Roaring 20sRoaring 20s

League of Nations left much of America

divided Returning soldiers faced unemployment

or took jobs away from women and African-Americans

Many responded by becoming fearful of outsiders Nativism- prejudice against foreign-born

people Isolationism- policy of pulling away from

involvement in world affairs

Postwar Trends

People feared the spread of communism-economic and political system based on a single-party government ruled by a dictatorship In order to equalize wealth and power, communism

would put an end to private property, substituting gov’t ownership of factories, RR, and other businesses

The panic in the US began in 1919 after revolutionaries in Russia (Bolsheviks) overthrew the czarist regime

A Communist party formed in the US and 70,000 joined

Called it the “Red Scare”

Communism

• “Keep America for Americans” became the

attitude of most Americans• As a result of the Red Scare and anti-

immigrant feelings, the KKK rose again– Devoted to “100% Americanism”– Targeted African-Americans, Roman Catholics,

Jews and other foreign-born people• Congress responded to the nativist pressure

by limiting immigration from certain countries– The Emergency Quota Act 1921 set up a quota

system that established a maximum number of people who could enter the US from each country• Designed to limit the number of Southern and Eastern

European immigrants

Limiting Immigration

• Impact of Automobile- became a status

symbol– Led to increase in jobs: Gas stations, repair

shops, motels, tourist camps, shopping centers, Route 66

• Airplane industry- 1927, Pan American Airways inaugurated 1st transatlantic passenger flight

• Electrical conveniences- spread to suburbs– Irons, refrigerators, cooking ranges, etc.

Cultural Changes

• Mass advertising- made brand names familiar

and marketed luxury items to all Americans• Newspapers- more literate Americans led to

increased in newspaper circulations– Shaped cultural norms and sparked fads

• Magazines- mass-circulation to reach a wide audience– Focused on weekly news and culture

Mass Media Shapes Culture

• Radio-MOST POWERFUL COMMUNICATION

MEDIUM OF THE 1920S– Broadcast news, sports, music (jazz), children’s

programs, soap operas– Created a more national culture- different

audiences around the country hearing the same programs

• Movies- offered viewers a way to escape their lives through romance and comedy– Helped promote a national culture

Mass Media continued

Spectator sports became popular Boxing, baseball, college football, golf Babe Ruth electrified Americans Negro National Baseball League

Sports

Between 1920-1929, nearly 2 million people left rural areas for cities every year

City dwellers read and argued about major issues

City dwellers tolerated drinking, gambling, and casual dating

Major battle between traditional and modern values

City Life

In the rebellious, pleasure-loving atmosphere of the 20s, many women began asserting their independence and demanded the same freedom as men

Flapper-an emancipated young woman who embraced new fashions and urban attitudes Close-fitting hats, waist less dresses an inch above the

knee, skin toned stockings, boyish bob hairstyles Began smoking cigarettes, drinking in public, talking

openly about sex Danced the foxtrot, tango, Charleston

Women of the 20s

As the 20’s roared on, many people tried to

combat the changing culture and values of the country

Attempts were made to reign the country back in Prohibition Scopes Trial

Traditional v. Modern Values

• 18th Amendment- est. era of Prohibition-banned the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages

• The US gov’t failed to budget enough money to enforce the law– Speakeasies-underground saloons and nightclubs

that sold alcohol– Bootleggers- people who manufactured or smuggled

illegal liquor

• Led to an increase in organized crime and people making their own liquor

The Prohibition Experiment

• Fundamentalism- belief in the literal

interpretation of the Bible– Led to conflict with some scientific ideas– Rejected the idea that man had evolved from

apes= Darwin’s theory of evolution• Scopes Trial (1925)- Teacher John T. Scopes

violated TN law that banned teaching of evolution in schools– Featured fight between lawyer Clarence Darrow

and prosecution witness William Jennings Bryan– Significance: Highlighted the conflict between

science and fundamentals

Science and Religion

• Literary and artistic movement celebrating African-American culture

• Great Migration brought African Americans to the north

• Many moved to Harlem, a neighborhood on the Upper West Side of NYC– Became the world’s largest black urban

community– Suffered overcrowding, unemployment, and

poverty

Harlem Renaissance

Harlem Renaissance encouraged a new pride in African-

American experiences Wrote about the trials of being black in a white world

Claude McKay-novelist, poet, urged African Americans to resist prejudice and discrimination. Wrote of the pain of life in the black ghettos

Langston Hughes-poet, described difficult lives of working-class African Americans

Zora Neale Hurston-portrayed the lives of poor Southern blacks

Authors

Turn in your 1920s packet

Pick up an agenda and answer the questions on the back

Happy Formal Friday!

