Chapter 21-Normalcy and Good Times 1921-1929 Section-3 The Policies of Prosperity

CHAPTER 21-Normalcy and Good Times 1921-1929 Section 3-POLICIES OF PROSPERITY

Chapter Objectives Section 3: The Policies of Prosperity I can explain Andrew Mellon’s economic strategies for maintaining prosperity.  I can describe how the United States remained involved in world affairs without joining the League of Nations. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

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Promoting Prosperity Andrew Mellon, named secretary of treasury by President Harding, reduced government spending and cut the federal budget.  The federal debt was reduced by $7 billion between 1921 and 1929.  Secretary Mellon applied the idea of supply-side economics to reduce taxes.  This idea suggested that lower taxes would allow businesses and consumers to spend and invest their extra money, resulting in economic growth. (pages 647–648) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Promoting Prosperity (cont.) In the end, the government would collect more taxes at a lower rate.  Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover attempted to balance government regulation with cooperative individualism.  Manufacturers and distributors were asked to form their own trade associations and share information with the federal government’s Bureau of Standards.  Hoover felt this would reduce waste and costs and lead to economic stability. (pages 647–648) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Trade and Arms Control By the 1920s, the United States was the dominant economic power in the world.  Allies owed the U.S. billions of dollars in war debts.  Also, the U.S. national income was far greater than that of Britain, Germany, France, and Japan combined.  Many Americans favored isolationism rather than involvement in international politics and issues.

Trade and Arms Control (cont.) Americans wanted to be left alone to pursue prosperity.  The United States, however, was too powerful and interconnected in international affairs to remain isolated.  Other countries felt the United States should help with the war’s financial debt.  The United States government disagreed, arguing that the Allies had gained new territory and received reparations, or huge cash payments that Germany paid as punishment for starting the war. (pages 648–650) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Trade and Arms Control (cont.) Reparations crippled the German economy.  As a result, Charles G. Dawes, an American diplomat and banker, negotiated an agreement–the Dawes Plan–with France, Britain, and Germany by which American banks would make loans to Germany so they could meet their reparation payments.  France and Britain agreed to accept fewer reparations and pay more on their war debts.

Trade and Arms Control (cont.) The Washington Conference held in 1921 invited countries to discuss the ongoing post-war naval arms race.  Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes proposed a 10-year moratorium, or pause, on the construction of major new warships.  The conference did nothing to limit land forces.  Japan was angry that the conference required Japan to keep a smaller navy than the United States and Great Britain. (pages 648–650) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Trade and Arms Control (cont.) The Kellogg-Briand Pact was a treaty that outlawed war.  By signing the treaty, countries agreed to stop war and settle all disputes in a peaceful way.  On August 27, 1928, the United States and 14 other nations signed it, and eventually 62 nations ratified it.  The treaty had no binding force, but it was hailed as a victory. (pages 648–650) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Cartoon Symbols Political cartoonists routinely use symbols to get their message across. Two of the most enduring have been the donkey, representing the Democrats, and the elephant, representing the Republicans (also known as the GOP, or the Grand Old Party). On November 7, 1874, cartoonist Thomas Nast became the first to use the symbols in a cartoon that appeared in Harper’s Weekly. The news media popularized the elephant and donkey symbols in election coverage.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier On March 4, 1921, Congress approved the burial of an unidentified World War I soldier in Arlington National Cemetery on a hill that overlooks Washington, D.C. This burial site, which was dedicated on November 11, 1921, is called the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In 1958 two unknown soldiers from World War II and the Korean War were buried alongside the original unknown soldier. In 1984 a Vietnam War soldier was added. On the side of the original tomb are inscribed the words: “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.” The Tomb is guarded year-round, day and night, regardless of weather. The identities of the three other soldiers buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are, in fact, unknown. In 1998, however, DNA analysis allowed the Vietnam War soldier buried there to be identified. He is U.S. Air Force First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie.

As the automotive industry expanded, another technology was spreading its wings. Airmail was common in the early 1920s, although the beginnings of this service were not so auspicious. Started in 1918, the service connected New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. One day President Wilson dropped in to observe and he saw the plane bound for Philadelphia repeatedly fail to take off. After someone remembered to fill it with fuel, the pilot took off in the wrong direction and crash-landed in a field. The mail was sent by rail.

Born in 1902, Charles Lindbergh grew up in Minnesota Born in 1902, Charles Lindbergh grew up in Minnesota. After two years at the University of Wisconsin, he started flying as a stunt pilot. Lindbergh completed flight training to become an Army Air Service Reserve pilot. Later he flew mail between Chicago and St. Louis. An offer of $25,000 to become the first pilot to fly nonstop from New York to Paris inspired Lindbergh’s famous flight.

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