roaring 20s excerpt

8/13/2019 Roaring 20s Excerpt

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Roaring 20sI. SECTION 1: Politics and Prosperity

a. As the Republican party returned to power in the 1920s, the economyboomed

b. Inauguration of President Warren G. Hardingi.

Woodrow Wilson and the Democrats = out,

Harding +Republicansii. Harding= open and friendly

iii. During the campaign, Harding's slogan had been Back toNormalcy

c. 1920s= the decade ushered in a new erai. Republican leadership, booming prosperity, and changes in

everyday lifed. Republicans in Office

i. WWI had helped the economy1. Europeans ordered vast amounts of supplies from

American factories2. After the United States entered, factories expanded rapidlyto meet the demand for military supplies

ii. When the war ended, > 2 million soldiers came home and began tolook for jobs

1. factories stopped turning out war materials2. result= sharp recession

a. economic slumpiii. Harding Takes Office

1. recession fed voter discontent w/ the Democrats, who hadheld power for eight years

a. Warren Hardin2. Harding chose able men who strongly followed pro-

business policies for Cabinet posts3. Herbert Hoover became the new secretary of commerce

a. In WWI, Hoover organized efforts to supply food tomillions of starving Belgians

b. As secretary of commerce, he worked to helpAmerican businesses expand overseas

iv. Corruption and Scandals1. To fill most other Cabinet posts Hardingfriends

a. became known as the Ohio Gangb. Harding = honest and hard-working thec. Ohio Gang saw govt service = to enrich themselves

i. A series of scandals resultedii. Ex. Charles Forbes head of the Veterans

Bureau1. later convicted of stealing millions

from the bureaud. Harding became distressed by scandals, saw as


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betrayalsi. Many believed they contributed to his heart

attack, killing him, in 1923e. After Harding died, new scandals came to light

i. Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall1.

Two oil executives had bribed2. Fall secretly leased them govt landin CA and at Teapot Dome, WY

3. Fall =1st Cabinet officialprisone. Coolidge Takes Office

i. VP Calvin Coolidge= sworn in on day of Hardings deathii. Silent Cal

1. Different than Harding2. Introvert

a. Tight w/ both money and wordsiii. Coolidge set out to repair the damage caused by the scandals

1.

He forced the officials involved in scandals to resignf. Coolidge Prosperityi. Coolidge believed that prosperity for all Americans depended on

business prosperity1. cut regulations on business2. named business leaders to head government agencies

ii. Industry Booms1. Coolidge's pro-business policies contributed to a period of

rapid economic growtha. Coolidge prosperity b. fFctories switched to consumer goods, the postwar

recession endedi. From 1923 to 1929, the quantity of goods

made by industry almost doubled2. For most Americans, incomes

a. = able to buy a flood of new consumer productsi. Electric refrigerators, radios, phonographs,

vacuum cleaners, and many othersb. Businesses used advertising to boost sales of

consumer goods3. Faced w/ so many goods, people often wanted to buy things

they could not afforda. , businesses allowed installment buying

i. buying on creditii. People could buy things by putting a few

dollars1. Each month, they paid an installment

until they had paid the full price, plusinterest

b. The new policy of buy now, pay later the


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demand for goodsi. consumer debt jumped at the same time

ii. End of decade- consumers owed more thanthe amount of the federal budget

iii. A Soaring Stock Market1.

economic boom of the 1920s gave the stock market a giantboost

2. corporations sold stocks to investosa. shares of ownershipb. Investors made or lost money depending upon

whether the price of the shares went up or 3. the later 1920s: more people = investing in the stock

market than ever beforea. Stock prices so fast that some people made

fortunes almost overnightb. Stories of ordinary people becoming rich drew

others into the stock marketc. Such a. period of stock trading and rising stockprices = bull market

4. Many people bought stocks on margina. an investor bought a stock for as little as a 10

percent paymentb. buyer held the stock until the price , and then sold

it at a profit

i. Only worked as long as stock prices 5. 1928 and 1929- prices of many stocks > value of the

companies themselves

a.

