The Flapper• Flapper—emancipated young woman, adopts new fashions, attitudes• Many young women want equal status with men, become assertive• Middle-class men, women begin to see marriage as equal partnership- housework, child-rearing still woman’s job The Double Standard• Elders disapprove new behavior and its promotion by periodicals, ads• Casual dating begins to replace formal courtship• Women subject to double standard (less sexual freedom than men)- must observe stricter standards of behavior

New Work Opportunities• After war, employers replace female workers

with men• Female college graduates become teachers, nurses, librarians• Many women become clerical workers as demand rises• Some become sales clerks, factory workers• Few become managers; always paid less than men

The Changing Family• Birthrate drops partly due to more birth-control information• Manufactured products, public services give homemakers

freedom• Housewives can focus more on families, pastimes, not

housework• Marriages increasingly based on romantic love, companionship• Children spend most of day at school, organized activities

- adolescents resist parental control• Working-class, college-educated women juggle family, work School Enrollments• High school population increases dramatically in 1920s due to:

- prosperity- higher standards for industry jobs

• Pre-1920s, high school for college-bound students• In 1920s, high schools also offer vocational training• Public schools prepare immigrant children who speak no English• School taxes increase as school costs rise sharply

Expanding News Coverage• Mass media shapes mass culture; takes

advantage of greater literacy• By 1914, hundreds of local newspapers

replaced by national chains

Radio Comes of Age• Radio is most powerful communications

medium of 1920s• Networks provide shared national experience • - can hear news as it happens• 1920s, mass-market magazines thrive;

Reader’s Digest, Time founded

New-Found Leisure Time• In 1920s, many people have extra money,

leisure time to enjoy it• Crowds attend sports events; athletes

glorified by mass media

Lindbergh’s Flight• Charles A. Lindbergh makes first solo nonstop flight across Atlantic• Small-town Minnesotan symbolizes honesty, bravery in age of excess• Lindbergh paves the way for other pilots

Entertainment and the Arts• Silent movies already a national pastime• Introduction of sound leads millions to attend every week• Playwrights, composers break away from European traditions• George Gershwin uses jazz to create American music• Painters portray American realities, dreams• Georgia O’Keeffe paints intensely colored canvases of New York

Writers of the 1920s• Sinclair Lewis is first American to win Nobel Prize for literature - criticizes conformity, materialism• F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals negative side of era’s gaiety, freedom• Edna St. Vincent Millay celebrates youth, independence in her poems• Writers soured by American culture, war settle in Europe - called Lost Generation • Expatriate Ernest Hemingway introduces simple, tough, American style

The Move North• 1910–1920, Great Migration of thousands

of African Americans- move from South to Northern cities • By 1920, over 40% of African Americans

live in cities• Racial tensions escalate in North; about 25

urban race riots in 1919• African-Americans continue to migrate in

large numbers in 1920s

African-American Goals• National Association for the Advancement

of Colored People (NAACP)- protests racial violence• NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson

fights for civil rights legislation• NAACP antilynching campaign leads to

drop in number of lynchings

Marcus Garvey and the UNIA• Marcus Garvey founds Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)- believes African Americans should build separate society • Garvey promotes black pride, black businesses, return to Africa

African-American Writers• Harlem world’s largest black urban area; people from U.S., Caribbean• Harlem Renaissance—African-American literary, artistic movement - express pride in African-American experience• Claude McKay’s poems urge blacks to resist prejudice, discrimination• Langston Hughes’s poems describe difficult lives of working class- many written in jazz, blues tempo

African-American Performers• Influence, popularity of Harlem Renaissance go

beyond black audience• Musical comedy Shuffle Along launches

movement - is popular with white audiences• African-American performers win large

followings• Paul Robeson—major dramatic actor in London, New York

African Americans and Jazz• Jazz born in early 20th century New Orleans, spreads across U.S.• Trumpeter Louis Armstrong makes personal expression key part of jazz- most influential musician in jazz history • Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington—jazz pianist, orchestra leader- one of America’s greatest composers• Cab Calloway, Armstrong popularize scat (improvised jazz singing)• Bessie Smith—blues singer, perhaps best vocalist of decade

Chapter 14 The Great Depression Industries in Trouble• Key industries like railroads, textiles, steel barely make profit• Mining, lumbering expanded during war; no longer in high

demand• Coal especially hard-hit due to availability of new energy sources• Boom industries—automobiles, construction, consumer goods—

now weak • Housing starts decline

Farmers Need a Lift• International demand for U.S. grain declines after war - prices drop by 40% or more• Farmers boost production to sell more; prices drop further• Farm income declines; farmers default on loans; rural banks fail•Price-supports—government buys surplus crops, guarantees prices- Coolidge vetoes price-support bill

