The 1920’s Chapter 31

• Three major themes from the 1920’s

• 1. The major economic upswing form new technology and consumerism

• 2. The new social-cultural attitudes and activities.

• 3. The backlash against all this change and the intolerance that resulted.

OK – What are we so afraid of?

• After W W I, the US turned “inward”. Isolationism was back and intolerance towards change, and anything “foreign” rose.

• Examples: We decided we feared/hated Communists, any other type of Radicals, immigrants, and anything that seemed to threaten “traditional American values”

Check for Commies under the bed

• We had never been real happy with anarchists or socialists – especially those from Europe.

• After Russia’s revolution – the “reds” – communists became the ultimate evil radical group

• We blamed anything we could on “reds” – labor strikes were often thought to be instigated by Communists.

• We passed laws and limited free speech and in general went way over the top on this issue.

The KKK returns…

• The Postwar mood of fear and intolerance led to a resurgence in the KKK.

• Although Blacks were still a target – they broadened their “hate list” to now include:

• Any immigrants, Catholics, Jews, communists, pacifists, drinkers, gamblers, those in favor of birth control (also divorcees)

• They had a big membership boost in the South and Midwest – 5 million by the mid-20’s

• By the late 20’s, people turned against the Klan and it began a long period of decline and disfavor

Nativism and Quotas

• Immigration to the US picked up again after the War ended but resentment of “job-taking foreigners” rose too.

• The govt. set new Quotas – which limited the # of immigrants from certain areas.

• By 1924, immigration from S, and E Europe was quite limited. Japanese immigrants were cut off completely.

• The period of “welcome to the melting pot” was over.

Prohibition

• Prohibition starts in 1920 (18th Amendment)• Supported by women and progressives – it was

popular in the South and West.• Prohibition was scoffed at in the big cities and

areas with large immigrant populations.• The laws were loosely and inconsistently enforced• Bootlegging, speakeasies, and organized crime got

a big boost from Prohibition

Gangsters

• Prohibition gave rise to organized crime – fortunes could be made in illegal liquor.

• Violence accompanied the bootlegging trade

• Al Capone made a fortune in Chicago – his violent methods were legendary but he was finally sentenced to prison for tax evasion

Scopes Trial in Tennessee

• The theory of evolution was fairly new and scary to fundamentalist Christians.

• John Scopes taught the concept despite a state law which prohibited it.

• His trial pitted Clarence Darrow against W. J Bryan (arguing against evolution)

• Darrow made Bryan look foolish, Scopes was still guilty, and the debate raged on….

Mass consumption

• Thanks to cheap oil, assembly line production, and willing investors the US economy grew tremendously in the 20’s.

• We could produce vast amounts of just about anything – now we just had to get someone to buy it all

• Advertising is born – easy credit for everyone

Cars

• By the 20’s Henry Ford had his assembly line going – his cars became affordable

• By 1929 – there was one car for every 5 people in the US

• Of all the products of the 20’s – Cars led the way in jobs, profits, and desirability.

• Cars production leads to jobs in steel, rubber, glass, gas stations and highway construction

Airplanes

• Wright Brothers => some wartime service => stunt pilots @ country fairs => air mail and passenger service.

• Charles Lindbergh – first solo trans-Atlantic flight. Big hero – clean cut – America LOVED him

Radio

• First heard in the US in 1920 (KDKA)Radio provided home entertainment.

• News, music, and regular programs were brought into American homes

• Most households had a radio by 1930

Movies

• Edison invents motion picture camera

• “Great Train Robbery” = nickelodeon

• First full length – “Birth of a Nation”

• Hollywood becomes the movie capital

• Sound in 1927 – “The Jazz Singer”

• Movies => popular – helped to “standardize” languages and “what’s cool”

1920’s Changes

• More people live in cities than rural areas

• Birth control now discussed

• Too much “sex”???? Flappers, one piece bathing suits above the knee, Sigmund Freud, Jazz music and dancing, car dates, some were horrified by the speed of social change

Harlem Renaissance

• 1920’s – 100,000 African Americans lived in Harlem

• Langston Hughes (poet)

• Jazz greats and night clubs

Writers of the 1920’s

• Common theme among new writers was attacking the “status quo” and old ideas

• New writers:

• Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, T.S Eliot

Stock Market

• Real Estate Speculation and failing banks were occurring all through the 20’s – with little fanfare.

• The Stock market was rising (bull market)• Enticed many Americans to buy – on the

margin• Other financial developments: tax cuts for

the wealthy, Bureau of the Budget