the new era 1920s adapted from a presentation created by april and greg long michael quiñones, nbct

The New The New EraEra 1920s1920s

The New The New EraEra 1920s1920s

ADAPTED FROM A PRESENTATION CREATED BY APRIL AND ADAPTED FROM A PRESENTATION CREATED BY APRIL AND GREG LONGGREG LONG

Michael Quiñones, NBCTWWW.SOCIALSTUDIESGUY.COM

Gender ControversiesDuring the 1920s many women throughout the United States decided to challenge established acceptable behaviors.

Women who dressed in skimpy, short skirts revealing most of their legs became known as Flappers. The term is related to prostitution.

These women were often considered “slutty” because of their fashion choices and loose attitudes about sex, smoking and alcohol consumption.

ROLE OF WOMEN:ROLE OF WOMEN:the “New Woman”the “New Woman”ROLE OF WOMEN:ROLE OF WOMEN:the “New Woman”the “New Woman”

the “New Woman”“pink collar” jobs

Women’s fashions, 1920Women’s fashions, 1920Women in the Workforce, 1900-1940

Margaret SangerMargaret SangerMargaret SangerMargaret SangerSanger was a devout Catholic woman from New York state in during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

She was an advocate of sex education and birth control. She was a founder of the American Birth Control League which sought to provide women with information and options for pregnancies.

She was met with extreme opposition by the government and religious fundamentalists.

She was always imperiled by the strict Comstock Laws of 1873.

Aimee Semple Aimee Semple McPhersonMcPhersonAimee Semple Aimee Semple McPhersonMcPhersonAimee Semple McPherson ne of the most popular female evangelists in U.S. history.

From California she founded the Four Square Church that focused on the Rapture.Through radio programs McPherson warned people they needed to be prepared for Jesus’ return.

Amelia Earhart Kansas born Earhart despite gender

discrimination was the first woman to “co-pilot” a transatlantic flight in 1928.

The flight was made months after Charles Lindbergh's historic voyage and though she was a skilled she believed the voyage was too risky to do solo.

Many Americans believed women had no business as pilots but in 1932 she became the first female pilot to complete the flight solo.

By 1932 Earhart was an enormously famous and wealthy woman due to commercial endorsements and exhibition flights.

As an aviation pioneer Earhart pushed to become the first to complete a Transpacific flight however during her attempt her plane disappeared in 1937 somewhere near the Howland Islands in the Pacific.

Earhart and President Hoover

Espionage and Sedition Acts Two laws were passed by Congress to curtail [limit] the civil liberties of U.S. citizens during World War I.

The Espionage Act of 1917 imposed strict sanctions on anyone opposing the war or spying and passing sensitive information to foreign governments.

The Sedition Act of 1918 forbade U.S. citizens from speaking out against the war in public.

Espionage and Sedition Acts These laws were challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Charles Schenck was arrested for mailing pamphlets to draftees telling them to protest the war.

He was arrested and convicted for sedition. He appealed citing his 1st Amendment Free Speech rights his case was known as Schenk vs. United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and the Sedition Act citing national security interests during war time.

Eugene V. Debs was also jailed on similar charges of protesting against the U.S. government. Debs was the rowdy and vocal socialist labor union leader and agitator.

Power and Paranoia of the Federal Government After the Great War the United States had increased powers based on the Espionage and Sedition Acts.

To uncover threats against the United States the U.S. Attorney General Mitchell Palmer ordered raids on suspected communists and anarchists.

The Palmer raids were conducted by federal agents to uncover domestic threats to the U.S.

