The 1920s I.“Roaring” A.Business B.Fun & Heroes C.Women II.Politics Prohibition & Scandal III.“Other” Side A.Farmers B.Teaching Evolution C.Nativism Key

The 1920s

I. “Roaring”

A. Business

B. Fun & Heroes

C. Women

II. Politics• Prohibition & Scandal

III. “Other” Side

A. Farmers

B. Teaching Evolution

C. Nativism

Key Terms• Charles Lindbergh• “Flapper”• Teapot Dome• McNary/Haugen• Scopes Trial• National Origins Act• KKK

Announcements: Extra Credit

• Friday 3/5 at 7:30: Otis Murphy (Classical Saxophonist) at Ludington Center for the Arts

• Gypsy: March 12, 13; 19, 20 at 7:30; March 14 & 21 at 2:00 at Manistee’s Ramsdell Theater

• WSCC students will be admitted free if they make reservations at the WSCC Box Office M-F 8-12:00 or leave a message at 843-5507

• To do: Attend the event & write a summary (one page, single-spaced, typed, 350 word)

• Up to five points can be added to your discussion grade by attending the event & writing about it

US Economy Prospered

Image Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Economic Expansion (1923-1929)

Stock Market (1923-1929)

US economy was very “Consumer-Oriented”

Consumer-Oriented Economy: Radio

• 14 million American families owned radios by 1930

Advertisement for RCA Victor Radio


Consumer-Oriented Economy: Autos

• 60% of US families owned a car by 1930

• Ford’s Model T was dominant up to mid 1920s– Cost in 1908: $850– Cost in 1916: $360Ford’s Assembly Line at

Highland Park, 1928


Consumer-Oriented Economy: Autos

• Credit was available • Ended isolation &

TRANSFORMED dating patterns

Ford Advertisement Image Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

July 4 At Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts

(Early 1920s)


Impact Of This Consumer Economy

• Indebtedness increased

• A sense of sameness & conformity developed

• Environmental impact

Consumer Borrowing In The 1920s

Fun & Heroes

Louis Armstrong


Babe Ruth

Rudolph Valentino

Fun & Heroes

• Flew alone from New York to Paris in 1927

• Became an important symbol: – US individuality

combined with technology can accomplish anything!

Charles Lindbergh

(1902-1974)


Political cartoon laments the change in social values(1927)

Women’s Roles

• Bobbed hair, a short skirt, & cigarette

• Jazz music & danced the Charleston

• Drank alcohol & openly discussed sex

Life Magazine Cover July 4, 1926


Flapper

Women’s Roles/Music & Generation Gap• A “Generation Gap”

seemed to be developing between parents & their children

“Blues” by Archibald Motley, 1929


Prohibition(1920-1933)

• 18th Amendment: “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors…is hereby prohibited.”

Dumping Barrels of Alcohol

Prohibition: Consumption Did Drop

Michigan & Prohibition

As much as 27% of the annual budget to enforce Prohibition nationally was spent in the state of Michigan alone

Harding Administration Scandals

• Albert Fall = Secretary of Interior– Allowed oil companies

to drill on lands in California & Teapot Dome, WY

– He received “loans” (bribes) in return


Teapot Dome Window Hanger

President Warren Harding(1921-1923)

• Died of a heart attack

Harding With His Dog Laddie


• Enjoyed poker parties & good liquor

• Plagued by scandal

1920s Politics

• Calvin Coolidge became President following Harding’s death


Coolidge Cartoon

US Farmers prospered during WWI….but not after the war

1913 1918

Corn $.70/bushel $1.52/bushel

Cotton $.12/lb. $.29/lb.

Farmers’ Problems

• Between 1919-1921 total farm income fell from $10 billion to $4 billion

• Many looked to the government for help

McNary-Haugen: A Possible Solution

1. US government would purchase surplus crops

2. Excess products would then be sold on the world market

3. Passed by Congress in 1927 & 1928

Vetoed Twice By Coolidge

Scopes Trial(1925)

• State of Tennessee outlawed teaching of evolution in schools

• John Scopes violated the law & went on trial; gained national attention

• Scopes was convictedClarence Darrow & William

Jennings Bryan

Rise Of Nativism

• Americans were concerned about all things foreign; – Legacy of WWI– Influenza epidemic killed 50 million world-

wide & at least 550,000 in US

Death Rate From Influenza & Pneumonia (1900-1960)


Rise Of Nativism

• Americans were concerned about all things foreign; – Legacy of WWI– Influenza epidemic killed 50 million world-wide &

at least 550,000 in US

– Restrictive immigration laws– Rise of Ku Klux Klan

National Origins Act(1924)

• Established a “quota system” whereby immigration would be limited

• Impacted immigrants from Southern & Eastern Europe the most

• Virtually ended immigration from Asia


Supporters of Immigration Changes Wrote Songs

Re-Emergence Of The KKK

• Re-emerged in 1920s: 2-5 million members in US

• Motto = 100% Americanism– Anti-black, anti-Jewish,

anti-Catholic, anti-foreigner

• In Michigan, it was strongest in Detroit & Flint


KKK Pamphlet “America For Americans”

KKK In Owasso, MI

The 1920s

I. “Roaring”

A. Business

B. Fun & Heroes

C. Women

II. Politics• Prohibition & Scandal

III. “Other” Side

A. Farmers

B. Teaching Evolution

C. Nativism

Key Terms• Charles Lindbergh• “Flapper”• Teapot Dome• McNary/Haugen• Scopes Trial• National Origins Act• KKK

Documents

The 1920s I.“Roaring” A.Business B.Fun & Heroes C.Women II.Politics Prohibition & Scandal III.“Other” Side A.Farmers B.Teaching Evolution C.Nativism Key