Upon taking office, Harding instituted conservative policies designed to minimize the government's role in the economy. Will H. Hays, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, was appointed Postmaster General. Grateful for his actions at the 1920 Republican convention, Harding offered Frank Lowden the post of Secretary of the Navy. Immigration to the United States fell from roughly 800,000 in 1920 to approximately 300,000 in 1922. Though the act was later superseded by the Immigration Act of 1924, it marked the establishment of the National Origins Formula.