The Roaring 20’s Chapter 11

The Roaring 20’s  We will discuss 5 topics from the era throughout the week:  Monday- The Automobile Industry  Tuesday- The Scopes Trial  Wednesday- Prohibition  Thursday- Mass American Culture  Friday- The Harlem Renaissance

The Automobile Industry  The car was invented in 1886, but its popularity and availability didn’t expand until after WWI  Mass production- rapid manufacture of large numbers of identical parts  Had been used on smaller products such as sewing machines and typewriters  Cars contained thousands of parts

The Automobile Industry  Early in the century, only wealthy city dwellers could afford cars  Henry Ford developed the Model T in it sold for $850  Profits allowed him to expand his business and build factories along the Detroit river, which had easy access to materials for producing cars

The Automobile Industry  While more affordable, the Model T was still out of the price range of many Americans  Employing experts to dissect his mass production methods, Ford introduced the assembly line to his factories  In 2 years, the process for making a Model T went from 12 hours to 90 minutes

The Automobile Industry  With the improvements in manufacturing, the price of the Model T plummeted to $290 by 1927  % of Americans owned a car  % of American owned a car

The Automobile Industry  Ford also introduced many innovations in how his workers were treated:  Doubled minimum wage from $2.35/day to $5/ day  Reduced workday hours from 9 to 8  First major industrialist to give his workers Saturday and Sunday off  These changes allowed Ford’s workers to become consumers as well

The Automobile Industry  As the auto industry grew, so did other related industries (steel, glass, rubber, gasoline, insurance, etc.)  Road construction boomed and expanded  Service stations, diners, and motels developed  Growth of suburbs took place as it became easier to get to work in the city  Not all news was good: the railroad industry suffered as a result of the freedoms gained by car ownership

The Scopes Trial  The 1920s were a clash of many different ideas between those who lived in urban areas vs those in rural areas:  Modernism- emphasizing science and secular values over traditional ideas about religion  Fundamentalism- emphasized Protestant teaching and the belief that every word in the Bible was literal truth

The Scopes Trial  These 2 ideas clashed when it came to education  Rural (fundamentalists) did not place much value on higher education (just know your 3 R’s!)  Urban (modernists) believed a good education was the difference between low and high paying jobs  During the 20’s more Americans attended college than ever before

The Scopes Trial  In 1925, these two ideas clashed over the teaching of evolution in public school  Fundamentalists: man was made directly by the hand of God  Modernists: man evolved over time from simpler beings (Charles Darwin’s theory)

The Scopes Trial  Tennessee law forbid the teaching of evolution  The ACLU convinced a biology teacher, John Scopes, to challenge the law- he was promptly arrested

The Scopes Trial  Scopes was found guilty and fined $100  The trial never did solve the central issue of Evolution vs Creationism and still remains today

Prohibition  By 1917, 75% of counties in the US were “dry”  During WWI, it was deemed “unpatriotic” to turn corn, wheat, and barley into liquor when soldiers needed food

Prohibition  18 th Amendment was passed in 1919  Volstead Act officially enforced the amendment  2 sides of the issue:  “Drys”- improved individuals, strengthened families, and created a better society  “Wets”- didn’t stop drinking and encouraged crime

Prohibition  People got around the law in a number of ways:  People made their own alcohol or smuggled it from other countries  Bootleggers sold illegal booze  Speakeasies became hotspots for drinking, gambling, and prostitution

Prohibition  One of the biggest problems with Prohibition was there wasn’t an effective way to enforce it  Organized crime networks had too many resources to outsmart (or outgun!) police

Popular Culture  Leisure time:  City dwellers enjoyed more down time than ever before  Work hours went from 70 hrs/week in 1850 to 45 hrs/week in 1930  Salaries and wages increased

Popular Culture  The movies were a popular way for city dwellers to spend their free time  Silent pictures were very popular as stars such as Charlie Chaplin entertained audiences across the country

Popular Culture  The movie industry changed forever in 1927 with the release of the first movie to have synchronized sound- The Jazz Singer  “Talkies” replaced silent films in popularity

Popular Culture  Phonograph:  First radio broadcast was made on November, 1920  Soon music from different areas of the country spread all over

Popular Culture  The 1920s were an age of heroes  Babe Ruth became famous for his big bat  Charles Lindberg became famous for his trans- Atlantic flight

The Harlem Renaissance  The Great Migration did provide a better life for many African Americans  While they found better paying jobs in the North, African Americans still faced racism in the North  Hundreds of thousands settled in Harlem, NY and demanded a real solution to the nations racial problems

The Harlem Renaissance  Leaders like Marcus Garvey encouraged black pride and support for black-run businesses  Ideas from the time period carried on into the 1960s

The Harlem Renaissance  “The New Negro” was a term that came to represent the move away from silent acceptance of racism in the US  Authors of the time called for African Americans to not stand for prejudice and rise up against inequality  Langston Huges captured the diversity of the African- American culture in more than 50 works of literature

The Harlem Renaissance  Jazz- a musical form based on improvisation became extremely popular during the 1960s  Started in New Orleans, LA and mixed different cultures and traditions  Louis Armstrong became the spokesman for the style

The Harlem Renaissance  Jazz music became popular with all races- and eventually spread to Europe  Became a symbol of America- a place where different cultures could come together and create something unique together

The Harlem Renaissance  The Harlem Renaissance will end with the Great Depression  Became the foundation of the Civil Rights movement