The 1920s Through the 1920s, three Republican presidents would control the executive branch. Congress was also solidly Republican as business boomed, while farmers and unions struggled.

Warren Harding Republican elected president in 1920 “return to normalcy” Appointed former President William Howard Taft to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Pardoned Eugene V. Debs (in prison for violating Espionage Act) Reduced income tax Increased tariff rates Scandals and corruption (like Ulysses S. Grant)

Harding and Scandal/Corruption Harding selected a number of incompetent men to important positions In 1924, Congress discovered that Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall had accepted bribes for granting oil leases near Teapot Dome, WY Teapot Dome Scandal Though Harding was never implicated, his reputation suffers He died suddenly in 1923

Calvin Coolidge VP Calvin Coolidge becomes president “Silent Cal” “The business of America is business.” After less than a year in office he ran for the presidency (1924) and wins! Progressive Party nominated Robert La Follette of Wisconsin Coolidge believed in limited government that let business do its own thing

1924 Election

Election of 1928 Herbert Hoover ran for the Republicans Alfred E. Smith (Catholic and against Prohibition) ran for the Democrats Republicans boasted of “Coolidge prosperity” Hoover won in a landslide Won several southern states

Election of 1928

Jazz Age The youth of the 1920s expressed their rebellion against their elders by embracing jazz Brought north by African-Americans Symbol of the “new” and “modern” culture of the cities Phonographs and radios helped spread music

Consumerism Electricity in homes = refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines and radios Automobiles: replaced RRs as promoter of other industries, such as steel, rubber and glass Cars also = new freedoms and new problems (traffic jams and accidents) Advertising Stores sell new appliances Chain stores By 1930 2/3s have electricity Standard of living increases dramatically

1920s Advertisements

1920s Advertisements

Popular Heroes During the 1920s, Americans shifted from seeing politicians as role models to the new larger-than-life personalities of celebrities (sport and cinema) Jack Dempsey: boxer Babe Ruth: baseball Gertrude Ederle: swimming Jim Thorpe: football Bobby Jones: golf Charles Lindbergh: flying nonstop from NY to Paris

Gender Roles 19th Amendment passed in 1920 gives women the vote Tended to have same views as husbands Still regulated to traditional roles, although technology eases work load Some women worked as nurses, clerks and teachers and for lower pay than men However new ideas and fashions contributed to change

Revolution in Morals Margaret Sanger advocated birth control (still taboo but growing acceptance) The flapper look Shorter dresses (hemmed at knee, not the ankle) Shocked elders “bobbing” (cutting short) their hair, drinking and smoking But when women got married, they were expected to give up the flapper image Divorces increased

Harlem Renaissance By 1930, 20% of African-Ams. Lived in the North Widespread discrimination Harlem, NY became famous for its concentration of actors, artists, musicians, and writers Langston Hughes – poet Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong – musicians Bessie Smith- singer

Langston Hughes “I, Too, Sing America” I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I’ll sit at the table When company comes. Nobody’ll dare Say to me, “Eat in the kitchen,” Then. Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed— I, too, am America.   — Langston Hughes, 1926

Marcus Garvey Jamaican immigrant who advocated individual and racial pride Black nationalism Established an organization of black separatism, economic self-sufficiency, and back to Africa movement Later tried and convicted and jailed in fraud charges Deported back to Jamaica Inspired black nationalism

Culture Conflict Darrow and Bryan Scopes Trial Religious fundamentalism (South) vs. modernists (northern cities) Teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution outlawed in several southern states John Scopes challenges in Tennessee Clarence Darrow defends Scopes, William Jennings Bryan prosecutes Scopes found guilty, later overturned

Prohibition 18th Amendment – 1919 “Noble experiment” Prohibited sale and manufacture of alcoholic beverages Many people defied the law Speakeasies, bootleggers and corruption Organized crime grew: Al Capone in Chicago Arguments grew as to whether crime decreased 21stAmendment - repeals-1933

Prohibition After Repeal - 1933

Nativism and Quota Laws Over a million foreigners entered the U.S. between 1919 and 1921 Mostly Catholic and Jewish Prejudices aroused Isolationists see them as radicals Congress passed two laws limiting immigration – quotas 1921 and 1924 Quota Acts Immigrants from Asia and SE Europe restricted, not those from Canada and Latin America

Sacco and Vanzetti Ku Klux Klan Two Italian immigrants put on trial for robbery/murder in1921 Liberals vs. conservatives Sacco and Vanzetti executed in 1927 KKK grows stronger – against blacks, communists, Catholics, Jews and foreigners The “new” Klan developed some political influence in the South and Midwest