CHAPTER 20 & 21

Politics of the Roaring 20s and Education and Popular Culture

CHAPTER 20: POLITICS OF THE 20S

SECTION 1

Post-War widespread beliefsNativism IsolationismFear of the spread of Communism

Led to the Red Scare

Began in 1919 because of the Bolshevik Revolution Communist Party in US

Palmer Raids1919Palmer and his assistant, Hoover, hunted

down suspected Communists, socialists, and anarchists

Sacco and VanzettiVictims of the Red Scare and its nativist

feelingsMay, 1920

Both arrested and charged with robbery and murder of a factory paymaster and his guard (Massachusetts) The eyewitnesses said the criminals looked Italian Evidence circumstantial Presiding judge made prejudicial remarks

Jury found them both guilty and sentenced them to death

Protests in U.S., Europe, and Latin America Thought the accused were mistreated b/c they were

immigrants poet Edna St. Vincent Millay donated proceeds from her

poem “Justice Denied in Massachusetts” to their defense

Both died in the electric chair on August 23, 1927

Limiting Immigration “Keep America for Americans” became the

prevailing attitude This attitude had been growing since 1880’s Attitude was because the immigrants:

Worked for lower wages and now that unskilled labor was needed less, the immigrant would take jobs from native born

Some people involved in postwar labor disputes included immigrant anarchists and socialists Led to racism and fueled people’s nativist attitude

KKK Devoted to “100 percent Americanism 1924- Membership reached 4.5 mil of “white male persons,

native-born gentile citizens” Also believed in:

Keeping blacks “in their place” Destroying saloons Opposing unions Driving Roman Catholics, Jews, and foreign-born people out

of the country By the end of the decade too much criminal activity led to a

decrease in power

The Quota System 1919 to 1921, the number of immigrants had grown

almost 600 percent (from 141,000 to 805,000 people) Congress decided to limit immigration from certain

countries (mostly S. and E. Europe) Emergency Quota Act of 1921

Established the maximum number of people who could enter the United States from each foreign country

The goal of the quota system was to decrease European immigration to the United States

Amended in 1924 Law limited immigration from each European nation to 2%

of the number of its nationals living in the U.S. in 1890• Discriminated against people from S. and E. Europe

(mostly Roman Catholics and Jews) Later the base year was shifted to 1920 The law also reduced the total number of persons to be

admitted in any one year to 150,000 The law also prohibited Japanese immigration

The quota did not apply to immigrants from the Western Hemisphere

Labor Unrest During the war, the workers were not allowed to

strike b/c AFL pledged not to 1919- more than 3,000 strikes (about 4mil workers

walked off the job) Employers unwilling to give raises nor let

employees join unions Thus, employers attempted to label union members as

Communists and say they were planning a revolution

Three Biggest and Most Remembered Strikes of this Time The Boston Police Strike

The employees had not been given a raise since before WWI Also complained that they could not unionize

When some officers asked for a raise, they were fired on the spot made others want to strike even more National guard sent in to stop strike It ended, but they were not

allowed to return to work and others were hired The Steel Mill Strike

Workers wanted the right to negotiate: Shorter working hours A living wage Union recognition Collective bargaining

Labor Unrest Cont. Sept 1919- US Steel Corp. refused to meet with union reps

over 300,000 workers walked off their job Companies hired strikebreakers (employees who agreed to work

during the strike) and used force Striking workers were beaten by police, federal troops, and state

militias• Propaganda campaigns were used to link strikers to Communists

Oct. 1919- negotiations btwn labor and management produced deadlock • Finally decided on an 8-hour work day but no labor union• Strike ended in Jan 1920 and in 1923 report of the harsh

working conditions in steel mills shocked the public Coal Miners’ Strike

Unionism more successful here 1919- the United Mine Workers of America (organized in 1890) and

got a new leader, John L. Lewis. • He calls his union’s members to strike to protest low wages and

long workdays Nov. 1, 1919• Attorney General Palmer got a court order to send the miners

back to work Lewis publicly declared it over but secretly said it would continue and

the workers did not go to work for another month Pres. Wilson finally appointed an arbitrator to put an end to the

dispute• COAL MINERS GOT A 27% WAGE INCREASE BUT DID NOT GET A

SHORTER WORKDAY NOR A FIVE-DAY WORKWEEK UNTIL THE 1930S

Labor Movement Loses Appeal The 1920s hurt the labor movement badly

Labor union membership dropped This was because:

• Much of the work force consisted of immigrants willing to work in poor conditions

• Since immigrants spoke a multitude of languages unions had difficulty organizing them

• Farmers who had migrated to cities to find factory jobs were used to relying on themselves

• Most unions excluded African Americans 1929

About 82,000 of African Americans (less than 1% of their pop) held union memberships

