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Boom Times

The Big Idea

American industries boomed in the 1920s, changing many Americans’ way of life.

Main Ideas

• President Harding promised a return to peace and prosperity.

• Calvin Coolidge supported a probusiness agenda.

• American business boomed in the 1920s.

• In 1928, Americans elected Herbert Hoover, hoping he would help good financial times continue.

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Main Idea 1:President Harding promised a return to

peace and prosperity.

• The end of World War I impacted the American economy.

– Factories cut back on production.

– Millions of soldiers left military.

– Unemployment rose sharply.

– Prices soared

– Wages could not keep up with rising prices.

– Workers went on strike.

• Voters blamed Wilson’s Democratic Party for the hard times.

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1920 Presidential Election

• Republicans chose Warren G. Harding as their candidate.– Harding chose Calvin Coolidge as his running mate.

– Campaign strategy: promise to return country to stability and prosperity

• Harding won a landslide victory with 60 percent of the popular vote.

• Immediately worked to strengthen the economy

• However, the presidency faced problems.– Corruption of presidential appointees

– Teapot Dome scandal involved the first cabinet member ever to be convicted of a crime for his actions while in office.

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Main Idea 2:Calvin Coolidge supported a probusiness

agenda.

• Calvin Coolidge became president in August 1923 after Harding died of a heart attack.– Fired all of the officials involved in corruption scandals during

Harding’s administration.

– Gained popularity for his work

• Coolidge elected president in 1924 election.

• Moved forward on a probusiness agenda– Lowered taxes for wealthy

– Raised tariffs on foreign goods to decrease domestic competition

– Vetoed Congressional attempts to provide aid to farmers through price regulation

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Returning to Prosperity

• Europeans wanted to avoid another devastating war.

• In 1928, the United States and 14 other countries signed the Kellog-Briand Pact.

– Agreement that outlawed war

– Eventually signed by 62 nations

• Some complained that the pact was unenforceable.

• Others saw the pact as a sign that most countries wanted to prevent another global conflict.

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Main Idea 3:American business boomed in the 1920s.

• Between 1921 and 1929, U.S. manufacturing doubled.

• As jobs and wages increased, so did people’s ability to buy new products.

• New products changed the way Americans lived.

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Rise of the Automobile

• Henry Ford, an inventor from Detroit, developed the Model T automobile

• Dreamed of building a car that Americans could afford– Made car affordable by cutting costs of production.

– Used moving assembly line, a system of conveyor belts to move parts from one group of workers to another, thus saving production time

– Allowed customers to buy cars using an installment plan

• Other automobile companies began to offer installment plans.

• The automobile changed the way Americans lived.– Could take jobs farther away from where they lived

– Gave people a sense of freedom and adventure

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Growing Industries

Factory employment rose as parts were needed for automobile production.

Government spent millions improving roads.

New business opportunities arose along roadways to serve travelers, including gas stations, restaurants, and motels.

Advertising industry boomed as companies competed to sell their goods.

Electricity was more widely available, and companies began creating electrical appliances to make household chores easier.

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Main Idea 4:In 1928, Americans elected

Herbert Hoover, hoping he would help good financial times continue.

1928 Election

• Herbert Hoover was the Republican candidate.

– Public support was strong.

– Promised that he would maintain economic prosperity

• New York governor Alfred E. Smith was Democratic candidate.

– Campaign focused on issues facing city-dwellers.

– Religious faith was also an issue; he was the first Catholic to run for president.

• Hoover elected with 58 percent of the popular vote.

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Life during the 1920s

The Big Idea

Americans faced new opportunities, challenges, and fears as major changes swept the country in the 1920s.

Main Ideas

• In the 1920s many young people found new independence in a changing society.

• Postwar tensions occasionally led to fear and violence.

• Competing ideals caused conflict between Americans with traditional beliefs and those with modern views.

• Following the war, minority groups organized to demand their civil rights.

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Main Idea 1:In the 1920s many young people found new

independence in a changing society.

• After the war, many young people moved to cities.– By 1920 more than half of the country’s population lived in urban

areas.

– Took advantage of 1920s economic boom to gain independence

– New youth culture developed

• Access to education grew.– High school attendance doubled in 1920s.

– More attended colleges and universities.

• Women also found new opportunities.– Number of women in workforce continued to grow.

– New roles in politics

– Some women, known as flappers, openly challenged traditional ideas of how women were supposed to behave.

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Main Idea 2:Postwar tensions occasionally led to

fear and violence.

• Negative attitudes toward Communists grew in the 1920s.– After Communists took power in Russia in 1917, Americans worried

that they would soon try to gain power in the United States.

– Many Americans blamed Communists and radicals for labor strikes and other problems.

• Attitudes led to a Red Scare, a time of fear of Communists, or Reds.

• Communists were held responsible for bombings and killings.– Bombs were found in postal packages addressed to famous

Americans and Communists were held responsible.

– Political official’s home was bombed and police raids were organized to break up Communist and radical groups.

– Italian anarchists, Sacco and Vanzetti, were convicted and executed for the robbery and murder of a factory paymaster and his guard.

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Restricting Immigration

• Concerns about immigration– Some Americans believed there was a general fear of foreigners.

– Many recent immigrants were poor and did not speak English.

– Some Americans saw immigrants as a threat to jobs and culture.

