a decade of excess in fun, fear, new gadgets, spending and government,
TRANSCRIPT
The Roaring 1920s!!!A decade of excess in fun,
fear, new gadgets, spending and government,
Demobilization from the Great WarArmy goes from 3 million to 500,000Economic controls lifted, industry
converted back to peacetime productsWar time spending caused inflation,
Wilson was busy getting the League of Nations passed
Farmers hit hard, prices fell, debt from borrowing to mechanize their farms during the war
Demobilization from the Great WarLabor unrest – 3,600 strikes in 1919, people
hoard food and fuel due to fear of strikers, Seattle shipyard workers wanted a 10% raise
Boston Police strike – looters stole goods and wreaked havoc on the cityMassachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge
called out state guard and hired a new police force “no right to strike against public safety”
350,000 steel workers and 450,000 coal miners struck
Red Scare - CausesCommunist revolution occurred in
Russia – overthrow of the Czar, established the Soviet Union
Communist Party established in the USAIWW - Industrial Workers of the World
connected to the Communist PartyPeople of all walks of life joined, less
than 1/10 of 1% of Americans actually joined
Compare the Economic SystemsCommunism Capitalism
Government owns all property(land), capital(investment money) and machines(factories)
Government makes all economic decisions
All people are equal, no competition is encouraged
Private people own all property, capital and machines
The market makes all economic decisions
Competition is rewarded, those who win get more
Red Scare - EffectsBombs mailed to government and business
leaders – postmaster and John D. RockefellerAmericans scared of being taken over by the
CommunistsA. Mitchell Palmer - had presidential ambitions,
wanted Communism to be a campaign issue1919 - FBI formed under the Department of
JusticeJob was to hunt down anarchists, socialists,
Communists, etc.Invaded people’s Civil Rights
No search warrants needed Jailed with no cause Jailed attorneys who went to help Deportations without trials
No evidence turned up in raids, May Day plot discredited
Sacco-Vanzetti Trial2 men were immigrants and radicalsAccused of killing 2 men during a
robbery in MassachusettsGuilty, but thought trial was biased
because they were immigrantsExecuted in 1927, in 1980s were
found innocent and pardoned by Governor Dukakis
Rise of the KKKAnti-immigrant, anti-black, anti-Communist, anti-saloon, anti-union, anti-Catholic and anti-Jew
Felt threatened by changes in US society
Huge increase in membership, especially in the Midwest
Status of Women19th Amendment ratified in 1920
Women had the right to vote
Immigration Laws1921 – Emergency Quota Act – limit number
of immigrants from certain countries1924 – National Origins Act – amendments to
1921 Act2% of European nations living in US in 1890Discriminated against Eastern and Southern
Europeans Catholics and Jews
1929 – National Origins act shifted base year to 1920 – severely cut number of immigrants from EuropeReduced total # who could come to 150,000Excluded Japanese – insulted – rumblings of
WWIIDidn’t apply to Western Hemisphere (Mexico,
etc.)
Harding Administrationhttp://americanhistory.si.edu/PRESIDENCY/5
a_frame.htmlIsolationism – stay out of foreign affairsIncrease of nativism – favor “old”
AmericansTrend toward political conservatism and
away from activism of Progressive EraNormalcy – back to the good old days
US wanted to stay out of future European conflicts and world affairs – IsolationismLed to the Red Scare
Harding AdministrationUnions – roll back of gains under T. Roosevelt,
Taft and Wilson – nation became anti-unionSuspected of being Communist, Big Business
promoted ideaImmigrants had no choice but to work in poor
conditionsMultiple languages made it difficult to organize
workersPeople off rural farms were very self-reliant,
difficult to organizeExcluded African Americans from unions, changed
in 1925
Harding AdministrationBusiness Issues
Wanted less government controlDecrease military spending, reduce income
taxes by 2/3Fordney-McCumber Tariff - 1922
Increase taxes on imports to 60%Intended to protect US businessesPrevented foreign nations from selling to the
USProhibited Britain and France from paying
war debts
Harding AdministrationForeign Policy Issues
League of Nations not ratifiedFour Power Treaty - US, GB, FR & Japan (JP) -
agree to respect Pacific Island possessionsFive Power Treaty - US, GB, FR, IT & JP – froze
size of navies, no new bases on foreign territories
Nine Power Treaty – put Open Door policies in a treaty for commercials rights to China No limits on land military forces or small naval
vessels (destroyers and subs)
Harding AdministrationScandals – personally honest, but “who needs
enemies with friends like these?”“Ohio Gang” - used ties to President Harding to sell
government appointments, pardons, immunity from prosecution and fraudulent contracts
Teapot Dome Scandal Sec. of Interior – Albert Fall - secretly leased oil
lands owned by the US Navy to private company for a $300,000 bribe
Senate investigation, found guilty and went to prison Harding went to visit Alaska, health problems and
died on way back before the scandals were made public
Vice President Calvin Coolidge took over, very quiet guy
Changing Life in 1920sRural life Urban life
ConservativeGod-fearing
ProtestantsTraditionalNot in favor of
change in society
LiberalSome secular,
all religionsNon-traditionalIn favor of major
social change
New Urban SceneHuge cities – NYC - 5.6 million, Chicago 3
millionFast paced, immigrants, trolleys, subways ,
skyscrapersLots of entertainment
Sports – baseball, football, tennis, golfMusic – opera, symphony, jazz clubsMedia – newspapers, radio shows, magazines,
booksCity dwellers tolerated drinking, smoking,
gambling and casual dating considered shocking and sinful in small towns
Prohibition18th Amendment prohibited the manufacture,
sale and distribution of alcohol – reformers thought alcohol was cause of corruption, wife and child abuse, crime, accidents on the job, etc.
