American Life in the Roaring Twenties 1919-1929 Chapter 31
Red Scare Bolshevik Revolution created a fear of communism in America Labor unions, political protestors, social reformers were accused of being communist Palmer Raids (1919-1921) Attorney General Mitchell Palmer and his assistant J Edgar Hoover hunted suspected communists & socialists Used Alien and Sedition Acts to identify foreign agitators and arrest or deport them Thousands of people arrested and held without trials Buford ( Soviet Ark ) deported 249 radicals including Emma Goldman to Soviet Union Anti-Red statutes State legislatures passed laws making advocacy of violence for social change illegal IWW (Wobblies) were persecuted for radical beliefs Businesses used fear of communism to break unions and labor Sacco and Vanzetti Were convicted of murder, but were found guilty and executed largely because they were Italians, atheists and anarchists
Ku Klux Klan Ku Klux Klan and Nativism Called for a racially and morally pure America and to protect American culture from attacks by immigrants In 20s it focused mainly on anti-immigrant sentiments Attacked blacks, Jews, Catholics, communists Mid 1920s it had 5 million members Strength in midwest and Bible Belt South Nativism Immigrants not trusted and took jobs from Americans Wanted limits on immigration Emergency Quota Act 1921 Established fixed ratios of immigrants from specific countries based on 1910 Immigration Act 1924 Lowered ratios and changed base year to 1890 to keep southern Europeans out Banned Japanese immigration Resulted in immigrants becoming more isolated Cultural Pluralism Favored immigration and saw benefits and strengths as a result Horace Kallen, Randolph Bourne, Jane Addams, Louis Brandeis Laid foundation for multiculturalism of 20 th century
Prohibition (18 th Amendment) Prohibition movement led by women and churches 18 th Amendment establishes Prohibition, Volstead Act passed to enforce it Used to attack immigrants Argued liquor led to poverty, unemployment, violence Wets vs. Drys Oppose prohibition (mostly eastern cities) vs favor prohibition (mostly west and south) Created class tensions because wealthy could afford illegal booze and were not hassled about it Speakeasies and Bootleggers emerge to avoid the law Organized Crime develops to profit off sale of alcohol Police and politicians were bribed Chicago most notorious Al Capone rises as top crime figure Expanded into prostitution, racketeering, gambling Lindberg Law made interstate kidnapping a capital offense Crime leads to legalization 21 st Amendment repeals 18 th Amendment
Scopes Trial States began increasing amount of years for education John Dewey Led progressive education reform movement to encourage more experimental and experiential learning instead of rote learning Fundamentalists sought to protect faith in God from threats of science leading to moral corruption Believed in literal reading of the Bible Got laws passed in Bible Belt to prohibit teaching of evolution John Scopes, a teacher in Tennessee, was arrested for teaching Darwin s Evolution Clarence Darrow defended teacher; William Jennings Bryan prosecuted Trial represented conflict between science and theology Fundamentalism was seen as a force of repression and ignorance
Mass Consumption Economy Consumer Spending American economy boomed in 1920 s Individuals have higher income so spend more money Many goods available to buy radio, washing machine, refrigerators Advertising rises to increase demand Installment Buying Development of credit allows more purchases Collateral Must have something of value equal to loan Increases demand for more products Synthetic Goods Artificial products allow more and cheaper products to be made Golden Age of Sports Leisure time and expendable income led to development of popular professional sports and superstars
Automobile Assembly Line Brought parts of production in one spot which increase speed but decreased uniqueness of production Developed by Henry Ford Ford made cars cheap and paid workers well to let them buy cars Automobile industry in US Centered in Detroit, led by Ford and Ransom Olds Ford developed Model T (Tin Lizzie), through mass production it became easy for anyone to get Many industries and jobs were tied directly or indirectly to cars Increased need for gasoline in CA, TX, OK Railroad industry hurt by competition Increased availability of food and trade Isolation of rural areas decreased Cars tied to sense of freedom
Humans Develop Wings Wilbur and Orville Wright First plane to fly in air at Kitty Hawk, NC (December 17, 1903), lasted less than a minute Planes did were not important until World War I Commercial airlines and air mail develop after World War I Created new industry for wealth and growth Charles Lindbergh was first person to fly solo nonstop across Atlantic in Spirit of St Louis Amelia Earhart first woman to fly solo across Atlantic
Radio and Film Long distance broadcasts were possible by late 1920s Allowed live broadcasts of events Included soap operas, sitcoms, comedians Created common national culture Changed sports and politics; created entertainment stars The Great Train Robbery (1903) first movie Birth of a Nation (1915) first full length movie (glorified KKK) Jazz Singer (1927) first movie with sound starring Al Jolson Steamboat Willie (1928) introduced Mickey Mouse and was first cartoon with synchronized sound Movies helped immigrants assimilate Allowed for working classes to unite across ethnic lines
Flapper 1920 census for first time most Americans lived in cities Women in Roaring 20s Worked in low paying women s jobs Margaret Sanger advocated for birth control and contraceptives Alice Paul s National Women s Party lobbied for Equal Rights Amendment Flappers were women who challenged traditional roles of dress, attitude, behavior Accepted a more overtly sexual tone Represented rebellion of youth Emphasis on physical appearance Sigmund Freud redefined attitudes towards sexuality
Jazz and Harlem Renaissance Duke Ellington Louis Satchmo Armstrong Jazz develops as a uniquely American musical style developed in New Orleans that was energetic, lively and represented spirit of times WC Handy; Jelly Roll Morton; Joe King Oliver; Louis Armstrong Harlem Renaissance Period of African American literature, poetry, music Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay Increased pride and vibrancy of African American culture during this time Used poetry, music and literature to comment against prejudice and express hope for the future Back to Africa movement United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) led by Marcus Garvey believed African Americans should migrate back to Africa UNIA also encouraged blacks to support themselves by shopping in black stores and keeping money in black neighborhoods Encouraged black racial pride Inspired Nation of Islam movement later on
Lost Generation Lost Generation were artists who saw little hope for future World War I created sense of cynicism and disillusionment Criticized emptiness of wealth, mediocrity and conformity of middle class Sought new sense of values and morals Were not traditional New England WASPs Expatriates many moved to Paris to escape American culture Authors: H.L. Mencken, F. Scott Fitzgerald (Great Gatsby), Theodore Dreiser (An American Tragedy), Ernest Hemingway (Sun Also Rises) (Farewell to Arms), Sinclair Lewis (Babbitt); William Faulkner (The Sound and the Fury)(Absalom, Absalom!) Poets: Ezra Pound; T.S. Eliot; e.e. cummings Playwright: Eugene O Neill Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright