. The 1920s is a major era of transition and includes: o Isolationism o Immigration o Red Scare o Jazz Age o Social Darwinism o Eugenics o Nativism.

Unit 5: Transition to Modern America

Major Era The 1920s is a major era of transition and

includes:o Isolationismo Immigrationo Red Scareo Jazz Ageo Social Darwinismo Eugenicso Nativismo Changing role of womeno Economic boom/ consumerism

“Roaring 20’s” US had to adjust to a new peace after WWI Decade starts with the US being a member of the

Allies and getting to partake in global decisions Decade ends with the Stock Market Crash and the

beginning of the Great Depression

Post WWI Many Americans began to favor isolationism

after WWI in foreign affairso Isolationism: refusing to become involved in other

nation’s problems From 1919-1921, US had a temporary economic

recession (downturn)o Government stopped wartime spending and soldiers

returned home looking for jobso Factories closed to convert back to civilian productiono Farmers lost markets in Europe

The Red Scare Russian Revolution in 1917 made Russia the

world’s first communist country Russia wanted a worldwide Communist revolution

and strikes began to spread in Europe and the US Many Americans feared a Communist Revolution

in the US, creating a Red Scare

The Red Scare Palmer Raids

o January 1919 – Italian anarchist set off bomb outside of home of Attorney General Mitchell Palmer

o Bombing was part of a series of attacks in 8 citieso Convinced Palmer that it was a radical plot to overthrow

the US governmento 1920 – Palmer ordered the round-up of 4,000 suspects in

several cities with warrants• His assistant J. Edgar Hoover directed the raid• Most were released but 600 were eventually deported

The Red Scare Sacco and Venzetti Case

o Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Venzetti – two Italian immigrants convicted of committing murder during a robbery

o Robbery allegedly to get funds for anarchist revolution.

o Rest of the world pressured to release them

o Despite lack of evidence, both were found guilty and executed in 1927• Supporters believed conviction

was due to their anarchist views despite jurors insisting otherwise.

Rise of Nativism and Racism

The Red Scare contributed to the rise of nativism (dislike of foreigners)

Ku Klux Klan found new life in 1915o Hostile to immigrants, Catholics, and African Americanso Major race riots broke out in many American citieso Worst were in Chicago where 38 people were killedo Lynching and segregation continued in the South

Three Republican Presidents

Harding, Coolidge and Hoover were Republican presidents o Favored laissez-faire economicso High protective tariffs (Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act (1930)

raised tariffs to highest levels in history)o Lower taxes on the wealthy and corporationso Lax enforcement of antitrust laws and regulations

Harding 1921-23 William Harding –

elected 1920 by a landslideo Campaigned for a

“return to normalcy”o US refused to join

League of Nationso Enacted high tariffso Lowered taxeso Restricted

immigration

Harding 1921-23 Showed tolerance and resisted anti-Semitism

o Campaign manager was Albert Lasker, “Father of Modern Advertising”

Created child health care centers and pursued arms reductiono Supported Washington Naval Conference and US

membership in the World Court

Harding 1921-23 Teapot Dome Scandal

o Appointed personal friends to cabinet positionso Secretary of the Interior leased oil-rich govt lands at

Teapot Dome, Wyoming to two business friends in exchange for bribes

o Scandal uncovered right after Harding’s in death in 1923 and was one of the worst scandals in U.S. history

Charles Forbes stole millions from construction of hospitals for returning veterans

Scandals have left a lasting stain on his reputation

Coolidge – 1923-29 Harding’s Vice

President Became President

when Harding died suddenly in 1923

Elected for second term in 1924

Symbolized by old-fashioned values of honesty and thrift

Coolidge – 1923-29 Pro-business Rarely spoke in public Talent for doing nothing Some accuse his laissez-faire approach to the

economy as encouraging the over-speculation that resulted in the crash of 1929

Herbert Hoover 1929-33

Self-made millionaire Predicted end of

poverty in America “Rugged individualism”

o America as equal opportunities and a will to succeed

o Spurred progress and made US great

o Too much govt involvement would hurt nation’s prosperity

What caused Prosperity?

