By Johan Palacio, Jacob Smith, and Chris Kim
Table of contents
Page 2…Group editorial Page 3.... return to normalcy Page 3….creative job piece #1 Page 4…Deregulation under republicans Page 5...creative piece #2 Page 6...Was the foreign policy good? Page 7…#creative piece #3
Group Editorial
The horrors of WWI left many americans wanting a withdrawal from international affairs. Isolationist attitudes have been strong in the senate when it had voted down the Treaty of Versailles. But Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover were not isolationists. They recognized that foreign trade would connect them with other countries around the world. Calvin Coolidge wanted to see a government that matched his lifestyle, which was very peaceful. He tried to pay off national debt and eliminate waste whenever he could. Warren G. Harding was the president to help Americans and give them hope after the horrors of war. He helped people make good ideas and soon businesses were growing and expanding. For example, the automobile industry’s rapid expansion fueled growth in other industries.
Herbert Hoover helped Americans make good choices about spending their money when the stock market crashed on October 29, 192...9 and people lost at least 10 billion dollars.
Nothing Normal About it What is the “Return to Normalcy” promised by President Harding and will it be good for America? By: Johan Palacios
Above: President Warren G. Harding gives his “Return to Normalcy” speech in Boston, MA on May 14, 1920. The return to normalcy was a campaign promise made by Warren G. Harding to return America to the way it was before the war. While some Americans preferred this way of life, the return to normalcy was not good for America. Return to normalcy meant returning to life as it was in pre-war America. President Harding wanted to focus on prosperity at home by lowering taxes, reducing government spending and less government interference with business. This meant that America would no longer focus on establishing or maintaining relationships with other countries
Warren G. Harding’s presidency proved that the 1920s were anything but normal. Harding’s campaign promise to “return to normalcy” was greatly undermined by his involvement in reapted scandals. One scandal was known as The Teapot Dome scandal. The Teapot Dome scandal was when two private companies paid to illegally lease government oil reserves in Colorado and Wyoming. These companies were owned by individuals who worked in Harding’s administration. Harding also hired The Ohio gang to work in his administration. These individuals were Harding’s old friends and colleagues from Ohio who filled many lower level jobs. Because of these scandals, Harding’s administration earned a reputation for corruption, and bribery. The Teapot Dome Scandal, two private companies paid full more than four hundred thousand dollars, arranged illegally leased government, oil reserves in California and Wyoming congress began investigating, fail resigned his and their positions and went to work for one of the oil companies. No matter how hard President Harding tried to make life normal post-World War I, his plans were not successful for Americans.
Deregulation will benefit American under the Republicans By - Chris Kim
Prosperity under Coolidge Coolidge wants to govern in a way that matches his one lifestyle which was free and peaceful because he believed in small government, cutting taxes, deregulation, public piety, and the principle that for government to assist business would the economy as a whole; so he tried to pay off national debt, eliminate waste, and lower taxes wherever and whenever possible. By doing this he deregulated the government’s power on the economy by a lot. Hoover and The Great Depression Deregulation - to have fewer government regulations or laws on businesses and corporations Stock Market The government raised interest rates which meant buyers + investors had to pay more to raise prices so that lead to less demand in products. The people lost at least ten billion dollars to the stock market crashing.
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The Republicans wanted to change this regulation which would be beneficial (Herbert Hoover)
Herbert Hoover was elected president in 1929, when the stock market crashed or what we know it as - The Great Depression - which made Americans lose their money, homes, jobs, and much more. Lots of people were forced to live in squalid shantytowns known as “Hoovervilles”. Hoover’s response to the crisis was held back or constrained by his conservative philosophy. He believed in limited government and that excessive federal intervention would pose a threat to capitalism and individualism. Accordingly, he vetoed several bills that would have provided direct relief to struggling americans. He warned americans about the dangers of investing too much into the federal government which helped the economy rise slowly back to almost its original state, only because people took Hoovers advice about making better choices with their money. The nation has been through a lot to get to where we are, but without the Republicans and their choices, we wouldn’t be as successful in our economy as we are today.
By Chris Kim
Foreign Policy Have the foreign policy goals of the republican presidents made america safer, and is war over? By:Jacob Smith The goals of our republican presidents are not making America safer, and war is not over. After world war one, many Americans are yearning for a withdrawal from international affairs, or what is known as isolationism. Isolationism is a government policy of not taking part in economic and political alliances or relations with other countries. Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover are not isolationists because they recognize that foreign trade connects America to the rest of the world. Contrary to them, the senate believes in isolationism, which is the reason why the Treaty of Versailles was not ratified. The world court was established in 1921 to settle international disputes before they turned into war, but America wanted no part in this because of strong feelings of isolationism.
The economy is also being affected by our republican presidents. Funds for military aviation were reduced from $4.2 million to $2 million a year. After the tribune, a daily newspaper, said that japan was spending $30 million annually, the senate voted to restore military funding. Germany stopped paying reparations in 1923 because of economy problems. Without Germany’s money, France, Great Britain, Italy, and other nations were unable to repay their war debts to the United States. The U.S. solved the economic crisis with the highest protective tariff ever. With limited access to American markets, European nations experienced difficulty raising the capital needed to repay wartime loans. The Dawes Committee devised and economic plan that addressed the escalating international debt crisis.
Americans had hoped that world war one would end all wars, but once the treaty was negotiated, they rejected the league of nations and the world court, which were two institutions that were created to insure long term international peace. Near the end of the 1920’s, American Idealists supported the notion of outlawing war. The minister of France suggested that his country and the united states formally renounce war with a bilateral agreement. President Calvin Coolidge rejected his offer, and made a counter proposal with a multilateral treaty that invited “all the principal powers of the world to a declaration renouncing war as an instrument of national policy.” After some negotiations and revisions, the proposal was accepted by the international community. While intended to protect Americans from future wars, Isolation was still not good for the United States. Regardless of the intentions of our leaders, isolationism is not a practical foreign policy.
Isolationist feelings are strong in the U.S. after World War One
By: Jacob Smith