Chapter 24
The Jazz Age
1919-1929
A careful act holding
onto time as
demonstrated by
Harold Lloyd
Section 1
Time of Turmoil
“On a hot summer day in 1920, about 50,000 African Americans marched through the
streets of Harlem in New York City. Thousands more lined the sidewalks, cheering the
marchers. Their leader, Marcus Garvey, stirred new hope in African Americans, saying
‘We are descendants of a people determined to suffer no longer.’ A participant at the
march later recalled, ‘It was the greatest demonstration of African American unity in
American history . . .’” -TAJ
Problems after World War I
The Red Scare
Labor Unrest
Racial Unrest
Fear of Radicalism
Many liberties of American citizens had been taken away during WWI. People
who were against the war were arrested. There was distrust of the
government, distrust of foreigners and anyone different.
The Russian Revolution disturbed Americans as the
Bolsheviks continued to establish a Communist
State.
They encouraged workers around the world to overthrow
CAPITALISM – an economic system based on private
property and free enterprise.
Many Americans felt THREATENED by “bolshevism.”
Actions of ANARCHISTS – people who believed there
should be no government- made the fears worsen. (A
series of Anarchist bombings and bomb threats on
public officials.)
The Red Scare
A period when the government went after the “REDS” as communists were known – and others with radical
views.
Attorney General A. MITCHELL
PALMER and his deputy J. Edgar
Hoover ordered the arrest of anyone
suspected to be COMMUNISTS.
-Led raids on suspicious groups,
ransacked, homes and offices and
seized records. (Didn’t find the
weapons and dynamite they said they
were looking for.) A few hundred
aliens were DEPORTED – expelled
from the U.S.
“The blaze of revolution was sweeping over every American
institution of law and order, burning up the foundations of
society.” -Palmer
Sacco and Vanzetti
A criminal case in Massachusetts in 1920 was caused by
the fear of immigrants and radical ideas.
A shoe factory in Massachusetts was
robbed by two men. A guard was shot
and killed.
Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo
Vanzetti were arrested for the crime.
Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter
wrote a defense of the two men.
Although they said they were innocent- both
men were anarchists and Sacco owned a pistol.
They were executed.
Labor Unrest
During the war, labor and management had put aside their
differences. When the war ended, there was new conflict.
Workers demanded increased WAGES to keep up with rising
prices.
There were more than 2,500 strikes in 1919.
Strikes Sweep Country
The largest strike in
American history began in
the STEEL industry.
About 350,000
steelworkers went on
strike in September 1919.
They demanded higher
wages and an 8-hour
workday.
Police Officers in Boston went on strike-demanding the
right to form a UNION.
“There is no right to strike against the public safety by
anybody, anywhere, any time.” - Massachusetts governor
Calvin Coolidge
When the strike collapsed, officials fired the entire
Boston police force.
During this time of Union decline, African American, A.
Philip Randolph, started the Brotherhood of Sleeping
Car Porters- a union of railroad workers.
Racial Unrest
1919- rising racial tensions led to
violence.
In South – more than 70 African
Americans were lynched.
In Chicago, a group of whites
stoned an African American
youth who was swimming in Lake
Michigan- the youth drowned.
Riots broke out.
MARCUS GARVEY supported a “back-to-Africa:
movement- he founded the Universal Negro Improvement
Association to promote racial unity and pride.
Section 2
Desire for Normalcy
Harding Presidency
Sensing Americans longed for calm and
stability after decades of progressive reform
and world war, the senator from Ohio, Warren
G. Harding, promised a “return to
NORMALCY.”
-Running-mate was Calvin Coolidge.
The “Ohio Gang”
Harding gave jobs in the government to many of his
friends and political supporters.
Harry Daughtery- Attorney General
Charles Forbes- Head of Veteran’s Bureau
Albert Fall- Secretary of Interior
Many were
unqualifiedSome were
corrupt.
Teapot Dome Scandal
-Symbol of CORRUPTION during the Harding administration
ALBERT FALL
Secretly leased – rented- government oil reserves
in Elk Hills, California and TEAPOT DOME,
Wyoming to owners of two oil companies.
-He got more than $400,000
-He was convicted and sent to prison. This was the first time
a cabinet member was ever sent to jail.
-1923- Harding went out west to escape the stress of
Washington, DC. He had a heart attack and died. Coolidge
became president.
Honesty Returns to the White House
Calvin Coolidge had a reputation for HONESTY.
He fired Daughtery – replaced the remaining
members of the “Ohio Gang.”
A Friend to Business
He had the government become big supporters of
BUSINESSES.
“The chief business of the American people is
business . . . The man who builds a factory builds a
temple.”
A New Term
President Coolidge seemed to
be exactly what the country
wanted.
He won the 1924 presidential
election.
-During this election, it was the
first time women won
GOVERNOR’S races.
Nellie Tayloe Ross- Wyoming
Mirriam Ferguson- Texas
Foreign Policy
Coolidge favored a limited role for the nation in word
affairs.
1922 – Leaders from Japan and Britain
Promotingmet in Washington, DC. These
countries, along with France, signed the
Peace
FIVE-POWER TREATY.
This treaty marked an agreement for the
countries to limit the size of their navies.
This marked the first time
world powers agreed to
DISARM.
