The Politics of Prosperity

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The Politics of Prosperity
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I. Corruption under Harding

• 1. Appointment of personal friends
• a. Ohio Gang
• -bribes
• Teapot Dome Scandal
• -sold preserved land
  
• -made deals with bootleggers

Elk Hills and Buena Vista Hills in Cal, and
Teapot Dome in Wyoming, were oil fields located
on public land reserved for emergency use by the
U.S. Navy only when the regular oil supplies
diminished. Many politicians and private oil
interests had opposed the restrictions placed
on the oil fields, claiming the reserves were
unnecessary and the American oil companies could
provide for the Navy.
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II. Keeping Cool With Coolidge

• 1. Hands-off style
• a. Silent Cal
• 2. Aid to business
• a. Tax cuts
• b. Encouraged competition
• -lower prices for consumers

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III. Election of 1928

• 1. Coolidge declined to run
• 2. Herbert Hoover won
• a. Defeated Alfred E. Smith
• -1st Catholic candidate
• to run for president

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IV. Economic Boom

• 1. Post-WWI
• a. Europe destroyed
• b. Big Brother U.S.A.
• c. Auto Industry
• -boosted other industries
• -oil, steel etc
• d. Advertising industry
• -appealed to employed Americans

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Questions

• What were the policies of the Republican
  Presidents during the 1920s?
• What factors caused prosperity during this decade?