SOCIAL & CULTURAL CONFLICTS: SOCIAL & CULTURAL CONFLICTS:

Xenophobia and Racial Xenophobia and Racial UnrestUnrest



National Origin Act of 1924

Number of Number of Immigrants and Immigrants and Countries of Countries of Origin, 1891-1920 Origin, 1891-1920 and 1921-1940and 1921-1940

Percentage of Population Foreign Born, Percentage of Population Foreign Born, 1850-19901850-1990





Birth of a Nation - D.W. Griffith

“new” Ku Klux KlanLeo Frank

(Picture Research Consultants & Archives)

Ku Klux Klan initiation, 1923. The Klan opposed all who were not “true Americans”. (c) 2000 IRC

Immigration, 1921-1960Immigration, 1921-1960Immigration, 1921-1960Immigration, 1921-1960

New Immigrants vs. Old New Immigrants vs. Old ImmigrantsImmigrantsNew Immigrants vs. Old New Immigrants vs. Old ImmigrantsImmigrantsOld immigrants-From the 1600s to early 1800s most of the people who

arrived as immigrants to the United States were from English speaking countries such as England, Scotland and Ireland. Many Germans and French came to the U.S. as well. The dominant religion was Protestantism.New immigrants from the mid-1800s to early 1900s did not speak English and were mostly Catholic and Jewish.The differences between the two groups caused resentment and conflict.The Old immigrants wanted to preserve their language and culture and preached nativism [favoring and maintaining original America].

The Tragedy of Sacco and Vanzetti Two Italian immigrants who lived on Massachusetts were arrested for the armed

robbery and murder of two men. Bartolomeo Venzetti and Nicola Sacco were the suspects arrested. Both

men were admitted anarchists. Local police had long investigated anarchists and their anti-government

activities and arrested Sacco and Venzetti on May 5, 1920 both were armed with pistols.

Tremendous doubts existed about the evidence against the 2 men but they were convicted of all charges. All subsequent appeals went against the men [they lost].

Sacco and Venzetti were executed on August 23, 1927 despite popular protests. Many, many people believed these men were persecuted solely for their beliefs

and because they were Italian immigrants not because of their actual guilt.

Controversial Controversial Religious FiguresReligious FiguresControversial Controversial Religious FiguresReligious Figures

Former Major League Baseball player Billy Sunday was the most popular evangelist [someone who travels and preaches] during the 1910s and 1920s.

He preached Hellfire and Damnation to crowds of thousands of people throughout the nation.

He earned millions of dollars preaching at a time when most Americans were flat broke.

The expansion of radio and its programs decreased his popularity.

The John T. Scopes “Monkey” The John T. Scopes “Monkey” Trial Trial The John T. Scopes “Monkey” The John T. Scopes “Monkey” Trial Trial In 1925 a high school biology teacher in Tennessee was encouraged to teach a lesson on Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution based on a chapter in the science text book.

He was arrested for breaking the Butler Act which prohibited teaching evolution. The law was an example of legislation based on religious fundamentalism.

Scopes took the charges to trial and he was “prosecuted” by former U.S. Senator William Jennings Bryan. His defense attorney was famous lawyer Clarence Darrow.

After lots of court room theatrics Scopes was convicted and fined $100.This trial exposed many people’s religious and academic prejudices as well as brought criticism and ridicule of the religious fundamentalism.

Harlem Renaissance During the 1920s and 1930s Harlem, New York City became a majority

black neighborhood.

Several artists [musicians and writers] became well known such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and Duke Ellington.

Ellington was Jazz pianist and composer who gained world fame and acceptance from whites.

Hurston had been a house maid and janitor but was later recognized for her famous novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Hughes an openly gay man became a well known poet and transcend many of the stereotypes of his day.

The popularity and skill of these artists brought great attention and praise to the Harlem, NYC community.

Race and Racial Conflicts An immigrant form Jamaica named

Marcus Garvey was trained as a printer in his homeland and later traveled throughout Latin America and worked for different newspapers.

When he lived in New York City he became a successful businessman and started the Black Star Line in 1919 [black owned cruise ship company] that lasted only 3 years because of poor financial management and F.B.I. sabotage.

He was well known for starting the Back to Africa Movement that encouraged blacks to unite and return to a more free Africa in countries like Liberia.

He also created a group called the U.N.I.A. [United Negro Improvement Association] that encouraged blacks to become better trained, better educated so they could be self-sufficient.