Experts warned bull market could not last foreverb. most investors ignored the warningsg. Foreign Affairs

i. After WWI, the United States = world's leading economic powerii. Europeans expected the United States to take a major role in world

affairs1. U.S. wanted to keep peace in Europe

a. did not want to commit the United States to the jobof keeping world peace

b. sent observers to the League of Nations but refusedto join

i. Most Americans supported this return toprewar isolationism

iii. Latin America1. During the war, Latin American nations had been cut off

from Europe,a. United States trade and investment in Latin

America b. continued after the war


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2. However, the United States limited its role abroad for fearthat more involvement might push the country into anotherwar

a. At times, the United States intervened to protect itseconomic interests in Latin America

3.

In 1927, Mexico announced plans to take over foreign-owned oil and mining companiesa. American investors called on President Coolidge to

send in troops Ib. nstead, Coolidge sent a diplomat, Dwight Morrow,

to Mexico After much hard bargaining, Morrow =able to work out a compromise w/ the Mexicangovernment

iv. The Soviet Union1. Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union, V I Lenin created the

world's first communist state *

a.

Communism = economic system in which allwealth and property are owned by the community asa whole

b. The United States refused to recognize Lenin'sgovernment. Most Americans disliked communismIt shocked them when the Soviet government didaway w/ private property and attacked religion

c. Despite disapproval of the Soviet government,Congress voted $20 million in aid when faminethreatened Russia in 1921

i. may have saved as many as 10 millionRussians from starvation

v. Disarmament1. An arms race in Europe had helped cause World War I2. For this reason, many people in the 1920s favored the

reduction of armed forces and weapons of wara. Disarmamentb. Pacifist groups such as the Women's International

League for Peace and Freedom, founded by JaneAddams, led the call for disarmament in the UnitedStates and Europe

3. Presidents Harding and Coolidge also backed peace effortsa. At the =hington Conference of 1921, the United

States, Britain, and Japan agreed to limit the size oftheir navies

b. 7 yrs. later, the United States + 61 other nationssigned the Kellogg-Briand Pact

i. This treaty outlawed warc. The treaty, however, had a fatal flaw

i. did not set up any means for keeping the


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peace1. One nation could still use force

against another w/o fear ofpunishment

2. Still, many hailed the Kellogg-Briand Pact as the beginning of anew age of peace

II. SECTION 2: New Ways of Lifei. A surge of new ideas and products and a new popular culture

changed the values and customs of Americans during the 1920sb. Setting the Scene

i. Jan. 16- 1920 Prohibition1. ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor

anywhere in the United States2. Only time would tell if the noble experiment would

succeed or fail

ii.

Prohibition = one of many developments that had a dramaticimpact on society in the 1920siii. New ideas, new products, and new forms of entertainment =

rapidly changing the American way of lifec. A Ban on Alcohol

i. Reformers like the Woman's Christian Temperance Union hadworked to ban alcoholic beverages

ii. They finally achieved this when the states ratified the EighteenthAmendment in January 1919

1. One year later, Prohibition went into effectiii. In 1920, as today, alcohol abuse = a serious problem

1. Many Americans hoped the ban on liquor would improveAmerican life

2. In fact, the ban did have some positive effectsa. Alcoholism declined during Prohibition

3. However, in the end, the ban did not workiv. Evading the Law

1. One reason that Prohibition failed = that many Americansfound ways to get around the law

a. Some people manufactured their own alcohol inhomemade stills

b. Others smuggled in liquor from Canada and theCaribbean

c. B/c these smugglers sometimes hid bottles of liquorin their boots, they became known as bootleggers

2. Illegal bars, called speak-easies, opened in nearly everycity and town

a. Welcomed women and men (unlike saloons pre-Prohibition)

b. In some ways, speak-easies made drinking liquor


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more popular than everc. To enforce the ban, the government sent out federal

Prohibition agentsi. These g-men traveled across the United

States, shutting speak-easies, breaking up

illegal stills, and stopping smugglersv. Rise of Organized Crime1. Prohibition gave a huge boost to organized crime

a. Every speak-easy needed a steady supply of liquori. Professional criminals, or gangsters, took

over the job of meeting this needii. As bootleggers earned big profits, crime

became a big businessiii. Gangsters divided up cities and forced

speak-easy owners in their territories tobuy liquor from them

iv.

Sometimes, used some profits to bribepolice officers, public officials, and judgesvi. Repeal of Prohibition

1. Gradually, more Americans began to think that Prohibition= a mistake

2. The ban reduced drinking but never stopped ita. Even worse, argued critics, Prohibition =

undermining respect for the lawb. By the mid-1920s, almost half of all federal arrests

= for Prohibition crimes3. By the end of the decade, many Americans = calling for the

repeal , or cancellation, of Prohibition4. In 1933, the states ratified the Twenty-first Amendment,

which repealed the Eighteenth Amendmenta. The Eighteenth Amendment = only constitutional

amendment repealedd. New Rights for Women

i. Nineteenth Amendment (1920) gave women the right to voteii. Women Voters

1. Separated into Rep./Dem.a. Many didnt vote

2. In 1920, Carrie Chapman Catt, head of the NationalWoman Suffrage Association, set up the League of WomenVoters

a. Worked to educate voters, as well as to guaranteeother rights, such as the right of women to serve onjuries

iii. women in Puerto Rico asked if the new law applied to them1. They = told that it did not Led by Ana Roqu de Duprey,

an educator and writer, Puerto Rican women crusaded for


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the vote2. In 1929, their crusade finally succeeded

iv. Fighting for Equal Rights1. Leaders in the suffrage movement also worked for other

goals

2.

Alice Paul, who had been a leading suffragist, pointed outthat women still lacked many legal rightsa. For example, many professional schools still barred

women, and many states gave husbands legalcontrol over their wives' earnings. Paul called for anew constitutional amendment in 1923 Paul'sproposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) statedthat equality of rights under the law shall not be

denied or abridged by the United States or by anyState on account of sex

3. Many people feared that the ERA went too fara.

Some even argued that women would lose somelegal safeguards, such as laws that protected them infactories The amendment passed but = neverratified

v. Women's Work1. Women's lives changed in other ways in the 1920s2. During World War I, thousands of women had worked

outside the home for the first timea. filled the jobs of men who had gone off to warb. When the troops came home, many women = forced

to give up their jobsc. Some remained in the work force

3. For some women, working outside the home = nothing newa. Poor women and working-class women had been

cooks, servants, and seamstresses for many yearsb. 1920s- Middle-class women worked as teachers,

typists, secretaries, and store clerks A few womeneven managed to become doctors and lawyersdespite discrimination

4. Life at home also changed for womena. Convenciences(e.g. refrigerators, ready-made

clothing) made housework easieri. But, encouraged some women to spend even

more time on houseworkii. Women who worked outside the home

found that they had to work a second shiftwhen they came home

e. Impact of the Automobilei. 1920s,- Americans traveled to more places and moved more

quickly than ever beforeb/c automobile


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ii. The auto industry played a central role in the business boom of the1920s

1. Car sales grew rapidly during the decade2. spurred growth in related industries such as steel and

rubber

iii.

Affordable Cars1. Lower prices sparked the auto booma. Americasn did not have to be rich to buy a car

2. Car prices b/c factories became more efficienta. Ford-assembly lineb. Cut production cost and time

3. GM surpasses Ford b/c of variety in models and colorsa. Before long, car companies = offering new makes

and models every yeariv. Economic Effects

1. Car sales spurred growth in other parts of the economya.

steel mills, producing metal parts for carsb. Others made tires, paint, and glass for cars

c. Some drilled for oil in the Southwest or worked inthe oil refineries where crude petroleum =converted into usable gasoline

