Transcript The Roaring 20s and Great Depression”

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After WWI, America would become the world’s leading
economic power.
But the 1920s would be a time of great change in
America. People began to question long-held beliefs
about the world.
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A religious revival at the beginning of the 20th century
led to a growth in religious fundamentalism.
Religious fundamentalists believe that the Bible is
literally true and, because it is from God, cannot contain
errors.
Fundamentalists read the Bible literally, and used it to
hypothesize that the world is around 6,000 years old.
The ideas of Charles Darwin and others challenged this
view. Scientists had theorized that the world was
actually around 4 or 5 billion years old.
Furthermore, some people looked at the devastation of
WWI and questioned the existence of God.
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The debate between scientific theory and religious
fundamentalism gained national attention in the
“Monkey Trial” of 1925.
A teacher named John Scopes was arrested for violating
a Tennessee law that forbade teaching Darwin’s theory
of evolution, instead of the Bible’s account of creation.
Fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan volunteered to
prosecute John Scopes.
Clarence Darrow was the lawyer defending Scopes. He
was a lawyer for Eugene Debs during WWI.
The trial reached a climax when William Jennings Bryan
took the stand himself to testify.
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Through his questioning, Darrow was able to get Bryan
to say that he does not interpret everything in the Bible
literally. (clip)
Scopes was ultimately found guilty and fined $100 after
the jury deliberated for 9 minutes.
The law against teaching evolution remained in effect.
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Henry Ford was able to make cars cheap enough for
regular people to buy through “mass production” using
the assembly line.
He also wanted to his workers to be able to buy his cars,
so he paid them an unheard of $5 per day.
By the 1920s, a Model T car cost about $260.
The car changed America. People could live in a
different area than they worked.
The car and public transportation systems led to the
development of some of the first suburbs in America.
It was also much easier to go on dates with the use of a
car.
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The assembly line meant that people could afford things
that they could not before.
Radios and refrigerators became more common in
homes.
Sewing machines, vacuum cleaners, and washing
machines greatly reduced the amount of time people
had to do chores at home.
This led to more leisure time and a bustling nightlife,
when people would venture out into the city after dark.
Mass media also formed during the 1920s. Mass media
came in the form of radios, newspapers, and
magazines.
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Because of the radio, people around the country enjoyed
the same shows and hearing the same news reports.
The movie industry also boomed. The first movies were
actually silent pictures, and then moved to movies with
sound called “talkies.”
“The Jazz Singer” was one of the first very popular
talkies.
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By 1920, half of the American population lived in large
cities. Large cities had very different, less traditional
cultures.
The movement of people to the cities changed the role
of women during the 20s.
During WWI, women had taken new jobs that men had
to leave to go and fight. When the men returned, they
took their jobs back.
Suffrage means the right to vote. Women had been
fighting for suffrage since the Seneca Falls Convention
of 1848.
Finally, women got the right to vote when the 19th
Amendment was passed.
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Many people were worried about the decline of morals
during the 20s. They were especially worried about the
decline of women’s morals.
Women began to change their dress and behavior. They
started wearing shorter hairstyles and skirts.
They began going out on dates instead of having men
come to their homes with their parents or a chaperone
supervising.
These new women were called “flappers.”
Some of the behavior that people found unacceptable:
premarital sex, using birth control, listening to jazz
music, drinking, smoking, etc.
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From about 1910 to 1930, blacks in the south began
moving to cities in the Midwest and North.
Jim Crow laws, violence, and lynching were “push”
factors for blacks – meaning they were reasons why
blacks LEFT the south.
Meanwhile, cultural change and jobs were “pull” factors
for blacks – meaning reasons they CAME to the north.
This was called “The Great Migration.”
A black middle class developed in the cities as blacks
were able to hold steady jobs.
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As the black middle class grew, blacks began taking
pride in their history and culture.
A movement of writers, artists, and musicians in New
York City during the 1920s drew attention to black
culture.
This movement was called the Harlem Renaissance.
Two of the major writers of this movement were James
Weldon Johnson and Langston Hughes.
This movement helped draw attention to the fact that
blacks were still second class citizens.
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When the Russian Revolution took place during WWI,
many Americans were happy about it. The czar was
replaced by a Republic.
But, when communism was instituted in Russia, many
people in America were in fear.
Communism is when the government owns all property
and tries to create a society in which there are no
classes, meaning everyone has the same amount of
property.
Many in the U.S. were scared that a communist
revolution would occur here.
This led to a period known as “The Red Scare.”
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The United States Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer,
took advantage of the Red Scare.
He authorized the Palmer Raids. Police arrested jailed
4,000 people who were believed to be Communists.
Many of them were actually just immigrants who were
innocent.
More than 500 people were deported back to their
home countries.
Palmer predicted that there would be attacks in the U.S.
by anarchists and Communists. This never happened,
and people stopped taking him seriously.
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During the 1920s, xenophobia was widespread.
