National Governors Association Centennial

1920-1929
1920		1920 Meeting: Harrisburg, PA (December 1-3) Exec. Committee Chair: William Sproul, PA Governors discuss: the shortage of affordable housing resulting from the lack of construction during World War I; the financial crisis facing farmers; and fears that a population shift from rural to urban communities would lead to starvation in cities based on the lack of fast and reliable transportation for perishable foods from farming communities. The U.S. Senate rejects membership in the League of Nations. The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (women's suffrage) is adopted. The U.S. Census concludes for the first time that urban residents outnumber rural residents. As a guest speaker at the peanut industry's convention, George Washington Carver delivers an address on the possibilities of the peanut. Professional football is organized with the founding of the American Professional Football Association, which becomes the National Football League in 1922.
1921		1921 Meeting: Charleston, SC (December 5-7) Exec. Committee Chair: William Sproul, PA It is reported that a Committee on Inter-State Compacts has identified four fields of state action in which compacts could be used to advantage: administrative control of commerce and industry; penal and police measures; commercial laws; and commercial law with foreign states. World War I is declared ended. The U.S. Bureau of the Budget is created. Congress passes the Sheppard-Towner Act, providing funding to states for maternal and child health care. The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 provides that federal aid can only be expended on major roads, to constitute no more than 7 percent of total road mileage in a state. Governor Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts becomes Vice President. North Dakota becomes the first state in which a Governor (Lynn Frazier) is recalled.
1922		1922 Meeting: White Sulphur Springs, WV (December 14-16) Exec. Committee Chair: William Sproul, PA Dorothy Parker addresses the governors regarding the uniformity of marriage and divorce laws. Governors discuss the spreading power of the Ku Klux Klan. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC is dedicated. U.S. Interior Secretary Albert Fall leases Teapot Dome (Wyoming) naval oil reserves to oil operator Harry Sinclair without competitive bidding, triggering the "Teapot Dome" scandal. Human Nature and Conduct, by American philosopher John Dewey, is published, looking into the role of habit in human behavior. Georgia Governor Thomas Hardwick appoints the first female member of the U.S. Senate—Rebecca Felton—following her husband's death. Seven states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming—sign an interstate compact governing the allocation of Colorado River water among them.
1923		Former Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge is inaugurated President 1923 Meeting: West Baden, IN (October 17-19) Exec. Committee Chair: Channing Cox, MA Governors are presented with a list of state laws in which uniformity had been established, which were primarily in the economic rather than the social arena. Governors are told that uniformity of social laws such as those applicable to child labor would also be advisable due to their economic consequences. Governors also discuss the falling purchasing power of farmers and the negative effect of surpluses that were encouraged during World War I. Robert Frost wins the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Meyer v. Nebraska that banning foreign-language instruction is unconstitutional. Congress passes the Agricultural Credit Act, making low-interest loans available to farmers. Oklahoma Governor J.C. Walton declares martial law because of widespread violence perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan.
1924		1924 Meeting: Jacksonville, FL (November 17-18) Exec. Committee Chair: Channing Cox, MA Association's Executive Committee is enlarged to five members. Governors are presented with a report on conferences held around the country on state use of prison labor. The comic strip Little Orphan Annie is created. George Gershwin writes Rhapsody in Blue. Georgia O'Keefe completes her first large-scale flower painting. The U.S. Supreme Court rules unconstitutional an Oregon law requiring all children to attend public schools. American Indians are accorded U.S. citizenship. J. Edgar Hoover becomes FBI Director. The National Origins Act reduces immigration of southern and eastern Europeans to the United States. Congress authorizes creation of a Bureau of Prisons. Howard M. Gore, who will become Governor of West Virginia, begins serving as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
1925		1925 Meeting: Poland Springs, ME (June 29-July 1) E. Lee Trinkle, VA First woman governor-Nellie Ross of Wyoming-is welcomed at the association's Annual Meeting in Maine. The director of the federal Budget Bureau urges that states follow federal suit and reduce spending, but governors point out that much of the reduction in federal spending has been associated with a shift from a wartime to a peacetime economy and that state spending is more difficult to reduce. Governors also discuss federal aid, and concern is expressed that accepting matching grants will give too much control to the federal government. John Scopes goes on trial in Tennessee for teaching evolution. He is found guilty and fined $100. The Great Tri-State Tornado crosses through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing nearly 700 people. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is published. The Grand Ole' Opry begins as a barn dance in Nashville.
1926		1926 Meeting: Cheyenne, WY (July 26-29) Exec. Committee Chair: Ralph Brewster, ME Governors adopt a resolution urging Congress to work for passage of legislation to aid agriculture to attain equal footing with other industries for the world’s market. Cooperative association is established with the forerunner of the Council of State Governments. Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises is published. Langston Hughes's first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, is published. The American Legislators' Association is organized. States adopt a plan for the first interstate highway system.
1927		1927 Meeting: Mackinac Island, MI (July 25-27) Exec. Committee Chair: Ralph Brewster, ME Governors voice objection to the federal government's encroachment on state authority via passage of both the Water Power Act of 1920, which authorized federal issuance of permits for the development of hydro-electric power, and the National Defense Act of 1926, which empowered the President to designate any river site for the construction, maintenance, and operation of dams, locks, power houses, and other such facilities in the event they were needed to generate electric power for war-related production. Major flooding of the Mississippi River earlier in the year is a key subject of discussion. President Herbert Hoover's appeals for voluntary contributions to help repair the damage have brought in only 5 percent of the funds needed, and governors discuss whether the economic burden is too much for states to bear without federal assistance. Anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are executed in Massachusetts after being convicted of robbery and murder. Charles Lindbergh makes a nonstop flight from New York to Paris. Television is invented. The modern flash bulb is invented by General Electric. The first feature-length talking picture is released. The refrigerator comes into widespread use. Nevada's open gambling and six-week divorce laws are signed.
1928		1928 Meeting: New Orleans, LA (November 20-22) Exec. Committee Chair: Adam McMullen, NE As the economy worsens, governors discuss the wisdom of government intervention. William Foster, author of the Road to Plenty, addresses the governors, urging that economic indices be used to determine the efficacy of federal intervention. Governors talk about the efficacy of severance tax, or tax against "takers" of a state's natural resources, as a hedge against future revenue losses. Governor Huey Long of Louisiana remarks that some corporations had already challenged the severance tax in his state by seeking to devalue the resources they were taking, which prompted a revision of the valuation method to focus on the quantity of what was being taken rather than its quality. The first computer is developed at MIT. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards (the "Oscars") are first given. Color motion pictures are introduced. Penicillin is discovered.
1929		1929 Meeting: New London, CT (July 16-18) Exec. Committee Chair: George Dern, UT Governors discuss the origins of crime, youth crime, and gun control. They also talk about the promise of aviation and the steps necessary to prepare for increased plane travel. A Stock Market crash triggers the Great Depression. The Hawes-Cooper Act mandates that prison-made goods transported from one state to another be subject to the laws of the destination state, for the benefit of states that have banned the sale of prisoner-made goods. The Sheppard-Towner Act providing funding to the states for maternal and child care sunsets. Just ten years after the first state levied a gasoline tax, all states now have such taxes. Former Missouri Governor Arthur M. Hyde becomes Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.