Consumers Have Less Money to Spend• People buy less due to rising prices, stagnant wages, credit debts

Living on Credit• Many people buy goods on credit (buy now, pay later)• Businesses give easy credit; consumers pile up large debts• Consumers have trouble paying off debt, cut back on spending

Uneven Distribution of Income• In 1920s, rich get richer, poor get poorer• 70% of families earn less than minimum for decent standard of

living• Most cannot afford flood of products factories produce

The Election of 1928• Democrat Alfred E. Smith—four times governor of New York• Republican Herbert Hoover gets overwhelming victory

Dreams of Riches in the Stock Market• Dow Jones Industrial Average tracks state of stock market• 1920s, stock prices rise steadily; people rush to buy stocks, bonds• Many engage in speculation, buy on chance of a quick profit• Buying on margin—pay small percent of price, borrow rest

Black Tuesday• September 1929 stock prices peak, then

fall; investors begin selling• October 29 or Black Tuesday, market,

nation’s confidence plummet• Shareholders sell frantically; millions of

shares have no buyers• People who bought on credit left with

huge debts• Others lose most of their savingsBank and Business Failures• Great Depression—economy plummets, unemployment skyrockets- lasts from 1929–1940• After crash, people panic, withdraw

money from banks• Banks that invested in stocks fail; people

lose their money• 1929–1932, gross national product cut

nearly in half- 90,000 businesses go bankrupt• 1933, 25% of workers jobless; those with

jobs get cuts in hours, pay

Worldwide Shock Waves• Great Depression limits U.S. ability to import European goods• Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act sets highest protective tariff ever in U.S.• Other countries cannot earn American currency to buy U.S. goods• International trade drops; unemployment soars around world

Causes of the Great Depression• Factors leading to Great Depression:- tariffs, war debts, farm problems, easy credit, income disparity• Federal government keeps interest rates low, encourages borrowing

The Depression in the Cities• People lose jobs, are evicted from homes• Shantytowns, settlements consisting of shacks, arise in cities• People dig through garbage, beg• Soup kitchens offer free or low-cost food• Bread lines—people line up for food from charities, public agencies• African Americans, Latinos have higher unemployment, lower pay

The Depression in Rural Areas• Most farmers can grow food for their

families• About 400,000 farms lost through

foreclosure- many become tenant farmers

The Dust Bowl• Farmers in Great Plains exhaust land through overproduction• 1930s, drought, windstorms hit; soil scattered for hundreds of miles• Dust Bowl— area from North Dakota to Texas that is hardest hit • Many farm families migrate to Pacific Coast states

Hardship and the Family• Family is source of strength for most

Americans• Some families break apart under strain of

making ends meet

Men in the Streets• Many men used to working, supporting

families have difficulty coping- cannot find jobs• About 300,000 hoboes wander country on

railroad box cars• No federal system of direct relief—cash or

food from government

Women Struggle to Survive• Homemakers budget carefully, can food,

sew clothes• Women work outside home; resented by

unemployed men

Children Suffer Hardships• Poor diets, health care lead to serious

health problems in children• Lack of tax revenue leads to shortened

school year, school closings• Teenagers leave home, ride trains in search

of work, adventure• Many women suffer in silence, ashamed to

stand in bread lines

Social and Psychological Effects• 1928–1932, suicide rate rises over 30%• Admissions to state mental hospitals triple• People give up health care, college, put off

marriage, children• Stigma of poverty doesn’t disappear; financial

security becomes goal• Many show great kindness to strangers• Develop habit of saving and thriftiness

Hoover’s Philosophy• President Herbert Hoover tells Americans

economy is sound• Many experts believe depressions a normal part

of business cycle• Hoover: government should foster cooperation

between competing groups• People should take care of own families, not

depend on government

Hoover Takes Cautious Steps• Calls meeting of business, banking, labor leaders

to solve problems • Creates organization to help private charities

raise money for poor

Boulder Dam• Hoover’s Boulder Dam on Colorado River is massive

project- later renamed Hoover Dam

• Provides electricity, flood control, water to states on river basin

Democrats Win in 1930 Congressional Elections• As economic problems increase, Hoover, Republicans

blamed• Democrats win House; Republican Senate majority

down to 1 vote• Farmers try to create food shortages to raise prices• Widespread criticism of Hoover: shantytowns called

“Hoovervilles”

Hoover Backs Cooperatives• Hoover negotiates agreements among private entities• Backs Federal Farm Board (organization of farm

cooperatives)- buy crops, keep off market until prices rise

• Gets large banks to establish National Credit Corporation

Direct Intervention• Federal Home Loan Bank Act lowers mortgage rates• Reconstruction Finance Corporation—emergency funds for businesses• Hoover’s measures don’t improve economy before presidential election

