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How Successful Was The Economy In The 1920s Essay

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Shortly after World War 1 Wilson had made mistakes with most postwar issues, the economy started collapsing in the mid-1920s. Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge, the top Republican candidates for president and vice president, defeated their opponents. The U.S was run by 3 men during the 1920’s; Harding, Coolidge and Hobert Hoover. Each republican president made individual impacts on the government during this time. Warren Harding, who was in power from 1921-1923, put a policy called protectionism into place. He introduced the Fordney-McCumber Tariff; this made Americans buy only American goods because the foreign goods were so much more expensive, bringing more money into America. Calvin Coolidge, who was in power from 1923-1929, stuck …show more content…

By 1923 things started looking up, for the following 6 years the country, in urban areas, had the strongest economy in its history. The 1920 policy was extremely conservative and was based on the belief that if the government allowed private business ownership, most of the population would benefit. They all agreed that the economy would expand if left alone by the government. They, therefore, put laissez-faire into action. The basically meant that big businesses could grow and flourish without being held bag by the government. Because the government wanted to make the industrial conditions as favourable as possible they made a few changes. In 1922 a new law, called the Fordney-McCumber Tariff, was put into place as well as an act, called the Hawley-Smoot Tariff, in 1930. The Fordney-McCumber Tariff was a law that increased most American tariffs, which are taxes on exported or imported goods, to protect factories and farms. The Hawley-Smoot Tariff was an act that raised tariffs on over 20 000 American imports to record heights. This caused American trade barriers to new levels; it guaranteed the manufacturers in all fields’ monopoly over the domestic …show more content…

During the war there was a great demand for farming products, which was the reason farming prices were increasing since the 1900’s. As the 1920’s ended so did the wartime demand for farming products. Many things contributed to the downfall, but the loss of foreign markets made the biggest dent. This was partly due to the new American tariff policies, but also due to the fact that excess farm production was a worldwide interest. In 1930, when the great depression hit, it broke down an already sensitive agriculture. Ignoring the agricultural distress, the 1920’s brought a great life to most Americans. Most ordinary Americans had more money than ever and the government benefited politically by claiming credit for

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