Just over 3% of all whites were union members

Struggles for Peace1921- Meeting of major powers in the

Washington Naval Conference Russia left out because of its communist gov’t Charles Evens Hughes (secretary of state)

Urged no more warships built for 10 years Suggested the major naval powers (US, Great Brit,

Japan, France, Italy) scrap many battleships, cruisers, and aircrafts

First time that powerful nations agree to disarm

1928- 15 countries sing Kellogg-Briand Pact Renounced war as a national policy Pact was futile b/c it was not enforced

Reparations Cost Conflicts begin when Britain and France have to pay $10

billion that they had borrowed from America Could be done in 2 ways:

Selling goods to US• Fordney-McCumber Tariff

Raised taxes on US imports to protect US business Made it impossible for France and Britain to sell goods to the US to

repay debts Had to look to Germany

Collecting reparations from Germany• Germany failed to make payments

French troops march into Germany, but stopped by American banker Charles G. Dawes sent in to avoid another war• NEGOTIATED LOANS

Dawes Plan America loaned Germany $2.5 billion to pay back Britain

and France with annual payments on a fixed scale France and Britain could now pay back America

Solution caused resentment from all Britain and France thought the US a miser for not paying their

fair share of reparations of WWI and b/c the US had benefited from the defeat of Germany, while Europeans had paid for the victory with millions of lives

The US considered Britain and France financially irresponsible

The Harding AdministrationHarding favored limited roles in business

affairs and social reform Still set up Bureau of the Budget to run the

government more efficiently Urged US Steel to get rid of 12 hour workday

His Cabinet Charles Evans Hughes- Secretary of State (later chief

justice of Supreme Court) Herbert Hoover- Secretary of Commerce Andrew Mellon- Secretary of the Treasury (Country’s

wealthiest men) Ohio Gang- the president’s poker-playing cronies

Scandal During Harding’s Presidency Ohio Gang corrupt

Unraveled Harding’s Administration with grafts

Teapot Dome Scandal Government set aside oil-rich public lands at Teapot

Dome, Wyoming and Elk Hills, California To be used Albert B. Fall (Secretary of the Interior)

He secretly leased the land to private oil companies The first American to be convicted of a felony while

holding a cabinet post

August 2, 1923 President Harding dies of a stroke or heart attack VP Calvin Coolidge assumes the presidency and is

elected president in the next year

SECTION THREE: THE BUSINESS OF AMERICA American Industries Flourish

Calvin Coolidge (new president)kept taxes low & business profits up w/ more available credit to expand; keep gvmt interference to min.; high tariffs on foreign imports

The impact of the automobile Construction of paved roads (Route 66) & traffic signals Houses w/ garage & driveway smaller lawns Gas stations, repair shops, public garages, motels, tourism,

shopping centers urban sprawl-workers able to travel miles to jobcities

spread in all direction Symbolized success of free enterprise system & Coolidge era

The Young Airplane Industry Began as mail carrying service for U.S. Post Office Tri-motor airplane- Ford in 1926 Pan American Airways- 1927, first transatlantic passenger

flights

America’s Standard of Living Soars Average income rose +35% Electrical Conveniences

Alternating electrical current-distribute power over longer distances suburbs

Well- to do families uses refrigerators, cooking rangers & toasters

Made lives of housewives easier community & leisure activities; working

The Dawn of Modern Advertising A Superficial Prosperity

Producing Great Quantities of Goods Numerous mergers of companies of automobiles, steel,

electrical, public utilities Chain stores clothes, drugs, shoes, groceries, national

banks Growing distance between workers & managers New machinery drove down prices left farms suffering

Buying Goods on Credit Installment plan- allowed ppl. To buy goods over

extended period buy more

CHAPTER 21:THE ROARING LIFE OF THE 1920S

SECTION 1: CHANGING WAYS OF LIFE Rural and Urban Differences

Population Increases & “Cities were the place to be” The New Urban Scene

Chicago was an industrial powerhouse; home to native-born whites, african americans, & immigrant Poles, Irish, Russians, Italians, Swedes, Arabs, French, and Chinese

Small-town migrants: urban environment demanded change in thinking

City→ world of competition & change; tolerated drinking & gambling (sinful in small towns.

The Prohibition Experiment 18th Amendment: Passed in 1920, launched the Prohibition era,

during which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages were prohibited (outlawed)

Reformers thought liquor was main cause of corruption; lead to crime, abuse, accidents on job & other social problems

Supports came from rural South, West & native protestants Volstead Act: Established the Prohibition Bureau in 1919 to patrol

18,700 miles of coastline, inland borders, track down illegal stills, monitor highways for truckloads of illegal alcohol, and oversaw all industries that legally produced alcohol. Because it was underfunded, it ultimately helped end Prohibition.

