Post WWI and Roaring 20s

1. Post WWI and Roaring 20s

2. Normalcy • After WWI, America went into a period of isolationism. • Term given to American withdrawal from Europe and world affairs. • Came to an end with American entry into WWII.

3. Red Scare • Americans grew increasingly afraid of people being communist. • Open immigration: Rise of new Ku Klux Klan (KKK) • The KKK grew to 4 million.

4. Sacco-Vanzetti Case • Italian immigrants and confessed anarchist accused of robbery and murder. • Many Americans felt they never received a fair trial.

5. THE ROARING TWENTIES LIFE & CULTURE IN AMERICA IN THE 1920S

6. Ku Klux Klan • Colonel William J Simmons • Revived organization in 1915 Thanksgiving night in Stone Mt. GA. “punished Blacks who didn’t know their place, women who practice immorality, & aliens who refused to conform” • 1922: enrollment 4 million out of 110 million(3.6%)–entered politics & controlled legislatures in TX, OK, OR & IN • Attacks against: African Americans, Catholics, Jews, immigrants and others. • By night, whipped, beat and even killed. • Kkk Claimed: “a sickly Europe had vomited on America” • Success: Congress did pass Quotas on immigration • By 1927 Klan activity diminished once again.

7. Americans on the Move • Urbanization still accelerating. • More Americans lived in cities than in rural areas • 1920: • New York 5 million • Chicago 3 million

8. Demographical Changes- Great Migration • Migration North- • African Americans moving north at rapid pace. ½ million Why? • Jim Crow laws • New job opportunities in north • RESULT: 1860 – 93% in south • 1930 – 80% in south Real Time Demographics • Struggles: after WWI worst race riots Wilson stated that he feared African Americans would back Communist ideas (never helped w/ race issues) • Faced hatred from whites - (soldiers treated equally in Europe) (most lynching's, mob violence) • Forced low wages (last hired & 1st fired(25 race riots 1919)(24:39 Boom story of us)

9. SCIENCE AND RELIGION CLASH • Fundamentalists (religion in everyday life) vs. Secular thinkers – no religion in public life (Rural America v. Urban America) • The Protestant Movement - literal interpretation of the Bible is known as fundamentalism - • Fundamentalists found all truth in the Bible – didn’t believe in evolution

10. SCOPES TRIAL • In March 1925, Tennessee passed the nation’s first law that made it a crime to teach evolution in public school • The ACLU promised to defend any teacher willing to challenge the law – John Scopes did (town recruited him because 1st yr teacher, popular football coach w/ no ties to community or dependents) Scopes was a biology teacher who taught his students that man derived from lower species - breaking TN law.

11. SCOPES TRIAL Darrow • The ACLU hired Clarence Darrow, (formed after WWI to defend constitutional rights after passage of Espionage Act) most famous trial lawyer of the era, to defend Scopes • The TN prosecution countered with William Jennings Bryan, the three-time Democratic pres. Nominee Bryan

12. SCOPES TRIAL • Trial opened on July 10,1925 and became a national sensation (Urban America v. Rural America) (Trial of the decade) (Trial about Evolution) • In an unusual move, Darrow called Bryan to the stand as an expert on the Bible – key question: Should the Bible beinterpreted literally? Jonah swallowed by fish & world created in 7 days • Under intense questioning, Bryan said that the bible can be interpreted in different ways (crowd gasped why?) • Nonetheless, Scopes was found guilty in 9 min and fined $100why? (think of jury) • Scopes never taught again going to get his masters in Geology & shunning the spotlight Bryan Darrow

13. Laws on bans of teaching Evolution weren’t overturneduntil 1967 • Textbooks changed their wording & it isn’t until 1950s Evolution taught again • TN threw out case so not appealed to Supreme Court • Bryan died 5 days later still in Dayton – diabetic who ate a large meal & died in sleep • the town of Dayton founded Bryan College, a strong fundamentalist school in his honor. • Re-enactments are held in Dayton every yr on anniversary • show video: Scopes Trial 3:15 Youtube

14. A New Mass Culture1920s

15. New Trends in Popular Culture • The 1920 was in many respects the first decade of our modern era. Even as cultural issues divided Americans from different regions or economic levels, technology was beginning to break down other barriers. The biggest evidence of this was in the leisure interests of the American people.