The Patman Bill Denied• Bonus Army—veterans go to D.C. in 1932 to support Patman Bill:- want payment of bonus• Hoover opposes bill; Senate votes down bill• Most veterans leave Washington; about 2,000 stay to speak to Hoover

Hoover Disbands the Bonus Army• Hoover fears violence, calls on U.S. Army to

disband Bonus Army• Infantry tear gas over 1,000 people, including

children; many injured• Public is stunned, outraged by government’s

actions

Chapter 15 The New Deal Electing Franklin Delano Roosevelt• Democrats nominate NY governor Franklin

Delano Roosevelt - reform-minded; projects friendliness, confidence• Democrats overwhelmingly win presidency,

Senate, House

Waiting for Roosevelt to Take Over• With “Brain Trust,” FDR formulates policies to alleviate problems• New Deal—relief for needy, economic recovery, financial reform

The Hundred Days• FDR launches Hundred Days; passes over

15 major New Deal laws • Emergency Banking Relief Act permits

Treasury Dept. to inspect banks- decides which are insolvent, sound, or need loans- public confidence in banks revived

An Important Fireside Chat• FDR gives fireside chats—radio talks explaining

New Deal measures• First chat discusses need for public support of

government, banks

Regulating Banking and Finance• Glass-Steagall Act establishes Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation- insures individual bank accounts, regulates banking practices• Federal Securities Act—companies must give all information on stocks• Securities and Exchange Commission created to regulate stock market• FDR gets law allowing production of some alcoholic beverages• 21st Amendment repeals prohibition by end of 1933

Rural Assistance• Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) raises food prices, lowers supply• Tennessee Valley Authority creates jobs renovating, building dams

Providing Work Projects• Civilian Conservation Corps—public works jobs for young men• Public Works Administration—money to states to create jobs• Civil Works Administration builds rural schools, pays teachers

Promoting Fair Practices• NIRA establishes codes of fair practice for industries- creates National Recovery Administration (NRA)• NRA sets standards, prices, limits production

Food, Clothing, and Shelter• Home Owners Loan Corporation gives loans to

prevent foreclosures• Federal Housing Administration gives loans for

mortgages, repairs• Federal Emergency Relief Administration—

direct relief to needy

Opposition to the New Deal• Deficit spending—spending more money than government takes in - funds New Deal• Liberals: New Deal does not do enough to help poor, fix economy• Conservatives: New Deal used to control business, socialize economy

The Supreme Court Reacts• Supreme Court strikes down NIRA, AAA as

unconstitutional• FDR proposes “Court-packing bill”; Congress, press

protest• Starting in 1937, justices retire; FDR appoints seven new

ones

Three Fiery Critics• Some conservative opponents form American Liberty

League• Think measures violate respect for personal rights,

property• Father Charles Coughlin withdraws initial support of New

Deal- wants guaranteed income, banks nationalized• Dr. Francis Townsend devises pension plan for elderly• Presidential hopeful, Senator Huey Long has popular

social program

Furthering the New Deal • By 1935, economic recovery not as great as FDR had

expected• FDR launches second phase: more relief for farmers,

workers• First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a social reformer, prods

president

Reelecting FDR• 1936, Democrats win presidency, large majorities in both

houses• First time most African Americans vote Democratic• First time labor unions support presidential candidate

Focusing on Farms• 1936 Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act

replaces AAA- rewards farmers for practicing soil conservation• New Agricultural Adjustment Act avoids unconstitutional

provision• Resettlement Administration gives loans to small

farmers to buy land• Farm Security Administration—loans to tenant farmers

to buy land• FSA hires photographers to shoot rural towns, farms,

farmer

Programs for Urban Workers• Works Progress Administration (WPA)—creates jobs• WPA workers build airports, roads, public buildings• Women workers sew clothes for the needy• WPA employs professional writers, artists, performers• National Youth Administration (NYA)—education, jobs, counseling• Gives aid to students in exchange for part-time work

Improving Labor Conditions•National Labor Relations Act, or Wagner Act, replaces NIRA:- protects right to join unions, collective bargaining- prohibits unfair labor practices• National Labor Relations Board hears testimony about

labor practices• Holds elections to determine if workers want unions• Fair Labor Standards Act sets maximum hours, minimum

wage

The Social Security Act• 1935, Social Security Act creates Social Security system;

provides:- insurance for retirees 65 or older- unemployment compensation- aid to disabled, families with children

