I. The Politics of the 1920sA. Election of 1920-Warren Harding (Republican) won the

presidency.

1. Campaign Slogan- “Return to Normalcy”

a) Return to normal life following the war

B. Harding’s administration and cabinet was plagued by scandal.

1. Teapot Dome Scandal-Private interests received land containing Navy oil reserves in Teapot Dome, Wyoming from Albert Fall, Harding’s Secretary of the Interior.

a) In return Fall received bribes for the land and later would go to prison

C. Calvin Coolidge would take over for Harding after Harding died in office in 1920.

1. Coolidge was re-elected in 1924. “Silent Cal” followed an economic policy of little involvement.

a) Supply-side economics or trickle down economics-Government lowers tax rates to allow the economy to grow and people invest the extra money they have back into the economy.

2. Foreign Policy-America became isolationist following WWI. The U.S. and 14 other nations signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact in 1928, which outlawed war.

Kellogg

a) Washington Naval Conference-Conference in which major world powers agreed to limit their navies.

II. The Roaring Economy of the 20sA. The Model T-Carmaker Henry Ford adopted

the moving assembly line, which divided operations into simple tasks. He produced the Model T.

Price of the Model T1908-$8501914-$490

Time it took to produce a Model T

1912-12 hours1913-93 minutes1925-10 seconds

1. Mass production led to lower prices and Henry Ford’s workers were productive since they worked a five day workweek as oppose to a six day week and doubled their wages to $5 a day.

B. Consumer Goods-Goods bought for personal or household use. Due to mass production, a consumer culture developed.

1. People began to receive credit easily. For example, 75% of Americans bought radios on installment plans.

2. Advertising increased in the 20s.http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/eaa/

C. Farmers1. Farmers did not experience the economic

prosperity of the 1920s. Generally, farmers suffered due to overproduction, mechanization, and flat demand.

III. Nativism Resurges and the Red ScareA. Sacco-Vanzetti Case-On April 15, 1920, two men

robbed and murdered two employees in a Massachusetts shoe factory. Police arrested two Italian anarchist immigrants Sacco and Vanzetti.

1. Both were found guilty and sentenced to death with little evidence due to nativism.

B. Red Scare-Fear of communism started with the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

1. Palmer Raids-In June 1919, eight bombs in eight cities exploded within minutes. One

damaged Attorney General Palmer’s home.

a) Palmer arrested and deported suspected communists.

C. Rise of the Ku Klux Klan-In the 1920s the Klan resurged due to the influx of New Immigrants into the United States. The Klan targeted anyone said to be un-American (i.e., Catholics, Jews, immigrants, etc.)

D. Restrictions on Immigration:

1. Emergency Quota Act and the National Origins Act set quotas that severely limited immigration.

Assessment Questions:1) What were two specific reasons that made Henry Ford so

successful? Explain each in a full sentence.

2) What is an installment plan? What are dangers of this?

3) Who did not experience the economic prosperity of the 1920s? Give two specific reasons why.

4) What was the Kellogg-Briand Act? In one sentence describe American foreign policy following WWI.

5) State two specific causes of nativism during the 1920s. Be specific.

The Charleston!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s58iTzznkp0&feature=related

IV. Culture of the 1920sA. Women

1. Women began to become more financially, politically, and socially independent.

a) Flappers-Smoked cigarettes, shortened their hair, wore short skirts, and drank prohibited liquor.

1) Not typical of most women

2. Margaret Sanger-Believed families could improve their standard of living by limiting the number of children they had.

a) Created the American Birth Control League, which eventually became Planned Parenthood to create knowledge regarding birth control.

B. Prohibition1. Made alcohol illegal with the 18th amendment in January 1920.

2. Volstead Act made the U.S. treasury responsible for enforcing prohibition. Thus, a federal police force was given more authority.

3. Unintended consequences:

a) Speakeasies illegally sold alcohol

b) Organized crime thrived on the illegal sale of alcohol

4. The 21st amendment repealed the 18th amendment in 1933 due to the high crime rate.

Follow up on video

1) What was the purpose of the 18th amendment?2) What was the role of organized crime during the Prohibition?3) Who coined the phrase “The Jazz Age” during the 20s?4) Who was the first Congresswoman?

C. Fundamentalism-Believed the Bible is literally true. Fundamentalists rejected Darwin’s theory of evolution. Instead, they embraced creationism—the belief that God created the world as described in the Bible.

1. Scopes Trial-John Scopes taught evolution in a Tennessee classroom after Tennessee outlawed the teaching of evolution.

a) Scopes was found guiltyJohn Scopes

D. African Americans1. The Great Migration-Hundreds of thousands of African Americans moved from the rural South to industrial cities in the North due to job opportunities.

2. In New York City, this time period was known as the Harlem Renaissance due to the artistic development, racial pride, and political organization.

Langston Hughes

a) Writers: Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston.

Zora Neale Hurston

b) The Jazz Age-Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith symbolized this era in A.A. music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W232OsTAMo8

E. The Lost Generation-Writers that described modern life as spiritually empty were known as the “Lost Generation.”1) Included: F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway.

Fitzgerald Hemingway

F. Entertainment-Movies were silent until 1927 when the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer was produced.