Henry Ford developed the Model T automobile. This was an affordable car, which allowed the masses to buy it
Henry Ford used scientific management to speed up work and make cars inexpensive. He also used the assembly line to speed up production.
- By 1927, 56% of Americans owned a car. - Ford made sure workers worked for him by paying them $5/day and reducing their hours. He did this to keep them happy and working
The rubber, glass, asphalt, oil industries, etc. all experience a boom because of the automobile. What other industries can you think of?
- People are buying more goods because of a flood of affordable products - Advertising used magazines, newspapers, and research to appeal to customers
People bought goods using the installment plan. This was a system of credit where one would pay a down payment with the plan of paying the rest later.
-Due to this, the stock market experience a bull market, or a period of rising stock values - Wanting to make a quick profit, people would by stocks using credit, known as buying on margin
The problem with this method was that if you could not pay for the rest of the stock/product, both you and the seller lose. This was a very risky strategy
As more people flock to the cities for jobs, we see more skyscrapers -Steel allows these to be built, an example being the Empire State Building
-Mass Transportation helped the suburbs to grow -Farmers remained in debt throughout the 1920’s
- Harding’s slogan was “A Return to Normalcy” -He would try to improve business in the US
-But Harding’s friends in government (The Ohio Gang) were corrupt -The Teapot Dome Scandal was an example of this - Sec. of State Mellon sold Naval oil reserves for a personal profit in Teapot Dome, Wyoming
- Become’s President after Harding’s death in He continued to foster Business growth - African Americans suffered greatly during this time period, and Coolidge did nothing to help them
America tried to lead the world in achieving world peace. At the Washington Naval Disarmament Conference, nations discussed disarming or reducing their militaries.
-The Kellogg-Briand Pact attempted to “outlaw war…as an instrument of national policy” -The problem was of course that no one really went through with it
-The US also devised a plan for all WWI participants to pay off their war debts -The Dawes Plan called for the US to invest $ in Germany, so that Germany could pay reparations. GB and France would then take that money to pay back the US---What happens when the US has no money?
-Scopes Monkey Trial – William Jennings Bryan vs. Clarence Darrow - Bryan argued that teaching evolution in school was illegal - -Darrow defended Scopes (the teacher).
-The Quota System began limiting (or setting a quota) on the number of immigrants that could enter the US
-The KKK reemerged in the 1920’s in reaction to large numbers of immigrants -Now this groups discriminates against African Americans AND Jews, Catholics, and immigrants
18 th amendment– This prohibited the sale or consumption of alcohol
-The production of alcohol was a major business. Those who illegally continued to sell it were committing “organized crime”. -This organized crime was known as “bootlegging” Apprehending a Rum-Runner
-Places that illegally sold alcohol were known as speakeasies - One had to know a secret password to get into these places. They were often rigged so that if the police came no traces of alcohol could be found york-secret-societies
-Al Capone was one such man involved in this “organized crime” -Gangsters like him made millions off of prohibition alcohol, prostitution, drugs, and robbery
-The overwhelming persistence of alcohol consumption and production led to the 18 th amendment’s repeal -The 21 st amendment repealed prohibition laws in 1933
-Americans enjoyed motion pictures (movies) at this time -Charlie Chaplin was arguably the first movie star -The Jazz Singer became the first movie with sound
A man named Marconi invented the radio in the 1890’s. By 1920, this invention became very popular. Americans now had easy access to music, lectures, sermons, stories, and the news
Jack Dempsey was a famous boxer. People used the radio to listen in on these fights.
Babe Ruth was a hero of baseball during the 1920’s and beyond. Nicknames like the “Big Bambino” or “Sultan of Swat” reflect his ability to hit large numbers of Homeruns.
Charles Lindbergh was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic in his plane called the Spirit of St. Louis.
The Flapper was a symbol of women becoming more independent. Their clothes, hair, speech, drinking, and smoking all rebelled against what women were expected to be.
The Lost Generation: A group of American writers were those who became unsatisfied with the current culture. They spend time writing about the “new truths” they had found…rebelling against the previous culture
F. Scott Fitzgerald was a member of the “Lost Generation”. He wrote The Great Gatsby and other works that showed the American Dream of success coming to a disastrous end.
Ernest Hemingway- Another member of the Lost Generation that wrote about the unsatisfying culture of the time. A Farewell To Arms was bout his experiences in WWI.
This is a time period in the 1920’s of rebirth and flourishing of African American culture. This included music and literature
Marcus Garvey – A Jamaican immigrant, said that blacks were being exploited everywhere. He promoted black nationalism and a “back to Africa” movement. He even suggested separation of the races
The Jazz Age refers to the 1920’s musical movement. Jazz was made popular by African American musicians
-Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, etc were all popular Jazz artists -A popular Jazz club was the Cotton Club
African American Literature also flourished during this era. Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Claude McKay wrote literature specifically for African Americans.