From Boom to Bust: The Roaring 20s and the Great Depression

Americans Struggle with Post War IssuesThe 1920s: Roaring or Racist?

Wanting to Return to “Normalcy” A stressed nation

1. League of Nations Divided Nation

2. Progressive Era Changed Nation

3. Returning Soldiers Unemployment OR minorities out of jobs

4. Inflation cost of living had doubled

1. Trends in 1920s politics

2. 1. Renewed isolationism

3. 2. Resurgence of nativism

4. 3. political conservatism

1. Go against Progressive movement

The Threats to “Normalcy” A. Communism

1. Origins of Communism

a. “Communist Manifesto” ~ 1848 Outlines communism

Achieving this government Characteristics of this goverment

b. Communism spreads to Russia in 1917 Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Revolution

2. Americans fear communism

a. Communist clubs began to spread around the U.S.

b. Mail bombs were sent to prominent businessmen and government leaders

c. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer began to combat the “Red Scare”

3. Combating the Red Scare

a. Palmer Raids Government agents sent to investigate suspected Communists,

socialists, anarchists, and radicals Questionable methods used Raids failed to show any concrete evidence Cost Palmer the trust of the American public

B. Immigration

1. Sacco and Vanzetti

a. anarchists, evaded draft in WWI

b. falsely accused of a murder in Ma in 1920

c. despite evidence that cleared them, they were found guilty and were executed in 1927

d. significance

2. Resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan

a. Revived in 1915

b. Devoted to “100% Americanism” Against anyone not white, native born, and gentileAgainst activities such as joining unions and

drinking alcoholWhy do they feel threatened?

c. Activities

3. Quota Systems a. Emergency Quota Act 1921

C. Labor Unrest

1. background

2. Boston Police Strike, 1919

3. Steel Mill Strike, 1919

4. Coal Miners Strike, 1919

Labor Movement Loses AppealRulings in all the cases showed that Americans were

distrustful of radicalism

Growing sentiment that labor unions = communism

Union leaders had a hard time organizing immigrants

Farmers did not want to put their fate in someone else’s hands

Warren G. Harding

1920-1923

Warren G. Harding

Born in Ohio, 1865

Key PlayersVP: Calvin CoolidgeSec. of State: Charles Evan

HughesSec. of Commerce: Herbert

HooverSec of Treasury: Andrew Mellon

Considered to be one of the least successful presidents to dateWhy?

The Struggle for Peace

Strike a balance – keep America in foreign relations economically but not politically

Washington Naval Conference

“Nine Powers Treaty”

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Keeping America in the Economic Game

Fordney-McCumber Tariff

Germany refuses to pay debt

Mellon sent to Germany to negotiate reparations for Germany (12 billion dollars to France, England, and the US)

Problem:

Solution Charles G. Dawes and the Dawes Plan

Domestic Scandals

“The Ohio Gang”

Veterans Bureau

Teapot Dome Scandal

Reform Budget and Accounting Act, 1921

Death of Harding

Died in summer of 1923

Legacy

Calvin Coolidge

1923-1928

Calvin Coolidge

Disliked public attention

Took long naps during the day

Held the most press conferences of any president -520 in 4 years

Spoke on the radio more than any other president

“Let’s avoid trouble”

Foreign Policies

Supports Kellogg-Briand Pact

Latin America Manages to dissuade a major rebellion against America

The Pro-Business President

Keep business taxes down

High tariffs

Strict economy No farm relief Refused to pass a Bonus Bill to help WWI veterans

Impacts

Troubles loom for American buyers

Superficial Prosperity

Installment Plan

Low Interest Rates

Society During the 1920s

What characterized 1920s society?

1. Religion v. Science

Background Europe at the turn of the century WWI

Religious Fundamentalism takes hold Protestants support the literal translation of the Bible A response to the fast paced society of the 1920s

The Scopes Trial March 25, 1925: teaching evolution is illegal John Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution and was backed by ACLU

lawyer Charles Darrow Court ruled that although the Bible can be interpreted in different ways, the

theory of evolution does not hold ground Scopes fines 100 dollars, laws stayed on the books

2. Prohibition

The 18th Amendment to the Constitution--passed by Congress in 1917, and ratified by 3/4 of states by 1919--prohibited the manufacture or sale of alcoholic beverages within the boundaries of the United States.

