Post 10 of the most important events in the decade assigned. Explain each briefly (descriptively and in context of other events, individuals and issues of that time).
the red scare was about communism. communist parties were growing in the US and many people became scared. this led to the palmer raids in which thousands of immigrants who were suspected of being communists were deported.
1923 equal rights amendment proposed , teapot dome scandal, harding dies, Coolidge assumes presidency
The Teapot Dome Scandal involved the US Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall, who was a part of Harding's administration (and also in the "Ohio Gang" who were politicians who were friends with Harding and were pretty corrupt for the most part). Fall accepted a bribe of $404,000 (which would be equal to around $4 million now) in return for leasing oil fields to Mammoth Oil without any competitive bidding. Fall also leased the Naval oil reserves in California to Pan American Petroleum in exchange for personal loans at no interest. The Wall Street Journal reported the story and it appeared that Fall was innocent because all of the leases were legal, it was the bribes that were illegal. It became obvious however that Fall was guilty when Wisconsin Senator Robert La Follette arranged for the Senate Committee on Public Lands to investigate and his office was broken into and trashed. The public took little interest in the story and it quickly faded from the public, but the Senate kept investigating.
Albert Fall was found guilty in 1929 and fined $100,000 and sentenced to one year in prison, he was the first Presidential cabinet member to go to jail for his actions in office. The Supreme Court ruled the oil leases invalid and the Navy regained control of the Teapot Dome and Elk Hills reserves.
Between 1920-1930: 106,521,537 people in the United States2,132,000 unemployed, Unemployment 5.2% Life expectancy: Male 53.6, Female 54.6 343.000 in military (down from 1,172,601 in 1919)Average annual earnings $1236; Teacher's salary $970 Dow Jones High 100 Low 67 Illiteracy rate reached a new low of 6% of the population. Gangland crime included murder, swindles, racketeering It took 13 days to reach California from New York There were 387,000 miles of paved road.
