Hallmarks of the
1920’s
Closing the gates
of Immigrati
on New Social
Patterns
WWI Generatio
n
The New Woman
Golden Age of Sports
Urban v. Rural
The Emergence of the
KKK
Economic Explosion:
Age of Consumer
ism
Closing the Gates of Immigration• Xenophobia (fear of foreigners) took hold after
WWI: • Congress installed quotas: such as these
Italian quota = Italian-origin population, 1920150,000 White population, 1920
Italian quota = 3,800,000150,000 95,500,000
Italian quota=6,000
Excluded groups?• Widespread prejudice against Eastern and
Southeastern Europeans.• They were given very low numbers of the total
immigration allowed, which was 3% of the population in a given year or in 1910-350,000.
• By 1929 Congress capped immigration at 150,000!
• We went from a melting pot to an ice cube.
New Social Patterns• 1920-saw a new trend…for the first time in our
history more people lived in urban areas than on rural farms.
• This transformed America in the following ways: • Educational opportunities• Family life• Widening gap between rich and poor• Tensions between urban and rural (Scopes Trial)• Etc…
WWI Generation• WWI impacted the world in different ways, but one
way it had in common was the creation of a generation of people who were hopeless and pessimistic.
• They tended to look at politics and government with disappointment and held these types of things to blame for all that happened and would happen.
The New Woman• American women changed. They adopted new
fashions and attitudes.• They had been liberated and given the right to vote.• They started to take on more aggressive personality
traits.• They advocated new technologies like birth control
(Margaret Sanger)• More women were divorcing• More women were working outside the home and
attending college• 1920: 8.2 million were working outside home; 1925:
10.6 million!
The Golden Age of Sports• After the War, sports surged in popularity. This
was due in large part to a surge in great athletes that captured America’s attention.
Urban versus Rural Conflicts• Highlighted by a widening gap in how race and
religion were viewed.• Events like the Scottsboro trial and Scopes Trial
divided America.
Urban v. Rural Conflicts: Prohibition• Urban America was in favor of a repeal of the 18th
amendment.• The rural communities tended to be more
orthodox in their religious views and didn’t appreciate such ideas.
• “Corn belt versus conveyer belt”• Social results?• Social costs?