American Life in the “Roaring Twenties” (1919-1929) Lucas Ingalls

Seeing Red Russians became feared after the First World War, as a result of the formation of a communist party and the Bolshevik Revolution Criminal syndicalism laws were created to outlaw the advocacy of violence to secure social change. Sacco and Vanzetti Trial- Two men were convicted of murdering a Massachusetts paymaster and his guard and were prejudiced against for being Italian atheist anarchists. Electrocuted six years after the trial (represented antiredism and antiforeignism)

Hooded Hoodlums of the KKK Ku Klux Klan grew immensely in the 1920s Strictly advocated only White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs) Consisted of 5 million members by the mid-1920s Was eliminated near the end of the 20s as a result of a congressional investigation of the organization

Stemming the Foreign Blood Americans, becoming strong isolationists, felt there was no need for immigrants in their country Emergency Quota Act of 1921- limited the amount of immigrants permitted to enter the country to 3% of the amount existing in 1910 in the US Immigration Act of 1924- decreased the quota of immigrants from 3% to 2% (replaced the Emergency Quota Act). Japanese were banned from entering the US, and Canadians and Latin Americans were exempt First restrictions of immigration in American history

The Prohibition “Experiment” 18th Amendment banned alcohol in the United States One of the last remaining concepts of progressive reform Supported by churches and women, as well as southerners and westerners Speakeasies replaced saloons, in which people must know a password to enter and drink alcohol

The Golden Age of Gangsterism The illegal distribution of alcohol made for a large profit, leading to bribing of local police of large cities, which all resulted in wars between rival gangs Gangsters began involving themselves in other illegal activities as they grew, such as prostitution and gambling, all beginning in Chicago Al “Scarface” Capone, the most notorious gangster of all time, initiates a 6 year gang war which generated millions of dollars in Chicago

Monkey Business in Tennessee Education was reformed in the 1920s, initiated by the principal of “learning by doing” by John Dewey Teaching of evolution instead of creationism was banned because it defied all religious beliefs and concepts of the Bible Scopes Monkey Trial- John T. Scopes was prosecuted by William Jennings Bryan for teaching evolution in Tennessee. Scopes was found guilty and was fined $100

The Mass-Consumption Economy Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon’s tax policies along with WWI resulted in American prosperity Advertising created mass markets which would be based on the “supply and demand” concept (consumerism) Sports became a major aspect of consumer economies Establishing credit resulted in a “cloud of debt” over all Americans

Putting America on Rubber Tires Automobile industry (began by Henry Ford), initiated a new form of industrial working with assembly line and mass production Detroit (origin of Ford) became known as the “Motor City” Ford (father of the assembly line) created the Model T, the first ever automobile, and sold 20 million by 1930

The Advent of the Gasoline Age Automobile industry created millions of jobs, boosting the economy, initiating the petroleum industry and competing with the locomotive industry Automobiles resulted in greater independence of women from men, decrease in isolationism, increase in amount of deaths, but more convenience, pleasure, and enjoyment in peoples lives

Humans Develop Wings December 7, 1903- Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first flight in history, recording a distance of 120 feet 1927- Charles A. Lindbergh was the first man to solo fly across the Atlantic Ocean in the Spirit of St. Louis Gave birth to a new aviation industry

The Radio Revolution Guglielmo Marconi invented wireless telegraphy in the 1890s First radio broadcasts were presented to audiences in the 1920s Brought Americans who were leaving home because of automobiles back

Hollywood’s Filmland Fantasies First motion picture with a story was created in 1903, The Great Train Robbery, giving Hollywood the title of Movie Capital of the World Later used during WWI years as anti-German propaganda First surfaced in 1890s with Albert Einstein

The Dynamic Decade Urbanization- American population moving from rural areas to cities Women’s Equality- Women found more jobs in the cities, birth-control movements were held, and National Women’s Party was formed in 1923 Young women “Flappers” surfaced in 1920s, with a sex appeal that featured revealing appearance Musical genres like Jazz became extremely popular, especially in the Northern African-American communities Great Migration and Harlem Renaissance led to a greater population of blacks in northern cities and the formation of the United Negro Improvement Association 

Cultural Liberation Many new authors surfaced in the years succeeding WWI, giving American literature a new quality Architecture also became popular along with this new form of literature

Wall Street’s Big Bull Market Stock Market became very popular in the 1920s Washington adopted the laissez-faire style of economics, not doing much for money management of the nation Taxes were lowered for rich people so they would be more supportive of the American economy New tax policies reduced the national debt by $10 billion