert Hoover was so much more popular than Al Smith mostly because Hoover did a successful job at commerce, but also because he sounded much better on the voice radio media than Hoover did. Hoover was born in a city and he was also New Yorkian and Irish and Catholic. The normally Democratic south disliked the fact that he was Catholic so they were split on the vote. Hoover also spoke of individualism, and he lived a lifestyle of being an individual, and that appealed to many Americans.
13. Did Hoover’s attempts to help farmers produce positive results? Explain.
Hoover’s attempts to help the framers help produce more money ended up to help them in the end, although his other policies would ultimately worsen the conditions of all of America. The Agricultural Marketing Act was passed and it set up the Federal Farm Board to lend money to the farmers that needed it. Another thing they did was create a company that bought the surpluses of food and sold them to other nations, thus allowing the price to stay high. However, the Hawley-Smoot Tariff would ultimately hurt everyone in America and cause a depression to hit because it raised tariffs so high that it was impossible for foreign imports to be bought. Trade would slowly stop with America.
14. What were the immediate effects of the stock market crash?
It caused many businesses to go out of business, increased unemployment, closed many banks and also created many homeless people. What caused such a crash was that the stock market shot higher and higher until suddenly the bottom of the stock market dropped some mauvais news from Britain which dropped the prices of stocks and stockholders lost about $40 billion by the end of 1929. This catastrophic caused one of the greatest depressions known to the United States.
15. What causes contributed to the Great Depression?
The stock market crash, over speculation, and over production all contributed to the Great Depression.
16. How did President Hoover’s beliefs affect the way he handled the Depression?
President Hoover was known for being very individualistic, and he was known for showing his rugged individualist nature around in his governmental actions, as in he takes a long time to perform them. Many people pointed out that he was willing to help people of other nations but not people of his own nation. They also questioned his conservatority when he decided to have no laissez-faire. His beliefs led him to think that all this was part of a natural business cycle and if he did nothing it would fix itself.
17. Is Hoover’s reputation as ultra-conservative well deserved? Explain.
It is not well deserved because although he was very conservative at first, especially with his waiting out and laissez-faire since the depression started, he also did many things that were new to help prepare America for the depression such as for example spending money to create the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and its purpose was to lend money to the finance and finance many government projects. He also helped pass the Norris-La Guardia Anti-Injuction Act, which limited the power of union, which is quite conservative.
18. What happened to the Bonus Army? Why?
President Hoover critisized the BEF as being made up of riffraff and reds. As a result, General Douglas MacArthur used bayonets, tear gas, and fire to rout the BEF.
19. How did the Japanese attack on Manchuria demonstrate the weakness of the League of Nations?
It showed that the League of Nations could not do much about aggression without America and it was just all talk.
20. What was President Hoover’s policy toward Latin America?
He wanted to fix US-Latin American Relationships and went on a good will tour to extend the hand of friendship. Due to the Depression, Americans stopped engaging in dollar diplomacy and pulled soldiers out of Haiti and Nicaragua.