2 Groups that supported prohibitionWomen’s Christian Temperance UnionAnti-Saloon League
Many ignored the lawImmigrants with cultural standards, tired of
sacrifices of WWI, resented government interference
Volstead Act underfunded law enforcement and doomed it to failure
ProhibitionDefine Speakeasies –
Define Bootleggers –
Organized Crime – underworld gangs made and sold alcohol at huge profitsAl Capone - $60 million per year522 bloody gang killings during the 1920s
ProhibitionCauses EffectsReligious groups
thought alcohol was sinful
Reformers believed gov’t should protect public health
War time hostility against immigrant German-American brewers, and others
Disrespect for the law
Increase of lawlessness, smuggling and bootlegging
New income for criminals, growth of organized crime
Clash of Science and ReligionScopes Trial - Fundamentalism vs.
ModernismCase was over the teaching of
evolutionReligious Fundamentalists opposed
teaching evolution in the classroomWilliam Jennings Bryan won but was
disgraced by Clarence Darrow (fought for teacher – Scopes)
1920s Women - FlappersBehavior Styles1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
1920s WomenDefine the “Double Standard” for women
A set of principles granting greater sexual freedom to men than to women
Examples:Society holds women to stricter standards of
behavior than men“boys will be boys” but girls need to be perfect
and pureWomen advance in the workplace
Bankers, lawyers, police officers, etc.1 million college graduates moved into
professions
EducationSchool enrollments - 1 million high school
students in 1914 to 4 million in 1926New “modern” high schools
Catered to college bound studentsOffered courses for broad range of students Vocational training for industrial jobsHome economics for future homemakers
Job was to education and assimilate new immigrant children to be “Americans” – taught English and American culture, values and ways
Mass Media – go to page 625Newspapers
1.2.
Magazines1.2.
Radio1.2.
Heroes of the Age (page 626) Sport Name Accomplishment1.
2.
3.
Why was Charles A. Lindbergh so popular?
MoviesBy 1925, fourth largest industry in
America with 20,000 movie housesStars of the time
Charlie ChaplinClara BowRudolph Valentino
The Jazz Singer – First major film with sound
Theater, Music & Art (pg 628-629)Name Work of Art
Playwrights1.2.Composers1.2.Painters1.2.Writers1.2.3.
Great Migration100,000s of African AmericansMoved from rural South to industrial Northracial violence and economic discriminationLeft due to floods, droughts and destruction of
cotton crop by boll weevilGoals of African Americans
Aggressively protest racial discriminationLegislation to protect rights and against lynchingImprove living standard for African Americans
Impact of Marcus Garvey and the UNIAReverence for AfricaIncreased number of African American business
ownersIncreased African American pride
ConsumerismSociety began to adjust to autos – freedom,
fun, etc.Urban sprawl as people moved to suburbs
Electrical Conveniences cheaper, more of themIrons, washers, radios, vacuum, phonograph
Advertising – made people want things they did not know they needed“Say it with flowers” – doubled sales between
1912 & 1924Credit – installment plans to buy big items
Allowed to pay over time rather than have the money to start with
Focus on buying more stuff, less savings