The 1920’s

The 1920’sTimeline

1919 – The Year of the Strike• As post-war inflation

ripped across America, there were more then 3,600 strikes in one year.

• Some Big Strikes:~ Seattle General Strike~Boston Police Strike~U.S. Steel Strike

The Red Scare• Fear of Communism

spreading in America.• Atty. General A.

Mitchell Palmer and the Palmer Raids.

• Nearly 600 deported.• Americans spying on

Americans.• Rise of Nativism.

1920• Warren G. Harding,

from Ohio, is elected the 29th President of the United States.

• This election was the first election in which women could vote.

• The results broadcasted on the radio.

“Normalcy” and The Republican FormulaTo achieve a “return to

normalcy” Harding and Sec. Mellon advanced the Republican Formula for America, it is based on supply-side economics.

~ Business tax cuts~ High Protective Tariffs~Balanced Budgets~Reduce the debt~Reduce government

spending

The Ohio Gang• The group of

President Harding’s cabinet officials, and poker buddies, who gained personal profit by cheating the U.S. gov’t. Such scandals included:

~ Veteran’s Affairs~ Teapot Dome

1923• Calvin Coolidge,

from Massachusetts, becomes the 30th President of the Unites States when Harding died of a heart attack. He will win his own term in 1924.

New Industries• New Business

Practices:~ Mass Production~ Assembly Line~ Welfare Capitalism~Middle Managers• New Industries:~ Automobile (Ford)~ Radio (CBS)~ Airline (Air mail service)

The Consumer Society• With the ease of credit

and the new wave of mass advertising American started buying a wide rage of new products, including: washing machines, refrigerators, radios, cars, pre-made clothing, make-up, vacuum cleaners, extra furniture, etc…

Foreign Policy (Isolationism)• The Dawes Plan:

economic aid to German to help them pay back GB, and Fr.

• The Kellogg-Briand Pact: outlawed war.

• Washington Naval Conference: limited the number of Naval vessels for, U.S., GB, Fr, Italy, Portugal, China & Japan.

Nativism and Racism • Starting with the Red Scare

American started distrusting all foreigners this led to new Immigration Laws & the execution of Sacco & Vanzetti.

• The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) returned expanding their hatered toward: Blacks, Foreigners, Catholics, Jews, Communists, etc…

Red Summer and Black Nationalism

• The summer of 1919 saw riots and violence is black neighbors in many major American cities.

• Marcus Garvey started promoting “Black Nationalism” and his “Back to Africa” movement.

Fundamentalism• Popular evangelical

preachers, such as Billy Sunday, and the Scopes Monkey Trial, created a debate between and evolution.

Prohibition• With the 18th Amendment

(Volstead Act) alcohol became illegal in The United States. This caused a rise in law breaking, organized crime (Al Capone), smuggling, opening of speakeasies, and created “The Untouchables”. This small group of officers were in charge of enforcing these laws.

Flappers• These were the young

women of the decade who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, wore make-up, smoke, drank, used vernancular, and worked outside of the home – sometimes used as the image of the 1920s.

The Jazz Age• A new form of music

called Jazz was created in America. The most famous club was the Cotton Club in Harlem. Such artists included: Louis ArmstrongDuke EllingtonBessie Smith

The Harlem Renaissance• Focus on pride, art,

literature, music, sense of community, and political organization with the Black neighborhood. Such artist/poet/writers included: Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, Dorothy West, and Zora Hurston.

The Lost Generation• Group of writers,

including: T.S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald, criticized the decade because of the focus on materialism and the seeming lose of values. Many of them moved to other countries out of protest.

Sports, Movies, & Hero Worship• Sport Stars: Babe Ruth,

Knute Rockne, Red Grange, Bobby Jones, Jack Dempsey.

• Movie Stars: Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford.

• Aviation Heroes: Charles Lindberg, Amelia Earhart.

Leisure Time and Lifestyles