Supporters and Critics of the New Deal• Conservatives think FDR made federal

government too large- stifled free enterprise, individual initiative• Liberals: didn’t do enough to socialize

economy, end inequalities• Supporters: did help country recover from

economic difficulties

Expanding Government’s Role in the Economy• FDR expands power of federal government, president• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) regulates banking• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates investment• New Deal does not end Depression; does reduce suffering, give hope• Federal government goes deeply into debt to create jobs, give aid• Massive spending on equipment, supplies for WW II end Depression

Expanding and Regulating Utilities• Rural Electrification Administration brings

electricity to farms• Public Utility Holding Company Act aims to

stop financial corruptionWomen Make their Mark• Frances Perkins, secretary of labor, is first female cabinet member• FDR also appoints 2 women as diplomats, 1 as federal judge• Women still face discrimination in workplace from male workers• NRA sets some lower minimum wages for women• Federal work programs hire far fewer women than men• Only slight increase in overall % of women working for wages

African Americans Take Leadership Roles• FDR appoints more than 100 African Americans to government

- Mrs. Roosevelt plays key role• Educator Mary McLeod Bethune heads Division of Negro Affairs

of NYA• Helps organize “Black Cabinet” of African-American advisers• Daughters of American Revolution refuse Marian Anderson

concert• Mrs. Roosevelt resigns; arranges for Lincoln Memorial concert

The President Fails to Support Civil Rights• FDR afraid of upsetting white Southern Democratic voters• Refuses to approve antilynching law, end to poll tax• New Deal agencies discriminate against African Americans

- pay them lower wages, favor whites• African Americans help organize Southern Tenant Farmers Union• Generally support Roosevelt administration,

New Deal

Mexican Americans Under FDR• Mexican Americans generally support New Deal• Many come to U.S. in 1920s, settle mainly in Southwest

- work on farms• CCC, WPA help some Mexican Americans• Disqualify migrant workers with no permanent address

Native Americans and the New Deal• 1924, Native Americans receive full citizenship• John Collier, commissioner of Indian affairs, changes policies• Indian Reorganization Act favors native autonomy, mandates changes:

- lands belong to entire tribe; government can’t sell unclaimed areas

- children can attend schools on reservations- tribes elect tribal councils to govern reservations

The New Deal Coalition•New Deal Coalition—different groups that support Democratic Party

Labor Unions Flourish• Prolabor legislation leads unions to donate

money for FDR reelection• 1933–1941, union membership grows

from 3 million to over 10 million• American Federation of Labor traditionally

craft unions only• Committee for Industrial Organization

organizes industrial unions• Expelled by AFL, becomes Congress of

Industrial Organizations (CIO)

Labor Disputes• Sit-down strike important bargaining tactic

of 1930s- prevents owners from hiring strikebreakers• NLRB forces Republic Steel to negotiate

after clash with strikers

FDR Wins in 1936• Political organizations in large Northern cities support FDR• Urban, religious, ethnic groups also support FDR- FDR appoints officials of urban-immigrant background

Movies are a Hit• About 65% of population goes to movies once a week• Films offer escape from reality; show wealth, romance, fun• Gone With the Wind—perhaps most famous film of era• Musicals—live action or animated—way to forget problems• Comedies, realistic gangster movies especially popular• Several films present New Deal policies in positive light

Radio Entertains• 90% of households have a radio; families listen together every day• Dramas, variety shows play in evening• Orson Welles—actor, director, producer, writer • Soap operas for homemakers broadcast in middle of day• Children’s shows after school hours• Immediate news coverage becomes customary

Diverse Writers Depict American Life• Federal Writers’ Project supports many who become major writers• Richard Wright, African-American author, writes Native Son• John Steinbeck writes The Grapes of Wrath about Dust Bowl migrants• Some writers examine difficulty of life in 1930s• Others show dignity of ordinary people, values of small-town life

New Deal Ends• By 1937, economic improvement convinces

many Depression is ending• Congress wants to cut back programs; by

1939, New Deal over

Protecting Workers’ Rights• New Deal laws set standards, ban child labor, permit unions - establish policies followed today• National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) still mediates labor disputes

Banking and Finance• SEC still monitors stock market, enforces laws on

stock, bond sales• FDIC still protects individual investors in case of

bank failure

Social Security• Federal government takes responsibility for

citizens’ welfare • Provides for aged, disabled, needy

The Rural Scene• Commodity Credit Corporation makes loans to

farmers- based on amount of farmer’s surplus, parity price• Parity price—price intended to keep farmers’ income steadyAgricultural price supports set precedent of federal aid to farmers

The Environment• CCC plants trees, builds hiking trails, fire

lookout towers• Soil Conservation Service teaches methods

to preserve soil• Taylor Grazing Act reduces grazing on

public lands• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) creates

electricity, prevents floods• Government adds national parks, wildlife

refuges, wilderness areas• Government-sponsored stripmining, coal

burning cause pollution