1. The Roaring 20s “The Jazz Age”
Society in the 1920s

2. Politics

3. 1920 Presidential Election
Warren G. Harding
Republican - Ohio
After WW1:
Promises Americans
“A return to normalcy”
and economic growth.

4. Republican Leadership
Very Pro-Business
Public felt the Republicans’ would be better suited to handle the Commies and the Economy
In favor of isolationist foreign policy & a laissez-faire business policy.

5. Republican Scandals Many scandals rocked the Harding administration
Harding was most likely not involved
Biggest scandal was the “Teapot Dome Scandal” – Money for Oil land in Wyoming & California
Harding dies in office. (Maybe because of pressure of scandals)

6. Calvin Coolidge Vice President
Squeaky-clean pristine reputation (no scandals)
“The chief business of the American people is business”
“Laissez Faire” business policies

7. The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia
Vladimir Lenin takes control of Russia in 1917.
He declares a communist state & economy
Communism completely opposes American capitalism
Lenin Advocates the WORLD WIDE SPREAD of Communism.
Communism terrifies Americans.

8. The Red Scare Americans were nervous about the Commies
Led to a sudden, intense fear of Communism, Radical Ideas, and Foreigners. This fear was collectively known as “The Red Scare”…

9. Nativist Ideals lead to Iimits on immigration
National Origins Act of 1924
Scales back immigration to pre-1890 levels (this is done to eliminate Southern, Eastern and Central Europeans)
They might be communists.

10. Fallout from the Red Scare
Sacco and Vanzetti -
Two Italianan anarchists who were charged, convicted, and executed for a crime they didn’t commit because they were foreigners with radical ideas.
Most Americans felt they were framed because they were immigrants who had different beliefs than most Americans.

11. Revival of the Klan Spread to the North 4 Million Members
Biggest state was Indiana
Had several marches on Washington DC
Targeted Blacks, Jews Catholics and Immigrants

13. Rise of the NAACP Failed Anti-Lynching Legislation
Tried fighting discrimination through the courts

14. The Garvey Movement Marcus Garvey Jamaican Immigrant Businessman
Promoted black pride, separation of the races, and a return to Africa

15. Created the largest Pan-African Movement in History
Controversial figure within the Black Community
Met with Klan Leaders
Movement failed, but inspired others

16. American Indian Citizenship Act
granted full citizenship to American indigenous populations
Created to ensure Indians do not become communists!

17. Inventions/Technology

18. New products
(especially electronic household items, i.e., washing machine, vacuum, ovens, etc.)

19. Henry Ford and Mass Production
Ford revolutionized mass production by making the assembly line more efficient.
Ford wanted to produce cars that ordinary people could afford.

20. Ford’s Innovations Power the Economy
Assembly line - Use of assembly line increased productivity in the workplace by making workers jobs simple and repetitive
Productivity rose throughout American companies because of new resources, better assembly techniques, new management techniques, and new technologies

21. Glenn Curtiss Created the U. S. aircraft industry
Also built cars, motorcycles, & bicycles

22. Geography

23. Americans moving Rural / Urban split
Majority of Americans now lived in cities.
Split is more than geographical.
Young vs. Old

24. Americans moving Urban growth
Farmers passed over by post-WWI industrial boom
6 million migrated
Blacks head to northern cities during WWI
Booming industrial jobs
Great Migration

25. Americans moving North Americans
Congress limited European immigration during WWI
Canadians - Northeast
Mexicans – Southwest
Barrios
Puerto Ricans – NYC

26. Americans moving White flight
Influx of newcomers + transportation improvements
Busses replace trolleys and subways
Continued growth of the suburbs

27. Economics

28. What new industries sprang up as a result of the automobile boom?
Garages
Car Dealerships
Gas Stations
Motels

29. New industries cont… Campgrounds Public Transportation
Freight Transportation
Highway construction

30. What happened to America’s top companies during the 1920’s?
They doubled in worth under Republican Leadership
America was experiencing an unprecedented economic boom! (Time period of economic prosperity)

31. What is a Consumer Economy?
An economy that depends on large amounts of spending by individuals

32. What type of monetary habit did Americans traditionally value?
Thrift (buy only what you need and save your money)

33. What Changes in the 1920’s led to Americans buying more “stuff”?
Higher Wages
Clever advertising
Focused on “Consumer Image”

34. Easy availability of consumer credit (installment plans)
Caused HUGE economic gains

35. Value of the Stock Market
The overall value of the market increased from $27 billion in 1925 to $87 billion in 1929.

36. Wages were up by 40%!
This meant many (but not all) workers were making more money.

37. Economic Danger Signs

38. Uneven Prosperity The economic boom mainly benefited the rich
200 companies control 49% of the economy
.01% of the population controls 34% of the countries savings.
71% of Americans live at the poverty line
80% of Americans have no savings at all.

39. Personal Debt Consumer credit – ANYONE CAN GET IT!
Installment plans – BUY NOW! PAY LATER!

40. Playing the Stock Market
Get Rich Quick!
Stock – partial ownership of a company
Speculation – high risk investments
Buying on margin – buying stocks with borrowed money

41. Overproduction
Too many goods, too few buyers equals a surplus.

42. The Automat by Edward Hopper
ARTS
The Automat by Edward Hopper
Typifies 1920s society because society is more advanced and better off than ever but lacks soul and personality. It is shallow and people only worry about temporary wants.

43. Novel that exemplifies this idea:
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

44. Mass Media
What is it?
“the print and broadcast methods of communicating information to large numbers of people”
Leads to a national culture

45. Entertainment in the US
123 million people in the US
$100 million a week watching movies!
$850 million a year on radios
Newsprint doubles from

46. Movie Stars
Greta Garbo and Charlie Chaplin

47. “The Jazz Singer”

48. Jazz Sweeps the Nation…
Comes from Blues in New Orleans
Arrives with black musicians in Northern Cities
2/3 of radio time is devoted to Jazz

49. The Harlem Renaissance
Harlem becomes the cultural center for Black America
Jazz, Poetry, Literature, and Activism

50. Early leader of the NAACP
James Weldon Johnson
Early leader of the NAACP

51. Langston Hughes Poet and Author
One of the most famous and influential members of the Harlem Renaissance
I, Too by Langston Hughes - Poetry Archive
The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes - Poetry Archive

52. Zora Neale Hurston Author & Anthropologist
One of the most famous and influential members of the Harlem Renaissance
Their Eyes Were Watching God – novel describing the life of African American women

53. Music of the Harlem Renaissance
Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong
Jazz band leader
Jazz trumpet player

54. Religion

55. Fundamentalism Reaction to “New Morality”
Literal interpretation of the Bible.
Continues to grow in strength.
Passed Anti-Evolution Legislation

56. Reverend Billy Sunday

58. Scopes Trial Teacher challenges Anti-Evolution laws
Free Speech vs. Fundamentalism
Trial becomes HUGE.

59. Clarence Darrow (Scopes’ lawyer) and William Jennings Bryan (Tennessee’s lawyer)

60. Fundamentalists win the trial, but lose credibility because they appear backward

62. Social & Culture

63. Many women felt freer to experiment with bolder styles and lifestyles
New! 

64. The 1920s is a time of social change.

65. 1920s women
The “new woman”
Not bound by traditional dress or behavior codes of “being a lady”
Style was copy of Jazz club dancers
Perpetuated by media; small minority of women were flappers
Flappers favorite dance was “The Charleston”

67. “New morality” encouraged by media, such as novels, plays, and movies.

68. 1920s women
Working women
Could be nurses or secretaries; not doctors or lawyers
Paid less than men for same jobs.
Conditions were not improving at the rate women’s rights advocates believed they should be.

69. 1920s women Voting women? In 1920: Why? Suffrage granted
Only 35% voted
Why?
Many lacked interest
Many felt that women should not vote.

70. American HEROES Charles Lindbergh 1st person to fly from NYC to Paris
Huge media event
Symbol of traditional American values (hard work can accomplish anything like the western settlers)
Son kidnapped & later found murdered

72. American HEROES Amelia Earhart 1st woman to fly across Atlantic
1st person to fly solo from Hawaii to California
Tried to be 1st person to fly around world
Disappeared mysteriously over Pacific

73. Social Engineering
The belief that a better society could be created through science.
Eugenics - Practice aimed at improving a society’s genetic composition.
Eugenics was in line with Social Darwinism belief that once society found its top group, little as possible should be done to interfere with people’s pursuit of success or the death of the bottom group.

74. Prohibition
Outlawed the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors.
People still wanted liquor

75. Bootleggers
Anyone that could move booze could get rich.

76. Bootleggers modified their cars to be faster than the police.
Many would get together and race
This tradition of racing modified “stock” factory cars became….

78. Rum Runners Captain William S. McCoy aka "The Real McCoy"
Trafficked illegal liquor from Canada and the Caribbean up and down the U.S. Coastline

79. “Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone,
Little Joe was blowin on the slide trombone,
The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang,
The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang,
Lets rock, everybody, lets rock,
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin’ to the jailhouse rock.”

80. The Purple Gang Detroit Michigan

81. You don’t steal from the Purple Gang…

82. Speakeasies Clubs that served alcohol illegally.
These were the “hot spots” of the day.

83. Organized Crime Since booze was illegal.. Led to other activities
Controlled by criminals
Made criminals rich and powerful
Led to other activities
Prostitution, gambling, racketeering

84. Prohibition leads to the rise of Organized Crime

85. Al Capone Young Ruthless (murdered his way to the top)
Bought Policemen, Judges, Congressman
$60 million dollar a year organization ($850 million today)

86. Capone cont. Bought judges; was never convicted
Finally convicted on tax evasion charges