Xenophobia is hatred of outsiders or immigrants.
Many who believed in Social Darwinism thought that the
U.S. should not allow so many immigrants to freely
enter.
So, during the 1920s, immigration quotas were passed.
Quotas are limitations on the amount of immigrants
who could enter the country from certain areas.
For most countries, the quota was set at 2% of the
amount of people in that country.
◦ Example: only 2% of Italians could come to the U.S. each year.
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The quotas were aimed at preventing immigration from
three areas: Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, and Asia.
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During the 1920s, the KKK made a resurgence.
In order to attract new members, the KKK started
targeting other groups besides blacks.
They targeted Jews, Catholics, and immigrants. The Red
Scare helped to fuel the growth of the KKK.
During the 1920s, the KKK grew to become a national
organization. People in small towns and cities across
America joined the KKK, even in the Midwest and North.
The KKK saw themselves as helping to improve and
shape the morals of society.
They targeted bootleggers and gamblers, burning
crosses in their yards and beating or lynching them in
public.
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The KKK during the 1920s was different than the one
after the Civil War. During the 1920s, the KKK was more
organized and targeted more groups.
Also, in 1915, the movie “Birth of a Nation” intensified
racism against blacks. It was a recruiting tool for the
KKK.
The movie portrayed blacks as being sexually aggressive
towards white women.
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Since the 1830s, many groups supported temperance,
which means the reduction of the use of alcohol.
Most of the supporters of the temperance movement
were women.
During WWI, the support for prohibiting alcohol grew
stronger.
This was due to the fact that there were grain shortages
because of the war. Also, there was anti-German
sentiment – and German immigrants were some of the
biggest grain farmers.
Finally, during WWI, the 18th Amendment was passed.
The 18th Amendment made selling alcohol illegal.
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It did not, however, make the consumption of alcohol
illegal.
Soon, illegal sources of alcohol were being established
all over the country.
These secret bars were called “speakeasies.”
Bootlegging became a huge business. Gangs took
control of the selling alcohol.
The government did not have the power to stop these
gangs from selling alcohol.
It was impossible to enforce the Prohibition law. So, in
1933, the 21st Amendment was passed. This
amendment ended Prohibition and made alcohol legal
again.
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During the 1920s, America seemed very prosperous.
Industrial production (how much factories were producing)
was up, as well as average income.
But this was deceiving because there was a growing gap
between the rich and the poor. The rich were getting very
wealthy, while the poor were staying the same.
The majority of Americans lived below the poverty line in the
1920s.
◦ The poverty line was $2,500 in 1929 dollars.
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Companies were making more money, but wages for their
workers dropped or stayed the same for most.
To help workers pay for the things they wanted or needed,
the installment plan was introduced.
The installment plan allowed people to buy expensive things
and make payments on them.
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But these installment plans actually led to workers
paying more for the item they were trying to buy.
This drove many people into debt and workers could no
longer be “consumers” – meaning they could not
purchase things that companies produced.
This led to companies laying off workers since they were
not making as much money as they had before, due to
the fact that the workers not being able to buy things
from them.
Furthermore, farmers were struggling during the 1920s.
Prices of food coming from other countries were
cheaper than their prices.
This led to farmers losing their farms, which was very
similar to what happened during the late 1800s.
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During the 1920s, the government took a laissez-faire
approach to economics.
◦ Remember: laissez-faire means “hands off” of the economy.
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This approach helps big businesses and hurts workers
and farmers. It encourages economic growth, but does
not work to protect individual workers and farmers.
This was a change from the Progressive presidents who
wanted to regulate businesses using the Sherman AntiTrust Act.
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Three examples of policies that helped the rich during
the 1920s:
1) The government raised tariffs.
2) The Supreme Court overturned limits on child labor and
minimum wage laws for women.
3) Income taxes for the wealthy were cut dramatically.
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But, these policies did nothing to help the economy.
The increased money that the wealthy had because of
these policies was used to invest in the stock market.
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Speculation is when investors buy a lot of something in
order to sell it for more money later.
◦ Example: buying a 50 pairs of limited edition Jordan’s at $200
a pair, knowing that you can sell them in 2 weeks for $500 a
pair.
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During the 1920s, people saw that stock market was
growing and businesses were growing in value.
So, by buying stock in the companies, they thought that
they could sell them for more money later.
People even began buying stocks “on the margin.”
“Buying on the margin” means that they did not have
enough money to buy all of the stocks they wanted, so
they used loans to buy stocks.
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The demand for stocks in companies led to stock prices
being “inflated.”
This meant that the value of stocks for that company
was actually a lot greater than what the company was
producing.
As investors began to realize that companies were
making less money, they began selling their stocks.
When an unusual amount of sales occurred in October
of 1929, loan companies began asking investors to pay
off their loans.
Investors were forced to sell their stocks at low prices in
order to pay off their loans quickly.
As a result, stock prices plunged. This caused the Stock
Market to crash.
