The Jazz Age, The Harlem Renaissance and a Booming Economy The Roaring Twenties The Jazz Age, The Harlem Renaissance and a Booming Economy

America after WWI With American blood spilled, according to most Americans, at the fault of Europe, Americans focused their interests inward. European ideas and culture were no longer accepted in the least. America returned to a constant state of isolationism. America developed new technologies, new industries and prospered throughout this period why Europe stood on the brink of economic depression and collapse. To make matters worse, America incraesed tariffs on European goods, to keep Americans buying American products.

Booming Economy Increased factory efficiency Gasoline and oil discoveries increase the ability of the average factory to produce more goods for less money New production techniques, like the assembly line at Henry Ford’s Rogue River Plant in Detroit, also increased American production. Although America was producing more goods at a cheaper rate than Europe, they still desired to remain isolated. Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon passed more tariff policies.

Red Scare Forming in the Progressive Era, the Communist Party of the 1920’s dropped drastically in participation Most Americans feared a revolution similar to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia A “red scare” began in Seattle in 1919, when a simple strike demanding small increases in wages resulted in the local government calling for federal troops to stop a new Russian Revolution This ongoing fear became a weapon for the conservative businessmen to use against the liberal unions, claiming any attempt at stopping work was a socialist revolution.

Prohibition: The Noble Experiment Largely supported by women’s groups that continued from the Progressive era, the Volstead Act passed the 18th Amendment abolishing alcohol. This was particularly popular in the South and the West Anti-immigrant/Catholic sentiment is high. German and Irish immigrants continue to pour into the U.S. and much of their culture was built on beer gardens and pubs respectively. Many fearing the permanence of prohibition, prepared for an “alcoholiday” in which they would indulge one last time./

Effects of Prohibition While much of the population supported prohibition, the government was greatly unprepared. Did not have nearly sufficient means to enforce this new law. Speakeasies begin to form and are a constant source of booze and become a staple of the 1920’s culture. Bootleggers began to produce moonshine and bathtub gin. Bootlegged alcohol is exponentially stronger due to the risk of transportation and sales. Sometimes resulted in blindness or death

Gangsterism Making a widely used good illegal, created a huge opportunity for organized criminals. Mafia and gangs seized the opportunity to transport large amounts of alcohol from Canada and other areas. Due to its proximity to the American/Canadian border, Chicago became the frontrunner city for this type of crime, Al Capone becoming the head of a major crime syndicate. A special task force was assembled by the Federal government, putting former FBI agent Elliot Ness at the head of this endeavor. This team of “untouchables” did eventually bring in Al Capone on charges of tax evasion. Capone would die in the federal prison Alcatraz in San Francisco.