2. other effectsa. States and towns paved more roads and built new

highwaysb. Gas stations, garages, car dealers, motels, and

roadsidec. Mechanic shops, or places to repair automobiles,

also became a necessityv. Social Effects

1. Cars shaped life in the city and in the countrya. Many city dwellers wanted to escape crowded

conditionsb. moved to nearby towns in the country, which soon

grew into suburbsi. A suburb is a community located outside a

cityii. W/ cars, suburban families could drive to the

city even though it = many miles away1. drive to stores, schools, or work2. No longer did people have to live

where they could walk or take atrolley to work

2. Another major shift came when suburban housewivesrefused to be confined to the passenger seat

a. droveb. As they did, they broke still another barrier that


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separated the worlds of men and women3. In the country, cars brought people closer to towns, shops,

and the movief. Creating a Mass Culture

i. By making travel easier, cars helped Americans from differentparts of the country learn more about one another They played arole in creating a new national culture that crossed state lines

ii. New forms of entertainment also contributed to the rise of a massculture

1. 1920s, rising wages and labor-saving appliances gavefamilies more $ and more leisure time

iii. Radio1. very popular in the 1920s2. A new lifestyle emerged Each night after dinner, families

gathered around the radio to tune in to shows3. Radio listeners enjoyed comedies and westerns, classical

music and jazz, news reports and play-by-play sportsbroadcastsiv. The Movies

1. Late 1800s- Thomas Edison + George Eastman helpeddevelop first moving picture cameras

a. 1920s- HollywoodMovie capital of worldb. b/c of warm and sunny climate year-round

2. Movies contributed to the new mass culturea. Millions of Americans went to the movies at least

once a week3. The first movies had no sound

a. Audiences followed the plot by reading title cardsthat appeared on the screen

4. Fans adored Hollywood movie starsa. Cowboy stars like Tom Mixb. Clara Bow won fame playing restless, fun-seeking

young womenc. The most popular star of all = comedian Charlie

Chaplin, nicknamed The Little Tramp Hisattempts to triumph over the problems of everydaylife moved audiences to both laughter and tears

5. In 1927, Hollywood caused a sensation when it producedThe Jazz Singer

a. The film = a talkiea movie w/ a soundtrackSoon, all new movies = talkies

III. SECTION 3: The Jazz Agea. Setting the Scene

i. New dance crazes such as the Charleston, the Lindy Hop, and theShimmy forever marked the decade as the Jazz Age and theRoaring Twenties


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ii. During the 1920s, new dances, new music, new games, and othernew ways to have fun swept the country

iii. At the same time, a new generation of writers = taking a criticallook at American society

b. An Era of Changing Fashioni.

Following the latest fads1. Fads caught on, then quickly disappeareda. A fad = activity or a fashion that is taken up w/

great passion for a short timeb. Flagpole sittingc. dance marathon,d. Crossword puzzles and mah-jongg

2. Dance crazes came and went rapidlya. Charleston

i. First performed by African Americans insouthern cities like Charleston,

ii.

Flappers Set the Style1. young women rebelled against traditional ways of thinkingand acting

a. Flappers wore their hair bobbed, or cut shortb. Very short dressesc. bright red lipstick

2. smoked cigarettes in public, drank bootleg alcohol inspeak-easies, and drove fast cars

a. Shocking to most older Americansiii. Only a few young women = flappers

1. Still, they set a style for others2. Older women began to follow slowly3. For many Americans, the bold fashions pioneered by the

flappers symbolized a new sense of freedomc. New Music

i. Another innovation of the 1920s = jazz1. Born in New Orleans, jazz combined West African

rhythms, African American work songs and spirituals, andEuropean harmonies

2. Jazz also had roots in the ragtime rhythms of composerslike Scott Joplin

ii. Louis Armstrong = one of the brilliant young African Americanmusicians who helped create jazz

1. Armstrong learned to play the trumpet2. Took a simple melody and experiment w/ the notes and the

rhythma. Allowing listeners to hear many different versions

of the basic tune3. Other great early jazz musicians included Jelly Roll

Morton and singer Bessie Smith


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iii. Jazz quickly spread from New Orleans to Chicago, Kansas City,and the African American section of New York known as Harlem

1. White musicians, also began to adopt the new style2. Today, jazz is recognized as an original art form developed

by African Americans

3.

