After WWI Americans returned to isolationism- refusing to become involved in foreign affairs. Temporary recession occurred Government stopped spending on military items Farmers lost markets in Europe

The Red Scare was an atmosphere of panic that hit America. Citizens were scared of Communism spreading to America. Palmer Raids Attorney General Mitchell Palmer ordered the round-up of 4,000 suspected communists without warrants. Most were released. 600 deported Hysteria Union office after a Palmer Raid

Sacco and Vanzetti Trial Two Italian immigrants convicted of robbery and murder Believed the robbery was to obtain funds for anarchist revolution Even though there was a lack of evidence, the judge found them guilty and executed them. Many believed they were executed for their anarchist beliefs

The Red Scare, anarchist bombings and Sacco and Vanzetti case led to the rise in Nativism- dislike of foreigners. Migrations of African Americans to the North led to racial tensions and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. Hostile to immigrants, Catholics, Jews and African Americans Race Riots Chicago- 38 people killed

Favored American business Supported laissez-faire policies High protective tariffs Lower taxes on wealthy Weak enforcement of antitrust laws

Called for “Return to Normalcy” Less ambitious foreign policy and a greater emphasis on peacetime production and prosperity at home Teapot Dome Scandal Cabinet member leased oil-rich lands at Teapot Dome to two business friends in exchange for personal bribes Laissez-faire Pro business Republican

“Rugged Individualism”- Americans were given equal opportunities, free education, and a will to succeed. This spurred the progress and was the basis of America’s success Laissez-faire policies Pro business Republican

Single most important factor behind American prosperity of 20’s Jobs- 1 out of 9 workers employed by auto industry Greater mobility Family vacations Growth of suburbs Henry Ford- Model T car was the first car that many middle class Americans could buy. Assembly line production- increased production= lower prices= increase in auto workers’ wages

"Americans can have any kind of car they want, and any color they want, as long as it's a Ford, and as long as it's black."

Glenn Curtiss- Early aviation pioneer; successfully designed a “hydroeroplane” that could take off and land on water

Advertising stimulated demand Workers had higher wages and more leisure time= greater purchasing power Buying on credit- buyer put a small amount of money as a down payment to take an item home and paid off the rest through installments.

Consumer Debt

Speculation- purchase of any item not for personal use, but in the hopes of selling it later at a higher price 1920’s – speculation in stocks and real estate

Temperance Movement- Aimed at making alcohol illegal Frances Willard- President of the National Women’s Temperance Union Eighteenth Amendment- banned the sale of alcoholic drinks Opposition Many believed it forced people’s moral beliefs on others Put thousands of people out of work Led to the rise of organized crime “speakeasies”- hidden bars Twenty-first Amendment- Prohibition is repealed

Pitted older religious beliefs against new scientific theories John Scopes accused of teaching the theory of evolution William Jennings Bryan- prosecutor Clarence Darrow- defended Scopes First trial to be broadcast over the radio Scopes was convicted and fined $1

Nativist feelings led to tight immigration restrictions from Europe Immigration Acts of 1921, 1924, and 1929 Designed to keep immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe out of America Eugenics- pseudo-scientific belief that the human race could be improved by breeding. It was believed that superior parents would lead to better children Led to forced sterilizations Segregation laws marriage restrictions Closely tied to Social Darwinism

Women More women voting= greater independence Reject restrictive clothing a traditions= flapper dresses, short hair, more makeup Began reading Sigmund Freud and treating sexuality more openly

Tin Pan Alley A section of New York City where song-writing and musical ideas mixed together to form American popular music Blues, jazz, and ragtime blended together 20’s Music:

“Lost Generation” writers who rejected the material wealth of the 20’s; didn’t fit in with society after experiencing the horrors of WWI Sinclair Lewis- Babbitt Ernest Hemingway- A Farewell to Arms F. Scott Fitzgerald- The Great Gatsby

million African Americans left the South for the “Promised Land” of the Northeast and Midwest Still rejected by racism in North and Midwest Created cities-within-cities Harlem in NYC- African American community

Harlem Renaissance- During the 1920’s, it was the general awakening of African American culture. Rising middle class of African Americans Jazz music Poets and writers Langston Hughes- poet “I Too Sing America” Zora Neale Hurston- writer Their Eyes Were Watching God

Marcus Garvey- political activist Formed-Universal Negro Improvement Association Encouraged African Americans to set up their own shops and businesses Back-to-Africa Movement- advocated African Americans return to Africa

More leisure time= more time for entertainment Sports, radio, movies, magazines Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey Charles Lindbergh- 1 st person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean Emergence of movies and radio- common American culture Charlie Chaplin: