To Roar, or Not to Roar, That is the Question…
While the 1920s was a decade of prosperity for many with the
emergence of new technologies, forms of entertainment, and
ideas that challenged traditional American values, it was still an
era where the gap between rich and poor continued to increase,
rising nativist fervor, and where all men (and women) were still
not created equal.
Rising Nativist Fervor
• Fear of people flooding into America from wartorn Europe and veterans returning to limited
job opportunities led to stricter immigration
policies throughout the 1920s.
• A series of events demonstrated the antiimmigrant sentiment:
– Red Scare
– Rise of the New Ku Klux Klan
– The Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti
Red Scare
• Russian Revolution in 1919
and the rise of communism
showed that a major power
could be overthrown – a
threat to capitalism.
• Most labor strikes were said
to be inspired by
communism (Karl Marx).
• Dozens of bombs mailed to
government and business
leaders fueled the fear of a
communist uprising in
America (Red Scare).
Red Scare (cont.)
• Palmer Raids - Attorney General A.
Mitchell Palmer responded by having
6,000 suspected “radicals” (communists,
socialists, and anarchists) people (many
American citizens) arrested on January
2, 1920.
– Homes and offices were invaded and
searched, many people were held for
weeks without bail, beaten, forced to
sign confessions.
– Hundreds deported without a trial.
• Palmer predicted a major communist
uprising that never happened – turned
people against his conspiracy.
The KKK Returns
• The Ku Klux Klan had died out during the 1880s, but had a
resurgence in Georgia in 1915 calling for “100% Americanism.”
• The Klan now targeted blacks, Latinos, Jews, Catholics, anyone
not born in the United States, socialists, communists….anyone
who was different from the accepted White, Anglo-Saxon,
Protestant.
The KKK Returns (cont.)
• The new KKK had a major influence on politics at all levels
(local, state, and national).
– 4.5 million members by 1924 with many in the midwest (not
just in the south).
The Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti
• Nicolo Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants
and anarchists who evaded the draft during World War I.
• The two were arrested and charged with murder in 1920.
• Found guilty and sentenced to death despite a lack of evidence.
The Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti (cont.)
• Many protests by those who thought they were mistreated as
a result of their beliefs/ethnicity.
• The trial was fueled by a general suspicion of foreigners and
immigrants after World War I.
The Bible on Trial
• In 1925, Tennessee passed
the first law prohibiting the
teaching of Darwinian
evolution in public schools.
• John Scopes decided to
challenge the law with the
help of the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU) by
teaching evolution and was
charged with violating the
law.
The Bible on Trial (cont.)
• Scopes was found guilty and fined $100.
• The trial (also known as the Scopes Monkey Trial) demonstrated
the battle between science and religion in America and the change
from traditional views.
Dry America
• Reformers viewed alcohol as the
cause for American problemscorruption, crime, abuse, infidelity,
accidents, etc.
– This movement against alcohol
was known as Prohibition.
• 18th Amendment-banned the
manufacture, sale, and transport of
alcoholic beverages.
– Supported by Women’s Christian
Temperance Union, rural areas in
the South and West, and areas of
large native populations.
Dry America (cont.)
• Prohibition ushered in
an era of law-breaking:
– Speakeasies - bars and
nightclubs that sold
alcoholic beverages
illegally.
– Bootlegging – the
unlawful production,
selling, or transporting
of alcohol.
o Al Capone
reportedly made $60
million a year from
illegally selling
alcohol.
Dry America (cont.)
• Government did not fund efforts to enforce laws effectively,
thus prohibition was a failure.
– 21st Amendment (1933) repealed the 18th, making alcohol
legal again.
Technology
• New technologies made life
seem better-washers, vacuums,
electric sewing machines,
refrigerators, toasters, etc.
• The Automobile:
– Led to rapid construction of
gas stations, repair shops,
motels, shopping centers.
– People could travel to cities
for shopping and
entertainment.
– Provided the freedom to
travel further, faster.
The New Woman
• The 19th Amendment (1919) gave women the right to vote
and ushered in a new era for women.
The New Woman (cont.)
• Flappers – emancipated
young women who
rejected traditional roles
for women (the cult of
domesticity).
