1920s
Chapter 17
Objective 9.01: Elaborate on the
cycle of economic boom & bust in
the 1920’s
Harding Scandals
• * “The Ohio Gang”
▫ Harding’s friends
he appointed to
office
▫ Were embroiled in
scandals
• Named boyhood friend
Chairman of the Federal
Reserve Bank
• Some of Harding's friends
used positions in government
to make money
• Charles Forbes -head of
Veterans Administration sold
scarce medical supplies &
kept money for himself.
• *Teapot Dome Scandal (1922)
Sec. of Interior (Albert Fall)
leased US lands w/ navy oil
reserves to private companies
“Silent Cal” Takes Over
• 1923- President Harding died while visiting San Francisco
(complications from pneumonia & thrombosis)
• Vice President Calvin Coolidge- was sworn in by his
father (justice of the peace in Vermont)
• Calvin Coolidge- knew 5 languages but spoke very little –
he could be “silent in five languages”= “Silent Cal”
• Fired Harding's crooked friends in government
Coolidge kept Harding’s good appointees:
• Charles Evan Hughes- Sec. of State
• Herbert Hoover- Sec. of Commerce
• Andrew Mellon- Sec. of Treasury
**Coolidge avoided crisis & adopted policies (laissez-faire)
that made the US prosperous
Election of 1924
1. Republicans- nominated Calvin Coolidge- “Keep
Cool with Coolidge”
2. Democrats- party was split between “wets”, “drys”,
urbanites, farmers= nominated John Davis (Wall
Street man).
3. New Progressive Party- nominated Robert La
Follette (Progressive Gov. of Wisc).
• Called for government ownership of RR
• Help for farmers
** Calvin Coolidge won easily!!
“The Chief Business of the American People
is Business”-Coolidge
**Sec. of Treasury –Andrew Mellon (business
tycoon)- helped lead US to prosperity in the
1920’s
• Worked for all presidents in the 1920’s
Policies:
1. Balance the nation’s budget- est. a Bureau of
Budget
2. Reduce government debt
3. Cut taxes for US businesses (*supply-side
economics)
US Economy 1920’s -Overview
•
•
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
1921- brief post WWI recession (inflation,
strikes, job shortages)
1922-1928- period of prosperity
1929- Stock market Crash- start of the
Depression
Unemployment remained low
Standard of living rose (lowered taxes)
Indoor plumbing & heating became more
common
40% of urban & rural areas had incomes in
poverty range
The Washington Naval Conference (1921)
•
Problem: Post-WWI- major powers involved in
massive weapons buildup.
• US invited major powers to Washington (led by Sec. of
State Charles Evan Hughes)
• US promised a 10 year halt on construction of new
warships
• Created a list of old warships to be destroyed.
1. Five Power Limitation Treaty- Britain, France,
Japan, Italy, & US agreed to Hughes idea.
• Failures: did not limit land forces, required Japan to
keep smaller navy than US or Britain.
Foreign Policies
• *The Dawes Plan (1924)
• US allies could not pay war debts due to high US
tariffs – Germany could not pay war debts
▫ American banks would loan money to Germany to
make its reparations payments
▫ France & Britain would require less
▫ Caused France & Britain to go further into debt
• The Kellogg Briand Pact (1928)
▫ Treaty outlawing war
▫ US & 14 nations signed
▫ Problem: Allowed defensive wars
Sec.2- A Growing Economy
•
Assembly line production allowed new
industries to grow
1. Henry Ford: introduced the auto in late
1800’s.
• 1908- Introduced the Model T sold for $850
• Used assembly line methods
• 1913- installed 1st moving assembly line
• 1914 Model T sold for $490; 1924=$295
• GM, Chrysler emerged as competitors
• Auto industry= growth in rubber, glass, nickel,
lead, petroleum businesses
Ford & His Workers
• 1914- Ford increased worker wages to $5 a day
• Reduced workday to 8 hour shifts
** increased worker loyalty & undercut unions
“Sociological Department”- set requirements workers
had to meet= renting space in one’s home for
nonfamily members forbidden.
Social Impact of the Car
1. eased isolation of rural life
2. Enabled people to live farther from work
3. Allowed younger generation some freedom from
parents
Birth of the Airline Industry
• 1903- *Orville & Wilbur Wright- made 1st crewed,
powered flight in history at Kitty Hawk, NC.
• 1907- Glenn Curtiss- invented ailerons (surfaces attached
to wings that can tilt to steer planes)= built aircraft for US
& Allies during WWI.
• **Post WWI-most people thought airplanes dangerous
novelties
• 1918- US introduced 1st airmail service- hired private
airplane owners
• 1925- Kelly Act- US government contracts with private
airplane owners to deliver mail
• 1926- Air Commerce Act- federal money to build airports
• **1927- Charles Lindberg- 1st transatlantic solo flight
(landed in Paris)= proved air travel was safe
• **1928- 48 airlines served 355 US cities.
The Birth of Radio
• 1913- Edwin Armstrong- invented a special circuit that
made transmission of voice & music practical.
