“Characteristics of the 1920s” LECTURE 1 “Characteristics of the 1920s” FEAR OF IMMIGRANTS FEAR OF ALCOHOL USAGE FEAR OF EVOLUTION

Fear of foreign ideas, strange lifestyles, and immigrants was huge! POST WAR AMERICA The time period after World War I seemed to be filled with anxiety and fear about a large number of things Fear of foreign ideas, strange lifestyles, and immigrants was huge!

FEAR OF IMMIGRANTS RED SCARE Characteristic number 1 of the 1920’s is a fear of immigrants and communism known as the “Red Scare” The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia had brought communism to Americans attention There was a small Communist Party structure in America Communism was about workers and their rights…and there were many strikes after WWI, so many Americans believed there was lots of communists running around! Even evangelists like Billy Sunday spoke about the evils of communism

FEAR OF IMMIGRANTS “Soviet Ark” Sacco & Vanzetti A. Mitchell Palmer The main leader of the “Red Scare” of the 1920’s was Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer Sacco & Vanzetti A. Mitchell Palmer “Soviet Ark” Palmer sent suspected radicals back to Russia The most clear example of radicals and anything foreign was the case of Sacco & Vanzetti Both men were eventually electrocuted in Massachusetts

KKK FEAR OF IMMIGRANTS FOCUS? The fear of anything “un-American” also was exhibited by the rise again of the KKK Was different than the KKK of the late 1800s Klan had greatest strength in the Midwest and South Normal everyday citizens were “proud” to be members of the Klan in the 1920s and membership swelled! KKK of the 1920s then collapsed suddenly due to scandal FOCUS? Anti-Catholic Anti-black Anti-Jewish Anti-Pacifist Anti-Communist Anti-Internationalist Anti-Evolution Anti-Birth Control KKK

Old Immigrants tended to blend in much better than New Immigrants FEAR OF IMMIGRANTS New Immigration Immigrants who arrived from Southern and Eastern Europe during the years 1890-on Old Immigration Immigrants who arrived from Northern and Western Europe during the years before 1890 Old Immigrants tended to blend in much better than New Immigrants Emergency Quota Act (1921) Immigration Act of 1924 Two laws that attempted to stop the number of “new immigrants” coming into the United States

18th AMENDMENT NOBLE EXPERIMENT FEAR OF ALCOHOL USAGE Another fear that showed up in the 1920s was the fear of effects of alcohol on society This was one of the last Progressive issues attacked! 18th AMENDMENT The production and consumption of alcohol had become effective in 1919 with the passage of the 18th Amendment Prohibition is the name for the period of non-alcohol production/consumption Prohibition was implemented by the VOLSTEAD ACT Major problem for prohibition was it couldn’t really be enforced NOBLE EXPERIMENT

Speakeasies Al Capone FEAR OF ALCOHOL USAGE Prohibition also led to the growth and golden age of organized crime (gangsters) Al Capone One of the most powerful and ruthless leaders of organized crime Speakeasies Secret places where you could buy and drink alcohol

FEAR OF EVOLUTION Scope’s Monkey Trial The issue of the Bible account of creation versus Darwin’s theory of evolution finally came to a head in the 1920s with the Scopes Monkey Trial Fundamentalists—those that believe the Bible is inerrant and correct Trial occurred in Dayton, TN William Jennings Bryan was the lawyer for the Biblical viewpoint Clarence Darrow was the lawyer for the evolutionists viewpoint

LECTURE 2 732-742 “The 1920’s Society” THE AUTOMOBILE THE AIRPLANE THE RADIO THE MOVIES SPORTS 732-742

THE AUTOMOBILE Henry Ford Frederick Taylor The 1920’s is often referred to as the “Roaring Twenties” because of the large amount of products and inventions created for mass consumption Henry Ford The first mass produced automobile was produced by Henry Ford at his Detroit Rouge River plant Pushed out a new auto every ten seconds!!!! By 1930, Americans had 30 million cars on the streets Ford was able to mass produce auto’s because of the assembly line and mass production techniques Detroit became the major car manufacturing city The first major auto produced was called the Model T Frederick Taylor—”Father of Scientific Management” Frederick Taylor

The automobile changed life more than any other invention!!!!! One of the major impacts was that the auto spawned many other industries related to it NEW INDUSTRIES? SOCIAL CHANGES? Steel—need more steel to produce auto’s Rubber, glass, fabrics Highway construction Service stations/garages Petroleum industry Auto became a necessity and were a badge of freedom and equality Joyriding and vacations became popular Allowed women more freedom Allowed for the creation of suburbs—could live farther away from the main city Injured many, many people Morals of youth became more relaxed—”a house of prostitution on wheels” Helped organized crime be successful

