THE
ROARING
TWENTIES
1920 – 1929
THE ROARING TWENTIES
 Were
 Full
an exciting time
of social and cultural changes
TIRED OF TENSIONS
American
people were tired of
the tensions of reform and war
 Average
people wanted to return
to normal times
 Wanted
the nation to be less
involved in world affairs and
more involved in activities at
home
THE
TH
19
AMENDMENT
 1869:
The National Women’s Suffrage
Association had been formed

Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B.
Anthony
 1920:
The 19th Amendment was ratified
 Gave
women the right to vote
AMERICANS RETURN TO NORMAL
Republican
Warren G. Harding
was elected President in 1920
 Received
the greatest percentage
of votes ever gained by a candidate
Promised
Looking
a return to “normalcy”
for quick solutions for
the nation’s problems
HARDING AS PRESIDENT
 Passed

the Emergency Quota Act
Limited immigration to the US
 New
Tariff Act was written

Raised the tax on imported goods
A
Veterans Bureau was established

Gave aid to ex-soldiers and families
 Generally,
not an effective President
THE TEAPOT DOME SCANDAL
2
Oil businessmen gave the
Secretary of the Interior $400,000
Secretary
arranged for them to
rent some government oil
reserves
Harding
didn’t know until the
scandal became public
COOLIDGE AS PRESIDENT
1923:
Vice President Calvin
Coolidge became President
Friend
and supporter of the
business community
 Government
regulations
controlling big businesses hurt the
American economy
A PERIOD OF SOCIAL CHANGES
 Industry
thrived
 Most
Americans were making more, so they
spent more
 Had
more leisure time and money for things like
movies or music clubs
 Americans
became more mobile with the car
 Telephone
improved communication
WOMEN BECAME MORE INDEPENDENT
Many
young women in the
1920s were called flappers
Recently
won the right to vote
Changes
in their hair and dress
Women
wanted to gain more
social freedom
RADIO CHANGED AMERICAN LIFE
 By
the mid-1920s, most middle class
families had a telephone, radio, and
phonograph in their home
 Radio
brought an unlimited source of
free information and entertainment
right into the home
JAZZ CAPTURES THE SPIRIT
 Improvised
 Created
a truly American style
 The
earliest type of Jazz was Dixieland in
the South
 New
dances, like “The Charleston”
 Older
Americans were concerned about its
effect on young people
AMERICAN WRITERS
 Tried
to tell the story of what was
happening in America
F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby
 Sinclair Lewis: Main Street and Babbit


Ernest Hemingway: Farwell to Arms

Edith Wharton: The Age of Innocence

John Dos Passos: Three Soldiers
THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE
 An
area in New York became a creative
center for many African Americans
 Writers,
poets, musicians, entertainers, and
students increased African American pride
 Focused
on African American dreams,
disappointments, and discrimination
DISCRIMINATION PROBLEMS
 Some
Americans wanted to deny
equality and freedom to those
different

“American First” became their slogan
 The
new Ku Klux Klan was formed
in the South in 1915

Wanted to define an American as
white, protestant, and native born
1924: THE IMMIGRATION ACT
 Limited
the number of immigrants allowed in
the US from Southern and Eastern Europe
 Immigrants
from Japan were not allowed in
the US
 Felt
these immigrants were a threat to
society
 Feared
that the communist revolution in
Russia would spread
PROHIBITION
1919:
The 18th Amendment was
ratified
 Made
it illegal to sell alcohol in the
US
1933:
The 21st Amendment
repealed the Prohibition
amendment
THE “DRY DECADE”




Bootleggers continued to make and sell alcohol
illegally
Speakeasies, where liquor was sold, became
popular meeting places
Organized crime made millions of dollars and
became powerful
Reformers tried to do a good thing, but brought a
high rise in crime
THE ELECTION OF 1928
 Calvin
Coolidge ran for re-election

Didn’t pay attention to the decline of
society

Too many good things were happening
 Republicans
Hoover

nominated Herbert
A “self-made” man
THE ELECTION OF 1928
Democrats
nominated Al
Smith
 Governor
Voters
of New York
picked Hoover for
President
THE STOCK MARKET CRASH
 Stock
market continued to rise through
1928 and most of 1929
 People
stock

Price was actually higher than their true
value
 Stock

took savings out of the bank to buy
prices dropped sharply
There were more sellers than buyers
OCTOBER 19, 1929
 Stock

market crashed
People tried to sell, but there were no buyers
 The
US was in the worst economic
depression in US History

The “Roaring Twenties” came to a crashing
end

1930s would be called the “Great Depression”