The Twenties, 1919-1929
“The Jazz Age”
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
A Booming Economy
The Business of Government
Clash of Values
The New Mass Culture
The Harlem Renaissance
4 Major Trends of the 1920s
 1. The 1920s were a time of great
prosperity.
 2. The 1920s were a time of great tension
between groups in society.
 3. The 1920s were a time of great
creativity.
 4. The 1920s were a time of great
inequality.
 The Century: Americas Time 1920-1929: Boom to Bust
1920s Timeline
 1919—18th Amendment =Prohibition on alcohol
 1920—19th Amendment gave women the right to vote
 1921—Warren Harding, President, 1921-1923
 1922—Teapot Dome Scandal (government corruption)
 1923—Calvin Coolidge, President, 1923-1929
 1924—National Origins Act limits immigration to U.S.
 1925—Scopes Trial in TN: Science and Religion
 1927—The Jazz Singer, first talking movie
 1929—Herbert Hoover enters the White House
Stock Market Crashes
Prosperity of the 1920s ends
The “New Economy”
 1. After WWI, the American economy grew
rapidly.
 2. With mass production, workers produced
more goods faster and cheaper than ever before;
they also began buying goods on credit.
 3. The economic boom of the 1920s changed the
lives of millions of people and helped create our
modern consumer society of today.
What factors drove the economic boom
of the 1920s?
 Two Major factors:
1. Europe had been devastated by war. The U.S.
was the only healthy industrial power in the
world.
 2. But the most important factor was new
technology and inventions led to
industrial expansion to produce
goods for the growing market

New technology and products of the
1920s
 1. Electric vacuum cleaners, refrigerators and freezers
 2. Automatic washing machines
 3. *** Radios
 4. Scotch tape, Kleenex tissue paper, electric razor
 5. Computers at MIT
 6. Genetic Research
 7. Faster Trains
 8. Early stages of commercial aviation
 It took over 100 years for the US Patent Office to issue its
millionth patent in 1911; within 15 years it issued its twomillionth.
*The Automobile was the most important
new technological invention of the 1920s:
 1. Automobile industry drove the booming
economy
 2. Autos led to the growth of other industries:
Steel, rubber, glass, gasoline, oil, road
construction, housing construction
(suburbs), motels, restaurants, gas stations
Henry Ford
The Ford Assembly Line
 Mass production=production of goods in
large numbers through the use of machinery and
assembly lines
 Assembly line=arrangement of equipment and
workers in which work passes from operation to
operation in a direct line until the product is
assembled
 Scientific management=experts study ways
to improve efficiency by studying every step of
the process
 Innovation =change in way of doing something
 Model T=Henry Ford’s car many Americans
could afford
 Henry Ford= his assembly line revolutionized
production, wages, and working conditions, and
daily life
Ford Assembly Line
1920s Gas Station
In 1929, the nation produced 5.5 million cars and 5 of
every 6 cars in the world were owned by Americans.
Automobiles transformed American
society:
 1. Drove the economy and promoted buying on
credit
 2. Social freedom, dating and privacy
 3. Drinking alcohol
 4. Cars were a status symbol
 5. Americans were mobile and took vacations
 6. Americans moved to the suburbs which
transformed cities
 7. Increased socialization, ended isolation
 8. Gave rise to a youth culture
“Story of Us” Video-Automobiles 12
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?v
ideoId=dubvgA7Je7Y&name=%288%29+America%2C+the+
Story+of+US++Boom&uploadUsername=9kYmo6fsrySOonVIbdINtw&hitC
ount=11328
Advertising and Buying on Credit
 Consumer revolution= more goods were affordable
and available to more people in American society
than ever before
The 1920s was the first true “Age of the
Consumer”
 Installment purchases =customers would make
small down payment on an item and pay the rest in
monthly payments. Americans went into debt to
buy the consumer goods of the 1920s.
Walking ads for stockings
Movies of the
1920s
The Bull
Market of the
1920s
The Bull Market
 Bull Market=stock prices rose in the 1920s and
more Americans began to invest in stocks
Get rich quick!
 Buying on Margin=to pay for stocks, many people
bought stocks on “credit” by only putting 10%
down. They believed they could pay the rest of the
cost with profits from the stock market.
Cities, Suburbs and the Country
 Cities and suburbs grew and more
Americans moved to urban areas for
jobs and entertainment.
 More skyscrapers were built.
 Americans began to move to the
suburbs (Cars made travel in and out
of the city possible.)
 Farmers were NOT prosperous.
