The 1920s (“Jazz Age”, “Roaring 20s”) and The Great Depression

McFarland

I. Life in the 1920s:

A. Changing Role of Women: 19th Amendment (1920) – granted women

suffrage (right to vote) New jobs opened up during WWI and the

women didn’t want to give their jobs up when the men came back home – so…more women began to go to college

I. Life in the 1920s:

Jeanette Rankin – first woman elected to Congress (1916) – served throughout the 1920s

Flappers – modern women of the 1920s – young, rebellious, fun-loving, and bold – short hair, short dresses (to the knees), more makeup (esp. lipstick) – attitudes changes – ex: began to smoke and drink in public

I. Life in the 1920s:

B. Prohibition Era (1919-1933): 18th Amendment (1919) – prohibited the

making, selling, or transportation of alcohol

Volstead Act – law passed by Congress to enforce prohibition – ignored by most of the cities on the east coast

I. Life in the 1920s:

Success of prohibition:-consumption of alcohol decreased-arrest for drunkenness decreased Why did Prohibition eventually fail?1) Not enforced – some police depts. were

corrupt, just didn’t care, or were scared of the gangsters

2) Most people didn’t take prohibition seriously – drank anyway

I. Life in the 1920s:

3) The crime wave that began made most people think that the amendment should be repealed

-organized crime got involved in bootlegging (the illegal selling of alcohol)

-the most famous gangster of the 1920s was Al Capone from Chicago

I. Life in the 1920s:

Al Capone – nicknamed “Scarface” -had a talent for avoiding jail by buying off policemen, city officials, and politicians-made up to $60 million a year from bootlegging-convicted of tax evasion in 1931 and sent to prison-released in 1939 after becoming ill with syphilis – died in 1947

I. Life in the 1920s:

21st Amendment (1933) – repealed the 18th Amend. and allowed local communities to decide whether or not to legalize alcohol

Slang Words from prohibition era:-bathtub gin-moonshine (made at night)-white lightning-speakeasy – secret club or bar – usually in a

basement – needed a password to get in

I. Life in the 1920s:

C. Entertainment in the 1920s: Shorter working hours and higher wages

gave Americans more spare time and more money for entertainment

1) Radio – first radio station in Pittsburgh, PA in Nov. 1920 – only news at first – baseball and music broadcasted later

I. Life in the 1920s:

2) Moving Picture Shows (“movies”) – all movies were silent films at first (had music but no talking) -Charlie Chaplin was the most famous silent film star-first “talking” movie was The Jazz Singer (1927) staring Al Jolston-famous movie stars of the 20s:-Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Charlie Chaplin

I. Life in the 1920s:

3) Sports – the 1920s is often called the “Golden Age of Sports” – radio made sports more popular – baseball became “America’s Favorite Pastime” – famous athletes included:

I. Life in the 1920s:

a) Babe Ruth – nicknamed “The Sultan of Swat” or “The Great Bambino” -most famous baseball player of the 20s-played most of his career with the NY Yankees -hit 60 homeruns in 1927 (remained a record until 1961)-hit 714 career homeruns (remained a record nearly 40 years)

I. Life in the 1920s:

b) Harold “Red” Grange – famous football player

-nicknamed “The Galloping Ghost”

-played for Illinois Univ. and Chicago Bears

-made Pro football very popular

I. Life in the 1920s:

c) Jack Dempsey – famous heavyweight boxer

-over 100,000 attended his 2nd match with Gene Tunney, which Dempsey lost

I. Life in the 1920s:

d) Man “o” War – famous race horse

-named horse of the century

-lost only 1 time in 21 races

-the horse that beat him was named…

Upset

I. Life in the 1920s:

e) Gertrude Ederle – 1st woman to swim across the 35 mile wide English Channel

-her time beat the men’s record by nearly 2 hours

I. Life in the 1920s:

4) Music / Dance – the radio made music more popular -Jazz was the most popular music of the 20s – started in New Orleans-Louis Armstrong was the most popular jazz musician of the 20s-George Gershwin was a popular composer – wrote “Rhapsody in Blue”-popular dances included: Charleston, Fox-trot, and Tango

I. Life in the 1920s:

5) Literature – famous authors included:

-F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby

-Sinclair Lewis – Main Street

-Ernest Hemingway – A Farewell to Arms

I. Life in the 1920s:

D. Transportation*Henry Ford – “made the 20s happen”-responsible for changing the automobile

industry by using the assembly line – each worker had a specific job

-1920 – 8 million cars on the road-1929 – 23 million-developed the Model T car (every one was

exactly the same

I. Life in the 1920s:

-before the assembly line it took approx. 12 hrs to build a car

-after assembly line it took approx. 28 minutes to build a car

I. Life in the 1920s:

Charles Lindbergh – nicknamed “Lucky Lindy” or the “Lone Eagle”

-the first to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic-flew from NYC to Paris May 20th and 21st of

1927-no parachute, no radio, no heat, no sleep-name of the airplane was “Spirit of St. Louis”-son was kidnapped and killed in the early

1930s (great mystery)

I. Life in the 1920s:

Amelia Earhart – the 1st woman to fly across the Atlantic without stopping (1932) – disappeared while trying to fly around the world

I. Life in the 1920s:

E. Return of the Ku Klux Klan From the Greek word kyklos which means

“circle” Revived in the 1920s Membership:

-1916- 100,000 -1924- 2 million-1928- 4 million -today- approx. 6,000

Attacked African Am.’s, Jews, Catholics, and immigrants

I. Life in the 1920s:

F. Scopes / “Monkey” Trial The state of TN passed a law in 1925 that

made it illegal to teach evolution (Charles Darwin theory) in public schools

John Scopes, a teacher from Dayton, TN, was chosen by the ACLU to challenge the law

I. Life in the 1920s:

He was arrested and charged – defense attorney was Clarence Darrow

William Jennings Bryan was the prosecutor The judge refused to allow scientists to

testify for the defense since “they were not around during creation”

Scopes was found guilty and fined $100, however the law was later changed

I. Life in the 1920s:

G. The Red Scare The fear of radicals (esp. communists and

socialists) Causes:

1) the communist revolution in Russia (1917) scared many Americans – “If it can happen there, it can happen here.”2) terroristic violence in the U.S. – mail bombs were sent to local, state, and national leaders

I. Life in the 1920s:

Because of the Red Scare and the power of the KKK, limits were placed on immigration

Sacco and Vanzetti Case – two Italian immigrants, who were anarchists, were accused of killing 2 men during a robbery in MA – convicted without a fair trial – both were executed in 1927

I. Life in the 1920s:

H. Republican Presidents

1) Warren G. Harding – won the election of 1920 by promising a “return to normalcy” - remembered for scandals -his advisors, called the Ohio Gang, were corrupt (sold gov’t offices, took bribes, etc.)-died in 1923

I. Life in the 1920s:

2) Calvin Coolidge – became Pres. after the death of Harding

-nicknamed “Silent Cal” because he was a very quite man

-also won the election of 1924

I. Life in the 1920s:

3) Herbert Hoover – won the election of 1928 because people were pleased with the economy and didn’t want a lot of change

-promised “a chicken in every pot, and a car in every garage”

-also said, “I have no fears for the future of our country, it is bright with hope.”

II. The Great Depression:

A. Hidden Causes:

1) Unequal distribution of wealth:

-people were very rich or very poor

-20% of the nation lived in poverty (late 1920s)

II. The Great Depression:

2) Installment buying:

-the buyer pays a certain amount down, and then pays the rest in installments (payments) with interest -easy credit

-some people created huge debts

II. The Great Depression:

3) Bank failures:

-banks were poorly managed

-people lost money (sometimes their life savings) when their bank closed

-7,000 banks closed in the 1920s

II. The Great Depression:

4) Increase in unemployment:

-new factory machinery required fewer workers

5) High tariffs (tax on imports) on foreign goods:

-decreased competition, which increased prices of certain goods

II. The Great Depression:

6) Huge farm surpluses:

-led to a drop in farm prices

-many farmers lost their farms because no one needed their food

II. The Great Depression:

B. Immediate Cause – the Stock Market Crash:

Prices of stock rose throughout the 20s By Sept. 1929, the Dow Jones average

reached 381

-Dow Jones – the price of stocks from 30 of the largest companies in the U.S.