Great DepressionGreat Depression

• Prosperity in the 20’s based on credit- “buy

now, pay later”– Installment buying- form of credit with monthly

payments with interest– Overspeculation-buying too many stocks hoping

to sell at a higher price in short period of time, regardless of risk involved

– Buying on margin- paying only a small percentage of a stock’s price as a down payment and borrowing the rest to make a stock purchase

False Prosperity

It was the latest “get rich quick scheme” Everyone was playing the stock market

Putting entire savings into the market Gambling with life savings

And speaking of stocks…..

• Industries were in trouble-after war, production

slowed down, people losing jobs• Farmers in debt- during war, farmers producing a lot

of crops to feed troops but after war they didn’t slow down production– Too much product, what does that mean?

• Consumers had less money- wages were being cut, people losing their jobs= less money in hand to buy luxury items- Creates a cycle of issues

• Credit- people buying more than they can afford, can’t pay off their credit

• Uneven distribution of wealth- rich were not impacted by economic issues

Causes of the Great Depression

• Calvin Coolidge (R) and successor Herbert

Hoover(R) were very pro-business– favored gov’t policies that kept taxes down and

business profits up– Goal was the keep gov’t interference minimal

• Hoover ignored signs of trouble, expecting the marketplace to correct itself

Coolidge and Hoover

• October 29, 1929- the stock market crashed with

16.4 million shares sold in 1 day- prices collapse– Prices of stocks fell-> speculators left with huge

debts that they couldn’t repay to banks ->banks failed -> people lost their savings

• Federal Reserve failed to prevent widespread collapse of the nation’s banking system

• Hawley Smoot Act (1930)- high protective tariff resulted in retaliatory tariffs in other countries, which strangled international trade

Black Tuesday

• Period from 1929-1940 in which the economy

plummeted and unemployment skyrocketed, causing widespread hardship– Businesses failed (90,000)– Collapse of financial system- over 11,000 banks

closed– Unemployment rose to 25% by 1932

Great Depression

Hoover tried to reassure Americans that the

nation’s economy was sound Americans had to remain optimistic

Business as usual Depression is a normal part of the business cycle

The economy will fix itself

Believed government’s role was to encourage and facilitate cooperation not control it

Americans values individualism therefore Hoover opposed any form of federal welfare or direct relief Felt it would weaken peoples self-respect

His answer to the problem was to let individuals, charities and local organizations pitch in and help

Hoover’s approach

• Many lost their homes, jobs– Homelessness increased– Shanty towns emerged- little towns consisting of shacks• Nicknamed “HOOVERVILLES”- after President Hoover

– Soup kitchens– Bread lines

Hardships and Suffering

• Farms were foreclosed on• The Dust Bowl

– drought struck in the 1930s– For decades farmers in the Midwest broke up

farmland, removing the protective grass covering, exposing dirt• Leaving a lot of land unusable• When the drought struck and winds picked up dust

became unbearable• Hardest hit was Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New

Mexico, and Colorado• Many abandoned their farms and moved to California

– Nicknamed “Okies”

Hardships and Suffering

Why did many farm families leave their land

during the Great Depression?

Stop and Think!!

• Wins elections of 1932– Inaugural address rallied a frightened nation• “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”

• Instituted “fireside chats”- radio addresses aimed at restoring American confidence

• Implemented his plan to bring country out of Depression- “New Deal”– Focus of relief, recovery, and reform measures

• First Hundred Days- period of massive reform• 21st Amendment- repeals prohibition

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)

• PROVIDE DIRECT PAYMENT TO PEOPLE FOR

IMMEDIATE HELP- temporary programs• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)-provided jobs for

young single males on conservation projects• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)- provided jobs

building dams to bring water and electricity to poor regions in the South

• Works Progress Administration (WPA)- created as many jobs as quickly as possible– Construction of airports, highways, public buildings– Professional art, music, theater

Relief Measures

• PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO BRING THE NATION

OUT OF THE DEPRESSION OVER TIME- permanent programs

• Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)- aided farmers by regulating crop production so prices would rise

• National Recovery Administration (NRA)- reformed banking practices and established fair codes of competition for businesses

Recovery Measures

• MEASURES THAT ALTERED THE SYSTEMS IN

PLACE TO PREVENT ANOTHER DEPRESSION• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-

protected bank deposits up to $5,000• Wagner Act- defined unfair labor practices and

established a National Labor Relations Board to settle disputes between employers and employees

• Social Security Act (SSA)- provided a pension for retired workers and their spouses and helped people with disabilities

Reform Measures

Changed the role of government- Government

took a more active role in solving the nations problems Public believed the responsibility of the gov’t

was to: Deliver public services Intervene in the economy Act in ways to promote the general welfare

Impact of New Deal