the return to "normalcy" 1919-32 Flashcards
what were Warren Harding’s policies achievements as president?
-Sheppard -Towner maternity act= provided aid to states to encourage infant/maternity health center’s
- successful budget cuts in government spending
-budget and accounting act= made departments present budgets to the president for approval
what were Warren Harding failures as president?
-teapot dome scandal= Harding’s sectary of interior sent government oil lands at Elk hills in California and teapot dome, Wyoming to private use, leasing them to businessmen in exchange for interest free loans of $100,000
what was the emergency tariff act?
-1922,raised duties on imports and protected domestic industry
what were Calvin Coolidge’s successes as president?
-paid off 1/4 of national debt
-depended on business leadership of “the business of America is business”
what were Calvin Coolidge’s failures as president?
-low work rate, slept alot, gained the nickname “silent sal”
-suffered severe depression after 1924 due to his sons death
what were the foreign policy aims?
- avoid involvement in further European conflicts
- prevent spread of communism
3.maintain status quo in naval power in the far East
4.to protect trade far East
5.maintain Monroe doctrine
why did America want an international conference?
-USA feared spread of Japanese influence
-America wanted to continue open door trade with China
-Japan had acquired German colonies in the pacific and posed potential threat to communication links between Hawaii and other possessions
what were the achievements of the Washington conference?
-the disbarment agreement was made in 1922, each country agreeing to reduce the tonnage of battleships for 10 years
-signed 4 power treaty where they agreed to respect each others country’s interests in the far East while maintaining open door policy in China
what was the Kellogg-Briand pact?
-1928 international agreement set up by sectary of state Briand
- the pact signed by 15 countries agreeing not to wage war except in self-defense and to seek peaceful means to resolve disputes
how did Foreign policy effect loans?
- the USA refused to loan money to the USSR and China
-America used debt repayments as a threat to European powers,
what was the Dawes and Young plan?
-the USA was keen to stable Germany to prevent communist revolution
-under the Dawes plan in 1924, investigated that Germany couldn’t pay the original reparation payments
- in the report it was proposed that reduced Germanys payments to 250 million dollars a year with payments increasing over the next 5 years
what was the Youngs plan?
-1929 drawn up by Owen Young, head of general electricity, scaled down reparations to 26 million dollars, paid over the next 59 years
-the USA was lending money to Germany, who were using the loan to re-pay other countries, who in turn used payments to re-pay America
what was America’s economic involvement in Latin America?
-in 1923, general electricity set up the American and Foreign and controlled the provision of electricity in 8 Latin countries
-American automobile firms which manufactured vehicles in Brazil, Argentina
what involvement did America have in solving Latin American settling disputes ?
-USA gave Columbia $25 million in compensation for it’s support for the independence of Panama in 1903
-ongoing disputes with Mexico after the latter defaulted on it’s international debts, US agreed to repay $500,000
how was ideology a reason for economic growth in the 1920s?
- Laissez faire= lack of government regulation
-Rugged individualism= used by republican presidents who believed that people achieve success by their own hard work
-protectionism= government put tariffs on imported goods in order to limit the competition from foreign imports, imports became more expensive
How was technological changes a reason for economic growth in the 1920s?
- developments in electricity, conveyer belts, plastic, automatic. Switch boards
- improved productivity and profits
How was new business methods a reason for economic growth in the 1920s?
- business operated as cartels to fix prices (governments turned blind eyes)
-some corporations such as US steel, were so big that they were able to dictate output and level prices throughout the industry
How was consumerism a reason for economic growth in the 1920s?
- by 1927, 2/3 of US homes had electricity, the growth of electrical power encouraged a widespread growth of electrical items
How was advertising a reason for economic growth in the 1920s?
-companies began to target specific groups, emphasising slogans, brand names, celebrity endorsing. By 1929 companies were spending billions on advertising products
How was credit a reason for economic growth in the 1920s?
- there was a development where goods were paid for in instalments sold in the 1920s
How was the car industry a reason for economic growth in the 1920s?
-the assembly line: in 1913, Ford introduced a more efficient method of producing cars, an electric conveyer belt carried the car parts and was assembled at the same time, by 1913 Ford factories in Detroit were producing 1 car every 3 minutes.
- workforce: in 1914, Ford announced that he would double the wages £5 a day, workers rushed to Detroit, he also reduced working days to 8 hours.
The federal highway act
-1921: gave responsibility for road building to central governments and highways were being constructed at the rate of 10,000 miles per year by 1929
Why was prohibition introduced ?
-female reformers argued clear links between alcohol consumption and wife beating/child abuse
-Henry Ford was concerned that drinking reduced efficacy at work
Why was prohibition so hard to enforce?
-it drove drinkers underground, huge numbers of people were prepared to break the law to produce and drink alcohol
-Growth in speakeasies, in NY there was around 50,000
-the USA has 18,700 miles of coastline so it was difficult to prevent smuggling, in 1925 only 5% of alcohol smuggling was intercepted by agents
-people known as “bootleggers” went into business as producers of “moonshine” as it was produced in remote areas