– Embraced new fashion
and hairstyles
– Embraced new attitudes
– smoking, drinking in
public, new dancing
The New Woman (cont.)
• More women continued
to enter the workplace.
– “Women’s Profession”:
Nurses, teachers,
librarians, typists, filing
clerk, secretaries,
stenographers
– Few managers – men
argued, women’s real job
was at home
New Experiences
During the 1920s Americans were able to experience new forms
of leisure and entertainment through the development of the
radio, movies, jazz, and a wealth of great American literature.
Radio
• KDKA in Pittsburg established the
first commercial radio station in
1920 and soon hundreds of stations
popped-up across the country.
• Provided millions of people with
access to news, sports, and
advertising.
– Could hear things they never had
access to before as they happened live:
the World Series, the voice of the
president, election returns, and
commercials (the price for “free”
radio).
• By 1929, 12 million families owned
radios.
Movies
• Hollywood emerged as the
movie capital of the world by
the end of the 1920s.
• In 1927, The Jazz Singer, the
first “talkie” was released and
in 1928, Steamboat Willie,
the first animated movie with
sound was released.
• The addition of sound to
movies doubled movie
attendance by 1930.
Movies (cont.)
• Movie palaces popped up in every major city, where millions
of patrons flocked to see the stars of the day (Charlie
Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, and Clara Bow).
• These movies influenced American culture.
Jazz
• Jazz began in New Orleans in the early 20th century – first
truly unique American art form.
• Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Bessie Smith became
major pop culture icons in America.
Literature
• Era of great American literature:
– F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby / This Side of Paradise)
– Sinclair Lewis (Babbitt)
– Ernest Hemingway (The Sun Also Rises / A Farewell to Arms)
1920s Economics
• The average annual
income rose 35% between
1920 and 1929 ($522 to
$705).
• Advertising shaped
American culture and
fads.
1920s Economics (cont.)
• High tariffs on foreign
goods increased output by
American manufacturers.
• Credit allowed consumers
to buy things they could
not currently afford.
– Make monthly payments
(installments) with interest.
– Like a credit card.
The Great Depression
• The Great Depression =
larges economic decline
in US history.
• October 29, 1929
(“Black Tuesday”)
– Stock market collapsed
– Starts depression
Crash Cycle
The stock market crashed as a result of a number of factors:
People made
investments with
borrowed money
(overspeculation)
When the market
collapsed, the
banks ran out of
money
Excessive
expansion of
credit
Banks invested
customer
money in the
stock market.
Business failures led
to increased
bankruptcies
Causes of the Great Depression
• Uneven distribution of
wealth: wages did not keep
up with inflation
• Consumer Debt: Workers
could not pay off debt.
Causes of the Great Depression (cont.)
• Depressed Farm Conditions:
Nation’s farmers remained
in debt due to falling prices
from overproduction.
• Buying on the Margin: Many
people took loans to buy
stock.
– Stock value fell, they
couldn’t pay off their loans.
Causes of the Great Depression (cont.)
• Smoot-Hawley Tariff-the
highest protective tariff in
American history.
– Europeans stopped buying
American goods.
Causes of the Great Depression (cont.)
• Stock Market Crash
– Caused millions to lose their savings.
– People went to take out their money, which was gone.
– Investments stopped.
Impacts of the Great Depression
• Homelessness and unemployment
– 25% unemployed by 1932
• Employed working for lower
wages
• Farm prices fell to very low levels
– Between 1929 and 1932, 400,000
farms were lost
• Factory production cut by 50%
– Demand for goods decreased
• 5,200 banks closed and
foreclosures quickly rose
• Political unrest (growing militancy
of labor unions)
Herbert Hoover
• President Hoover believed that the
government should not directly aid
Americans (Laissez-faire).
– Economy would fix itself.
• Hoover realized this policy would
not work:
 Cut taxes
 Public Works (Hoover Dam)
 Reconstruction Finance Corp.
(loans to business)
 Federal Farm Board to buy up
farmers surplus to raise prices.
False Prophecy
“We in America are nearer
to the final triumph over
poverty than ever before in
history of the land…We shall
with the help of God be in
sight of the day when poverty
will be banished from the
nation.”