It is considered one of the most important culturalcontributions of the United Statesd. A new generation of writers

i. American writers earned worldwide fame in the 1920sii. Many of them = horrified by their experiences in World War I

1. criticized Americans for caring too much about money andfun

2. Some became so unhappy w/ life in the United States thatthey moved to Paris

3. There, they lived as expatriatesa. people who leave their own country to live in a

foreign landiii. Hemingway and Fitzgerald1. Ernest Hemingway = one of the writers who lived for a

time in Parisa. Still a teenager at the outbreak of World War I, he

traveled to Europe to drive an ambulance on theItalian front

i. war experiences in A Farewell to Arms, anovel about a young man's growing disgustw/ war

ii. The Sun Also Rises, he examined the livesof American expatriates in Europe

b. Hemingway became one of the most popular writersof the 1920s His simple but powerful styleinfluenced many other writers

2. The young writer who best captured the mood of theRoaring Twenties = Hemingway's friend F Scott Fitzgerald

a. In The Great Gatsby and other novels, Fitzgeraldexamined the lives of wealthy young people whoattended endless parties but could not findhappiness

iv. Other Writers1. Sinclair Lewis (Babbit;Main street) - presented small-town

Americans as dull and narrow-minded Lewis's attitudereflected that of many city dwellers toward rural Americans

a. babbitt became a popular nickname for a smugbusinessman uninterested in literature or the arts

2. Poet Edna St Vincent Millay (First Fig)a. Poetb. Expressed pace of 1920s


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3. Writer: Eugene O'Neill revolutionized the American theatera. Most earlier playwrights had presented romantic,

unrealistic storiesb. O'Neill shocked audiences w/ powerful, realistic

dramas based on his years at sea

e.

Harlem Renaissancei. In the 1920s, large numbers of African American musicians,artists, and writers settled in Harlem in NYC

1. gathering of black artists and musicians led to the HarlemRenaissance, a rebirth of African American culture

ii. During the Harlem Renaissance, young black writers celebratedtheir African and American heritages

1. They also protested prejudice and racism2. For the first time, a large number of white Americans took

notice of the achievements of black artists and writersiii. Langston Hughes

1.

Probably the best-known poet of the Harlem Renaissance =Langston Hughes2. Wrote poem connecting the experiences of black

Americans living along the Mississippi River w/ those ofancient Africans living along the Nile and Niger rivers

3. Like other writers of the Harlem Renaissance, Hughesencouraged African Americans to be proud of their heritage

iv. Other Writers1. Poets Countee Cullen and Claude McKay

a. wrote of the experiences of African Americansb. McKay he condemned the lynchings and other mob

violence that black Americans suffered after WorldWar I

2. Zora Neale Hurston wrote novels, essays, and short storiesa. For two years, she collected the folk tales, songs,

and prayers of black southernersb. She later published these in her book Mules and

Menf. Heroes of the Roaring Twenties

i. Radio, movies, and newspapers created celebrities known acrossthe country

1. Americans followed the exploits of individuals whoseachievements made them stand out from the crowd

ii. Sports Figures1. Athletes

a. Bobby Jones-golfb. Jack Dempsey- boxingc. Bill Tilden and Helen Wills- tennisd. Gertrude Ederle- 1stwoman to swim across the

English Channel


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2. College football3. Baseball

a. Babe Ruthiii. Charles Lindbergh

1. 1stsolo transatlantic flight (NYParis)IV.

Section 4: Trouble Below the Surfacea. Setting the Scene

i. Most Americans in the 1920s = not rich.ii. In 1929, at the height of Coolidge prosperity, more than half of

American families earned less than $2,000 a year.1. Farmers and factory workers = experiencing hardships.2. Most Americans could not afford the bare necessities, let

alone the investments to make them rich.iii. Beneath the glittering prosperity of the 1920s, the economy =

already in troubleb. Uneven Prosperity

i.

Many Americans did not share in the boom of the 1920s.ii. Workers in the clothing industry, for example, = hurt by changesin women's fashions.

1. Shorter skirts meant that less cloth = needed to makedresses.

2. Coal miners also faced hard times as oil replaced coal asthe major source of energy. Railroads slashed jobs b/ctrains = losing business to cars and trucks

iii. Farmers Suffer1. Farmers = hit the hardest.2. During World War I, Europeans had bought American farm

products, sending prices up.a. Farmers borrowed money to buy more land and

tractors.i. Planned to pay off these loans w/ profits

from production3. War endsEuropean farmers = again able to produce

enough for their own needsa. prices for American farm products sharply

throughout the 1920sb. Farmers = unable to pay their debts

i. End of the decade- the farmers' share ofnational income had shrunk by almost half.

iv. Setbacks for Labor1. For labor unions, 1920s = disaster

a. During the war, unions had worked w/ thegovernment to keep production hig

b. Labor's cooperation contributed to victory. Ii. In return, union leaders expected the

government to support labor.


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2. During the war, wages had not kept up w/ prices.a. W/ the war over, workers demanded higher pay.

i. When employers refused, unions launched awave of strikes.

ii. Management moved quickly to crush thestrikes.iii. B/c the government did not step in to helpthem, workers felt betrayed + managementgained power.

3. The strikes turned the public against labora. Upset at disruption of peace

4. more setbacks for labora. In one court case after another, judges limited the

rights of unionsb. At the same time, employers created company

unions , labor organizations that = actually

controlled by management.c. Membership dropsi. W/o strong unions, labor had little power to

win higher wagesc. The Red Scare

i. During the war, Americans had been on the alert for enemy spiesand sabotage

1. Secret destruction of property or interference w/ work infactories.

2. Xenophobiaii. rise of communism in the Soviet Union fanned that fear

1. Lenin called on workers everywhere to overthrow theirgovernments.

2. Many Americans saw the strikes that swept the nation asthe start of a communist revolution.

iii. Rounding up Radicals1. The actions of anarchists added to the sense of danger

a. B/c many anarchists = foreign-born, their attacksled to an outcry against all foreigners.

2. The government took harsh actions against both anarchistsand Communists, or Reds.

a. During the Red Scare, thousands of radicals =arrested and jailed.

b. Many foreigners = deportedi. expelled from the country.

d. Sacco and Vanzettii. The trial of two Italian immigrants in Massachusetts came to

symbolize the anti-foreign feeling of the 1920s.1. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti = arrested for

robbery and murder in 1920. The two men admitted being


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anarchists but insisted they had committed no crime.2. A jury convicted them, however. Sacco and Vanzetti = then

sentenced to death.ii. The Sacco and Vanzetti trial created a furor across the nation

1. The evidence against the two men = limited. The judge =openly prejudiced2. Many Americans thought that Sacco and Vanzetti =convicted, not b/c they = guilty, but b/c they = immigrantsand radicals.

3. Appeals turned , 1927- men = executediii. The issue of whether Sacco and Vanzetti received a fair trial has

been debated ever since.iv. many Americans felt the case proved that the United States had to

keep out dangerous radicals.e. Limiting Immigration

i. anger against foreigners led to a new move to limit immigration.1.

nativism .ii. The Quota System

1. After years of war, millions of Europeans U.S.2. American workers feared that a flood of newcomers would

force wages a. Others worried that communists and anarchists

would invade the United States3. Congress responded by passing the Emergency Quota Act

in 1921a. set up a quota system that allowed only a certain

number of people from each country to enter theUnited States

b. favored immigrants from Northern Europe,especially Britain

4. In 1924, Congress passed new laws that further cutimmigration, especially from Eastern Europe, which = seenas a center of anarchism and communism.

a. In addition, Japanese = added to the list of Asiansdenied entry to the country.