Govt policies favoring businesses Rise of the automobile Rise of other new industries More efficient production techniques Age of Mass Consumption Speculation Boom Uneven Prosperity

Rise of the Automobile Automobile owners rose from 8 to 24 million Took large amounts of steel, glass, and rubber to

makeo Stimulating those industries

1929 – one out of every nine workers in the automobile industry

Rise of the Automobile Henry Ford

o Early automobile manufacturer

o Wanted to build cars everyone could afford

o Model T in 1905 – fist car many middle class Americans could buy

o Introduced assembly line in 1914• By 1924 producing 1.6

million cars for less than $300 per car

• So efficient, able to double wages and slash prices

Rise of Other New Industries

New discoveries and innovations in every field Improvements in:

o Transmitting electrical powero Improved motorso New Trans-Atlantic telephone serviceo New household appliances

• Vacuum cleaner• Refrigerator • Toaster

o Use of oil and natural gas expanded.o Radio and motion pictures became more widespread

New jobs

Rise of Other New Industries

Glenn Curtisso Early aviation pioneero First plane with motor in Kitty

Hawk, North Caroline 1902 by Wright Brothers

o 1908 – work on designing seaplane that could take off and land on water• Succeeded 3 years later with

“hydroeroplane”• Marked birth of US naval

aviationo 1912 – developed larger

flying boato 1919 – constructed first

airplane to cross Atlantic Ocean for US Navy

More Efficient Production Techniques

Use of conveyer belt spread to other industries Many factories adopted the assembly line Gains in productivity and allowed for lower prices Changed nature of factory work

o Skilled workers no longer needed

Age of Mass Consumption

Advertising stimulated demand Workers had higher wages and more leisure time Retailers allowed people to buy on credit with

installment plans

Speculation Boom Speculation: purchase of any item not for

personal use but in the hope of selling it later for a higher price

1920s – spread of speculation in stocks and real estate

Stock prices climbed > gains in stocks fueled speculation > heard of successes and enticed more people to buy stocks for easy profits > stock prices went even higher.

Uneven Prosperity Wealth was highly concentrated 1929 – top one thousandth (0.1%) o Americans

had a combined income equal to the bottom 42%o Same top group controlled about 1/3 of all savings, while

¾ of Americans had no savings at all Many Americans still faced poverty Farmers faced lower income due to

overproduction Railroads suffered from competition from cars Textile workers faced lower wages because of

foreign competition Minority groups faced discrimination in

employment

Cultural Values in Conflict

1920s saw adoption of new values that threatened traditional values

Young people wanted greater freedom

Many groups felt new sense of power while others felt threatened and sought to preserve traditional ways

Prohibition Liquor is the cause of poverty and crime

o Many women’s organizations championed to end the selling of alcoholic drinks

Frances Willardo One of most outspoken on Temperance Movemento 1879 – elected President of National Women’s

Temperance Union• Advocated women’s rights, suffrage, prison reform, 8 hour

work day, and improved factory conditionso 1882 – organized the Prohibition Party

1919 – Work of Willard and others convinced states to pass 18th amendment banning the sale of alcohol

Prohibition Many felt it legislated and

forced one group’s moral beliefs on others

Others opposed because it closed bars, breweries, etc and put people out of work

Led to a growth in lawlessness and organized crime to supply illegal alcohol to consumers

Alcohol available in “speakeasies” and other underground drinking establishments

21th amendment (1933) repealed 18th amendment and Prohibition

Scopes “Monkey Trial” of 1925

Tennessee – first state to pass law against teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolutiono 1925 – John Scopes, a biology

teacher, was arrested for teaching his class about evolution• Arrested and put on trial

Scopes “Monkey Trial” drew attention for old religion beliefs vs. new scientific theories

William Jennings Bryan represented Tennessee and Clarence Darrow defended Scopes

First trial in American history to be broadcast over radio

Scopes was convicted for teaching evolution but $1 was later set aside

New Restrictions on Immigration

1910 – 70% of all immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe

WWI – immigration trickled down After WWI nativist feelings led Congress to restrict

immigration from Europe Fears: Anti-Catholic, ethnic bias, and admitting

foreign radicalso Many immigrants were unskilled, without education and

knowledge of Englisho “New Immigrants” settled in inner cities and put added

pressures on local governments

New Restrictions on Immigration

Immigration Acts of 1921, 1924, and 1929 – keep immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe out

Quotas for each nationality based on current ethnic compositiono Western Europe

immigrants allowed in great numbers, but “New Immigrants” limited

o Asian immigration barred all together

Eugenics Widespread belief in superiority of the Anglo-Saxon “race”

of light-skinned, blond-haired, blue-eyed people Eugenics – pseudoscience that the human race could be

improved by breeding Charles Davenport

o leading proponent of eugenicso Prevent the mentally ill from having children, mental illness be

reducedo Reduce immigration from “inferior races” of Eastern and Southern

Europe Led to forced sterilizations, segregation laws, and

marriage restrictions Ideas later spread to Germany Ideas closely tied to Social Darwinism

