The Roaring 20’sAn era of prosperity,

Republican power,

and conflict

1920's collectively known as the "Roaring 20's", or the "Jazz Age"

in sum, a period of great change in American Society - modern America is born at this time

for first time the census reflected an urban society - people had moved into cities to enjoy a higher standard of living

Age of Prosperity Economic expansion Mass Production Assembly Line Age of the Automobile

Ailing Agriculture…

an agri. depression in early 1920's contributed to this urban migration

U.S. farmers lost agri. markets in postwar Europe

at same time agri. efficiency increased so more food produced (more food = lower prices) and fewer labourers needed

so farming was no longer as prosperous, and bankers called in their loans (farms repossessed)

so American farmers enter the Depression in advance of the rest of society

Black Americans in this period continued to live in poverty

sharecropping kept them in de facto slavery

1915 - boll weevil wiped out the cotton crop

white landowners went bankrupt & forced blacks off their land

Blacks moved north to take advantage of booming wartime industry (= Great Migration) - Black ghettoes began to form, i.e. Harlem

within these ghettoes a distinct Black culture flourished

But both blacks and whites wanted cultural interchange restricted

Marcus Garvey (Jamaican born immigrant) established the Universal Negro Improvement Association

believed in Black pride advocated racial segregation b/c of

Black superiority Garvey believed Blacks should

return to Africa he purchased a ship to start the

Black Star line attracted many investments: gov't

charged him with w/fraud he was found guilty and eventually

deported to Jamaica, but his organization continued to exist

Republican Power President

Harding Elected 1920 Legacy of

Scandals “Teapot Dome” Died in office

President Coolidge “The business of America is business.”

Fordney-McCumber Tariff

Smoot-Hawley Tariff

No help for farmersForeign Policy

Consumer Economy

Culture of the Roaring 20’sRadio

KDKA PittsburghGE, Westinghouse,&

RCA form NBC

Silent MoviesCharlie Chaplin

“Talkies”The Jazz SingerStarring Al Jolson

Mary Pickford“America’s Sweetheart”

CelebritiesBabe Ruth &Ty Cobb

Jack Dempsey

Charles Lindbergh The Spirit of St. Louis

The 20’s is The Jazz AgeThe Flappers

make upcigarettes

short skirts

MusiciansLouis ArmstrongDuke Ellington

WritersF. Scott FitzgeraldErnest Hemingway

1920's also brought about great changes for women...

1920 - 19th Amendment gave them the federal vote

after 1920, social circumstances changed too as more women worked outside the home

and more women went to college and clamoured to join the professions

women didn't want to sacrifice wartime gains - amounted to a social revolt

characterized by the FLAPPER/ "new woman"– (bobbed hair, short dresses,

smoked in public...)

A Society in Conflict Anti-immigrant

– National Origins Act

– DiscriminationSacco-Vanzetti Trial– Italian immigrants– Unfair trial

for immigrants – the point of origin had shifted to S & E Europe and new religions appeared: Jewish, Orthodox, Catholic

N. European immigrants of early 19c. feared this shift and felt it would undermine Protestant values

this fear was known as NATIVISM many wanted Congress to restrict

immigration, leading to a quota system that favoured n. areas of Europe

fear of immigrants (from SE Europe) led to a sentiment known as the Red Scare (fear of comm. post-Bolshevik Rev.)

basic comm. advocates a int'l revolution by the proletariat/workers - fears that this ideology could find its way into the U.S.

at this time, W. Wilson was gravely ill following a stroke

his Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer, wanted to take a shot at the presidency - he used fears of both immigrants and communism to his advantage

he had J. Edgar Hoover round up suspected radicals, many of which were deported (Palmer Raids)

The Ku Klux Klan Great increase

In powerAnti-black

Anti-immigrant

Anti-women’s suffrage

Anti-bootleggers

Anti-Semitic

Anti-Catholic

Scopes “Monkey” TrialEvolution vs. Creationism

Dayton, TennesseeFamous Lawyers

Science vs. Religion

John ScopesHigh School Biology teacher

Prohibition18th Amendment Volstead Act

Gangsters

Al Capone

PROHIBITION - on manuf. and sale of alcohol

adopted in 1919 - 18th AMENDMENT

an outgrowth of the longtime temperance movement

in WWI, temperance became a patriotic mvmt. - drunkenness caused low productivity & inefficiency, and alcohol needed to treat the wounded

a difficult law to enforce... organized crime, speakeasies, bootleggers were on the rise

Al Capone virtually controlled Chicago in this period - capitalism at its zenith…

Prohibition finally ended in 1933 w/ the 21st Amendment

forced organized crime to pursue other interests…