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American Life in the “Roaring Twenties”

American Life in the “Roaring Twenties”. 1919 - 1929. Insulating America. THE RED SCARE 1919 - 1920 Provoked by fear that labor violence after WWI was associated with the communist revolution in Russia.

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American Life in the “Roaring Twenties”

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  1. American Life in the “Roaring Twenties” 1919 - 1929

  2. Insulating America • THE RED SCARE 1919 - 1920 • Provoked by fear that labor violence after WWI was associated with the communist revolution in Russia. • The US continues to believe that Communism is trying to sink its red teeth into the democratic neck of the United States! • Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer • Led raids against suspected left-wing radicals • Rounded up over 6000 suspects • Why is he so mad? • Many states passed laws that made unlawful the mere advocacy (talking) of violence to secure social change

  3. Sacco & Vanzetti Trial • Nicola Sacco - (shoe-factory worker) • Bartolomeo Vanzetti – (fish peddler) • Convicted in 1921 of the murder of a Massachusetts paymaster & his guard • Mainly because they were: Italian, atheists, anarchists, & draft dodgers • Electrocuted in 1927 • Whether they were guilty or Not, the atmosphere of anti- Communism was more than Enough to have them killed.

  4. Against: Foreigners (nativist) Catholics Blacks Jews Pacifists Communists Internationalists Evolutionists Bootleggers Gambling Adultery Birth Control Almost everyone Except white sheets, 800 thread count of course Pro: Anglo-Saxon “Native” Americans Protestants They are a new twist on an old costume. Especially popular in the Midwest & “Bible Belt” South 5 million due-paying members Decline in late 1920s KKK

  5. Slowing Immigration • Emergency Quota Act of 1921 • European immigrants were restricted by a definite quota • Quota was set at 3% of their nationality that had been living in the US in 1910 • Favorable to southern & eastern European immigrants • Immigration Act of 1924 • Quotas were cut to 2% & base year switched to 1890 • No Japanese immigrants allowed • Canadians & Latin Americans were excluded • Who does this hurt? • This is overly harsh against Southern and Eastern Europeans.

  6. Results of Restricted Immigration • Patchwork of ethnic communities separated from each other and larger society by language, customs, and religion • Employers used ethnic rivalries to keep workers divided and powerless • Undermined political and class solidarity • Labor unions found organizing difficult

  7. Prohibition • Supported mainly by churches & women • 1919 – 18th Amendment • Volstead Act – passed by Congress • Provided the means to enforce the law • Fairly popular in the Midwest & especially in the South • Strong opposition in larger eastern cities • Extremely difficult to enforce • “speakeasies” • “bathtub gin” • Many see as pointless

  8. Illegal Activity • Gangsters • Made lush profits of illegal alcohol, or hooch, led to • bribery of the police • Violent gangs • Gang wars – especially in Chicago • “Scarface” Al Capone • Convicted of income-tax evasion • Other profitable & illicit activities • Prostitution , gambling & narcotics • Lindbergh Law • Making interstate abduction in certain circumstances a death-penalty offense

  9. Education in the 1920s • High School Graduation rate – 25% • John Dewey – father of education • “learning by doing” & “education for life” • Rockefeller Foundation launched a public health program in the South • Increased life expectancy by 9 years • Virtually eradicated hookworm • Fundamentalists • Teaching Darwinian evolution was destroying faith in God & the Bible & contributing to the moral breakdown of the youth in jazz age

  10. The Monkey Trial • 1925 – Dayton, Tennessee • John T. Scopes, a high school biology teacher, was indicted for teaching evolution • Prosecution – William Jennings Bryan (Fundamentalist) • Defense – Clarence Darrow • Scopes was found guilty & fined $100 • Fined set aside on technicality • Absurdities of the trial cast ridicule on their cause

  11. The Mass-Consumption Economy • Recession of 1920 – 1921, then sprinted forward for the next 7 years • War & Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon’s tax policies • Productivity of the laborer increased • Assembly line • Electrical power • Automobile • Advertising • Bruce Barton – The Man Nobody Knows 1925 • Jesus Christ was the world’s best adman

