The Roaring 20’s

1. The Roaring 20’s Chapter 12-13

2. Goals and Objectives: • Upon completion, students should be able to: • Explain the term the Roaring 20’s • Describe political, economic and social conditions of the 1920’s. • Explain the term “The Red Scare” • Summarize the impacts of the “Red Scare” on immigration and policies.

3. What were the Roaring 20’s? • -The “Roaring 20’s” referred to the rapid changes that occurred in the United States in the 1920’s. • There were many political, economic and social changes during this time period.

4. The Roaring 20’s

5. Political Changes 1) The 19th Amendment was passed in 1920 and gave women the right to vote. 2) The 18th Amendment was still in effect but was considered widely ineffective because it was difficult to enforce. 3) President Wilson left the presidency in 1920 and was replaced by Warren G. Harding who had campaigned under a pledge to return America to normalcy.

6. The challenges of enforcing prohibition

7. The Harding presidency • -Harding appointed many of his close friends and supporters to cabinet positions, they were called “The Ohio gang”. • -plagued by constant scandal including the “Teapot Dome Scandal” in which his secretary of Interior, Albert B. Fall transferred oil reserves from the navy to close friends in exchange for a $400,000 cash payment. (He was later convicted of bribery and corruption)

8. Harding continued • Harding also pushed the U.S. into a period of isolationism”, a policy in which the U.S.did not become involved in foreign affairs. • Harding also signed the Kellogg-BriandPact, an international agreement in which the use of war was banned as a method of solving disputes. • He pushed for the Fordney-McCumber tariff which raised tariffs nearly 60%, this benefitted U.S. businesses but made it difficult for Britain and France to repay war debts to the U.S. • He also arranged the Dawes plan loaning 2.5 billion dollars to Germany to repay war debts to France and England. (The shell game)

9. Harding’s death • August 2 1923, he suffered a massive stroke or heart attack and died. • His Vice President, Calvin Coolidge became president.

10. Isolationism Major OGT Concept • America had been in three wars in the previous 22 years and many Americans were highly frustrated with this 2) Many Americans were horrified with both the human and dollar cost of WWI. 3) The U.S. Senate refused to join the league of nations, America was not overly involved in foreign affairs 4) As a result defense spending decreased greatly.

11. The Coolidge presidency • Coolidge as a president favored big businesses. • Taxes were kept low and in the mid 1920’s, the economic boom continued. • Industries such as the automobile and new technologies thrived. • America’s first highway system project began under Coolidge. • In 1928, Coolidge would choose not to run for reelection and was replaced by Herbert Hoover. at this point the republican party was firmly in control of Washington.

12. Questions for review

13. The 19th Amendment provided for • The direct election of U.S. Senators • A national income tax • Women gaining the right to vote • A ban on alcohol

14. Which statement best explains Harding’s campaign slogan “a return to normalcy? • The U.S. would reemerge as a military power • The economic boom of the U.S. would slow down • Progressivism and U.S. involvement in foreign conflict would end • The democratic party would assume power

15. Evaluate the following statements and select the one that appears to be correct: • The 18th amendment worked because states cooperated in enforcement of it • The 18th amendment failed because the supreme court deemed it unconstitutional • The 18th amendment failed because it was too difficult to enforce and led to additional problems • The 18th amendment was never enacted

16. Political summary of the 20’s • The republican party took control because many wanted a return to normalcy. • Harding and Coolidge programs favored big business and the wealthy • Americans wanted a U.S. foreign policy resembling isolationism as they were tired of war. • Progressivism had ended after WWI but women were much more involved as voters and even candidates. • African-Americans still faced difficulty in voting or gaining political power.

17. Economic changes in the 20’s • A wave of new inventions led to a boom in purchasing of consumer goods. • American businesses had thrived during the war years but failed to slow down production. • Americans consumers bought many goods but became more reliant on credit.

18. Types of consumer goods • The rapid growth of the automobile led to a boom in the industry. (Model T to Model A) price=$495 • Highways and roads were being built nationwide and new service industries opened as a result. Architecture also changed, garages in homes • The airplane industry also expanded.

19. Electrical goods • Electricity was available to most homes in the urban areas • Electric refrigerators, vacuums, washing machines, irons, cooking ranges and toasters became common items in homes.

20. Boom industries

21. Installment plans • -the process of buying goods on credit and paying off these goods during an extended period of time. • Today many goods such as cars, homes, expensive technologies, computers and other goods are purchased using this approach; in the 20’s this was very common. Discussion question Was this a factor in the economic crisis that we are currently in?

22. Standard of living • In the 20’s, this was considered to be a prosperous time as Americans owned 40% of the world’s wealth. • The average American income increased by an average of 35% during the decade. • Most Americans were convinced that this prosperity would last forever, it would not.

23. Banking system • U.S. banks freely loaned money at the start of the decade but many borrowers were unable to repay debts leading to a banking crisis by the end of the decade. Does this sound familiar???????? What steps are in place today to keep banks from collapsing?

24. The Stock Market • Speculation-buying stocks and bonds in the hope that they will turn a quick profit. • This process often backfired and many lost fortunes in the stock market. • This was also a reason for the start of the depression. • Stocks greatly increased in value at the start of the decade leading many to believe this was the best way to make money.

25. Labor Issues • John L. Lewisbecame a labor leader of the United Mine workers. He ordered a strike in 1919 and got into a feud with A. Mitchell Palmer. He won the dispute and saw workers receive a 27% pay increase. • Steel workers struck in 1919 and it lasted until 1920. • The Boston police struck in 1919 resulting in Calvin Coolidge firing the police and calling in the national guard. • In total over 3,000 strikes took place in 1919 but by the end of the 1920’s unionism declined as many viewed it as “un-American”.

26. Discussion questions • What limits should exist for labor unions? • Are there specific jobs in which labor strikes should be banned? • Should the president have the authority to order an end to a labor strike? (air traffic controllers 1986)

27. Questions for review

28. The banks were in crisis by the end of the 1920’s because • Many consumers had over borrowed and could not repay debts • The currency system in the U.S. was devalued as compared to Europe • The banks had refused to loan money to consumers • Industry had taken over the bank system

29. Which statement best reflects America’s standard of living during the 1920’s? • It decreased by global comparisons. • It increased greatly • It decreased at the start of the decade but increased by the end of the decade • It showed no real significant change after the war

30. Which industry likely showed the least growth during the 1920’s? • The automobile • Technologies (refrigerators, washing machines) • Housing construction • Military defense contracting

31. 1920’s economic summary • American businesses failed to adjust to a peacetime economy and overproduced. • Americans became very reliant on credit as the decade progressed. • The automobile and technology industries exploded during the decade. • Banks extended far too much credit to consumers and experienced collapse at the end of the decade. • Consumerism was the economic theme of the decade and advertising became a focal point of businesses. • Many tried to make a quick profit on the stock market by using “speculation”, this failed • The depression would begin in 1929.

32. Social Changes during the 20’s • The Red Scare- the period during the 1920’s in which fear focused on rising spread of communism • This was a response to the Russian revolution of 1917 in which communists took power. • U.S. attorney general A. Mitchell Palmer led a series of raids against suspected anarchists, communists and socialists. • Mitchell feared there was a plot to overthrow the government but was unable to identify any credible evidence.

33. The Red Scare and Nativism • The main product of the Red Scare was the rise of nativism, the fear of foreigners and the growth of favorable treatment for American born citizens. • Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian immigrants were charged and convicted of robbery and murder of a paymaster. They were convicted despite weak and circumstantial evidence. • Both were executed and many were outraged at the treatment they were given.

34. Immigration • Nativism increased because many feared foreigners were taking American jobs. • The KKK expanded into the north and began targeting immigrants as well as African-Americans, membership grew. • The emergency Quota Act of 1921 set up a quota limiting the number of immigrants to 2% of the number of nationals living in the U.S. • This quota targeted eastern and southern Europeans as well as Catholics and Jews but did not apply to persons in western Europe or in the Americas.

35. War and intolerance

36. Women during the 1920’s • During the 1920’s women first gained the right to vote. • More women worked and attended college than in previous history. • Flappers- women with new freedoms who embraced new fashions and urban attitudes and became more assertive. • Many women also juggled careers and families

37. African-Americans during the 1920’s • The Great Migration- the mass movement of African-Americans from the south to the north. This occurred for economic reasons as well as a desire to escape racist policies in the south. • Racism did not stop in the south and followed many African-Americans to the north. • By 1920 over 40% of the nations African-American population lived in urban cities.

38. The Great Migration

39. The Harlem Renaissance • Harlem, NY became the largest black urban community • Harlem suffered from overcrowding, unemployment and poverty • However, in the 1920s it was home to a literary and artistic revival known as the Harlem Renaissance

40. Langston Hughes: • Missouri-born Langston Hughes was the movement’s best known poet • Many of his poems described the difficult lives of working-class blacks • Some of his poems were put to music, especially jazz and blues

41. Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston wrote novels, short stories and poems She often wrote about the lives of poor, unschooled Southern blacks She focused on the culture of the people– their folkways and values

42. African American Performers: During the 1920s, black performers won large followings Paul Robeson, son of a slave, became a major dramatic actor His performance in Othello was widely praised

43. Louis Armstrong: • Jazz was born in the early 20th century • In 1922, a young trumpet player named Louis Armstrong joined the Creole Jazz Band • Later he joined Fletcher Henderson’s band in NYC • Armstrong is considered the most important and influential musician in the history of jazz

44. Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington: • In the late 1920s, Duke Ellington, a jazz pianist and composer, led his ten-piece orchestra at the famous Cotton Club • Ellington won renown as one of America’s greatest composers

45. Bessie Smith: • Bessie Smith, blues singer, was perhaps the most outstanding vocalist of the decade • She achieved enormous popularity and by 1927 she became the highest- paid black artist in the world

46. African American Goals: • Founded in 1909, the NAACP urged African Americans to protest racial violence • W.E.B Dubois, a founding member, led a march of 10,000 black men in NY to protest violence

47. Popular culture during the 1920’s

48. Key people • Charles Lindberg gained national fame for flying across the Atlantic in 1927. • George Gershwin was a famed jazz composer. • Georgia O’Keefe was the most famous painter of this era. • Ernest Hemingway was perhaps the most famous writer who wrote “A Farewell to Arms”. • F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote “The Great Gatsby”. • Babe Ruth was the most celebrated athlete of this era.

49. The Jazz Age

50. The Harlem Renaissance is best defined as • The mass movement of African-Americans to the north • The celebration of literature and culture for African-Americans • The blending of European and African art • The expansion of industry in Harlem.