Speakeasies and Bootleggers Speakeasies- underground hidden saloons and nightclubs where

people could drink liquor illegally Called this because people spoke quietly inside so they wouldn’t

be found Used by middle and upper-class men and women

Allowed for medicinal and religious purposes (prescriptions for alcohol and sales of sacramental wine soared)

Bootleggers-smuggled alcohol from Canada, Cuba, and the West Indies and sold it to people in the US Named this because they were known to smuggle it by carrying

the alcohol in the legs of their boots Organized Crime

Prohibition made people disrespect the laws (gave way to more organized crime)

Chicago became notorious for organized crime b/c of Al Capone Al Capone

1925-1931: bootlegged whiskey from Canada ran illegal breweries in Chicago had a network of 10,000 speakeasies

Bootlegging Empire netted over $60 million a year Took control of the empire by killing his opponents

By the end of the 1920’s only 19% of Americans supported Prohibition most believed it caused more problems than solutions 18th Amendment still stayed until 1933

Science and Religion Clash Growing rift between traditional and modern

ideas, fundamentalist religious groups vs. secular thinkers

American Fundamentalism Fundamentalism: Protestant movement that believed

in a literal and non symbolic interpretation of the bible. Rejected theory of evolution (b/c God made the

world and all it’s living things in six days) Followers grew and revivalists became popular

i.e.: -Billy Sunday- baseball player turned preacher

-Aimee Semple McPherson- theatrical women who dressed in white robes to get Midwestern migrants

and others who were devoted followers of her radio broadcasts to listen

The Scopes Trial 1925- Tennessee passed first law that made it a crime

to teach evolution American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) promised to

defend any teacher who challenged the law John T. Scopes accepted challenge & read passage

from Civic Biology→ arrested ACLU hired Clarence Darrow (most famous trial lawyer

of the day) Williams Jennings Bryan (devout fundamentalist) hired

as a special prosecutor Scopes Trial- fight over evolution and science and

religion’s role in public schools and American society• Trial opened on July 10, 1925• Scopes was found guilty and fined $100

Later, the verdict was changed on a technicality but law that outlawed the teaching of evolution stayed in effect

SECTION 2: WOMEN OF THE 20S

Young Women Change the Rules The US began to have a more rebellious and

pleasure-loving atmosphere during the 1920’s → women began to assert their independence and reject the old values of the 19th century… demanded the same freedom’s as men

The Flapper Flapper- emancipated young women who not only

wore, but also embraced the new fashions and city attitudes of the 20’s Were usually more risque and assertive too

i.e. smoked cigarettes, drank in public, talked about sex openly, danced the tango and other dances with disregard for other’s opinions (other new fads on pg.650-651)

Views towards marriage also change → now a more equal partnership But housework and taking care of the children is still

agreed on as a woman’s job The Double Standard

While magazines and other advertisements promoted the ideal of the flapper, it was more an image than a reality for most young women It did not reflect the attitudes and beliefs of many

young people (morals only loosened so far) Traditionalists in schools and churches disagreed with

the new values of 1920’s women and although casual dating was more accepted, a double standard arose

Double Standard- a set of principles granting greater sexual freedom to men than to women. It meant that women would still have to have stricter standards of behavior than men did

Women Shed Old Roles at Home and Work New work Opportunities for Women

After WWI female workers were replaced with men Female college graduates began to look for “women’s

professions” Teachers, nurses, librarians, typists, filing clerks,

secretaries, store clerks, factory workers Others broke old stereotypes by doing jobs once only

reserved for men Pilots, taxi driver, oil drillers

But wherever they worked, they were earning less than men

The Changing Family Birthrate declines

Due in part to the wider availability to birth-control info (Margaret Sanger and The American Birth Control League founded in 1921)

Social and technological innovations make both family life and chores easier (stores with ready-made clothes and food)

Marriages based more on love and companionship Children no longer made to work in the adult world in

factories, farms, or apprenticeships → get to go to school and spend time in organized activities with others their own age With this new type of socializing for teens, many

became even more rebellious and resisted parental control like the flappers resisted societal restraints

SECTION 3: EDUCATION AND POPULAR CULTURE

Schools and the Mass Media Shape Culture School Enrollments

Increase in students going to high schoolà higher educational standards for industry jobs

High schools began offering vocational training (for industrial jobs)

Immigrant children began going to school Expanding News Coverage

Growing mass media shaped mass culture Newspaper & mass-circulation magazines rose

Radio Comes of Age Most powerful way of communication in 1920s Everyone across the nation hearing news as it

happened

America Chases New Heroes and Old Dreams Many people had money, and time to spend it Leisure activities: crossword puzzles, games etc Lindbergh’s Flight