Garvey was later convicted of mail fraud by the federal government and deported to Jamaica in 1927 where he later died.

The Great BambinoA former juvenile delinquent

from Maryland named George Herman Ruth captured the imagination of the nation in the 1910s.

Babe Ruth, as he became called, was signed to a professional baseball contract out of a reform school for incorrigible kids.

He was originally a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox won multiple World Series titles but showed so much power as a hitter that he became a full time hitter [outfielder].

His towering home runs were unusual because before him homeruns were rare. He was adored by American fans and won several championships with the New York Yankees.

Charles Lindbergh: Lucky Lindy On May 21, 1927 Charles

Lindbergh became the first person to successfully fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

Few people believed he could accomplish the air voyage. The flight took 33.5 hours.

He left from Long Island, N.Y. and landed in Paris, France.

For the rest of his life he promoted commercial aviation.

Famous American Writers Many American writers during the 1920s wrote about their frustration

and disillusionment with the Great War and its devastating effects.

Some writers even left the United States for years and became known as members of the Lost Generation [Ernest Hemingway was one of these he authored novels such the Old Man and the Sea.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of the Great Gatsby, wrote about the excesses of rich New Yorkers.

Sinclair Lewis criticized what he thought was the silliness of small town life.

Protective Tariffs

The Emergency Tariff of 1921 This was an import tax placed on foreign

crops such as grain (corn and wheat) to protect the prices of domestic crops against cheaper European grain.

Fordney- McCumber Act of 1922

This was an extension of previous tariffs but also extended to manufactured goods. The law was criticized by Congressmen and some businesses as unnecessary because the economy boomed.

Life cover, July 1, 1926

"One Hundred and Forty-three Years of LIBERTY and Seven Years of PROHIBITION."

(Private Collection)

Life cover, July 1, 1926Life cover, July 1, 1926Life cover, July 1, 1926Life cover, July 1, 1926

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

GUIDING QUESTIONSGUIDING QUESTIONSGUIDING QUESTIONSGUIDING QUESTIONS

What aspects of life created the What aspects of life created the reputation of the “Roaring 20s”?reputation of the “Roaring 20s”?

In what ways and to what degree In what ways and to what degree were the 1920s a period of were the 1920s a period of tension between new and tension between new and changing attitudes on the one changing attitudes on the one hand and traditional values on hand and traditional values on the other. the other. (Consider Race relations, immigration/ nativism, role of women, consumerism)

BUSINEBUSINESSSSBOOMBOOM

BUSINEBUSINESSSSBOOMBOOM

BUSINESS BUSINESS PROSPERITYPROSPERITYBUSINESS BUSINESS PROSPERITYPROSPERITYECONOMIC PROSPERITY:

productivity: up 50%unemployment: 4-9-12%? real income: up 25%standard of living: (where?)

indoor plumbing central heatingelectricity (2/3 by 1930)

CAUSES OF BUSINESS PROSPERITY: Increased productivity (scientific management, machinery)

Increased use of oil and electricity Favorable government policy (tax breaks, antitrust)

Gross National Gross National Product, 1920-1930Product, 1920-1930

Unemployment, 1920-1930

Automobiles & Automobiles & Industrial Industrial ExpansionExpansion

Automobiles & Automobiles & Industrial Industrial ExpansionExpansion

Henry Ford‘fordism’

Ford Highland Park assembly line, 1928(From the Collections of Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village)

“Trying out the new assembly line“ Detroit, 1913Henry Ford (1835-

1947)

1913: 14 hours to build a new car1928: New Ford off assembly line every 10 seconds

1913: car=2 yrs wages1929: 3 mos. wages

Auto Auto Manufacturing Manufacturing Auto Auto Manufacturing Manufacturing

PROBLEMS FOR PROBLEMS FOR WORKERSWORKERSPROBLEMS FOR PROBLEMS FOR WORKERSWORKERS unions lose WWI gains:

open shopscompany unionsinjunctions

“welfare capitalism”employment insecurity

PROBLEMS FOR PROBLEMS FOR WORKERSWORKERS Income Income Distribution, 1929Distribution, 1929

