the roaring 20s “the jazz age” - 13.1 - society in the 1920s

The Roaring 20sThe Roaring 20s“The Jazz Age”“The Jazz Age”

- 13.1 -- 13.1 -Society in the 1920sSociety in the 1920s

Politics

1920 Presidential Election

Warren G. Harding

Republican - Ohio1921 - 1923

After WW1:

Promises Americans

“A return to normalcy”

and economic growth.

Republican Leadership

• Very Pro-Business• Public felt the

Republicans’ would be better suited to handle the Commies and the Economy

• In favor of isolationist foreign policy & a laissez-faire business policy.

Republican Scandals

• Many scandals rocked the Harding administration• Harding was most likely not involved• Biggest scandal was the “Teapot Dome Scandal” – Money for Oil land in

Wyoming & California• Harding dies in office. (Maybe because of pressure of scandals)

Calvin Coolidge• Vice President

• Squeaky-clean pristine reputation (no scandals)

• “The chief business of the American people is business”

• “Laissez Faire” business policies

o Vladimir Lenin takes control of Russia in 1917.

o He declares a communist state & economy

o Communism completely opposes American capitalism

o Lenin Advocates the WORLD WIDE SPREAD of Communism.

o Communism terrifies Americans.

The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia

The Red Scare

– Americans were nervous about the Commies

– Led to a sudden, intense fear of Communism, Radical Ideas, and Foreigners. This fear was collectively known as “The Red Scare”…

Nativist Ideals lead to Iimits on immigration

National Origins Act of 1924

Scales back immigration to pre-1890 levels (this is done to eliminate Southern, Eastern and Central Europeans)

They might be communists.

Sacco and Vanzetti -

Two Italianan anarchists who were charged, convicted, and executed for a crime they didn’t commit because they were foreigners with radical ideas.

Most Americans felt they were framed because they were immigrants who had different beliefs than most Americans.

Fallout from the Red Scare

Revival of the Klan

• Spread to the North• 4 Million Members• Biggest state was Indiana• Had several marches on

Washington DC• Targeted Blacks, Jews

Catholics and Immigrants

Rise of the NAACP• Failed Anti-Lynching Legislation• Tried fighting discrimination through the courts

The Garvey Movement

• Marcus Garvey• Jamaican Immigrant• Businessman• Promoted black pride,

separation of the races, and a return to Africa

• Created the largest Pan-African Movement in History

• Controversial figure within the Black Community

• Met with Klan Leaders

• Movement failed, but inspired others

American Indian Citizenship Act

• granted full citizenship to American indigenous populations

• Created to ensure Indians do not become communists!

Inventions/Technology

New products (especially electronic

household items, i.e., washing machine, vacuum, ovens, etc.)

Henry Ford and Mass Production

• Ford revolutionized mass production by making the assembly line more efficient.

• Ford wanted to produce cars that ordinary people could afford.

Ford’s Innovations Power the Economy

• Assembly line - Use of assembly line increased productivity in the workplace by making workers jobs simple and repetitive

• Productivity rose throughout American companies because of new resources, better assembly techniques, new management techniques, and new technologies

Glenn Curtiss

• Created the U. S. aircraft industry

• Also built cars, motorcycles, & bicycles

GeographyGeography

Americans movingAmericans moving

• Rural / Urban split– Majority of

Americans now lived in cities.

– Split is more than geographical.

• Young vs. Old

Americans movingAmericans moving• Urban growth

– Farmers passed over by post-WWI industrial boom

• 6 million migrated

– Blacks head to northern cities during WWI

• Booming industrial jobs• Great Migration

Americans movingAmericans moving• North Americans

– Congress limited European immigration during WWI

• Canadians - Northeast• Mexicans – Southwest

– Barrios

• Puerto Ricans – NYC

Americans movingAmericans moving• White flight

– Influx of newcomers + transportation improvements• Busses replace trolleys and subways• Continued growth of the suburbs

Economics

What new industries sprang up as a result of the automobile boom?

• Garages• Car Dealerships• Gas Stations• Motels

New industries cont…

• Campgrounds• Public Transportation • Freight Transportation• Highway construction

What happened to America’s top companies during the 1920’s?

• They doubled in worth under Republican Leadership

• America was experiencing an unprecedented economic boom! (Time period of economic prosperity)

What is a Consumer Economy?

• An economy that depends on large amounts of spending by individuals

What type of monetary habit did Americans traditionally value?

• Thrift (buy only what you need and save your money)

What Changes in the 1920’s led to Americans buying more “stuff”?

• Higher Wages• Clever advertising• Focused on “Consumer

Image”

Easy availability of consumer credit (installment plans) Caused HUGE economic gains

Value of the Stock Market

• The overall value of the market increased from $27 billion in 1925 to $87 billion in 1929.

Wages were up by 40%!

• This meant many (but not all) workers were making more money.

Economic Danger Signs

Uneven Prosperity

• The economic boom mainly benefited the rich

• 200 companies control 49% of the economy

• .01% of the population controls 34% of the countries savings.

• 71% of Americans live at the poverty line

• 80% of Americans have no savings at all.

Personal Debt

– Consumer credit – ANYONE CAN GET IT!– Installment plans – BUY NOW! PAY LATER!

Playing the Stock Market

• Get Rich Quick!• Stock – partial

ownership of a company

• Speculation – high risk investments

• Buying on margin – buying stocks with borrowed money

Overproduction

• Too many goods, too few buyers equals a surplus.

ARTSThe Automat by Edward Hopper

Typifies 1920s society because society is more advanced and better off than ever but lacks soul and personality. It is shallow and people only worry about temporary wants.

Novel that exemplifies this idea:

• The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Mass Media

• What is it?• “the print and

broadcast methods of communicating information to large numbers of people”

• Leads to a national culture

Entertainment in the US• 123 million

people in the US• $100 million a

week watching movies!

• $850 million a year on radios

• Newsprint doubles from 1914-1927

Movie Stars

• Greta Garbo and Charlie Chaplin

“The Jazz Singer”

Jazz Sweeps the Nation…• Comes from Blues in New Orleans• Arrives with black musicians in Northern Cities• 2/3 of radio time is devoted to Jazz

The Harlem Renaissance

• Harlem becomes the cultural center for Black America

• Jazz, Poetry, Literature, and Activism

Early leader of the NAACP

James Weldon Johnson

Langston Hughes

• Poet and Author• One of the most famous

and influential members of the Harlem Renaissance

• I, Too by Langston Hughes - Poetry Archive

• The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes - Poetry Archive

Zora Neale Hurston

• Author & Anthropologist

• One of the most famous and influential members of the Harlem Renaissance

• Their Eyes Were Watching God – novel describing the life of African American women

• Duke Ellington and Louis ArmstrongJazz band leader Jazz trumpet player

Music of the Harlem Renaissance

Religion

Fundamentalism

• Reaction to “New Morality”

• Literal interpretation of the Bible.

• Continues to grow in strength.

• Passed Anti-Evolution Legislation

Reverend Billy Sunday

Scopes Trial

• Teacher challenges Anti-Evolution laws

• Free Speech vs. Fundamentalism

• Trial becomes HUGE.

Clarence Darrow (Scopes’ lawyer) and William Jennings Bryan (Tennessee’s lawyer)

Fundamentalists win the trial, but lose credibility because they appear backward

Social & Culture

Many women felt freer to experiment with bolder styles and lifestyles

Old…

New!

The 1920s is a time The 1920s is a time of social change.of social change.

1920s women1920s women• The “new woman”

– Not bound by traditional dress or behavior codes of “being a lady”

– Style was copy of Jazz club dancers

– Perpetuated by media; small minority of women were flappers

– Flappers favorite dance was “The Charleston”

“New morality” encouraged by media, such as novels, plays, and movies.

1920s women1920s women• Working women

– Could be nurses or secretaries; not doctors or lawyers

– Paid less than men for same jobs.

– Conditions were not improving at the rate women’s rights advocates believed they should be.

1920s women1920s women• Voting women?

– In 1920:• Suffrage granted• Only 35% voted

– Why?• Many lacked interest• Many felt that women

should not vote.

American HEROESAmerican HEROES• Charles Lindbergh

– 1st person to fly from NYC to Paris

– Huge media event– Symbol of traditional

American values (hard work can accomplish anything like the western settlers)

– Son kidnapped & later found murdered

American HEROESAmerican HEROES• Amelia Earhart

– 1st woman to fly across Atlantic

– 1st person to fly solo from Hawaii to California

– Tried to be 1st person to fly around world

• Disappeared mysteriously over Pacific

Social Engineering• The belief that a better society

could be created through science.• Eugenics - Practice aimed at

improving a society’s genetic composition.

• Eugenics was in line with Social Darwinism belief that once society found its top group, little as possible should be done to interfere with people’s pursuit of success or the death of the bottom group.

Prohibition

• Outlawed the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors.

• People still wanted liquor

Bootleggers

• Anyone that could move booze could get rich.

• Bootleggers modified their cars to be faster than the police.

• Many would get together and race

• This tradition of racing modified “stock” factory cars became….

Rum Runners

• Captain William S. McCoy

• aka "The Real McCoy"

• Trafficked illegal liquor from Canada and the Caribbean up and down the U.S. Coastline

“Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone,

Little Joe was blowin on the slide trombone,

The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang,

The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang,

Lets rock, everybody, lets rock,

Everybody in the whole cell block

Was dancin’ to the jailhouse rock.”

The Purple Gang Detroit Michigan

You don’t steal from the Purple Gang…

Speakeasies• Clubs that served alcohol illegally.• These were the “hot spots” of the day.

Organized Crime

• Since booze was illegal..– Controlled by criminals– Made criminals rich

and powerful

• Led to other activities– Prostitution, gambling,

racketeering

Prohibition leads to the rise of

Organized Crime

Al Capone

• Young• Ruthless (murdered

his way to the top)• Bought Policemen,

Judges, Congressman

• $60 million dollar a year organization ($850 million today)

Capone cont.

• Bought judges; was never convicted

• Finally convicted on tax evasion charges