Charles A. Lindbergh- pilot who made the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, in the Spirit of St. Louis

Became nations hero; stood for honesty and bravery Entertainment and the Arts

The Jazz Singer- 1st major movie with sound in 1927 Steamboat Willie- 1st animated film with sound in 1928

(Disney) Called “talkies”à movie attendance doubled

George Gershwin- A famous concert music composer who merged traditional elements with American jazz, creating a distinctive “American” sound

Georgia O’Keeffe- Famous painter who produced intensely colored canvases, capturing New York’s grandeur

Writers of the 1920s Sinclair Lewis- 1st American to win a Nobel Prize in

literature; one of the most outspoken critics of American culture. In Babbitt, he ridicules American conformity & materialism.

F. Scott Fitzgerald- Wrote This side of Paradise and The Great Gatsby, revealing the negative side of the period’s gaiety and freedom; coined the “Jazz age”

Many writers discussed important issues (The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, depicts clash of traditional and modern values)

Edna St. Vincent Millay- wrote poems that celebrated youth, and independent life away from traditional society and constraints.

Lost Generation- Writers such a Fitzgerald and Hemingway who shoes to live in Europe (mainly in France), to escape from the “sour” American culture.

Ernest Hemingway- Wrote novels such as The Sun also Rises and A Farewell to Arms, where he criticized the glorification of war (he was wounded in WWI)

SECTION 4: THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

African-American Voices in the 1920s The Move North

The Great Migration- A movement between 1919 and 1920 when hundreds and thousands of African Americans from the south moved to the big cities in the north for jobs.  

By 1930 over 40% lived in cities Northern cities did not welcome them, culminating

approximately 25 urban race riots. African-American Goals

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)- founded in 1909, urged African Americans to protest racial violence.

W. E. B. Du Bois (founding member), organized protests against violence

James Weldon Johnson- led NAACP; made fighting for legislation to protect African Americans one of their main priorities.

Marcus Garvey and the UNIA Marcus Garvey- immigrant from Jamaica, believed

Africans Americans should create a separate society founded Universal Negro Improvement

Association (UNIA) in 1914; used mass meetings, parades and pride. Promoted African-American business and encouraged them to return to Africa.

convicted of mail fraud & jailedà popularity declined left legacy of black pride, economic independence

and reverence for Africa

The Harlem Renaissance in NY Many African Americans moved to Harlem in

Manhattan 1920’s Harlem becomes the world’s largest black urban

community Still suffered from problems like overcrowding and poverty,

but the Harlem Renaissance allowed the problems to be looked over Harlem Renaissance- literary and artistic movement

that celebrated African-American culture. It represented great social and cultural change in American during the 1920’s that was also characterized by: Economic prosperity New ideas Changing values Personal freedom New developments in art, literature, and music

African American Writers Harlem Renaissance mostly a literary movement that was

led by well-educated, middle-class African Americans who expressed a new found pride in “the African American experience”

Celebrated their heritage and the trials of being black in a white world

Writers were pushed by people like W.E.B. Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson, and Alain Locke The New Negro- A collection of literary works by young

African American writers published by Locke in 1925 Claude McKay- novelist, poet, and Jamaican immigrant who

wrote to urge African Americans and told them to resist prejudice and discrimination

Jean Toomer- wrote the book Cane--had both poems and sketches about blacks in the N and S (among the first full-length literary publications of the Harlem Renaissance

Langston Hughes- The movement’s best known poet; many of his 1920’s poems illustrated the difficult lives of working-class African Americans

Zora Neale Hurston- Her writing portrayed the lives of unschooled S. blacks and it celebrated the simple folkways and values of people who had survived slavery with their ingenuity and strength

African-American Performers Shuffle Along- A black musical comedy popular in the early

1920’s.  Some thought it launched the Harlem Renaissance movement.

Paul Robeson- The son of a slave, he became a major actor. Famous for performance in Othello, but he could not take the racism he felt in the US because of his support of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party → moves to England and later the Soviet Union

African Americans and Jazz Jazz- Born in New Orleans during the early 1900’s; was music

blended with instrumental ragtime and vocal blues Louis Armstrong- A young trumpet player who first joined

Joe “King” Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band in 1922. Later, he joined Fletcher Henderson’s Band in 1924 (most important big jazz band in NYC during this time)

Jazz was big in Harlem and attracted many white people to the clubs there (among them, was the famous Cotton Club)

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington- One of the greatest jazz pianist and composer of the 20th century. Conducted a 10-piece orchestra at the Cotton Club)

Bessie Smith- A female blues singer that recorded on black-oriented labels produced by major record companies. In 1927, she became the highest-paid black artist in the world