KELLOG-BRIAND PACT
(1928) was signed by the
U.S. and 14 other nations to
OUTLAW WAR.
Problem – No plan for PEACE!
A More Friendly
Neighbor
The United States withdrew
troops from the Dominican republic
and Nicaragua.
American investors asked President Coolidge to
send troops to Mexico.
He chose to negotiate instead.
Section 3
A Booming Economy
Growth in the 1920s
After WWI, American economy experienced
problems readjusting to peace time:
Millions of soldiers reentered the workforce;
Companies laid off workers after war
production stopped
Recession- Economic downturn
Scientific
Management
Hiring experts to study how goods
could be produced more quickly;
methods to lower costs, improve
productivity
ASSEMBLY LINE - STEADY
GROWTH
Worker Relations
Business owners offered:
-Safety Programs
-Health/Accident Insurance
-Encouraged Welfare Capitalism- Workers buy stock in the
company
The Consumer Economy
Industry changed
Electricity was more available.
Demand for electrical appliances
Increased Demand + Increased production = Lower prices
Made work easier – More leisure time
More $ money spent on advertisingPropaganda techniques
Installment Buying – “Buy now- pay later.”
The Automobile Age
1920 – Car culture increased from 8 million to 23 million;
4 million worked in the automobile industry. (1924 a car
was less than $300; Average industrial worker income
$1,300 per year)
Henry Ford’s Model T got competition from
GMs car in many colors. Ford came up with
a Model A to compete.
Effects on other Industries
•Need for new ROADS and HIGHWAYS, GAS stations
and REST stops.
•Businesses along major roads BOOMED. STEEL, RUBBER,
GLASS, OIL industries boomed.
Those Left Behind
•FARMERS were not benefiting from America’s
newfound prosperity.
•Government no longer purchasing wheat, corn; Now
competing with European agriculture.
•Railroad and coal industries feeling the impact of
lessened demand.
Section 4
New Directions
1927- CHARLES LINDBERGH became the 1st
person to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean –
plane, “Spirit of St. Louis.”
Showed a “delighted concern over things that were
exciting, but didn’t matter profoundly.” -Historian
Changes for Women
19th Amendment- Gave women
the right to VOTE.
More women had jobs
outside of the home.
FLAPPER- new “liberated”
woman; short “bobbed” hair,
heavy make-up, short skirts
Entertainment
MASS MEDIA- Forms of communication such as
newspapers and radio that reached millions of peoplechanged attitudes
Labor-saving devices, fewer working hours gave people
more leisure time.
The Movies and Radio
HOLLYWOOD
Motion picture industry became a leading industry.
Started with silent, black-and-white films, then moved to
the first “talkie” – The Jazz Singer.
Sports and Fads
RADIO brought
entertainment into
people’s homes.
Radio broadcast baseball, football
and boxing.
Babe Ruth- who hit a record 60
homeruns became a hero/idol.
The Jazz Age
Jazz music captured the spirit of the
1920s.
New rhythms- IMPROVISATION- used by Jazz
musicians such as LOUIS ARMSTRONG, DUKE
ELLINGTON & BESSIE SMITH.
Harlem Renaissance
A period of time of flowering African
American culture
LANGSTON HUGHES- AfricanAmerican Harlem Renaissance poet
A Lost Generation of
Writers
Writers
questioned
American ideals.
Some became EXPATRIATES- lived in
another country (Gertrude Stein, Ella
Scott Fitzgerald)
I, Too, Sing America
by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen When
company comes, But I laugh, And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When
company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to
me, "Eat in the kitchen,"
Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I
am And be ashamed–
I, too, am America.
Prohibition
18
18th Amendment- Total ban on the manufacture,
sale and transportation of liquor throughout the U.
S.
Consequences of the Ban
Widespread lawbreaking
BOOTLEGGING – Making
and selling illegal alcohol
Organized Crime- Al “SCARFACE” CAPONE
“I make my money by
Was arrested and sent to
supplying a popular
demand. If I break the prison.
21st Amendment (1933)
law, my customers are as
repealed the Prohibition
guilty as I am.”
Amendment.
Nativism
The belief that native-born Americans are superior
to foreigners
Revived the Ku Klux Klan
Still targeted African-Americans,
but also Catholics, Jews,
immigrants and other groups they
believe represented “un-American
values.”
1921- Congress passed
EMERGENCY QUOTA
ACT- limit on immigrants
from each country (3%)
1924- NATIONAL ORIGIN
ACT – reduced country
quota from 3% to 2%
The Scopes Trial
1924 Tennessee law made it
illegal to teach
EVOLUTION.
JOHN SCOPES- a
high school teacherdeliberately broke the
law to test its legality
Prosecuting AttorneyWILLIAM
JENNINGS BRYAN
Scopes convicted
Darrow made people feel
that Bryan wanted to impose
his religious beliefs on the
entire nation.
Defending
AttorneyCLARENCE
DARROW
Tennessee Supreme court
overturned the conviction.
The Election of 1928
1927 President Calvin Coolidge announced that he would not
run for President.
HERBERT
HOOVERRepublican
“Hooverize” to
economize, to
save and to
share.
ALFRED E.
SMITHDemocrat
Hoover won by a landslide.