The Volstead Act of 1919, also known as the National Prohibition Enforcement Act, gave the 18th Amendment some teeth. It clearly defined an alcoholic beverage as one with an alcoholic content greater than 0.5 percent.

Prohibition was created education of alcohol consumption, which in turn would reduce:CrimePoverty Death RatesImprove the economyImprove quality of life

 

Per Capita Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages (Gallons of Pure Alcohol) 1910-1929.

A German visiting the United States during the 1920s described Prohibition like this:

'But,' it might be asked, 'where do all these people get the liquor?' Very simple. Prohibition has created a new, a universally respected, a well-beloved, and a very profitable occupation, that of the bootlegger who takes care of the importation of the forbidden liquor. Everyone knows this, even the powers of government. But this profession is beloved because it is essential, and it is respected because its pursuit is clothed with an element of danger and with a sporting risk....

Yet it is undeniable that prohibition has in some respects been signally successful. The filthy saloons, the gin mills which formerly flourished on every corner and in which the laborer once drank off half his wages, have disappeared. Now he can instead buy his own car, and ride off for a weekend or a few days with his wife and children in the country or at the sea. But, on the other hand, a great deal of poison and methyl alcohol has taken the place of the good old pure whiskey.

The number of crimes and misdemeanors that originated in drunkenness has declined. But by contrast, a large part of the population has become accustomed to disregard and to violate the law without thinking. The worst is that, precisely as a consequence of the law, the taste for alcohol has spread ever more widely among the youth. The sporting attraction of the forbidden and the dangerous leads to violations. My observations have convinced me that many fewer would drink were it not illegal.

There was one way to obtain alcoholic beverages legally during the There was one way to obtain alcoholic beverages legally during the prohibition years: through a physician's prescription, purchasing prohibition years: through a physician's prescription, purchasing the liquor from a pharmacy. Physicians could prescribe distilled the liquor from a pharmacy. Physicians could prescribe distilled spirits--usually whiskey or brandy—on government prescription spirits--usually whiskey or brandy—on government prescription

forms. The government was even willing to allow the limited forms. The government was even willing to allow the limited production of whiskey and its distribution when stocks were low.production of whiskey and its distribution when stocks were low.

Failure?

Organized crime grew into an empire—Al Capone

Disrespect for the law grew

Massive murder/crime rates

Bootleggers smuggled liquor

The per capita consumption of alcohol increased dramatically

City officials fell to gangsters and corruption

Government lost money—Taxes

Home brewing of alcohol became increasingly popular

The rate of alcohol related deaths due to poisoning drastically increased from 1,064 in 1920, to 4,154 in 1925.

Success?

United the country under nationalism

Brought people together – united against a common enemy

Led to better trained police forces

Grain can be used for food supply

Flappers and the new Role for women

3. The Speakeasy

“Speakeasy Language”

Beeswax ~ business

Bible Belt ~ The South

Beef ~ Complaint

Cat’s pajamas ~ the ultimate (same as Bee’s Knees)

Crush ~ infatuation

On the lam ~ on the run from the police

Ragamuffin ~ a dirty person

Joe ~ Coffee

Handcuff ~ Engagement Ring

Gold Digger ~ a women after wealth

Daddy ~ The Gold Digger’s husband

Glad Rags ~ Party Clothes

Giggle Water ~ Alcohol (Also Hooch)

Joint ~ a speakeasy club

Also, many slang words relating to premarital sex and “hooking up” and prevalent alcohol use

4. Flag Pole Sitting

5. The Charleston!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJC21zzkwoE

6. Anything Egyptian!

7. Increase in Education

School enrollment on the rise

High Schools offer vocational training

Rise in school taxes

8. Popular Culture

Beginning of radio

Expanding news coverage

Baseball is popular culture

Jazz

Famous celebsCharles LindberghGeorge Gershwin Louis ArmstrongBessie Smith Georgia O’Keefe

The “Lost Generation” and the Harlem Renaissance The Lost Generation

Why are they lost?

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ernest Hemingway

The Harlem Renaissance

Langston Hughes

Zora Neale Hurston

Civil RightsMarcus Garvey and the UNIA

The Great Depression

Chapters 22 and 23

The Great Depression

1929-1941

Troubles Loom for Americans

Troubles in Industry Mining and lumbering industries diminishes Housing markets begin to decline

Farmers Food prices drop and demand slows

Credit Cards Too many people are buying on credit Too many bills meant little spending

Uneven distribution of income Lower class Americans were not receiving sufficient wages to

meet the inflation rates 5% of the country controlled 1/3 of the wealth

Stock Market Risky business

The Volatile Stock Market

Dow Jones Industrial Average Steady rising through the 1920s

Too many people are buying stocks

Election of 1920

Herbert Hoover (R) v. Alfred Smith (D) Why did Hoover win?