Chrysler Building
First African American Union:
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
African Americans in office in
Hempstead, TX
Story of Us: Red Summer, 1919
 Blacks migrate North during WWI for jobs
 Racial tensions increase in cities in the North and West
 Boom: 25:00 Chicago 1919, Red Summer
Farmers at the Market, 1920s
Signs of the Booming Economy of the
1920s:
 1.Wages rose from $36 billion to $51 billion
 2. Gross National Product (GNP) jumped from $69
billion to $93 billion
 3. Mass production led to lower prices for goods
 4. US entered WWI a debtor nation and emerged
the largest creditor ($12 billion) Compared to
other nations, America was rich
 5. Advertising increased and Americans bought
goods on credit
*In the 1920s, Americans had the highest per capita
income in the world.
Republicans Dominate Politics of the
1920s
 1. Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin
Coolidge and the government in the 1920s
supported business growth. Both believed in
a smaller federal government.
 2. This is a part of a pattern in U.S. history
where economic cycles and government
action are tied together.
Republican Presidents of the 1920s
1. Warren Harding, 1920
2. Calvin Coolidge, 1923
3. Herbert Hoover, 1928
Republicans controlled
government for 12 years
Warren Harding, Ohio
WARREN HARDING (R), 1921-1923
 Elected because he
promised a “Return to
Normalcy.”
 Americans were tired of
war and Progressive
reform movements.
 Harding promised smaller
government and lower
taxes.
 “Ohio Gang” –Harding
placed his friends in
public office
Harding’s Cabinet Members
1. Andrew Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury
Wealthy banker
Lowered taxes
Few regulations on businesses
2. Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Commerce
Promoted business
3. “Ohio Gang”-Harding’s corrupt and greedy friends who saw
government as a way to get rich. This leads several scandals
in the administration.
Teapot Dome Scandal
 Senator Albert Fall, Secretary of the Interior,
took bribes to lease lands with oil reserves
for the navy to businessmen. He was
convicted and served a year in jail.
 Warren Harding died of a heart attack.
 Calvin Coolidge became president.
Warren Harding as President
Go to 13 minutes
 The Presidents of the 1920s: Warren G. Harding
“Silent Cal”-Calvin Coolidge, 1923-29
Calvin Coolidge and the Nation
1. Time of prosperity
2. Reduced the federal budget
3. Lowered taxes
4. Gave incentives to businesses
5. Believed in small government
“The chief business of the American people is
business.”
“The man who builds a factory, builds a temple.”
America’s Role in the World
1. No war had been as deadly as World War I.
2. All Americans agreed it should never
happen again
3. The U.S. and other nations took steps to
reduce weapons and avoid war.
U.S. International Affairs
1920-1929
GOAL
U.S. Action
League of Nations
To prevent war and
settle disputes
between nations
W.Wilson wanted to
join. U.S. Senate
rejected membership
World Court
To settle
international
disputes
Warren Harding wanted
U.S. to participate;
rejected by the U.S. Senate
Washington Naval
Disarmament
Conference
To reduce the
number of arms
and size of navies
of major powers
U.S. and other nations
agreed to limit
construction of
warships
KelloggBriand Pact
To “outlaw war….as
an instrument of
national policy.”
U.S. and other nations
agreed
Economic Question of 1920s: How do
we pay for WWI?
Dawes Plan-provided loans to
Germany so they could pay
their debts to Great Britain
and France (so they could pay
the U.S. )
This cycle of debt contributed
to the Great Depression.
Herbert Hoover, the Forgotten
Progressive, Elected in 1928
1920s, Clash of Cultures: Many
Americans Resisted the Changes to
Society in 1920s
 1. During the 1920s, the nation became increasingly
divided over major issues related to religion, science,
immigration, morality, and the changing economy.
 2.These divisions increased tensions between those living
in urban areas and those living in rural areas.
 3. For the first time, urban Americans outnumbered rural
Americans. Many saw the new urban culture as a threat
to traditional values
Major Questions: What kind of nation are we?
What kind of nation do we hope to become?
Terms to Know
 Modernism-a growing trend that emphasized
science and secular values over traditional ideas and
religious beliefs.
 Religious fundamentalism-belief in strict
interpretation of the Bible and that there are
“fundamental” truths based on scripture
 Nativism-fear, suspicion, or resentment of
foreigners
Clash of the Cultures, 1920s
City vs. Country
TRADITIONAL/ RURAL VIEW
MODERN/ URBAN VIEW
 Religious fundamentalism
 Modern religion
 Prohibition-end alcohol
 Embraced science
consumption
 Slower to embrace change
 Suspicious of foreigners
(nativism)
 Promoted change
 Focus was more on the
individual
Three Examples of the conflicts created
by cultural change in the 1920s:
Debate over prohibition
2. The rise of nativism and the
New Ku Klux Klan
3. Religious fundamentalism vs.
modern religion
(The Scopes Trial)
 1.