• *Nov. 1920- 1st public commercial radio broadcast=
Harding's Election victory 1920 (KDKA)
• 1926 NBC; 1928 CBS
• 1927—700 stations dotted the country.
• 1928- 1st presidential election in which both parties
bought ad time on radio
The Growth of Consumer Society
1. Easy Credit
• Individuals began to borrow more in the 1920’s
• Before the 1920’s-- Most Americans considered
debt shameful
• Americans bought 75% of radios & 60% of cars
on credit in the 1920’s
• Americans also bought stock on credit!
2. Mass Advertising
• Manufacturers spent more money on ads in the 1920’s
• Used ideas of convenience, leisure & style to draw
customers to products.
3. Managerial Revolution: companies created
departments & placed managers over each= new middle
class= more consumer buying power.
4. Welfare Capitalism: introduced by businesses to
undercut unions; offered employees benefits, retirement,
stocks etc.= more disposable income for industrial
workers.
The Decline of Unions
• 1920’s unions lost influence & members
1. Open shops- employers promoted idea of a
workplace where union membership was not
required.
2. Workers were more prosperous in the 1920’s
Uneven Prosperity
• Not all Americans enjoyed economic prosperity
• African-Americans & women left war jobs when
soldiers returned
• New immigrants found good paying jobs hard to
find
• *Farmers did not have good economic times
• Problems for farmers= borrowed during
WWI to make profit= higher debts
• Farmers earned less than 1/3 income of other
workers.
• Post WWI- foreign competition & high tariffs =
less demand & lower prices for crops= debt.
Helping Farmers
• 1924-1928 –some members of Congress
introduced bills to help farmers
• McNary-Haugen Bill- government would buy
up surplus crops & sell them at a loss over seas.
• Congress passed bill twice-Coolidge vetoed it
twice.
**
Farmers mired in recession in 1920’s
A Clash of Values (17.3)
NC Objective 9.02 –Analyze the extent of prosperity for different segments of
society during the 1920’s.
NC Objective 9.04: Describe challenges to traditional practices in religion,
race, and gender.
Nativism & Racism increased during the 1920’s & led to changes in
immigration policy.
Nativism Resurges
Causes:
1. Post-WWI recession (1920-1921)
2. Influx of “new immigrants”- SE Europeans
3. Cultural Tensions
Immigration- dropped during WWI
• Post WWI –back to prewar norms
• Increase in strikes, bombings
• Immigrants competed with former US soldiers for jobs
*The Sacco-Vanzetti Case (1921)- two Italian
immigrants (anarchists) found guilty of murder &
executed in 1927.
** example of nativism of the time period
The Return of the KKK
• Before 1920’s- Klan attracted few members
• 1915- William J. Simmons – formed the “New
Klan”- to preserve America’s white , Protestant
civilization.
• *New Klan targeted – Catholics, Jews,
immigrants, & other “un-American” groups.
• *1920’s- Klan attracted many new members in the
south & north (hired public relations experts to
promote membership)
• 1924= 4 million members = demanded
immigration limits
• *LATE 1920’s- Klan membership declined due to
scandals within the Klan
Controlling Immigration
• *1921 Emergency Quota
Act- limited admission to the
US based on 3% of an ethnic
group already living in the
country; ethnic identity &
national origin determined
admission.
• Exempted people in the
western hemisphere=
Hispanics =700,000 migrated
to US.
• 1924- *National Origins
Act- made immigration
restrictions permanent; set
new ethnic quota of 2% of each
ethnic group based on 1890
census.
A CLASH OF Values- New Morality
•
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
•
•
Supporters of “new morality” in the 1920’s clashed with people
who supported traditional values.
“new morality” – glorified youth & personal freedom; emphasized
the status of women.
1920 women gained the right to vote= Women challenged ideas
about sexuality & relationships.
Automobile allowed young people to escape
Working women gained financial independence & became
consumers of goods.
Fashion changed- dresses shortened, hair was “bobbed”= the
“flapper” was the symbol of the “new morality” of the 1920s.
Women made gains in science, medicines, literature
Margaret Sanger- American Birth Control League (1921)=
Planned Parenthood (1941)
Middle Class couples practiced birth control in the 1920’s
The Fashion of the 1920’s – New Morality
Fundamentalism
•
•
Many Americans did not embrace the ‘new morality”
Fundamentalists believed that new morality was leading to the
moral decline of America
Beliefs of Fundamentalists
1. The Bible is literally true & without error
2. Believe in creationism– not evolution
•
Billy Sunday- preacher who used showmanship & rapid-fire
sermons.
•
Aimee Semple McPherson – LA preacher whose sermons
used costumes & sets to sway audiences.
** Scopes Trial or Scopes “Monkey” Trial (1925)- teacher
challenged Tenn. Law which outlawed teaching anything that
denied creationism.
