Cultural Conflicts of the 1920s

Cultural conflicts present during the 1920s Conflicts in beliefs and values as a result of the rapid social changes of the 1920s The divides could be seen along the following lines: Rural v. urban Traditional beliefs v. modern (way of life) Conservative v. liberal

Society of the 1920s: Great Migration Great Migration- movement of black Americans from the South to Northern urban areas Reasons for moving: Push factors- escape racism, segregation (Jim Crow laws) Pull factor- Higher paying job opportunities (sharecropping to factory jobs) Results: Black population in Northern states increased 1860-7% 1910-11% 1930-20% Social unrest arose as an unintended consequence

Migration patterns

Racism 1919 Red Summer Bloody riots break out in nearly 40 cities across the U.S. to postwar social tensions related to the demobilization of WWI vets, both black and white, & competition for jobs among ethnic whites and blacks The federal government laid much of the blame on local black community leaders thus did little stop the violence

Racism Revival of the KKK Membership- 1922 (100,000) 1924 (4,000,000) Racism- Strongest in the South (mostly rural) and other sparsely populated areas of the country (IN had the most KKK members) Actions were against Jewish, Catholic, and black Americans Lynchings increase

Lynching in rural Alabama 1923

1925 KKK March on Washington -An estimated 5 million klansmen participated showing its political clout

Counteracting racism Booker T. Washington Avoid confrontation over segregation, instead focus on long-term educational and economic advancement in the black community W.E.B Du Bois Staunch advocate for civil rights & political reform Helped est. the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Worked for anti-lynching laws and voting rights Marcus Garvey Universal Negro Improvement Association called for blacks to build self-respect and economic power among the black community Called for a return to Motherland Africa

Society of the 1920s: The Red Scare and anti-immigration movement Isolationism foreign policy dominates national policy

Differences between Russian Communism and the U.S.

Anti-Immigrant Legislation 1921 Congress enacts Emergency Quota Act Limited the total number of immigrants to ~350,000/year In response to immigrants leaving Europe after WWI Concern by nativists that immigrants were destroying American culture and taking jobs 1924 National Origins Act replaces Emergency Quota Act Established more stringent national quotas- Asians and southern and eastern Europeans were subject to fierce discrimination Fear that communists & spies infiltrating the U.S.

Effects of Quota Laws

Why distrust communists Communism v. democracy Political differences Economic differences Social differences This distrust of communism spreading to the United States created a Red Scare that gripped the U.S. during the 1920s.

Effects of the Red Scare Palmer Raids- attempts by the United States Department of Justice to arrest and deport radical leftists, especially anarchists, from the United States Men waiting at Ellis Island to be deported

Effects of the Red Scare 1927 Sacco and Vanzetti trial & execution

Society of the 1920s: Growth of Urban Areas First decade where urban population out paced rural population Continued flight by the middle-class from urban centers to the suburbs Spurred on by the affordability of the automobile, trolleys and busses Fasted paced lifestyles in metropolitan areas attracted younger Americans while many still preferred the tranquility of rural areas

1920s- a changing American society What lifestyle differences would exist between a person living in the picture on the left compared to one on the right?

The battle over religion: Fundamentalism v. Evolution Fundamentalism (the Bible is literal truth) v. Evolution (man evolved from primates) Case background: Teaching the theory of evolution in public schools was illegal in the state of Tennessee (due to conflict with teachings from the Bible) John Scopes (teacher) encouraged a friend to file suit against him Clarence Darrow (defense lawyer) v. W.G. Bryan (prosecuting attorney) two of the best trial lawyers in the country volunteered The case garnered national attention in the summer of 1925 and Dayton, TN became a circus of attention Minor outcome: Scopes fined $100, but the fine was dropped to prevent appeal

A circus-like atmosphere in Dayton, TN

The battle over religion: Fundamentalism v. Evolution Outcome: Bryan (lawyer supporting the antievolution law) testified that even he didn t believe everything written in the Bible as literal truth thus a victory for the theory of evolution A timeline of events concerning the Scopes Monkey trial Darrow and Bryan

Significance Religion- fundamentalism strongest in the South and rural areas of the Midwest while evolution believers tended to live in urban areas The case reflected the clash between modern and traditional values in the 1920s. Church State controversies today SC case from Greece, NY Dover, PA BOE v. teachers