iii. Newcomers From Latin America1. Latin Americans and Canadians = not included in the

quota system.2. Mexican immigrants continued to move to the United

States.a. Farms and factories in the Southwest depended on

Mexican workers.b. The pay = low, and the housing = poor.c. Still, the chance to earn more money = a very

powerful lure.iv. The Jones Act of 1917 granted American citizenship to Puerto


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Ricansf. The Scopes Trial

i. In the 1920s, cities drew thousands of people from farms and smalltowns

1. Rural areas often feared that new ways of life in the city =threat to traditional valuesii. The clash between old and new values erupted in the small town of

Dayton, Tennessee.1. Charles Darwin's theory of evolution2. Some churches condemned Darwin's theory, saying it

denied the teachings of the Bible.a. Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas passed laws

that banned the teaching of Darwin's theory.b. In 1925, John Scopes, a biology teacher in Dayton,

taught evolution to his class.i. Arrested and tried.

iii.

Two of the nation's best-known figures opposed each other in theScopes trial.1. William Jennings Bryan, who had run for President three

times, argued the state's case against Scopes. ClarenceDarrow, a Chicago lawyer who had helped unions andradicals, defended Scopes.

2. In the end, Scopes = convicted and fined.a. The laws against teaching evolution remain on the

books, although they are rarely enforcedg. The New Klan

i. Fear of change gave new life to an old organization.1. In 1915, a group of white men in Georgia declared the

rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan .2. The new Klan had a broader aim: to preserve the United

States for white, native-born Protestants.ii. The new Klan waged a campaign not only against African

Americans, but also against immigrants, especially Catholics andJews.

1. burned crosses outside people's homes2. whippings and lynchings to terrorize immigrants and

African American3. strongly supported efforts to limit immigration.

iii. B/c of its large membership, the Klan gained political influence.1. In the mid-1920s, however, many Americans became

alarmed at the Klan's growing power.2. At the same time, scandals surfaced that showed Klan

leaders had stolen money from members.a. Klan membership sharply.

h. Fighting Racismi. African Americans had hoped that their service during World War


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I would weaken racism at home.a. Racism in both North and South

ii. Racial Tensions in the North1. Many African Americans moved north during and after the

war.

2.

Took factory jobs inlarge cities.a. newcomers often found that the only jobs open tothem = low-paying ones.

b. Also, in many neighborhoods, whites refused to rentapartments to blacks.

iii. At the same time, many blacks newly arrived from the Southwanted to live near one another.

1. As a result, areas w/ large black populations grew up inmany northern cities.

iv. Many northern white workers felt threatened by the arrival of somany African Americans.

1.

Racial tension grew.a. race riots broke out in several citiesv. Marcus Garvey

1. Shocked by the racism they found, African Americanslooked for new ways to cope.

2. Marcus Garvey became one of the most popular blackleaders.

a. He started the first widespread black nationalistmovement in the United States.

b. Organized the Universal Negro ImprovementAssociation

c. Hoped to promote unity and pride among AfricanAmericans

d. believed that African Americans needed to rely onthemselves rather than white people to get ahead.

3. Garvey urged African Americans to seek their roots inAfrica.

a. Although few black Americans actually went toAfrica, Garvey's Back to Africa movement built

racial pridei. Election of 1928

i. By 1928, Republicans had led the nation for eight years.1. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover easily won the

Republican nomination when Coolidge didnt re-run2. The Democrats chose as their candidate Alfred E. Smith, a

former governor of New York.ii. contrast between the candidates revealed the tensions lurking

below the surface of American life1. Smith, the son of Irish immigrants, = the first Catholic to


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run for Presidenta. City dwellers, including many immigrants and

Catholics, rallied around Smith.2. Hoover = a self-made millionaire from the Midwest.

a. votes from rural Americans and big business.b.

Supporters of Prohibition also supported Hoover b/cSmith favored repeal.

iii. In the election, Smith won the country's 12 largest cities. Rural andsmall-town voters supported Hoover. He won by a landslide.

iv. Americans hoped Hoover would keep the country prosperous1. Less than a year after he took office, however, the

economy would come crashing .

roaring 20s excerpt

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