PROBLEMS FOR PROBLEMS FOR WORKERSWORKERS Income Income Distribution, 1929Distribution, 1929

65%29%

5%

1%

Source: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970

40% of all U.S. families lived on >$1,500 per year – in poverty range

PROBLEMS FOR PROBLEMS FOR FARMERSFARMERSPROBLEMS FOR PROBLEMS FOR FARMERSFARMERSMechanization

Farm income down 66%“parity” McNary-Haugen BillAgricultural Marketing Act (1929)

TILLING ONE ACRE OF LANDTILLING ONE ACRE OF LAND1900: 90 mins. using 5 horses 1929: 30 mins. using a 27-hp tractor2000: 5 mins. using a 154-hp tractor

PRODUCING 100 BUSHELS OF WHEAT PRODUCING 100 BUSHELS OF WHEAT ON 5 ACRESON 5 ACRES1890s: 40-50 labor hours 1930: 15-20 labor hours

SOCIETY, SOCIETY, CULTURE CULTURE & VALUES& VALUES

SOCIETY, SOCIETY, CULTURE CULTURE & VALUES& VALUES

Farm vs. Nonfarm Population, Farm vs. Nonfarm Population, 1880-19801880-1980Farm vs. Nonfarm Population, Farm vs. Nonfarm Population, 1880-19801880-1980

1920 CENSUS:

First time majority of U.S. population in urban areas (towns 2500 or greater)

1920: More workers in factories than on farms

1930: Still 44% live in rural areas

CONSUMERICONSUMERISMSMCONSUMERICONSUMERISMSM

(electric) appliancesautomobilesadvertising (image vs. utility)

buying on creditchain stores

ConsumeConsumer Debt, r Debt, 1920–1920–19311931

General Electric ad (Picture Research Consultants & Archives)

CONSUMERISM: CONSUMERISM: Impact of the Impact of the

AutomobileAutomobile

CONSUMERISM: CONSUMERISM: Impact of the Impact of the

AutomobileAutomobile

Replaced the railroad as the key promoter of economic growth (steel, glass, rubber, gasoline, highways)

Daily life: commuting, shopping, traveling, “courting”

Increase in sales: 1913 - 1.2 million registered; 1929 - 26.5 million registered (=almost one per family)

Passenger Car Passenger Car Sales, 1920-Sales, 1920-19291929

Filling Station, Maryland in Filling Station, Maryland in 19211921

Impact of the Automobile: Impact of the Automobile: Trains and Automobiles, 1900-Trains and Automobiles, 1900-19801980

Impact of the Automobile: Impact of the Automobile: Trains and Automobiles, 1900-Trains and Automobiles, 1900-19801980

Jones, Created Equal

AutomobilesAutomobiles & &

ConsumerismConsumerismAutomobilesAutomobiles & &

ConsumerismConsumerism

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

<< Ford ad:Ford ad: “Every family -- with even the most modest income, can now afford a car of their own."

“Every family should have their own car. . .You live but once and the years roll by quickly. Why wait for tomorrow for things that you rightfully should enjoy today?"

(Library of Congress)

Dodge advertisement photo, 1933Dodge advertisement photo, 1933

CONSUMERISCONSUMERISM &M & Automobiles Automobiles

CONSUMERISCONSUMERISM &M & Automobiles Automobiles

Chevrolet Chevrolet AdvertisemeAdvertisement 1925nt 1925

Ford Motor Ford Motor Company Company showroom 1925showroom 1925

July 4, Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts, July 4, Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts, early 1920searly 1920sJuly 4, Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts, July 4, Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts, early 1920searly 1920s

MASS MASS CULTURE: CULTURE: RadioRadio

MASS MASS CULTURE: CULTURE: RadioRadio

New mass medium

1920: First commercial radio station By 1930: over 800 stations & 10 million radios