Prohibition: “Drys” vs the “Wets”
History of U.S. Alcohol Consumption
 http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/watch-
video/#id=2082675582
 Ken Burns: Prohibition Preview, 2 minutes
Why did Americans outlaw alcohol in
1919?
 Alcoholism, child abuse, injuries, job loss, gambling,
and prostitution were all connected to alcohol abuse.
Women were very active in the prohibition
movement
 The crusade against alcohol in the U.S. dated back to
the 1850s. Alcohol consumption in the 1800s and
early 1900s was much higher than today.
 **During WWI, Americans argued the grain used to
make alcohol was needed for food.
 Resentment toward German brewers in America
after WWI
http://www.history.com/videos/america-goes-drywith-prohibition
The Laws (Prohibition)
 18th Amendment to the
Constitution-(1919) prohibited
the distribution, sale, or
manufacture of alcohol.
 Volstead Act (1920) law to
officially enforce the amendment.
Stories from the Prohibition Period
Freddie Johnson, historian:
People made money during prohibition a number of rather
ingenious ways. One was right here in the city of Frankfurt
that went on for a number of years. There was one family that
came up with a system that was based on the delivery of milk
in the mornings. So what they did was they had their still
located down in the basement of their home in a little cellar. It
was underneath the mother's bedroom floor in the little cellar.
And what she would do is when they would make the
moonshine they would move the bed out of the way, move the
throw rug, and they would go down and they'd make a batch
of hooch. Their little truck was painted just like a milk truck.
Their uniforms were white and the jugs, they painted them up
just like milk. And so they would fill it up with moonshine.
And they did this for years.
Impact of Prohibition (1920s)
 Alcohol consumption did drop for a short period, but the
law did not stop Americans from drinking.
 Speakeasies were illegal bars for drinking “hooch” or
white lightning
 An illegal trade in bootleg alcohol led to a rise in
organized crime and violence.
 The most famous organized crime boss was Al Capone.
 Bootleggers produced, transported and sold alcohol.
 The issue of Prohibition divided America: Drys vs.
Wets
TWO AMERICAS: Election of 1924
8 minutes
 PBS Prohibition: Election 1924, A Divided America
 WETS vs DRYS and KKK
Al Capone’s Hangout and Coroner’s
Report
http://www.history.com/videos/al-capone
Largest moonshine still seized—”hooch”
and white lightning
 Story of Us: 1920s Prohibition
 (33:00)
Nativism Increased in the 1920s
 Nativism, resentment of foreigners, increased in the
1920s.
 Americans argued they took jobs and threatened the
nation’s political, religious, and cultural traditions.
 Two laws were passed that limited immigration:
Quota System
1. Emergency Quota Act (1921)
2. National Origins Act (1924)
 Italian immigrants Sacco and Vanzetti (Italian
Immigrants) were convicted of murder based on
little evidence.
Rise in Nativism: Sacco and Vanzetti
 Decline in immigration
to the U.S. after the
passage of Emergency
Quota Act (1921)
and National Origins
Act (1924)
The New Ku Klux Klan of 1920s
 Connected to nativism, this organization persecuted Jews,
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Catholics, African Americans, and immigrants.
“Old” Klan had been formed in the South after the Civil War.
The “New” Klan was strong in the South , but also in the Midwest
(Indiana) and the Northeast.
Many Americans opposed the KKK:
NAACP
Jewish Anti-Defamation League
Klan members were often corrupt.
KKK Marches in Washington
KKK Initiation in Mississippi, 1923
Religious Fundamentalism vs Modern
Religion: Clash of Values, 1920s
 Scopes Trial, occurred in Dayton, TN to test the Butler
Law
 Butler Law-forbade the teaching of evolution in schools
 John Scopes taught high school Dayton and had assigned
readings on the theory of evolution
 The trial pitted Clarence Darrow against William Jennings
Bryan
 The trial was a part of the debate between modernism and
fundamentalism in American Society
Religion and Science: the Ongoing
Debate
 In 1632 Galileo published
his work on the solar
system asserting that the
earth revolved around the
sun (heliocentric).
 He was tried and convicted
of heresy and sentenced to
house arrest.
Charles Darwin’s book, On the Origin of Species (1859) =Within
20 years it convinced most of the international scientific
community that evolution was a fact.
John Scopes and the Scopes Trial,
Clash of Cultures
 Science teacher in Dayton, TN who was
charged with violating a TN law that
banned the teaching of evolution in
schools. He was tried and found guilt.
 Defense Attorney: Clarence Darrow
 Prosecuting Attorney: William Jennings
Bryan
High School in Dayton, TN
Outcome of the Scopes Trial
 John Scopes was found guilty and fined $100.
 William Jennings Bryan died 6 days later.
