History 1302 Part Three

25: The Roaring Twenties:

Transition to Modern America

Overview of the 1920s

Following ratification of the 18th Amendment and passage of

the Volstead Act, Prohibition takes effect in January 1920,

leading to widespread law-breaking.

3 min. 09 sec.

In 1920 the U.S. census revealed that

more people lived in cities (54 million)

than in rural areas (52 million).

A growing demand for electrical

appliances, such as refrigerators,

toasters, washing machines, and vacuum

cleaners helped stimulate the economy.

And you could buy appliances on credit (notice

the “Easy Terms” sign in the window).

Before the 1920s, radio enthusiasts listened, mainly to

each other, on primitive crystal radio sets.

The first commercial radio station in the U.S. was

KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA, which began broadcasting

on Nov. 2, 1920. By 1930 there were more than 800

independent stations.

7 min. 15 sec.

The auto industry flourished in the

1920s. In 1920 there were 10

million cars in the U.S. By 1930

there were 26 million!

The Auto Industry stimulated other

areas of the economy: particularly

petroleum, rubber, glass, and steel.

There was a dramatic increase in road,

bridge, and tunnel building in the 1920s,

as well as a proliferation of billboards.

2 min. 01 sec.

The 1920s was the “Jazz Age.”

Musicians such as Duke Ellington,

Bessie Smith, and Louis Armstrong

were popular performers and recording

artists.

“Flappers” -- young women who

smoked, drank, wore their hair and

skirts short, and defied conventional

behavior were another 1920s

phenomenon.

4 min. 03 sec.

In the 1920s it only cost a nickel to go the “pictures”

to see your favorite movie star in a silent film.

Rudolph Valentino

Douglas Fairbanks

Mabel Normand

Mary Pickford

Clara Bow

Charlie Chaplin

In 1927 the first “talkie,” “The Jazz Singer” starring

Al Jolson, was released by Warner Brothers.

1 min. 46 sec.

In 1927 “Babe” Ruth

hit 60 home runs (a

record that held for 40

years!)

In 1926 boxer Gene Tunney

defeated Jack Dempsey, to

become heavyweight

champion of the world.

1920s Sports “Heroes”

1 min. 57 sec.

Charles A. Lindbergh,

“Lucky Lindy,” flew

solo across the Atlantic

in 1927; New York to

Paris in 33 hours.

3 min. 56 sec.

Reactionary America

In the 1920s anti-immigrant sentiment and fears there might

be a “red revolution” in the U.S. led authorities to overreact.

The first “Red Scare” was

prompted by the attempted

bombing of Attorney General

Palmer’s house in 1919.

A. Mitchell Palmer

January 1920: Federal agents arrest

thousands of Socialists, Wobblies,

Anarchists, and labor agitators.

Hundreds of foreign-born radicals are

deported.

1 min. 28 sec.

A 1915 motion picture, “The Birth of a Nation,”

inspired a revival of the Ku Klux Klan.

1 min. 29 sec.

By the early 1920s the Ku Klux Klan had become a

powerful organization with 4 million members.

Klansmen saw themselves as

patriots and the upholders of

Christian moral values.

The “new” Klan was a national phenomenon,

attracting members from all over the country.

The new Klan was not only anti-

black but also anti-Catholic, anti-

Jewish, and anti-immigrant. 3 min. 53 sec.

In 1924 anti-immigration sentiment

led Congress to pass a restrictive law

setting quotas that favored

immigrants from Northern Europe.

In 1927 Italian immigrants Sacco

and Vanzetti, convicted in 1922

for a crime they may not have

committed, were executed.

7 min. 07 sec.

In 1925 the Scopes “Monkey Trial” in Dayton,

Tennessee was seen as a battle between Science and

Religion, pitting Clarence Darrow (for the defense)

against William Jennings Bryan (for the prosecution).

3 min. 27 sec. Teacher John Scopes

The Roots of the

Great Depression

On the surface, the 1920s seemed like a prosperous time. There were

plenty of jobs but real wages rose only slightly, limiting buying power.

This explains the popularity of installment (credit) buying.

Throughout the 1920s Republicans controlled the White House and

Congress. There was also a conservative majority on the Supreme Court.

Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover were

business-friendly fiscal Conservatives.

Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon was

the architect of 1920s Republican fiscal policy.

• Give big tax cuts to the “investor class”

• Give modest tax cuts to average Americans

• Reduce the federal inheritance or estate tax (which only the wealthy paid)

• Run the government efficiently

In 1924 and again in 1926, President

Coolidge approved cuts in income tax

for the wealthy, first from 72% to

46% and then to 25%. Individuals

earning less than $24,000 a year

received a 1 percent cut.

Tax cuts for the investor class encouraged speculation in an unregulated

stock market, which artificially inflated share prices.

Many businesses also encouraged speculation by paying high dividends

to investors instead of raising workers’ wages. Profits also went into

expansion of production.

In addition, stockbrokers began selling stocks to ordinary

Americans “on the margin,” i.e. for 10 percent down.

When sales began to decline, some people realized the

prosperity wouldn’t last forever but most didn’t.