Chapter 23 the Roaring 20 S

Chapter 23 – The Roaring 20’s

Section One – The Transition to Peace

A Changing Society  In 1920, over 50% of Americans lived in urban areas, leading to new educational and cultural opportunities  Young people go to parties, dances, listen to music, and drive fast cars  Women going to college and over 2 million are in the workforce  19th Amendment (August, 1920) gives women the right to vote (suffrage)  Flappers – young women who broke previous social norms with high hem lines, make-up, short hair, smoking, and jazz dancing

The Peacetime Economy  4.5 million soldiers come home from WWI to find old jobs were filled  Women fired from factories to make room  Transition from war goods to consumer products leads to some labor problems  Seattle Metal Workers strike – 60,000 workers join in one day strike on February 6, 1919. Strikers labeled as communists (people who want government to own all the property) and anarchists (people who want to be rid of all government). Non- violent but unsuccessful  Steel Workers strike in PA has 365,000 people striking, over half of the industry. Violent strikebreakers were hired to break it up, causing the union to give up  These and other strikes give unions bad publicity

Fear and Violence  Red Scare – Americans fear a communist take over of US like the one in Russia  Palmer Raids – US government orders raids (most illegal) against suspected communists and anarchists. Most were immigrants who were arrested, leading to hundreds of deportations. Took away civil rights.  Xenophobia – Fear and hatred of foreigners. Many feared losing jobs to immigrants  Sacco and Vanzetti Trial – Two men executed with little evidence for robbing a Massachusetts shoe factory and killing two men. Thousands protest.  Great Migration – hundreds of thousands of blacks leave south to move to Northern cities for jobs and a better life. In many cases, they were met with racism equal to that in the South.  Race riots – 25 occur in 1919 alone, the worst of which was in Chicago. A black man accidentally drifted into a white swimming area on the beach of Lake Michigan. When whites began throwing rocks, this situation got out of control. Eventually, after a week, 38 were dead and over 500 injured.

Section Two – Returning to Normalcy

The Harding Years  Election of 1920 – Republican Warren Harding elected because of pro-business stance and desire to avoid involvement in European affairs (Landslide with 60% of vote)  Cuts taxes to businesses and the wealthy.  US businesses do well selling imports to war torn Europe

Scandals  Harding hired smart people, but they were involved in many scandals that involved bribes  Harding quote, “I have no trouble with my enemies, but my friends keep me walking the floor nights.” He dies of a heart attack brought on by this stress. (Tecumseh’s Curse)

Coolidge as President  Fires people involved in scandals and run for re-election in 1924  “Business of America is business.” – raises tariffs, limits govt. controls  “I promise to do as little as possible.” He delivered and it worked.

Republican Foreign Policy  Trade from Europe increases despite high tariffs  Disarmament – seeks to limit size of world navies  Kellogg-Briand Pact – Outlaws war. Signed by US and 14 other countries. How do you enforce this?

Election of 1928  Republicans run Herbert Hoover, who promised, “A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.”  Democrats run NY governor Alfred Smith, who gets few votes because he was Catholic  Great quote – “We in America today are nearer to the final triumpuh over poverty than ever before in the history of any land. We shall be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation.” – Herbert Hoover

Section Three – A Changing Population

Prohibition  18th Amendment (January 16, 1920) – banned sale, manufacture, or transportation of alcoholic beverages  500,000 people arrested for violation of the 18th Amendment  Speakeasies – illegal clubs serving alcohol  Bootleggers – Smugglers who sold and transported alcohol  Organized crime makes millions and takes hold of entire cities  Al “Scarface” Capone makes $60 million in 1927 by control of that cities alcohol trade. Violence is a part of the game.  Many people push for repeal  21st Amendment – 12/1933 – Prohibition repealed Religious Beliefs  Fundamentalists – believe the Bible was free from error and literally true. Popular in rural areas and the South  Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution worries Fundamentalists, who feel Genesis was correct.  Scopes Trial – In 1925, Tennessee made teaching of anything but creationism illegal. John Scopes, a high school science teacher was arrested and brought to trial in July, 1925. Called the “Case of the Century.”  Clarence Darrow (defense of Scopes) vs. William Jennings Bryan (prosecution). Scopes loses and is fined $100, overturned 2 years later. Still an issue today.

Nativism  Immigration booms after WWI – 800,000 in 1921 alone  Nativists – fear immigrants threaten the country, seek limits on number of people who can come.  Emergency Quota Act (1921) – only 357,000 immigrants can come. Also put limits on countries not in Western Europe  National Origins Act – Further limits on countries. Favors northern Europe. Zero Japanese allowed.  Ku Klux Klan – reforms in Georgia. Hostile to Jews, Catholics, foreigners, blacks. Reaches peak power in mid-20s with 5 million members. Numbers hurt when a leader showed that leaders were getting rich on membership fees.

Minority Rights  Marcus Garvey – encourages blacks to learn about their heritage through the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)  Thousands of US Indians fought in WWI even though few were citizens. Indian Citizenship Act (1924) – gave Indians citizenship and suffrage.

Section Four – Boom times

The Rise of the Automobile  Henry Ford creates the Model T (Tin Lizzie) and sells 1 million a year by 1921. Rugged and cheap and able to be driven almost anywhere.  Assembly Line – created by ford, this conveyor belt based manufacturing sped up production while reducing costs. Required little skill, so pay was low. Car production went from 12.5 to 2 hours and price went from $850 (1908) to $290 in 1927.  Ford offers the 8 hour work day and later $5 day. Assembly lines led to boredom and repetitive motion injuries.  Automotive industry helps others – steel, rubber, paint, glass, tools, gas, oil, road construction, insurance, and repair shops

Business Booms  Mass production – reduces costs of consumer goods, increasing the sales and demand  US manufacturing doubles from 1921 to 1929  By 1930, 85% of Americans in towns or cities have electricity  Buying on Credit – Many consumers begin to buy on credit and pay for goods in installments. Allows people to buy things they couldn’t before. Banks give loans for this.  Radios play advertisements informing of credit purchasing – “Why wait – ride now, pay later,” was a tire commercial

The Limits of Prosperity  Unskilled workers received low pay and few benefits because of large pool of possible employees (supply and demand)  New technologies hurt – synthetic fabrics replace cotton  Violent strikes lead people to fear unions, allowing business leaders to again take advantage of workers  Open Shop – Employees banned union workers from place of employment  Farmers – no longer a high demand for products as in WWI, puls govt. isn’t paying as much (In Nebraska, corn went from $1.22 to .41 in one year. Farmers couldn’t repay loans an lost their land to banks.

Section Five – The Jazz Age

 1927 - Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly sits atop a flag pole for 23 days an seven hours

A National Culture  Fads – things that generate great excitement for short periods of time  New media outlets (newspapers, magazines, movies, radio) spread ideas quickly to unify American culture  1920 – radio broadcasts begin in Detroit  By 1929, 10 million homes own radios  Movies – take hold in 1920s and the first “talkie” was in 1927 (The Jazz Singer)

A Search for Heroes  Celebrities – movie stars, athletes (Jim Thorpe, Babe Ruth)  Ruth hits 60 home runs in 1927  Negro League feature Satchel Paige  Charles Lindbergh was the biggest hero for flying 34 hours nonstop across the Atlantic in The Spirit of St. Louis

Blues and Jazz  Jazz Music gains hold and develops  Duke Ellington and Louie Armstrong

Literature and the Arts  Harlem Renaissance – focuses the attention on the African American community