CHAPTER 23
The Age of Jazz and Mass Culture
1921 – 1927
“No Congress of the United States, ever assembled, on
surveying the state of the Union has met with a more pleasing
prospect than that which appears at the present time. . . . The
great wealth created by our enterprise and industry and saved
by our economy has had the widest distribution among our
own people and has gone out in a steady stream to serve the
charity and the business of the world. The requirements of
existence have gone beyond the standard of necessity into the
region of luxury. . . . The country can regard the present with
satisfaction and anticipate the future with optimism.
President Calvin Coolidge, his last state of the union address in
December of 1928
Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of
the media by which men communicate than by the content of
the communication.”
Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore, The Medium Is the
Massage, 1967
“Never argue with someone who purchases ink by the
barrel.”
Mark Twain
“Silence is sometimes a disgrace.”
Yevgeny Yevtushenko, August 22, 1968
Bibliography
Joan Hoff Wilson, American Business and Foreign Policy [1971] and
Herbert Hoover: Forgotten Progressive [1975]
Robert Lynd and Helen Lynd, Middletown [1929]
Roderick Nash, The Nervous Generation: American Thought, 1917 –
1930 [1970]
George Mowry (editor), The Twenties: Fords, Flappers & Fanatics
[1963]
Paula Fass, The Damned and the Beautiful: American Youth in the
1920s [1977]
Charles A. Fecher (editor), The Diary of H.L. Mencken [1989]
Clinton Rossiter & James Lare, The Essential Lippmann [1982]
Chapter Review
 Describe in general terms the social attitudes of post-World War I
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America. [11 points]
Name some of the technological developments that shaped society
and the economy in the postwar period.
Describe the presidential styles and administrations of Warren G.
Harding and Calvin Coolidge.
Explain the contributions of the artists in music, literature, art,
and film who contributed to the cultural explosion of the 1920s.
Describe the effect of prohibition on the social and cultural makeup of
the United States.
Describe the expanding roles of women in the 1920s.
Concepts
Roderick Nash, The Nervous Generation: American Thought, 1917 – 1930
Harlem Renaissance, Great Migration
Jazz Age: Louis Armstrong
League of Women Voters
Charles Lindbergh
Multinational corporations
National Origins Act of 1924
Open shop, closed shop, agency shop, yellow-dog contracts
Sacco and Vanzetti
Scopes “Monkey” Trial
Sheppard-Towner Maternity and Infancy Act
Welfare Capitalism
1927 -- Charles Lindbergh to Paris, Babe hits 60 home runs
Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, "Dream factory“
Walter Lippmann’s “manufacturing consent”
Upton Sinclair, The Jungle [1906] Democrat [Socialist] Candidate for CA
Governor in 1934
Henry Ford – symbol of the 1920s
Klanswomen
Indiana Klanswomen pose in their regalia in 1924. The Klan
combined appeals to traditional family and religious values
with violent attacks upon these who were not white native-born
Protestants. Getty Image Inc./Image Bank
Scopes Trial
The packed courtroom for the Scopes Trial in 1925 illustrates
the intense interest that Americans have persistently taken in
conflicts stemming from differing cultural values and ethical
visions. Getty Images Inc.
Scopes Monkey Trial
Clarence Darrow stands behind a cluttered table in a crowded
courtroom during the trial of John Scopes in Dayton,
Tennessee in 1925. Library of Congress
Advertising
Advertisements for brandname products, like this
1929 ad for Campbell’s
tomato soup, often tried to
link simple consumption
with larger issues of
personal success and
achievement. By
permission of Campbell
Soup Company
Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge
Presidential candidate
Harding and vicepresidential candidate
Coolidge portrayed with
American flags in a 1920
campaign poster. Library
of Congress
Amos ‘n’ Andy
Ford Model T
A Ford automobile assembly line with several unfinished
automobile frames. Library of Congress
I.
The Aftermath of War
 As urbanization increases, immigration continues to cause
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fears
Ku Klux Klan targets blacks and new immigrants
Blacks become more assertive and militant
Marcus Garvey tries to unify blacks
Prohibition fails to cure society’s ills but does give rise to
gangsters and lawlessness
II.
Harding as President
 Senate ratifies Treaty of Versailles without joining
League of Nations
 Washington Naval Conference shows America’s new
status as a world power
III.
The New Economy
 Automobiles, electricity and the radio bring tremendous
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changes to lives of ordinary Americans
Advertising becomes big business as consumerism grows
As some members of society prosper, farmers are left
behind
Harding’s administration soon becomes linked to
numerous scandals, and Harding dies unexpectedly
Calvin Coolidge becomes president and proves himself
better at the job than Harding
Election of 1924
©2002 Wadsworth Group, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license.
IV.
A Blossoming in Art and Literature
 Harlem Renaissance brings flowering of black culture to
both blacks and whites
 Jazz becomes an original American art form, and writers
develop new American style
 Other forms of artistic expression change the look of
America
V.
Fundamentalism and Traditional Values
 The Klan declines in influence, but the Sacco and Vanzetti
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case shows discrimination still abundant
Religious fundamentalism emerges and contributes to
Scopes trial over teaching of evolution
Some begin to call for repeal of Prohibition
Lives of young people change, as they become more
independent and better educated
Sports figures become icons, as baseball and boxing
grow in popularity
“Babe” Ruth helps make baseball America’s national sport
VI.
New Roles for Women
 With right to vote, women get involved in politics and call
for an Equal Rights Amendment
 Younger women enjoy fruits of their elders’ labor,
unconcerned about its costs
 Women continue to enter work force in larger numbers but
are welcomed to only a few occupations, and usually only
until they marry
VII.
Coolidge in the White House
 Coolidge grows business, cuts taxes, and increases
America’s foreign involvement
 Mexico and Nicaragua cause tensions
 Americans become involved in international affairs through
loans and investments
VIII. 1927: The Year of the Decade
 Charles Lindbergh makes transatlantic flight from New
York to Paris
 Sports and movies captivate America
 Sacco and Vanzetti are executed after years of trials
 Coolidge chooses not to run for re-election