I CAN: Describe & evaluate the impact of
scientific & technological innovations of the 1920s.
Identify & evaluate the impact of new cultural movements on American society in the 1920s.
Identify characteristics of social conflict & social change that took place in the early 1920s.
Flappers
Young women of the 1920s who defied traditional ideas of proper dress and behavior
They shocked society by chopping off their hair, raising their hemlines, wearing makeup, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, and dancing in nightclubs
Effects of Urbanization
For 1st time in history more Americans lived in urban areas than in rural areas
Automobiles allowed people in rural areas to visit cities
An increase in education—states passed compulsory attendance laws
Conflicts over values
The change from rural to urban caused a shift in values
Values—the key ideas and beliefs a person holds
Conflicts over values
To many people rural America represented the traditional spirit of the nation: hardworking, self-reliant, religious, and independent
Cities represented changes that threatened those values
Ku Klux KlanGrew a lot during the 1920sA lot of rural members: mostly
workers, farmers, & small business owners
Saw their status declining and urban America’s as increasing
The Klan targeted recent immigrants (Catholics & Jews) as well as African-Americans
Fundamentalism
The uncertainty that comes with changing times caused many Americans to turn to religion for answers
Fundamentalism—a literal interpretation of the Bible
Fundamentalists
Billy Sunday—former ballplayer turned revivalist preacher; he condemned radicals & criticized the changing attitudes of women
Fundamentalists
Aimee Semple McPherson—preacher who embraced glamour, but preached fundamentalism & was known for healing the sick through prayer
Fundamentalists
Holy Hypocrisy?Sister Aimee Semple McPherson was at the center of a scandal in the 1920s when she disappeared and later was accused of staging her own kidnapping in which a ransom note demanded $500,000 for her safe return. McPherson ultimately was charged with obstructing justice, but the charges were later dropped. Still, her popularity waned after the kidnap scandal.
Fundamentalism vs. modern science
• Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution– Inherited characteristics of a population
change over generations and as a result of these changes new species sometimes arise
• Fundamentalists believed that this theory went against the teachings of the Bible
• Several states banned the teaching of evolution including Tennessee in 1925
The Scopes “Monkey” Trial
• Tennessee teacher John Scopes challenged Tennessee’s anti-evolution law
• One of Scopes’ attorneys was Clarence Darrow– The most famous
criminal lawyer in the U.S.
• William Jennings Bryan helped the prosecution– 3-time candidate for
president; leading fundamentalist
Prohibition
Many people had fought to outlaw alcoholWomen’s Christian Temperance Union
Arguments against alcohol:It hurt familiesIt promoted crimeGrain was needed for food during WWICertain immigrant groups abused
alcohol
Prohibition
18th Amendment—Ratified in 1919Made it illegal to
manufacture, transport, or sell alcohol in the United States
Prohibition
Alcohol consumption was reduced
Enforcing the law proved impossibleBootleggers—
alcohol smugglersOrganized crime
Al CaponeSpeakeasies—illegal
bars Al Capone
Zora Neale HurstonBegan writing short stories and plays
Attended Barnard College & studied anthropology
Did scholarly work on African American folklore
Wrote novels during the 1930s
One of the leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance
Great MigrationDuring World War I, many African Americans fled the South
They were fleeing segregation, racism, and lack of good jobs
They went to northern cities such as New York, Chicago, and Detroit
This major relocation of African Americans is known as the Great Migration
The states in blue had the ten largest net gains of African Americans, while the states in red had the ten largest net losses.[
African Americans after World War IFound opportunities in the North but did not escape racism
Shortage of jobs after World War I caused racial tensions
Wave of racial violence in the summer of 1919
Riots
African Americans felt they had earned greater freedom by fighting in World War I
Many whites didn’t think so
HarlemBy early 1920s, about 200,000 African Americans had moved to New York City
Most of them moved into a neighborhood called Harlem
Harlem became the unofficial capital of African American culture and activism
W.E.B. Du BoisKey figure in the rise of Harlem
One of the founders of the NAACP
Editor of a magazine called The Crisis
Du Bois and The Crisis helped promote an African American arts movement in New York City
Harlem Renaissance
Marcus GarveyJamaican born, proud of his African heritage
Founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association –UNIA
Promoted self-reliance for Blacks
Believed Blacks should look out for their own interests without whites
“Back to Africa”
Black Star Line
Critical of Du Bois and the NAACP
Convicted of mail fraud & deported
James Weldon JohnsonMan of many talents
Journalist, educator, lawyer, musician, poetWrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
Became NAACP’s official anthemLeader of the NAACP
Claude McKay, “If We Must Die,” 1919
If we must die, let it not be like hogsHunted and penned in an inglorious spot,While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,Making their mock at our accursed lot.If we must die, O let us nobly die,So that our precious blood may not be shedIn vain; then even the monsters we defyShall be constrained to honor us though dead!O kinsmen we must meet the common foe!Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!What though before us lies the open grave?Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
JazzHarlem was a center for jazz
Jazz blended several different musical forms from the South into a wholly original American form of music
The Savoy was a popular dance venue from the late 1920s to the 1950s and many dances such as Lindy Hop became famous here. It was known downtown as the "Home of Happy Feet" but uptown, in Harlem, as "the Track". Unlike the 'whites only' policy of the Cotton Club, the Savoy Ballroom was integrated where white and black Americans danced together
The Cotton Club was a famous night club in Harlem, New York City that operated during Prohibition that included jazz music. While the club featured many of the greatest African American entertainers of the era, such as Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Adelaide Hall, Count Basie, Bessie Smith, Cab Calloway, The Nicholas Brothers, Lottie Gee, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday and Ethel Waters, it generally denied admission to blacks
RADIO Invented by Guglielmo Marconi in the
late 1800s First commercial broadcast was in 1920
KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Radio helped to create a shared culture
in America
MOVIES Exploded in popularity during
the 1920s Movies became longer, more of
an art formThe Birth of a Nation
Movies had sound for the first timeThe Jazz Singer
THE BIRTH OF A NATION1915 silent film directed by D. W. Griffith; one of the most influential and controversial of American motion pictures
noted for its innovative technical and narrative achievements, and its status as the first Hollywood "blockbuster."
Hero
Lucky LindyFirst solo trans-Atlantic flightNew York to Paris—May 21, 1927Thirty-three and one-half hours
Charles Lindbergh
Hero
First woman to fly across the AtlanticDisappeared in 1937 attempting to fly around the world
Amelia Earhart
Sports Heroes Helen Wills
Helen Wills competing at the 1924 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, where she won gold medals in singles and doubles competition.