Networks: NBC (1924), CBS (1927)

The Spread of The Spread of Radio, to 1939Radio, to 1939

MASS MASS CULTURE: CULTURE: MoviesMovies

MASS MASS CULTURE: CULTURE: MoviesMovies

Movie “palaces”“talkies” (1927)

Will Hays

80 million tickets sold per week by 1930 (population: 100 million)

(Billy Rose Theatre Collection, The New York Public Library)

MASS CULTURE: Popular MASS CULTURE: Popular HeroesHeroesMASS CULTURE: Popular MASS CULTURE: Popular HeroesHeroes


Charles Lindbergh (National Archives)

“success ethic”“self-made man”Bruce Barton- The Man Nobody KnowsThomas EdisonCharles Lindburgh

SOCIAL & SOCIAL & CULTURAL CULTURAL CONFLICTCONFLICTSS

SOCIAL & SOCIAL & CULTURAL CULTURAL CONFLICTCONFLICTSS

SOCIAL & CULTURAL SOCIAL & CULTURAL CONFLICTS:CONFLICTS:

ProhibitionProhibition

SOCIAL & CULTURAL SOCIAL & CULTURAL CONFLICTS:CONFLICTS:

ProhibitionProhibitionProhibitionThe noble experiment

“wets and dries”Al Capone

Alphonse “Scarface” CaponeAlphonse “Scarface” CaponeGovernment agents breaking up an illegal bar during ProhibitionGovernment agents breaking up an illegal bar during Prohibition

Black Population, 1920Black Population, 1920Black Population, 1920Black Population, 1920

Ku Ku KluKlux x KlaKlann

Ku Ku KluKlux x KlaKlann

(mid-1920s)


Copyright 1997 State Historical Society of Wisconsin

Ku Klux Ku Klux KlanKlanKu Klux Ku Klux KlanKlan

Ku Klux Klan parade in Ku Klux Klan parade in Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 19261926

BUSINESS – BUSINESS – FRIENDLY FRIENDLY GOVERNMEGOVERNMENTNT

BUSINESS – BUSINESS – FRIENDLY FRIENDLY GOVERNMEGOVERNMENTNT

BUSINESS – FRIENDLY BUSINESS – FRIENDLY GOVERNMENTGOVERNMENTBUSINESS – FRIENDLY BUSINESS – FRIENDLY GOVERNMENTGOVERNMENT

Warren G. Harding“Return to normalcy”Herbert HooverAndrew MellonThe “Ohio Gang”

Teapot Dome ScandalHarding with Laddie, June 13, 1922

Albert B. Fall (left)


Calvin Coolidge“The business of America is business”

President Calvin CoolidgePresident Calvin Coolidge Coolidge throwing out first pitch 1924Coolidge throwing out first pitch 1924


Herbert HooverAl Smith

Herbert Herbert HooverHoover

Election Election of 1928of 1928

Hoover, Ford, Edison, and Firestone

Feb 11, 1929

Hoover, Ford, Edison, and Firestone

Feb 11, 1929

The Great The Great CrashCrashThe Great The Great CrashCrash

Stock Market Prices, 1921–Stock Market Prices, 1921–19321932

Stock Market crash: October 24, 1929 (Corbis-Bettmann)

New York Times, Friday, October 25, 1929

SOURCESSOURCESSOURCESSOURCES

http://www.wadsworth.com/history_d/special_features/image_bank_US/1920_1930.htmlBrinkley, American History: A SurveyKennedy, American Pageant 13e (History Companion)Faragher, Out of Many, 3rd Ed.; http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_faragher_outofmany_ap/Jones, et al., Created EqualNashAmerica: Pathways to the Present

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AmeliaEarnhardHoover.jpg

the new era 1920s adapted from a presentation created by april and greg long michael quiñones, nbct

Documents

role of women

president hoover slide

sedition acts

wealthy woman

espionage act

world war

war time

flight solo