Reactions to Change in the 1920s
Author: Anne Manuel
School: Montgomery Blair High
Grade Level: 9th
Time Estimated: 2 days (90 minute periods)
Enduring Understanding
Since the second half of the 19th Century, the United States experienced more dramatic
change than at any time in its previous history. Nearly four million individuals,
previously considered the property of Southern whites, suddenly became citizens, with a
legitimate claim to the same rights as their former owners. And while the end of
Reconstruction and the establishment of the New South seemed to place these freedmen
in a position of complete subservience, World War I led about one million African
Americans to move to northern cities, where they created a mecca in Harlem for the New
Negro: someone who proudly and without fear trumpeted his race, its accomplishments
and expectations.
At the same time, the impact of constantly advancing technology, industrialization, and
rural to urban migration dramatically changed the daily lives of Americans. The
proliferation of electric light marked the beginning of a major shift away from the natural
rhythms of darkness and light. The availability of cheap manufactured goods improved
convenience and standards of living for all Americans. These changes began a revolution
in women’s lives, as everything from cornflakes to washing machines increasingly freed
them from endless unpaid labor.
The mechanization of both agricultural and industrial production also brought drastic
changes in workers’ lives. Alienation increased as assembly lines replaced the
craftsman’s bench. The increasing use of machines in agriculture created a farm debt
crisis at the same time that it freed rural workers to move to the cities.
Cities became magnets for new forms of entertainment and life in the 1920s. Add to all of
this the intoxicating consumerist spirit of the 1920s and the growing influence of
Darwinism in the explanations for man’s origins and you have a recipe for some kind of
profound backlash. We will explore various aspects of that backlash in this lesson.
Objectives
Analyze the cultural backlash against social changes of the early 20th Century through
analysis of primary sources and composition of a five-paragraph essay.
Content Focus: 1920s
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Based on public demand and nativist beliefs, Congress passed legislation setting a
quota system that led to a sharp reduction in immigration
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Nativist suspicions of foreigners and immigrants led to the execution of Sacco and
Vanzelli
The most extreme expression of nativism was the resurgence of the KKK
Racial prejudice and fears led to an increase in racial violence and lynchings.
MCPS Unit
Unit 9.4: “Culture in Prosperity and Adversity”
Lesson Sequence 2: “Culture Clash”
Materials
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Large pieces of newsprint
Markers
Partner appointment sheets or some means of dividing students in groups of two
Internet access or print out of primary sources
Video: Peter Jennings, “The Century: America’s Time,” v. I
Online primary resources or print outs
Analyzing primary source documents
Procedures
First Class Period
1. Activating Prior Knowledge
Writing on large sheets of newsprint with markers, students in groups of 3-4 will
brainstorm the way various trends since the end of the Civil War have changed
Americans’ lives. Separate groups will focus on one of the following topics each:
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the affect of changing in race relations from Reconstruction to the Harlem
Renaissance
the impact of the growth of industry
the affect of technological changes
the impact of urbanization
the affect of large-scale immigration
2. The Acceleration of Change and Reaction in the 1920s
After sharing their ideas on the massive changes brought about by modernity, students
will watch an approximately 20-minute segment of the video, "The Century: America’s
Time," by Peter Jennings and the History Channel on the 1920s. The segment shows the
frenetic consumerism and party atmosphere of the 1920s, with an emphasis on the
breaking of limits (dance marathons, taller and taller buildings, speakeasies, etc). A
recounting of the Scopes Trial, brief glimpses of the growth of fundamentalism and
nativism, and a harrowing account of the rise of the Klan follow this in the 1920s.
3. Analyzing the Forces of Reaction
While students are easily moved by accounts from the victims of reactionary forces, they
are quick to dismiss the views of those promoting reaction. Analysis of primary sources
may help to deepen their understanding of the forces of reaction. I will assign students to
work with a partner as they read and analyze the sources listed below, filling out the
attached questionnaire: “Sounding the Alarm.”
4. Homework
Students will continue work on analyzing primary sources that we will begin in class.
They will report their findings on the questionnaire, which requires them to among other
things, place the sources in historical context, say what each adds to their previous
knowledge, note if anything conflicts with their previous knowledge, and record any
questions they have.
5. Differentiation
The primary sources incorporated into the lesson plan encompass different levels of
reading difficulty as well as political cartoons. Shortened versions of the more difficult
sources could be provided, with vocabulary defined.
Second Class Period
1. Warm-up
Students will respond in their notebooks to the warm up question “What does it mean to
be American?” What about American identity do you relate to?
2. Next
Read together sections of KKK Imperial Wizard Hiram Wesley Evans’s “The Klan’s
Fight for Americanism,” in which he uses nativist arguments in favor of white, Protestant
supremacy, not only in the U.S., but in the entire world.
3. Discussion
4. Continue work on primary sources
Homework
Day One: Students will continue work on analyzing primary sources that we will begin
in class. They will report their findings on the questionnaire, which requires them to
among other things, place the sources in historical context, say what each adds to their
previous knowledge, note if anything conflicts with their previous knowledge, and record
any questions they have.
Differentiation
The primary sources incorporated into the lesson plan encompass different levels of
reading difficulty as well as political cartoons. Shortened versions of the more difficult
sources could be provided, with vocabulary defined.
Assessment
Student homework will be graded as a formative assessment. The summative assessment
will be an extended constructed response using primary sources to describe and analyze
the reaction to change in the 1920s.
References: Web
T. T. Martin, Hell and the High Schools, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of
Law
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/hellandhighschool.html
Excerpts from T.T. Martin’s book Hell and the High Schools, 1923, a diatribe
against the teaching of evolution.
Monkey Trial: Bryan's Last Speech, American Experience, PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/monkeytrial/filmmore/ps_bryan.html
Excerpts from William Jennings Bryan’s undelivered speech at the ScopesTrial in
which he articulates the conflict between science and religion underlying the
Scopes Trial.
Monkey Trial: Gallery, American Experience, PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/monkeytrial/gallery/gal_monkeytrial_06.html
Another political cartoon; use the back button on the upper right corner to see 5
additional cartoons.
Tennessee Evolution Statutes, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/tennstat.htm
State of Tennessee laws banning the teaching of evolution and then overturning
the ban.
The Passing of Evolution
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/6528/fund69.htm
Critique of evolution from the fundamentalist point of view.
Anthony Comstock's "Chastity" Laws, American Experience, PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/e_comstock.html
A secondary source summarizing the Comstock Law’s ban on contraceptives.
Comstock’s anti-vice crusade is another example of the backlash against
modernity.
Pluralism and Unity, David Bailey, David Halsted and Michigan State University
http://www.expo98.msu.edu/
A 1915 interview with Anthony Comstock about his anti-vice campaign.