Emergence of New Values

Womeno 19th Amendment – women can voteo New household appliances reduced

houseworko More women in collegeo More women worked > greater

economic independence and more assertive

o Young women began to drink and smoke in public

o Rejected restrictive clothing and adopted the “flapper” look• Short dresses that revealed body

shapes, legs and arms• Hair was short and choppy with a lot

of make-up• Went on dates without chaperones

and enjoyed dancingo Began reading Sigmund Freud and

treating sexuality more openly

Emergence of New Values

Tin Pan Alleyo 1910 – New York City capital of

popular music publishingo Tin Pan Alley – section of New

York – where song-writing and musical ideas mixed to form American popular music• Blues, jazz, and ragtime melded

togethero Sheet music popular o Vaudeville became popular and

needed lots of musico Saw the emergence of famous

song writers:• Irving Berlin• Cole Porter• Scott Joplin• George Gershwin

Youth and the Lost Generation

New group of writers called the “Lost Generation” rejected desire for material wealth

Did not fit into life after horrors of WWI Several lived in Paris Ernest Hemmingway – A Farewell to Arms, The

Sun Also Rises Sinclair Lewis – Main Street and Babbitt

o Strong characterization of womeno First American author to receive Nobel Prize in literature

F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Jazz Age and The Great Gatsby

Great Migration 1910-1930 – Great Migration

o 2 million African Americans left the South to the “Promised Land” of the Northeast and Midwest

o Left searching for jobs and escape sharecropping, tenant farming, and racism in the South

o Reports from family and friends who had previously migrated inspired it as well

o Chicago’s population more than doubled, Cleveland’s by three times, Detroit’s by six fold

o Greeted with racism, housing shortages, and crimeo National Urban League and NAACP helped adjusto African Americans created cities within cities, largest

being Harlem

Harlem Renaissance 1920s – Jazz Age

o Reflect importance of new form of African American music Awakening of African American culture known as the

Harlem Renaissanceo Brought recognition to African American communityo Langton Hughes and Alain Locked

• Expressed pride in race and attacked racism• Hughes is one of America’s best poets

o Countee Cullen• Won more major literary prizes than any other African American

in the 1920so Zora Neale Hurston

• One of first successful African-American women authors• Their Eyes Were Watching God

Harlem Renaissance 1920s – Jazz Age

o Reflect importance of new form of African American music Awakening of African American culture known as the

Harlem Renaissanceo Brought recognition to African American communityo Langton Hughes and Alain Locked

• Expressed pride in race and attacked racism• Hughes is one of America’s best poets

o Countee Cullen• Won more major literary prizes than any other African American

in the 1920so Zora Neale Hurston

• One of first successful African-American women authors• Their Eyes Were Watching God

Harlem Renaissance Marcus Garvey

o Highly controversial political activist

o Emphasized racial prideo Universal Negro Improvement

Association in Londono Wanted to liberate African

people around the worldo Spoke to African Americans

who had witnessed more tolerance in Europe and returned to a racist US

o Encouraged African Americans to set up businesses and shops

o Back to Africa moment – African Americans should return to Africa, especially to Liberia

Popular New Heroes More leisure – more opportunity

for entertainment Rise of popular heroes to preserve

sense of personal identity in time of impersonal machines

Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey served as new role models

Charles Lindbergho First person to fly across Atlantic

Ocean in 1927o Made it alone in a single-engine

planeo Landed plane 33 hours later in Paris

on May 27, 1927o Plane “Spirit of St. Louis” carried

him over 3,600 mileso Made him national hero and

worldwide celebrity

End of Prosperity Impact of tariffs on world trade – high tariffs limited

foreign trade and investment o Became a barrier to European countries repaying the debts

they owed the U.S. following World War I

Stock market speculation – buying stocks on margin (needing only 10% of the price of a stock to be able to complete the purchase) led to rampant speculation and falsely high stock prices

The monetary policy of the Federal Reserve System o In 1928 and 1929, the Fed raised interest rates to try to curb

Wall Street speculation

End of Prosperity Bank failures – once the

stock market crashed, fearful that banks would fail, millions of Americans began to withdraw their money. o Virtually overnight, they put

thousands of banks in peril.o The more money Americans

withdrew, the more banks failed

o The more banks failed, the more money Americans withdrew.

o Banks were not secure and the money in them was not insured if banks failed.