THE AIRPLANE Charles Lindbergh First airplane successfully flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright at Kitty Hawk, NC Airplanes used with some success in the first World War, but very dangerous for personal travel Charles Lindbergh First major airplane pilot to gain fame was Charles Lindbergh Flew across the Atlantic from NY to Paris in 33 hours and 39 minutes Flew on plane The Spirit of St. Louis “Lucky Lindy” became an overnight hero and sensation

THE RADIO Most historians credit Guglielmo Marconi with the invention of the radio, although it is debated The first major radio broadcast was the results of the 1920 Presidential election Broadcast on station KDKA By the late 1920s, technological improvements made long distance broadcasting possible The radio became a social instrument as family and neighbors would gather around a household radio for entertainment Used extremely well during the Great Depression by FDR in his famous “Fireside Chats” Famous radio shows included Amos and Andy and were sponsored by companies now using “advertising” to sell their products Radio also made sports much more popular

THE MOVIES The Jazz Singer The birth of the movie industry began in 1903 with The Great Train Robbery Early movies were “silent” Often shown in “Nickelodeons” Other famous movies included DW Griffith’s Birth of a Nation about the KKK in Reconstruction days The movie industry also birthed a new city known as “Holllywood” Created the idea of “Movie Stars” Movies became the most popular form of entertainment The Jazz Singer The first talking motion picture (with sound) was the Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson THE MOVIES

In the 1920s, sports became big business too Baseball became America’s pastime with heroes like Babe Ruth Boxing became popular with men like Jack Dempsey SPORTS

MASS ADVERTISING Bruce Barton One of the major affects of the mass consumption society was a renewed emphasis on advertising Advertisers wanted Americans to desire their products and want more, and more, and more! Bruce Barton wrote a book entitled “The Man Nobody Knows” about advertising Said Jesus was the greatest ad man of all time!! Bruce Barton

Flappers CHANGE IN LIFESTYLES Dr. Sigmund Freud The 1920’s also saw major changes in lifestyles and values compared to earlier times An organized birth control movement began led by Margaret Sanger Sexual issues became more commonly talked about and women felt a surge of sexual freedom and liberation Flappers Flappers were they symbol of women’s new freedom and independence Dr. Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud encouraged even more sexual openness Teenagers became much more open about sexual issues too!

LECTURE 3 “Arts and Literature of the 1920’s”

Jazz was the music of the Twenties JAZZ MUSIC One of the biggest artistic achievements of the 1920s was the growth and popularity of jazz music! Jazz was the music of the Twenties Jazz was a mixture of blues, spirituals, etc. that moved from New Orleans along with migrating blacks during the Great Migration of WWI Famous Jazz musicians included “Jelly Roll” Morton, Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, and Louis Armstrong Jazz was also a rebellion of high school and college youth against the music of their parents (much like rock n roll of the 1950’s and the music of the 1960s Originally played by black musicians, as jazz music became more popular all white jazz bands began to form

THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE A new form of black racial pride began to develop in the 1920s too The center of this revival was in the city of Harlem, NY Thus, the revival of black arts is known as the HARLEM RENAISSAINCE Famous artists of the Harlem Renaissance included Langston Hughes who was a great black poet THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

Even purchased a ship known as the Black Star Steamship Company MARCUS GARVEY Marcus Garvey also came to fame in the ’20s due to his Back to Africa movement Garvey founded the United Negro Improvement Association and promoted resettlement of Africa with American blacks Even purchased a ship known as the Black Star Steamship Company Garvey was eventually discredited and convicted of crimes, but he did bring a sense of black pride to African American’s of the 1920’s

THE LOST GENERATION F. Scott Fitzgerald Ernest Hemingway Sinclair Lewis Wm. Faulkner This Side of Paradise The Great Gatsby The Sun Also Rises A Farewell to Arms Main Street Babbitt The Sound & the Fury The 1920s also saw a new group of authors rise to prominence who were known as the LOST GENERATION Many of these writers were young and energetic, but were disillusioned with the effects of WWI

Famous architect of the 1920s 1920s ARCHITECTURE Even architecture was affected by the mood of the 1920s with an emphasis on materialism and functionalism Frank Lloyd Wright Famous architect of the 1920s