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Roaring Twenties 2
Republican Resurgence
Learning Goals
• Analyze the economic growth of the 1920s,
including Warren Harding’s return to normalcy
and reduced taxes.
• Describe the effects of Teapot Dome on the
views of U.S. citizens concerning trust in the
federal government and its leaders.
Republican Policies Favoring Business
• High protective tariffs
– Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act (1930)
• Lower taxes on the wealthy
corporations
– Congress slashed taxes on the rich and
corporate profits
– Larger tax burden was shifted to the
average wage earners
• Lax enforcement of antitrust laws
and regulations
– Larger number of business mergers
took place in the 1920s
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Harding Administration 1921-1923
“Return to Normalcy”
• Refused to join League of Nations
• Enacted high tariffs
• Lowered taxes
• Restricted immigration
• Showed tolerance, supported antilynching bill (and anti-Semitism)
• Supported arms reductions –
Washington Naval Conference,
World Court
Teapot Dome Scandal
• Harding appointed
friends top positions of
power
• Sec. of Interior leased
oil-rich lands at Teapot
Dome, Wyoming
• Uncovered after
Harding’s death, the
scandal was on of the
worst in U.S. history
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Coolidge Administration
• Became president when Harding
died, reelected in 1924
• Symbolized old fashioned values
of honesty and thrift
• Good at not doing anything
• Laissez-faire approach
• Some attribute the overspeculation that caused the
crash of 1929 to his approach
“Silent Cal”
Hoover Administration 1929-1933
“We in America today are nearer the
final triumph over poverty than ever
before in the history of any land.”
• Self-made millionaire
• Secretary of Commerce under
Coolidge
• “Rugged Individualism”
– Equal opportunities, free education,
will to succeed
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Check for Understanding
1. Which of the policies of the three Republican
Presidents helped most to promote economic
growth and prosperity?
2. Would you agree with President Hoover’s
assessment of the role of “rugged
individualism” to the success if the American
economy? Explain your reasons.
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