Society of the 1920s: The changing role of women

Society of the 1920s Pre-1920 Women Conservative standards Long hair Bonnet No make-up (only for prostitutes) Could not vote Few jobs outside the home Women s Changing Role 1920s Flapper Women Not a majority of society but a symbol of the decade More willing to experiment against old social norms, and break from the past Bobbed hair Flapper dresses (material shrank from 19.5yds per garment in 1913 to 7yds in 1928) Wore make-up Smoking and drinking acceptable 1920 could vote, a few even held political positions Held a job until married

Pre-1920 1920s

Look at that well turned ankle

Do you want to Charleston? Dance Crazes of the 1920's

The 1920s Woman- Earning the right to vote Attempts at female suffrage did not come easily Western states were the first to adopt female suffrage

The 1920s Woman- Earning the right to vote Opposition by many groups continued until ratification

The 1920s Woman- Earning the right to vote 1920- The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified giving women the right to vote.

Society of the 1920s: Heroes Why focus on heroes? People longed for the symbols of old-fashioned values Charles Lindbergh Spirit of St. Louis first Trans-Atlantic flight earned the Congressional Medal of Honor Amelia Earhart- 1 st women to fly across the Atlantic and from Hawaii to California, lost over the Pacific attempting to fly around the world Jack Dempsey (boxer) Gertrude Ederle (swam the English Channel, Olympian) Babe Ruth (baseball) Shipwreck Kelly- (flagpole sitting)

Shipwreck Kelly says, Flags belong on flagpoles not people but, since I m up here I might as well see how long I can last.

Society in the 1920s- Mass Media & Jazz

Mass Media and the Jazz Age What is mass media? Print and broadcast methods of communication to large numbers of people. How did the development of mass media during the 1920s promote a national culture? The radio and newspaper helped create a national culture by breaking down regional barriers through news, advertising previously regional goods and services How did jazz music seem to sum up the character of the 1920s? Jazz became a nationwide craze Summed up the unconventional character of the decade The devil s music was played by 2/3s of all radio stations by 1928, played clubs all over the U.S. Young people craved the music

Forms of Mass Media Radio By 1930, nearly 14 million American households owned radios Networks broadcast nationwide (NBC, CBS) People could now listen to the same music, news, and commercials thus eliminating regional identities and PROMOTING A NATIONAL CULTURE Movies Hollywood becomes the center of the film industry 90 million theater tickets sold on avg. per week (U.S. pop. 125M) Film making becomes the 4 th largest industry in the U.S. Newspapers Newspaper chains buy up newspapers around the country Number of newspapers sold daily increases 41% during the 20s People share the same information and are influenced by the same ideas and fashions

The Harlem Renaissance A literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that kindled a new black cultural identity spanning the 1920s to the mid-1930s Langston Hughes Louis Armstrong Duke Ellington

Society of the 1920s- Prohibition Prohibition- the prevention by law of the manufacture and sale of alcohol between 1920 and 1933. The push for Prohibition 18 th Amendment- 1920 Banned alcohol

Reasons to support Prohibition Need grain to feed soldiers & allies Anti-German sentiment Contributes to poverty Reduction in crime & immoral behavior

Enforcing Prohibition Almost entirely ignored in big cities and along the East Coast, generally supported in rural areas 95% supported in Kansas Local examples- Troy (Hayner) & Sidney

Causes & Effects of Prohibition Reasons for Prohibition Improve moral character (with focus on recent immigrants) Curb vice in urban areas Need for grain for soldiers overseas during WWI Effects of Prohibition Rise of organized crime & violence (gangsters) Racketeering payments for protection Prostitution Gambling Bootlegging (25A a major route) Speakeasies Flourished in urban areas (especially on the East Coast) Loss of jobs

Unintended Consequences of Prohibition Bootlegging and speakeasies Organized crime Al Capone Violence

The Grand Experiment Ends 21 st Amendment- 1933 Repealed Prohibition Reasons to end: Great Depression- the government needed revenue and people needed jobs The costs & unintended consequences (crime, speakeasies, enforcement costs, etc.) outweighed the perceived benefits Alcohol never went away, it just went underground

Enforcement near impossible

The need for increased tax revenue

1920s Cultural Conflict Overview Conflicts in beliefs and values as a result of the rapid social changes of the 1920s The divides could be seen along the following lines: Urban v. rural New v. traditional beliefs (way of life) Liberal v. conservative