•
8 days of trial; Scopes found guilty & fined $100 (later
overturned)
•
Trial broadcast over the radio- hurt Fundamentalist cause
1920’s Fundamentalist Preachers
Prohibition
• *18th Amendment (1920)- outlawed
alcohol in the US.
• *Volstead Act – made US Treasury
Dept. responsible for enforcing
prohibition.
• Dramatic increase in federal
government power over states.
• 1920’s Treasury made 540,000
arrests- no effect.
• “Speakeasies”- bars where illegal
alcohol could be purchased.
• “Bootlegging”- rural areas
• Organized crime flourished (Al Capone
–Chicago)
• 21st Amendment (1933) repealed
prohibition.
Art & Literature 1920’s
•
Centers for art & literature= Greenwich Village
(Manhattan) & the South Side (Chicago).
1. Modern American Art: various styles attempted to
express individual & modern experience.
• *Edward Hopper- revived realism; paintings convey
disenchantment & isolation (Automat)
• Georgia O’Keeffe- landscapes & flowers
2. Poets & Writers- varied greatly in styles.
• Carl Sandburg- used common speech to glorify the
Mid-west.
• Willa Cather- wrote about life on Great Plains.
Automat – by
Edward Hopper
*The “Lost Generation” writers
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
*“Lost Generation” writers of the 1920’s were
disillusioned with materialism & negative aspects of
modern life.
T.S. Elliot- The Hollow Men
*Ernest Hemingway- wrote about disillusionment
with war- For Whom the Bell Tolls & A Farewell to
Arms.
*Sinclair Lewis- wrote Babbitt & Main Street
(absurdities of modern small town life)
*F. Scott Fitzgerald- wrote about colorful characters
chasing futile dreams- The Great Gatsby
Edith Wharton- The Age of Innocence- criticized high
class society- won Pulitzer Prize (1920)
Eugene O’Neil- tragic playwright
Popular Culture
•
Economic Prosperity of 1920’s gave Americans more
money & leisure time.
1. Motion Pictures- until 1927 movies had no sound
except for piano players in movie theaters.
• The Jazz Singer (1927) 1st movie with sound.
2. Radio- most Americans were entertained by radio in
the 1920’s.
• KDKA broadcast of Harding’s election victory 1920 (1st
public radio broadcast)
• 1922- 400 radio stations existed
• *Amos n’ Andy- famous radio show; featured two
white men who were playing black characters.
3. Mass Media- radio, movies, literature helped
breakdown cultural barriers= sense of shared
experience.
Sports
1. Baseball- *Babe Ruth (715 homeruns); “Sultan
of Swat”
2. Boxing- Jack Dempsey-heavy weight champ
1919-1926.
3. Football- Red Grange- the “galloping ghost”;
Univ. of Ill.
4. Golf- Bobby Jones won 1st US Open (1926)
5. Tennis- Bill Tilden & Helen Wills
Sec.5- *The HARLEM RENAISSANCE
• WWI & 1920’S African-Americans moved from the South
to settle in Northern cities= The Great Migration
• In the North, they faced job discrimination & economic
inequality
• The North still offered better economic choices.
• African-American populations swelled in cities like:
NYC- Harlem.
• *Harlem Renaissance- the flowering of black artistic
development that grew in the northern cities.
*Key Harlem Renaissance Writers/ Artists
• Claude McKay- 1st prominent black writer of Harlem Renaissance;
showed bitter contempt for racism.
• **Langston Hughes- most prominent Harlem Renaissance
writer/poet; wrote A Negro Speaks of Rivers & A Dream Deferred.
• Zora Neal Hurston- Their Eyes Were Watching God; stories about
rural life of African-Americans set in Florida; featured female
characters.
Music- Jazz
*Jazz- a style of music influenced by Dixieland blues & ragtime; 1922
introduced to Chicago by New Orleans native Louis Armstrong.
• Duke Ellington- 1923 formed a band & played in speakeasies in
NYC.- formed his own sound & blend of jazz.
• *The Cotton Club- most famous nightclub in Harlem; most jazz
artists played there
Blacks in Politics in the 1920’s
• 1919- 1,300 African-American WWI vets marched on
Washington= new aspirations of the 1920’s.
• Most African-Americans voted Republican & became a
major voting power in the north
• Oscar Depriest- 1st African-American representative for
Congress from a Northern state (1928).
• NAACP-lobbied against lynching & blocked a racist NC
judge to US Supreme Court
Black Nationalism
•
Black pride– led to many people calling for separation from white
society.
• ** Marcus Garvey: (Jamaican Immigrant)- introduced “Negro
Nationalism”- glorified black culture & traditions.
• Founded Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)pushed for black economic & political power using education; also
advocated separation from white society.
• 1920’s- Garvey proposed leading African-Americans back to Africa
• Ideas rejected by Black Middle class
• 1923- Garvey convicted of mail fraud= sent to prison
• 1927- Garvey was released from prison (Pres. Coolidge) & deported
back to Jamaica
• Outcome of black national movement1. Increased black pride & unity
2. Laid foundations of the Black power movement of the 1960’s