New Ways of Life

Chapter 25, Section 2 New Ways of Life What was Prohibition? a nation of drunkards What new rights did women gain? How did the automobile and a new popular culture change American life?

Prohibition For nearly a century, reformers like the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union had worked to ban alcoholic beverages. video In 1919, the states ratified the Eighteenth Amendment banning alcoholic beverages. On January 16th, 1920, Prohibition —a ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor anywhere in the United States—went into effect.

Getting Around the Law Some people manufactured their own alcohol. videovideo Others smuggled in liquor from Canada and the Caribbean. Because these smugglers sometimes hid bottles of liquor in their boots, they were known as bootleggers. videovideo Illegal bars, called speak- easies, opened in nearly every city and town in the United States.

Rise of Organized Crime Prohibition gave a boost to organized crime. videovideo Prohibition agents tried to enforce the law Professional criminals took over the job of providing a steady supply of liquor. Crime became a big business. Gangsters forced speak-easy owners to buy liquor from them and used their profits to bribe police, public officials, and judges.

Repeal of Prohibition Prohibition reduced drinking in the beginning but never stopped it. Prohibition was undermining respect for the law. By the mid-1920s, almost half of all federal arrests were for Prohibition violations. Many Americans called for the repeal, or cancellation, of Prohibition. In 1933, the states ratified the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment

Women Voters The Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote. In 1920, Carrie Chapman Catt set up the League of Women Voters, which worked to educate voters, as it still does today. It also worked for other rights, such as the right of women to serve on juries. In 1924, Nellie Ross of Wyoming and Miriam A. Ferguson of Texas became the nation’s first women governors.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Women still lacked many legal rights. For example, many states still gave husbands legal control over their wives’ earnings. Alice Paul proposed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which stated that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Many people feared that the ERA went too far and might cause women to lose some legal protections. The amendment passed but was never ratified.

Working Women Some women had to leave their wartime jobs when the troops came home, many stayed on in the work force. Poor and working-class women had long worked outside the home as factory workers and maids. Middle-class women went to work as teachers, typists, secretaries, and clerks. Life at home also changed. Women began to buy ready- made clothes rather than sew for the family. New electric appliances made housework easier, although they also encouraged women to spend even more time on housework.

Auto Sales Auto factories had become more efficient, which lowered auto prices. The cost of a Model T Ford dropped from $850 to $290. Americans didn’t have to be rich to buy a car. Other companies copied Ford’s methods. In 1927, General Motors passed Ford as the top automaker. Model Ts only came in black, but General Motors sold cars in a variety of models and colors. videovideo

Economic Impact of Cars Car sales spurred the growth of other industries, for example, steel, tires, paint, and oil. States and towns paved roads and built highways. Gas stations, garages, car dealers, motels, and roadside restaurants sprang up across the country. In 1920, there were about 1,500 gas stations in the United States. By 1929, there were more than 120,000.

Social Effects of the Car Many city dwellers moved to the suburbs— communities located outside a city. No longer did people have to live near where they worked. Women insisted on driving, too, breaking down another barrier that separated the worlds of men and women. Cars changed life for rural people. It brought them closer to towns, shops, and movies.

Social Effects of the Car By making travel easier, the automobile helped people from different parts of the country learn about one another. The automobile played a role in creating a new national mass culture

Changes in Pop Culture Rising wages and labor-saving appliances gave families more money to spend and more leisure time in which to spend it. New forms of entertainment arose. Radio Radio became popular in the 1920s. The country’s first radio station, KDKA, started broadcasting in Pittsburgh in A new lifestyle emerged. Each night after dinner, families gathered together around the radio to listen to comedies and westerns, classical music and jazz, news reports and sports broadcasts.

Movies In the 1920s, the movie industry came of age. Southern California’s sunny climate allowed filming all year round. Soon, Hollywood was the movie capital of the world. Movies contributed to the new mass culture. Millions of Americans went to the movies once a week to see westerns, romances, adventures, and comedies. The first movies had no sound. The audience followed the plot by reading “title cards” that appeared on the screen. A pianist played background music. Fans adored movie stars. In 1927, Hollywood caused a sensation when it produced the first “talkie”—The Jazz Singer.

Chapter 25, Section 3 Heroes of the 1920s Sports figures Golf—Bobby Jones Tennis—Bill Tilden and Helen Wills Boxing—Jack Dempsey Swimming—Gertrude Ederle Football—Red Grange, the “Galloping Ghost” of the University of Illinois Baseball—Babe Ruth The greatest hero of the decade In May 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh—“Lucky Lindy”—became the first man to fly alone nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean. He flew from New York to Paris, with no map, no parachute, and no radio. He returned to a hero’s welcome.

Chapter 25, Section 3 The Mass Culture of the 1920s