1. A New Era

2. I. Economic Prosperity Causes of Economic Boom
Destruction of Europe left the US as the only industrialized nation
Technology – Model T ($850)
15 million cars sold in 1920 vs 5 million in 1929
Assembly line made cars more affordable
Auto spurred other industries
Radio – motion pictures grew; entertainment outside of the home
Advertisement – whetted the demand for products
Consumerism
Fostered growth of advertising which benefited from expansion on national mass circulation magazines such as Time, Readers Digest, and Saturday Evening Post

3. Farm and Labor Problems
Public opinion turned against strikes due to Red Scare
Farmers overproduction and foreign competition reduced farmers income
Many migrated to cities

4. II. Life in the Twenties Consumerism Automobile Radio Movies
Altered American life as much as the railroad
Became the symbol of social equality
Radio
KDKA – ushered in the radio era (1920) first commercial
Movies
Silent Films: Charlie Chaplin, Rudolp Valentino
The Jazz Singer (1927) first film with sound
Shaped the behavior of the young

5. Women and Family Life Family decreased between 1920-1930
The Flapper – symbolized independence
Bobbed hair, short skirts, danced, smoked, and wore makeup

6. The Great Migration – large number of blacks move North
Blacks forced to move and lured by industrial jobs
Many moved to inner cities
Marcus Garvey
Universal Negro Improvement Association
Believed blacks should separate themselves from corrupt white society
Deported because of mail fraud

7. The Lost Generation Writers and artists fell at odds with society
Wrote about the hypocrisy of society
Lived a life of disillusionment
Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, T.S. Eliot

8. Harlem Renaissance – literary movement of blacks in NYC.
Rejected white society calling “new negro”
Celebrated black history
Wrote about black life and injustice in society
Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen

9. The Jazz Age – music derived from black music
Blacks moved north took their music with them
Gave blacks a place in a consumer culture
Duke Ellignton, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong

10. III. The Cultural Backlash
Fundamentalism v. Modernism
Fundamentalist opposed scientific teaching that cast doubt on veracity of scripture
Modernists attempted to adapt religion to the teachings of modern science
Scopes Trial (1925)
John Scopes violated law restricting evolution
William Jennings Bryan (prosecutor) and Clarence Darrow (defense). Scopes was found guilty

11. Rise of 2nd Ku Klux Klan (1915-1925)
Rose in response to movie Birth of a Nation (1915)
More anti-foreign than anti-black
Strength in Midwest and South
Targeted foreigners, Jews, and Catholics
Declined after exposure as money making org.
Prohibition – 18th Amendment
Strong demand for alcohol and weak enforcement led to a hypocrisy
Saloons replaced by “Speakeasies”
Organized crime grew in major cities
Al Capone,
Volstead Act – passed to enforce prohibition