• Government responded to these concerns with new laws.– Emergency Quota Act of 1921 limited total number of immigrants

allowed into the country.

– National Origins Act of 1924 banned immigration from East Asia entirely and reduced the number of immigrants allowed into the country.

• Drastic drop in immigration to the United States

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Prohibition

Religious Ideals

• The Eighteenth Amendment outlawed the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcoholic beverages.

–Difficult to enforce

–Many broke the law.

–Law reduced consumption, but did not stop Americans from drinking.

–Support strongest in rural areas

–Opposition strongest in cities

• By the end of the 1920s, the nation was weary of the effects of prohibition.

–Believed that it would be better to have a legal alcohol trade with

government monitoring

• The Twenty-first Amendment was passed in 1933, which ended prohibition.

Main Idea 3:Competing ideals caused conflict between

Americans with traditional beliefs and those with modern views.

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Fundamentalism

Religious Ideals

• Religious leaders were concerned abut the youth culture and the failure of prohibition in the 1920s.

– Wanted to return to traditional values

• Led to a movement of fundamentalism– characterized by the belief in a literal, or word-for-word, interpretation of the Bible

– Used the radio and modern marketing tools to draw followers

– Strong in rural areas and small towns

– Believed that modern scientific theories conflicted with teachings of the Bible

– Opposed the teaching of evolution in public schools

– Laws were passed in many states and cities to prevent the teaching of evolution.

• Scopes trial in 1925– Tennessee teacher John T. Scopes put on trial for teaching evolution

– Scopes convicted and fined $100 for breaking the law

– State supreme court later overturned conviction.

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Main Idea 4:Following the war, minority groups organized

to demand their civil rights.

• Great Migration– large numbers of African Americans left South to take jobs in northern factories after the war and through the 1920s.

• Some white laborers feared competition for jobs.– Race riots broke out.

• Ku Klux Klan gained more strength. – Harassed African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and immigrants

– Worked against urbanization, women’s rights, and modern technology

– Became influential in politics

– More than 5 million members

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Protecting Rights

• African Americans began working to protect their rights.– The NAACP placed advertisements in newspapers presenting

harsh facts about lynchings in the South.

– Marcus Garvey encouraged black people to express pride in their culture and establish economic independence.

– Black nationalism movement took root.

• Hispanic Americans organized to fight prejudice and promote civil rights– Formed the League of United Latin American Citizens in 1929

• Native Americans fought to establish their rights.– In 1924 Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act, granting

citizenship to all Native Americans.

– Successfully prevented the federal government from taking back reservation lands

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The Jazz Age

The Big Idea

Musicians, artists, actors, and writers contributed to American popular culture in the 1920s.

Main Ideas

• Radio and movies linked the country in a national culture.

• Jazz and blues music became popular nationwide.

• Writers and artists introduced new styles and artistic ideas.

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Main Idea 1:Radio and movies linked the country in a

national culture.

– Opened new worlds for audiences

– 1927 movie The Jazz Singer was the first talkie, or motion picture with sound

– Became big business

– Movie stars became national heroes.

Radio

– National radio networks, such as NBC and CBS, formed.

– New access to music, news, political speeches, sports broadcasts, and more

– Allowed Americans everywhere to share common experiences

Sports– Fans packed stadiums and listened on radios as athletes

played and broke new records.

– Baseball was incredibly popular and had its own celebrities, such as Babe Ruth.

Movies

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Main Idea 2:Jazz and blues music became popular

nationwide.• An explosion in the popularity of jazz music gave the 1920s a

nickname– the Jazz Age.– Jazz developed in New Orleans.

– Blending of African American, European, and West African harmonies and rhythms

• Jazz was popular with young Americans.– Loved the music and the fast-paced dances that swept the nation

• Jazz musicians were innovators.– Artists like Louis Armstrong and Edward “Duke” Ellington made major

contributions to music.

• Blues music also became popular in the 1920s– Originated in the rural South of the Mississippi Delta

– Began as an expression of the suffering of African Americans during slavery

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Main Idea 3:Writers and artists introduced new styles

and artistic ideas.

• The Harlem neighborhood of New York City became the center of the Harlem Renaissance, a period of African American artistic accomplishment.– Many African Americans came to Harlem in the Great

Migration.• Harlem Renaissance writers made lasting contributions to

American culture.– Langston Hughes wrote poems, plays, and novels about

African American life.– Claude McKay was a poet and activist who spoke out against

racial discrimination.– Zora Neale Hurston’s writings reflected the experiences of

African American women.

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The Lost Generation

• Writers who criticized American society in the 1920s became known as the Lost Generation.– Wrote of their experiences living in the United States and

abroad

– Often felt feelings of disillusionment with American society

– Many moved to Paris in the 1920s and formed a community of expatriates, people who leave their home country to live elsewhere.

• Writers of the Lost Generation– Ernest Hemingway wrote short stories and novels and gained

fame for his powerful and direct writing style.

– F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about the loss of morality during the Jazz Age in his novel The Great Gatsby.

– Sinclair Lewis was the first American to receive the Nobel Prize in literature.

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Painting

• Painters experimented with new styles.

• Edward Hopper painted images of loneliness of modern urban life.

• Georgia O’Keeffe was known for detailed paintings of flowers and of the Southwest.

New Directions in Art

Architecture

• Architects of the 1920s embraced a new style called art deco.

• Buildings constructed in this style had clean, sharp lines resembling machines.