The Roaring 20’s

Chapter 21:

The early 1920’s

Warren G. Harding…• Harding Looked like

a President?

• Said America has just come out of a war and needs to return to “normalcy.”

• Won in a landslide…

Red Scare

• Communists were openly hostile to American beliefs and values.

• By 1919, a great fear of Communism led to Americans to call for evil-doers to be put

in jail or driven out of the country…

Problems in America

• Schenk v. U.S.- “Fire”

• Sacco and Vanzetti

• Workers strikes (Those Communists?)

QUESTION???QUESTION??? Is there a group we can compare to Is there a group we can compare to

Communists at this time?Communists at this time?

What sort of fears do we have of this What sort of fears do we have of this particular group?particular group?

Harding…

• Harding becomes president and gives his friends jobs (who wouldn’t?)

• Isolationism (No I won’t be your friend!!!)

• Disarmament- Give up weapons

More on Harding• Immigration, no way!

• Americans became more nativist

• Immigrants could not be:– Loyal, religious

enough, slums, jobs, dangerous political ideas.

Quota:Quota: Congress passed a law that Congress passed a law that

restricting immigration. restricting immigration.

Law set up a certain number of Law set up a certain number of immigrants from each foreign immigrants from each foreign country. country.

The Teapot Dome Scandal:• Harding’s secretary

of the interior took a bribe to allow oil companies to drill.

• Harding came under fire, but died…

Calvin Coolidge• “Keep Cool with

Coolidge.”

• Vice President who needed to restore dignity to the nation.

• Lassez Faire- Hands off when it came to business…

Let’s Get Paid!!!• The 1920’s brought about the a large

economic boom.

• A&W Root Beer Stands, shopping malls and some guy named Ford…

Let’s go Shopping…• People starting buying

things again and the economy grew.

• Charge it!! Installment Plans became more common.

• Installment plans encouraged new consumers to buy goods.

We Need More Power!• Power-hungry appliances created a surge

in the demand for electricity.

• Electricity profits doubled in the 1920’s. More people had things that need to be plugged in.

Henry Ford

• Was an engineered that perfected a “Horseless Carriage.”

• By 1903 he had started his own automobile company.

• 1907 he had sold 30,000 Model T cars.

Assembly Line• A process in which

one person does one specialized task in the construction of a final product.

• He was able to drop the price from $490 to $390.

Question???Question???

How has the assembly line affected How has the assembly line affected the current economic problems with the current economic problems with

the automotive industry???the automotive industry???

Industrial Growth

• Ford’s new invention paved the way for other industries to grow.

• Laissez-Faire allowed for businesses to grow without governmental regulation.