 The case was appealed to the state supreme court but
overturned on a technicality.
 Of the 15 states that banned the teaching of evolution
only two continued to enforce the law: Mississippi and
Arkansas
 **The debate between science and religion and
what should be taught in schools continues
today.
 http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch
?videoId=ofM99LFZhxo&name=THE+MONKEY+TRIAL
+1925&uploadUsername=historicfilmsarchive&hitCount=6
334
Why was the Scopes Trial so important
in American history?
 It has been studied for 75 years
 Scopes trial and the subsequent dramatizations
mirror a continuous cultural conflict between
different belief systems: modernists and
fundamentalists.
 People were looking for meaning in an
increasingly complex world.
 This is a common theme throughout history.
Current and Future Debates Between
Science and Religion
 Intelligent design or evolution?
 Birth Control and Abortion
 Stem Cell Research
 Cloning
What types of changes and laws will
Americans support?
How will the government react?
The Harlem Renaissance
 Why It Matters:
 1. Around WWI, African Americans
began to migrate from the South to
cities in the North.
 2. This movement led to the rise of
jazz and literary traditions that
impacted all of American culture.
Reasons Blacks Migrated North 19151920s
 Pull Factors
 1. Seeking manufacturing jobs in the North
 2. Greater political rights
 3. Social advancement
 Push Factors
 1. Low paying jobs in the South
 2. Jim Crow oppression and racism
 3. Very few good schools
Blacks faced challenges in the North
 Wages were better in the North
 They still experienced racism and
segregation in Northern cities
 Race riots occurred in cities across
the nation in 1919
 Over 200,000 African Americans
settled in Harlem, a neighborhood in
New York City.
The Jazz Age: 1920s
 JAZZ-a style of music where musicians creatively combine
different forms of music often including blues and ragtime.
 Improvisation-create music as you play
 *Jazz-one of the only truly indigenous forms of American
music (created in this nation)
 Jazz originated in New Orleans and moved North with the
migration.
 JAZZ GREATS:
1. Louis Armstrong
2. Bessie Smith
Duke Ellington made his debut at the
Cotton Club in 1927
Louis Armstrong
 From New Orleans
 Trumpet Player (soloist)
 “Satchmo”
Bessie Smith
 “Empress of the Blues”
 Singer (vocalist)
Jazz for Bears in the Park
The Harlem Renaissance:
 Harlem Renaissance-an explosion of African American
culture during the 1920s in the New York neighborhood of
Harlem of black writers, poets, artists and musicians.
African American Writers:
 Claude McKay-writer who wrote about ordinary African
Americans struggling for dignity and advancement in the
face of discrimination.
 Langston Hughes-the most powerful literary voice of his
time. He celebrated African culture and life.
 Zora Neale Hurston –in her book, Their Eyes Were
Watching God, she talked about the independence women
were seeking in society.
Langston Hughes
Zora Neal Hurston
History Channel Video: Harlem Renaissance (3min)
Significance of the Harlem
Renaissance of the 1920s
 1. The movement gave a voice to
African American culture
 2. Promoted black creativity and
pride in the African American
community
 3. Jazz spread to Europe and
other nations around the world.
N.A.A.C.P.-National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People founded in
1920
Women in the 1920s
 Young women were more independent
 Voted, some went to college
 Had more free time thanks to new technology-vacuum

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cleaners, washing machines,…
Many young women worked: secretaries, teachers, nurses
Became major consumers
Number of children declined,
New Ideal: “Flappers” –loose dresses, shorter dresses, bobbed
hair, smoking, consuming alcohol
Education in the 1920s
 ***The number of Americans attending high school grew

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
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rapidly (p447)
Americans were more informed because of radio and
newsmagazines (mass media)
Many realized they needed more education for the jobs in
society
More people attended college
Helped promote the rise of a YOUTH CULTURE:
Sports, time with friends, dancing, fads, music
Important Americans of 1920s
 Charles Lindbergh—(1927) first nonstop flight from New

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York to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis
Babe Ruth—Baseball great
F. Scott Fitzgerald –writer--coined the phrase “Jazz Age”,
criticized the excesses of the 1920s in The Great Gatsby
Earnest Hemingway—writer— A Farewell to Arms
Marcus Garvey --Black activist who promoted black pride
and a back to Africa movement
Harlem Renaissance writers and artists: Langston
Hughes, Claude McKay, Zora Neal Hurston
Musicians of the 1920s: Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington,
Louis Armstrong, Paul Robeson
http://www.history.com/shows/gangland/videos/
playlists/historical-gangs#john-dillinger
Video: Fads of 1920s
 Fads of the 1920s: Pole Sitting
 Snapshot of 1920s, 10 minutes