Wyoming in the 1920s:

Depression, Prohibition and the First Woman Governor

 

I. The Economic Scene at the Beginning of the Decade

a. World War I boom led to boom in homesteading--11,000 filed in Wyoming in 1920

            b. small towns grow rapidly with banks in nearly every town

            c. banks lend money to returning veterans; thinly capitalized and heavy with mortgages

            d. wartime prices begin to stabilize, but euphoria nonetheless

            e. oil boom fuels increasing prosperity in Casper and elsewhere

            f. Union Pacific profits from hauling war material brings prosperity to southern tier

II. Politics in Wyoming in the 1920s

            a. end of the Warren-Carey feud, had started in 1895.

b. feud ends with election of Robert Carey as governor (1918)

            c. Warren, Kendrick remain political powers

            d. Robert Carey backs Prohibition; sets up law enforcement mechanisms

            e. Democrats nearly extinct in 1920; Thurman Arnold only Democrat in House of Rep.

            f. Carey loses primary election, 1922; William Ross, Democrat, elected

            g. Ross favors Prohibition, too; advocates a mineral severance tax

            h. death of Ross, age 51, on Oct. 2, 1924

            i. special election set for Nov. 4; Democrats nominate Nellie Tayloe Ross

            j. Ross becomes first woman elected governor of any state

III. "Economic Depression" starts in Wyoming, 1920

            a. agricultural prices dip; hardships for new farmers on marginal lands

            b. drought, poor weather conditions exacerbate poor prices

            c. no FDIC, no way to get back deposits in case of bank failure

d. 17 banks fail, 1920-1923: Arvada, Lusk, Meeteetse, Garland, Guernsey, Moorcroft (2), Powder River, Upton, Gillette, Basin, Medicine Bow, Rock River, Wheatland, LaGrange, Marbleton, Manville

            e. in 1924, an additional 25 banks fail, five on one day (July 9, 1924)

            f. of 133 banks operating in 1920, just 32 remained in 1936

IV. Prohibition: "The Noble Experiment"

            a. Wyoming, last state in region to adopt Prohibition (Colo., 1914; Idaho, 1915; Neb., S. D.,

Mont., 1916; Utah, 1917. Wyoming: July 1, 1919.

            b. advocates: WCTU, many politicians including Carey, Kendrick, Warren, W. Ross, N. T. Ross

            c. opponents: Caroline Lockhart and many civic leaders

            d. scandals mar record of State Dept. of Law Enforcement

            e. by 1925, growing violence in enforcement; increasing opposition in many towns

            f. repeal finally comes in 1933, effective March 1, 1935

V. Other events in the 1920s

            a. Colorado River compact agreed to by western states (1922); Wyoming share of 7%

            b. KFA radio, Laramie, Feb. 3, 1926

            c. Emerson defeats Nellie Ross for governor, 1926; Mondell loses to Kendrick for Senate

            d. 1920s end as decade of severe economic depression in Wyoming; prosperity elsewhere

            e. stock market crashes, Oct. 29, 1929--beginning of "Great Depression" in United States

 

Significant Terms, Names

wartime prosperity                              Warren-Carey feud                William Ross                       KFA radio

post-war depression                            Robert Carey                      Nellie Tayloe Ross                Frank Emerson

Union Pacific reorganization                Thurman Arnold                   Caroline Lockhart                “Great Crash” (Oct. 29, 1929)

bank failures                                         Depression of 1920s                Prohibition                           “Great Depression” (US)

decline of small towns                     temperance