-Herbert Hoover, 1928
Election of 1932
• Hoover’s response was not enough and Americans elected Franklin
Delano Roosevelt in 1932.
“This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will
revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert
my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is
fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror
which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into
advance. In every dark hour of our national life a
leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that
understanding and support of the people themselves
which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you
will again give that support to leadership in these
critical days.”-Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address
A Frightened Nation
• Until the Great Depression, the government had played a
limited role in the American economy (laissez faire).
• People began to look to the government to play an active role
in fixing a broken economy.
Roosevelt Responds
• President Roosevelt believed that the federal government should
directly help Americans by providing money and jobs.
• Money encouraged people to spend and stimulated the economy.
• Roosevelt’s plan to end the Great Depression - The New Deal.
The New Deal
• Roosevelt transformed
the role of the
government in lives of
Americans-the
government was now
responsible for its
citizens-a “new deal for
the American people.”
• His goals were: Relief,
Recovery, and Reform.
The Three R’s
• Relief - measures that provided direct
payment to people for immediate help.
• Recovery - programs designed to bring the
nation out of the depression over time.
• Reform - measures designed to correct
unsound banking and investment practices.
The New Deal (cont.)
• The first 100 days in office, his New Deal legislation
included:
– Declared a Bank Holiday (1933)-closed all banks and had
Congress pass the Emergency Banking Relief Act:
• Allowed the government to look at all banks and decide
which could reopen immediately and which could reopen
with government loans.
• Made people more confident in the banking system.
– Glass-Steagall Act (1933)-created the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC):
• Insured individual bank accounts up to $5,000 (more
today)-made people feel safe about their money.
• Also, required banks to use customer money with caution.
The New Deal (cont.)
– Federal Securities Act (1933)required corporations to
accurately provide information
about their companies,
especially when it came to stock
offerings.
• Securities Exchange Commission
(SEC) was created in 1934 to
regulate the stock market.
– Agricultural Adjustment Act
(AAA) (1933)-raise crop prices by
limiting production:
• Farmers paid not to use parts of
their land, kill livestock, and grow
less.
• Increased the prices farmers
received.
What causes of the Depression did
the SEC and FDIC attempt to fix?
The New Deal (cont.)
– Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
(1933)-Put men aged 18-25 to work
building roads, parks, planting trees,
and working on soil-erosion and floodcontrol projects.
– Civil Works Administration (CWA)
(1933)-provided money for the
construction of schools and community
buildings:
• Built 40,000 schools and paid the
salaries of more than 50,000 teachers.
• Built more than 500,000 miles of road.
– National Industrial Recovery Act
(1933)-set prices for certain products
and limited production for industrial
goods.
What was the purpose of the CCC and
the CWA? Why did people think
organizations like these could help
end the Depression?
Critics
• The New Deal benefitted millions and helped instill some
confidence in the American people, it did not immediately end
the Great Depression:
– Some argued deficit spending (spending more than what is
brought in) would only further the problems.
– Liberals argued that the policies did not go far enough.
– Conservatives argued the laws gave the federal government too
much power in farming and industry.
– Many argued these policies undermined the free-market
economy.
– The Supreme Court ruled some New Deal policies were
unconstitutional.
More New Deal
• Works Progress Administration (WPA) (1935)-created more
than 8 million jobs.
• A better deal for workers:
– Wagner Act (1935):
• Protected workers right to join unions and engage in
collective bargaining
• Prohibited employers from threatening workers, firing union
members, and interfering with union organization.
More New Deal (cont.)
• Social Security Act (1935)provided safeguards for
workers:
– Provided retirement funds
for those 65 and older (funds
paid by employers and
employees).
– Provided unemployment
compensation for those
unable to find work.
– Provided money to families
with children with
disabilities.
What impacts of the Depression does
Social Security address?
New Deal Legacy
• The New Deal permanently
changed the role of the American
government in the economy.
• Now people looked to the
government for help.
• Many New Deal programs still exist
today (FDIC, Social Security,
National Labor Relations Board,
etc.).
How did the role of the government
change during the New Deal? Was the
government more or less involved in
the economy?