The Stock Market Crash

September 1929: Stock prices peak and then begin to fall

October 24, 1929: Investors start to pull out of the market

October 29, 1929: Continuous buying and selling of stocks causes stock prices to bottom out

Americans panic and pull money out of the banks

Worldwide Depression

GNP is cut in half

85,000 businesses go bankrupt

Unemployment rate goes from 3% in 1929 to 25% in 1932

European Depression

Already in debt from WWI

Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act (1930) Highest protection tariff in United States history Designed to help American farmers and manufacturers Opposite effect: reduced the flow of goods into the US

Cannot buy American exports World Trade reduces by 40%

Leading towards “Depression Mentality”

Cities

Rural

On the Family

Herbert Hoover’s Presidency

1928-1932

Herbert Hoover (R) Elected 1928

From Iowa

Supported humanitarian causes

Hoover’s Philosophy o Government aid v. “rugged individualism”

Opposed: Federal Welfare No free handouts or charity

Domestic Affairs Foreign Affairs

Public Sentiment on Hoover “Blame it on Hoover”

Show displeasure in the 1930s congressional elections

People stop working

Bonus Army

Beginning StepsDeveloping theories

Boulder Dam

POUR

Hoover takes more actionBacking cooperatives

Federal Farm Board National Credit Corporation

Direct Relief Federal Home Loan Bank Act Glass-Steagall Banking Act Reconstruction Finance Program

Legacy of Herbert Hoover

The Presidency of FDR

1932-1945

Candidate Party Platform

Herbert Hoover

FDR

FDR’s First Attempt at Reform FDR takes office in January 1933

The New Deal

“One Hundred Days”

Reorganizing Banks and Businesses

Fireside Chats

Glass –Steagall Act

Federal Securities Act, 1933

Securities and Exchange Commission 1934

Repeal the 18th Amendment

Criticisms of the New Deal New Deal did not end the Depression

Liberals object

Conservatives object

Supreme court reacts

Charles Coughlin

Francis Townsend

Huey Long

The Second New Deal1935

How does it differ than the first hundred days?

FDR (538 e.v.) v Alfred Landon (8 e.v.)

Reading on Eleanor Roosevelt

Effect of the New Deal

Women

African-Americans

Native Americans

Mexican Americans

Art and Culture of the Great Depression

Art and Culture of the Great Depression

Photography and photo journalism

Radio and Literature

Music

“Talkin’ Dust Bowl Blues” Back in Nineteen Twenty-Seven, I had a little farm and I called that heaven.

Well, the prices up and the rain come down, And I hauled my crops all into town --I got the money, bought clothes and groceries, Fed the kids, and raised a family.

Rain quit and the wind got high, And the black ol' dust storm filled the sky.And I swapped my farm for a Ford machine, And I poured it full of this gas-i-line --And I started, rockin' an' a-rollin', Over the mountains, out towards the old Peach Bowl.

Way up yonder on a mountain road, I had a hot motor and a heavy load,I's a-goin' pretty fast, there wasn't even stoppin', A-bouncin' up and down, like popcorn poppin' -- Had a breakdown, sort of a nervous bustdown of some kind, There was a feller there, a mechanic feller, Said it was en-gine trouble. Way up yonder on a mountain curve,It's way up yonder in the piney wood, An' I give that rollin' Ford a shove,An' I's a-gonna coast as far as I could -- Commence coastin', pickin' up speed,Was a hairpin turn, I didn't make it. Man alive, I'm a-tellin' you,The fiddles and the guitars really flew. That Ford took off like a flying squirrelAn' it flew halfway around the world -- Scattered wives and childrensAll over the side of that mountain. We got out to the West Coast broke,So dad-gum hungry I thought I'd croak, An' I bummed up a spud or two,An' my wife fixed up a tater stew --We poured the kids full of it, Mighty thin stew, though, You could read a magazine right through it.Always have figured That if it'd been just a little bit thinner,Some of these here politicians Coulda seen through it.

Movies:

Praised the government

Helped you “forget”

Legacy of the New Deal

The Economy

On workers

On banking

On society

On the environment