16. Americans Enjoy More Leisure Time: • In the evenings, a farm family might play games, read, or sing together around the piano. • Occasionally, they joined other farm families for picnics or a game of baseball. • They did not have the time or the money for more extensive leisure pursuits.

17. City life was different. The average workweek in all industries fell from 70 hours in 1850 to 55 in 1910 to 45 by 1930. The workweek went from 7 days a week to 6 and at last 5. At the same time, salaries and wages were on the rise.

18. Hollywood

19. Americans Flock to the Movies: • With more free time and disposable income, urban and suburban Americans looked to new sources of entertainment. Motion pictures helped supply that demand. • The technology to make motion pictures had been around for a generation, but the movie industry rose to new heights in the 1920s. • A handful of hige studios in Hollywood, California, established monopolies that controlled the production, distribution, and exhibition of movies. • During the 1920s, from 60 to 100 million Americans went to the movies each week. • These theaters became America’s cultural classrooms.

20. Charles Chaplin

21. Stars of the Era: • Most stars of the silent era portrayed ordinary people. • Comedian Charlie Chapman was the most famous of the time period. • In 1927, film history changed with the release of The Jazz Singer, the first movie with sound synchronized to the action.Silent pictures quickly faded out, replaced by “talkies.” • Movies spoke directly to the desires, needs, fears, and fantasies of millions of people in the United States and around the world.

22. The Radio and Phonograph Break Barriers: • Like the movies the phonograph and radio also became instruments of mass popular culture. • Each was the result of both technological advances and business enterprise. • Millions of radios and phonographs were marketed in the 20s. • On a deeper level, these two means of technology helped produce a standardized culture. Americans everywhere listened to the same songs, learned the same dances, and shared the same popular culture.

23. An Age of Heroes: • Hollywood’s chief rival for creation of heroes were the nation’s baseball parks, football fields, and boxing rings. • Before the 1920s, there were relatively few nationally famous athletes, such as Jim Thorpe. Most sports stars were local heroes. The 20s became known as the Golden Age of Sports.

24. Babe Ruth

25. Sports Heroes Win Fans: • Thanks to increased newspaper readership and the rise of radio coverage, every major sport boasted nationally famous performers. • The leading sports hero was baseballs Babe Ruth, others included Red Grange in football, Jack Dempsey in Boxing, Bobby Jones in golf, and Bill Tilden in Tennis. • Women athletes, also gained fame, Helen Wills in tennis and Gertrude Ederle,, the first woman to swim the English Channel. • Why did athletes reach these heights of popularity? Part of the answer was sports journalists the other part is that the decade needed heroes. WWI shattered many American’s faith in progress, making the world seem cheap and flawed. Sports heroes reassured Americans that people were capable of great feats.

26. Charles Lindbergh

27. Lucky Lindy Crosses the Atlantic: • Even the biggest sports stars could not match the adoration given aviator Charles Lindbergh. • In the 20s, the airline industry was in iits infancy. Flying aces had played a role in WWI, and a few small domestic airlines carried mail and passengers. • The pilot became a new breed of hero, a romantic daredevil who risked death with every flight.

28. Lindbergh outdid them all. In May 1927, he took off from Long Island, New York, in his tiny single-engine plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, and headed east to Paris, France. • Other pilots had flown across the Atlantic before, but Linbergh was the first to do it solo and non-stop. • The flight took more than 33 hours, and the lone pilot had to stay awake the entire time. He also remembered in the day time he knew where he was going, but at night it was largely a matter of guesswork. • When Lindbergh landed in Paris, he became an instant media celebrity. The modest young man became the greatest hero of his time.