  12. Commercialized Atmosphere • Sports: • George H. “Babe” Ruth – baseball • Yankee Stadium • Jack Dempsey – boxer • Buying on credit / installment buying • Refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, cars, & radios

  13. Putting America on Rubber Tires • By 1890s, Henry Ford & a few other inventors developed the infant auto industry • Detroit became the car capital of America • Stop-watch efficiency of Frederick w. Taylor, sought to eliminate wasted motion • By 1929, 26 million motor vehicles registered in US, 1 for every 4.9 Americans • Ford’s Model T (“Tin Lizzie”) cheap, rugged, and reasonably reliable

  14. Advent of the Gasoline Age • Automobile industry employed directly and indirectly 6 million • Thousands of other jobs created by supporting industries • Glass, rubber, fabric, service stations, garages, highway construction • New industries boomed • Petroleum in Texas, California, Oklahoma • Railroads impacted negatively by growth of cars, trucks, and busses

  15. Impacts of the Gasoline Engine • New highways ribboned out • Called Americans to open road for vacations • Consolidation of schools • Expansion of sprawling suburbs and commuting workforce • Drawbacks: • Death and injury • “houses of prostitution on wheels” • Quick getaways for gangsters

  16. Humans Develop Wings • Wright Brothers—1903 • Orville and Wilbur successful 12 second airborne flight in Kitty Hawk, NC • 1920 – 1st transcontinental airmail route from NY to San Francisco • 1927 – Charles Lindberg’s solo flight across the Atlantic • Piloted Spirit of St. Louis from NY to Paris in 33 hours and 39 minutes

  17. The Radio Revolution • Guglielmo Marconi—invented wireless telegraphy in 1890s • November 1920: KDKA first broadcast • Early local broadcasts gave way to national networks and standardized accents • Sportscasts, politicians, and popular music

  18. More Changes • 1903 – 1st movie The Great Train Robbery • 1927 – 1st “Talkie” movie The Jazz Singer • Age of silents ushered out as theaters wired for sound • *** The automobile, radio, & motion picture all contributed to the “Standardization” of American life. • Provided Americans with a shared experienced

  19. Took root in Harlem Writers: Claude McKay Langston Hughes Zora Neale Hurston Jazz Musicians: Louis Armstrong Eubie Blake Ella Fitzgerald “New Negro” – full citizen & equal rights Marcus Garvey United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) Promoted the resettlement of blacks to Africa “Put black dollars into black pockets” Later deported back to Jamaica Led to the later founding of the Nation of Islam (Black Muslim) movement Harlem Renaissance

  20. Life Style Changes • By 1920, most Americans lived in cities • Margaret Sanger • Led the first organized birth-control movement in the US • Period of sexual liberation – The Flappers

  21. New Generation of Writers • Social critics of materialism & the loss of idealism • Ernest Hemingway – The Sun Also Rises & A Farewell to Arms • F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby & This Side of Paradise • Sinclair Lewis – Main Street & Babbitt • William Faulkner – Soldier’s Pay, The Sound & the Fury, & As I Lay Dying • Strong southern themes

  22. Wall Street’s Big Bull Market • Incomes & living standards rose • Signals did exist that a crash may be on the horizon • Several hundred banks failed annually • Speculation in the stock market ran wild • Stocks were being purchased “on-margin” • Small down payment & borrow the rest from broker • National debt increased: 1921 - $23.9 billion • 1921 - Bureau of the Budget • Created to assist the president in preparing estimates of receipts & expenditures for submission to Congress for annual budget

  23. The Tax Burden • Sec of Treasury Mellon’s theory • “The poor rich people” • High taxes forced the rich to invest in tax-exempt securities rather than in the factories that provided prosperous payrolls • High taxes discouraged business & also brought a smaller net return to the Treasury than moderate taxes • Shifted the tax burden from the wealthy to the middle-income groups • Was successful in reducing the national debt by $10 billion

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