II. The Great Depression:

Thursday, October 24, 1929 – some stockholders began to pull out of the market – afraid of a crash

Tuesday, October 29, 1929: -“Black Tuesday” -the day the stock market crashed-investors panicked and started selling before their stock became worthless-Dow Jones fell to 261 (41 in 1932)-between $6 and $9 billion was lost

III. Daily Life during the Depression:

Children were forced to work Many people became homeless

-many of the homeless lived in small villages made of cardboard boxes and crates nicknamed “hoovervilles” (named after Pres. Hoover who was blamed for the Depression)

III. Daily Life during the Depression:

Some men and families became hobos – rode the rails looking for work and food

Many farmers had more food than they could sell

-people didn’t have the money to buy it

-some food was destroyed in an effort to decrease the supply so prices could increase

III. Daily Life during the Depression:

Droughts occurred on the Great Plains

-this region became known as the Dust Bowl because it was so dry

-many moved west to CA looking for work because the dust storms destroyed their crops

-these people were often called okies because most were from OK

III. Daily Life during the Depression:

The Grapes of Wrath (1939) – novel written by John Steinbeck about one family’s struggle in moving to CA

Pres. Hoover wasn’t willing to spend enough money to provide relief to the people

III. Daily Life during the Depression:

Bonus Army March:

-in 1924 Congress approved a bonus payment to all who served during WWI

-the money was to be paid in 1945

-June 1932- 20,000 veterans marched into Wash. D.C., set up camps, and said they wouldn’t leave until they received their bonus

III. Daily Life during the Depression:

-Hoover ordered the police to remove the protesters

-2 veterans were killed – made Hoover look bad

IV. Franklin D. Roosevelt:

Defeated Hoover in the election of 1932 Cousin of Teddy Roosevelt Became ill with polio in 1921 – forced

him to use a wheelchair 1st Pres. to use the radio regularly –

“Fireside Chats” – explained his plans and programs to the people

IV. Franklin D. Roosevelt:

Handled the press well – ex: pictures not taken of him in his wheelchair (did not want to appear weak)

Famous quote – “All we have to fear, is fear itself.”

The “Brain Trust” was a group of advisors that helped him – attorneys, economists, political scientists, etc.

IV. Franklin D. Roosevelt:

His wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, was his most important advisor

-FDR said she was his “eyes and ears” outside the White House

-she could travel and meet with people he couldn’t because of his disability

IV. Franklin D. Roosevelt:

Bank Holiday – 1st action as Pres.

-closed every bank in U.S. for 4 days

-sent people out to determine which ones were strong and those were re-opened

-almost all were re-opened

-trying to restore confidence in banks – people began to put their money back in

V. New Deal Programs:

The “New Deal” was FDR’s response to the Great Depression

Created new agencies to help the people

-nicknamed “alphabet soup” because of all the abbreviations that were used

From 1933 to early 1935, the dominating goals of FDR were…

“reform” “relief” “recovery”

V. New Deal Programs:

This phase was called the First New Deal

-tried to get the economy moving again and give help to those in need

V. New Deal Programs:

A. First New Deal Programs:

1) Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC):

-1933

-insured bank deposits up to $5,000

-prevented people from losing their money when their bank closed

-reform

V. New Deal Programs:

2) Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): 1933

-built dams, power plants

-provided cheap electricity, recreation, and encouraged businesses to come to the region

-employed up to 40,000 workers

-relief

V. New Deal Programs:

3) Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): 1933-offered outdoor work to unemployed single men-recruited young men (18-25) from the cities-set up camps - planted trees, fought forest fires, built dams, etc. (environmental work)-relief

V. New Deal Programs:

4) Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA): 1933

-paid farmers not to produce certain crops (cotton, wheat, tobacco, corn, etc.)

-trying to eliminate the surplus which would increase prices of goods

-relief for farmers

V. New Deal Programs:

5) National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA): -1933-controlled business practices-set minimum wage levels (usually .30 to .40 cents an hour depending on job)-shortened workers hours to create new jobs-created the National Recovery Adm. (NRA) to enforce these new codes-relief

V. New Deal Programs:

B. Second New Deal:1) Works Progress Adm. (WPA): 1935

-employed writers, teachers, librarians, actors, musicians, and artists-also expanded the number of workers in existing organizations (ex: CCC)-created 100,000’s of jobs - relief

V. New Deal Programs:

2) Social Security Act (SSA): 1935

-required a social security tax to be taken out of every workers’ paycheck

-gave money to those who were disabled or to old to work

-relief

VI. Impact of the New Deal:

Increased the power of the Pres. Conservation gains – dams built, trees

planted, etc. Created new federal social programs –

social security, welfare Deficit spending – the gov’t spends more

money than it brings in from taxes