29. THE TWENTIES WOMAN • After the tumult of World War I, Americans were looking for a little fun in the 1920s. • Women were independent and achieving greater freedoms. • ie. right to vote, more employment Chicago 1926

30. THE FLAPPER • Challenged the traditional ways. Old Victorian styles • Revolution of manners and morals. From Rosie to Flapper • Flapper was an emancipated young woman who embraced the new fashions and urban attitudes. • Cut hair, raise skirts, smoke, drank, sharp rise in divorces, fewer kids, high school & college education

32. PROHIBITION Prohibition lasted from 1920 to 1933 when it was repealed by the 21stAmendment • One example of the clash between city & farm was the passage of the 18th Amendment in 1920 Wilson vetoed (Urban opposed & rural supported it) • Launched era known as Prohibition • Made it illegal to make, distribute, sell, transport or consume liquor. • Legislate MORALITY – Progressivism on Steroids

33. Progressive Religious Fundamentalist such as Billy Sunday believed “Reign of Terror” is over: • Slums will soon be gone • Prisons transformed into factories • Jails into storehouses • Men will walk upright • Women will smile • Children will laugh • Hell will be empty • America Story of us: Boom 31:56-35:52

34. Cars were jacked up with faster engines so bootlegger could outrun the law. 1st Muscle Cars -stock car racing begins (Nascar) • Rum Row at sea – 100s of ships anchoring at sea 3 miles out & selling it to anyone willing to buy from ME to FL • Even use WWI U-boats w/ torpedoes filled w/ alcohol fired on to Long Island beaches • Coast guard patrolling seas from Canada to Caribbean to stop rum runners. • poisonous concoctions of liquor. -drinks laced with acids & formaldehyde. - claimed thousands of deaths • After 13 yrs& Murder rate up 80%

35. Volstead Act/18th amend. had too many loopholes: • Didn’t ban possession of alcohol. • allowed dr. to prescribe & drugstores to dispense it. • allowed wine for sacrament in churches. • Allowed industrial use

36. SPEAKEASIES AND BOOTLEGGERS • Many Americans did not believe drinking was a sin • Most immigrant groups were not willing to give up drinking (anti immigrant - Irish whiskey, German beer & Italian wine) • To obtain liquor, drinkers went underground to hidden saloons known as speakeasies • 16,000 saloons in New York City alone • People also bought liquor from bootleggers who smuggled it in from Canada, Cuba and the West IndiesAll of these activities became closely affiliated with … Speakeasies

37. ORGANIZED CRIME • Prohibition contributed to the growth of organized crime in every major city • Al Capone – • Chicago, Illinois • famous bootlegger • “Scarface” & most famous St. Valentines Day Massacre to kill competition (Bugs Moran) (turning point in enforcement) • 60 million yr (bootleg alone) • Capone took control of the Chicago liquor business by killing off his competition • Talent for avoiding jail • 1931 sent to prison for tax-evasion. (new income tax 1913 amendment 16)(because couldn’t get him on murder –always had alibi Al Capone was finally convicted on tax evasion charges in 1931-

38. Racketeering • Illegal business scheme to make profit. (prohibition helped fueled this activity) • Gangsters bribed police or gov’t officials. ($1,800 a yr fed agent pd but $500 a day for calling in sick or ignoring activity) • Mob Forced local businesses a fee for “protection” If you didn’t pay - gunned down or businesses blown to bits

39. GOVERNMENT FAILS TO CONTROL LIQUOR • Prohibition failed: • Why? Government did not budget enough money to enforce the law –thought it would be self enforced • The task of enforcing Prohibition fell to 1,500 poorly paid federal agents --- clearly an impossible task! Federal agents pour wine down a sewer

40. SUPPORT FADES, PROHIBITION REPEALED • By the mid-1920s, only 19% of Americans supported Prohibition • Many felt Prohibition caused more problems than it solved • The crime rate shot past the all-time high and created the highest homicide rate of the early 20th century • The 21st Amendment finally repealedProhibition in 1933(13yrs) during Great Depression so govt could make profits instead of criminals • Feds only able to apprehend 5% of illegal booze The idea of legislating morality w/ prohibition didn’t work America story of us boom 35:52-to end

41. Wilson came home and campaigned for League of Nations on nationwide tour but lost. (Massive stroke) • U.S. SenaterejectedTreaty of Versailles mainly because of League of Nations (U.S. wanted isolationism)(disillusioned why we entered war)