Politics and Business of the 1920’s

Ms. Grilli
Set: At the bell
Interpreting Political Cartoons Journal Entree

The Elephant is the symbol of the Republican Party

(Grand Old Party).
Why is the elephant shaped like a teapot?
What point was the cartoonist making?
Cartoon located on the first slide of the power point
At the Bell
Interpreting Political
Cartoons Journal
Entree
The Elephant is the
symbol of the
Republican Party
(Grand Old Party).
Why is the
elephant shaped
like a teapot?
What point was the
cartoonist making?
 Normalcy:
Coined by Warren G. Harding
This term came to symbolize, to powerful businessmen,
the immediate abandonment of the foreign and domestic
policies of Wilson.
This meant a return to high protective tariffs and a
reduction in taxes.
Kellogg-Briand Pack-
1929 treaty in which 64
nations agree to renounce
war as a means of solving
international disputes
Isolationist foreign policy
Fordney- McCumber Tariff-
raised the tax on imports to
its highest level ever-
almost 60%
Scandal in the Harding Administration

The president main problem was he did not understand many

things he had to deal with
The Teapot Dome Scandal- secretary of Interior Albert B. Fall’s
secret leasing oil- rich public land to private companies in return
for money and land.
The Business Boom of the 1920s

On the whole, the United States

economy experienced steady growth
and expansion during the 1920s.
Three factors fueled this economic
growth:

The Process of
Machines Factories Standardized Mass
Production
These factors created a self-perpetuating cycle :

standardized
mass production better machinery
led to in factories,
which led to

more demand
for consumer higher
goods production and
higher wages,
which led to
Automobile industry

Annual automobile production rose from 2 million

during the 1920s to 5.5 million in 1929.
By the late 1920s, there was one automobile for every
five Americans, allowing, theoretically, for every person
in the United States to be on the road at the same time.
Two factors led to
the rising
popularity of cars:

Cost-- The price of automobiles declined steadily until

the mid-1920s so that many well-paid working families
could now afford to purchase a car. The Model T Ford,
for example, cost just $290 in 1926.

Credit-- In 1925, Americans made 75% of

all automobile purchases on the installment
plan.
 Economic Effects of the Automobile:

• Promoted growth of •Helped fuel the •Created new service

other industries. creation of a national facilities. Filling
Especially system of highways. stations, garages, and
petroleum, rubber, Automobiles required roadside restaurants
and steel.
better roads. After sprang up across the
WWI, federal funds nation. Motels (the
became available for word itself is a blend
building highways and of 'motor' and 'hotel')
a major industry was catering to the needs of
born. motorists began to
replace hotels.
 Broke down the
stability of family
life.

Broke down
traditional morality.
Created a more
mobile society.

Social Effects
of the
Automobile:
 A superficial Prosperity
During the 20’s Americans
thought prosperity would
go on forever
The Dawn of modern
Advertizing
With new good flooding
the market, business relied
increasingly on advertising
to sell the products
Producing great quantities of
goods
Productivity increased,
businesses expanded in size
Buying many goods on credit
“a dollar down and a dollar
forever”
The Installment Plan-
enabled people to buy goods
over an extended period
without having to put down
much money at the time of
purchase.
Closure: Journal entree
Pick two of the questions below to answer in your journals. When you are
done do not for get to put your journals in the back of the room in your
classes box.

Closure Questions:
What did Harding want to do to return America to
“Normalcy”?
What evidence shows that the United States was
pursuing an isolationist foreign policy?
How did changes in technology in the 1920’s influence
American life?
What evidence suggests that the prosperity of the 1920’s
was not on firm foundations?
Homework: Writing Response
Directions: Homework must be typed and handed
in the next day.
Do you agree with President Coolidge’s statement “the
man who builds a factory builds a temple – the man who
works there worships there”? Explain your Answer.
 Think About:
 The goals of business and of religion
 The American idolization of business
 The difference between workers and management
What if?
Directions: List and evaluate five significant
events from this section, using a table. In the
Evaluation column, enter + if an event benefited
the country, 0 if it had mixed impact, or – if it
harmed the country. Answer these questions under
your chart.
 Which event do you think benefited the country the most?
 Why do you think so?