Roaring twenties 2009

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks. Life magazine cover (1926), John Held, Jr.

The Roaring Twenties1919–1929

•Government supports business

•Hands-off policy in other matters

The Business of America1

SECTION

Harding and the “Return to Normalcy”

The Business of America

• President Warren G. Harding promises to return U.S. to

“normalcy”

• Pro-business cabinet includes Andrew W. Mellon as Secretary of the Treasury

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• President Harding appoints unqualified, corrupt men, cabinet positions (Ohio Gang)

• In the Teapot Dome Scandal Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall:

- takes bribes- makes illegal deals with oil executives

• Harding depressed about scandals, diessuddenly (1923)

continued Harding and the “Return to Normalcy”

The Business of America1

SECTION

Coolidge Takes Over

• Vice-President Calvin Coolidge

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• Tries to clean up scandals, elected president in his own right (1924)

• Laissez faire—business unregulated by government benefits the nation

• Under “laissez faire”, U.S. business prospers

• Refuses to help farmers; doesn’t believe in government help for individuals

The Business of America

• President Coolidge is an isolationist:- U.S. stays out of other nations’ affairs

except for self-defense

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• Helps set up the Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928):- 15 nations agree not to make war on each

other, only self-defense

continued Coolidge Takes Over

The Business of America

Technology Changes American Life

• Average annual income per person rises 35 %

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• Americans have more money to buy goods,spend on leisure

• Using assembly lines, Henry Ford makes cars most people can afford

• Assembly line—product moves along conveyor belt across the factory

The Business of America

1SECTION

• Installment buying—repay borrowed amount in small monthly payments

• National advertising begins, promotes new products

• Cheap fuel powers new inventions that make life easier

continued Technology Changes American Life

The Business of America

The Air Age Begins

• Former WW I pilots work as:- crop-dusters, stunt fliers, flight instructors

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• U.S. Post Office Department begins air mail service (1918)

• Charles A. Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart fly across the Atlantic

• Pan American Airways becomes first U.S. passenger airline (1927)

The Business of America

1920s bring new attitudes and lifestyles but also cause divisions and conflict.

Section 2

Changes in Society

Youth in the Roaring Twenties

Changes in Society

• 1920s celebrates youth, young people rebel against tradition and authority

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• Young people stay in school longer, wear daring clothes, follow silly fads

• Dance marathons are popular and Charleston is a favorite dance

New Roles for Women

• The symbol of 1920s American women is the flapper

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• 19th Amendment assures women have the right to vote

Changes in Society

Prohibition and Lawlessness

• 18th Amendment—Prohibition—bans making, selling alcohol (1920)

2SECTION

• Speakeasies sell alcohol, bootleggers transport, sell liquor illegally

• Organized crime gangs battle for control of bootlegging operations

• Crime boss Al Capone seizes control of 10,000 speakeasies in Chicago

• Prohibition fails, 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition (1933)

Changes in Society

Changes for African Americans

• In 1920s, many African Americans move North, get better jobs

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• Gain some economic, political power

• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

• Marcus Garvey calls blacks to return to Africa and form separate nation

Changes in Society

A Divided Society

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• Fundamentalism—believe in literal interpretation of the Bible

• John Scopes breaks evolution ban, found guilty, decision reversed

• Ku Klux Klan gains strength, tries toinfluence politics

Changes in Society

Popular culture was influenced by mass media, sports, and the contribution of African-Americans.

Section 3

The Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance

More Leisure Time for Americans

The Jazz Age and theHarlem Renaissance

• Laborsaving appliances, shorter work hours increase leisure time

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• People get higher wages, spend more on leisure activities:

- go to movies, reading, listening to radio, talking on phones

Mass Media and Popular Culture

• Mass media—communication to large audience—takes hold in 1920s

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• People flock to movies to see favorite actors and actresses such as Charlie Chaplin

• Films silent, most of 1920s, 1st talking movie The Jazz Singer (1927)

The Jazz Age and theHarlem Renaissance

A Search for Heroes

• Sporting events of all types enjoy rising attendance

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• Sports figures give people hope for better life, heroes such as:- Babe Ruth, baseball player- Bobby Jones, golfer- Gertrude Ederle, swimmer- Jack Dempsey, boxer

The Jazz Age and theHarlem Renaissance

The Lost Generation

• Lost Generation—artists, writers resent WW I, see little hope for future

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• Become expatriates—people who live in a country other than their own

Ernest HemingwayF. Scott FitzgeraldSinclair Lewis

The Jazz Age and theHarlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance

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• Harlem Renaissance—burst of black cultural activity, Harlem, NYC

• Artists develop, exchange ideas- Langston Hughes—poet

• Jazz—combines African rhythms, blues, ragtime

- Louis Armstrong- Duke Ellington

• Starts in New Orleans

The Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance

The Roaring Twenties

The End!!