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On Tuesday, October 29th, 1929, the Stock Market
crashed. The day would be nicknamed “Black Tuesday.”
Herbert Hoover had just taken office as President when
the market crashed.
Many of the people who had bought stocks “on the
margin” had lost everything.
Banks started calling on the people who owed them
money and demanded it immediately, but they didn’t
have the money. This caused banks to fail.
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Government policies in response to the Great
Depression actually made it worse.
The Federal Reserve is America’s central government
bank. It controls the circulation of currency by giving
loans to banks who then give loans to others.
During the 20s, the Federal Reserve had a very “easy
credit” policy. It charged very low interest rates, making
it easier for banks to get loans.
These banks could then give more people loans who
were buying stocks “on the margin.”
This is what caused the Great Depression: speculation,
buying on the margin, and “easy credit.”
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After the Stock Market Crash, the Federal Reserve
began a “tight money” policy.
This was meant to slow down the amount of speculation
and buying on the margin by raising interest rates.
But, as a result, the effects of the crash were even worse
because people could not get loans to start businesses
and get out of debt.
If the Federal Reserve had cut interest rates, the
Depression may not have been as severe or long-lasting.
Furthermore, Congress passed a very high tariff in 1930
to try and protect American businesses.
This made the situation worse. Foreign companies were
not able to sell their goods in America.
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Other countries responded by raising their tariffs, too.
This made it impossible for American companies to sell
their goods overseas.
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The Depression psychologically devastated Americans. It
was the worst economic depression ever.
The unemployment rate was 25%.
There was no unemployment insurance. People lost
their homes because they could not pay their mortgage
or rent.
Some went door to door selling items such as pencils or
apples.
People who had money in banks rushed to get their
money out, since many banks were failing.
This meant that the banks ran out of money. This is
called a “bank run.”
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Schools closed because teachers could not be paid.
Some of them continued teaching for free.
The number of marriages dropped dramatically and the
birthrate fell.
Families were finding it hard to eat. Women and
children had to find work if it was available.
Veterans of WWI had been promised a bonus check for
serving. They wanted the government to give it to them
earlier since the economy was bad.
The government refused and the veterans gathered in
Washington, D.C. to protest. This came to be known as
the Bonus Army March.
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President Hoover sent in federal troops to remove the
veterans. Several people were killed. Americans disliked
Hoover for this.
Americans were not satisfied with President Hoover’s
reaction to the Depression. He told Americans to be
patient saying, “prosperity is just around the corner.”
Many homeless people gathered in cities and built
shacks. These shacks turned into villages that people
called “Hoovervilles.”
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Farmers had new technology during the 20s and were
able to produce more. This led to overproduction; there
was not enough demand.
Farmers had also damaged the environment from years
and years of farming on the same land. This left the soil
very barren.
Then, in the 1930s, a massive drought hit the Midwest.
When storms hit, the top soil was swept off the ground.
This created huge clouds of dust which covered farms,
towns, and cities.
This natural disaster was known as the Dust Bowl.
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The Election of 1932 brought some hope for Americans.
They hoped that this election could change the Great
Depression.
Americans elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt who
immediately started relief and recovery programs that
have become known as “The New Deal.”
The purpose of the New Deal was to stabilize the
economy and stop the human suffering of the
Depression.
Here are some of the measures that were taken to help
the economy and the American people…
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Roosevelt put the banks on a holiday and closed them
down. This stopped the “run” on people removing all of
their money.
He created the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation). This meant that people’s money in the
banks was backed by the government.
The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) was
created to put regulations on the Stock Market so that
a crash could never happen again.
The AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act) paid farmers to
grow LESS crops which would decrease the supply and
increase the price of food.
5) The TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) was created. This
was a program of building dams for electricity. It put
thousands of people to work.
6) The CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) was created and
employed young men to work on building parks.
7) The WPA (Work Progress Administration) gave federal
money for writers, artists, and musicians.
 These programs alleviated some of the despair the
people were feeling and pumped money into the
economy.
 It did not pull America out of the Depression, though.
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There was criticism of the New Deal from both liberals
(“the left) and conservatives (“the right”).
Liberals claimed that FDR was not doing enough. They
thought he should do more to redistribute income from
the rich to the poor.
Conservative, wealthy business owners said that the
New Deal was too expensive and was more like
socialism.
The conservative Supreme Court ruled many New Deal
programs “unconstitutional.”
In response to this, FDR tried to increase the number of
Supreme Court judges from 9 to 15.
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This would allow FDR to “pack” the court with judges
that would pass the New Deal. It was called the “courtpacking scheme.”
People saw this as FDR’s attempt to become like a
dictator, and his plan failed when Congress refused to
pass the law.
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Under FDR, a national insurance policy was established
for the unemployed, disabled, the elderly, and
dependent children.
This was called the Social Security Act. This was the
most important New Deal act and the longest-lasting.
But critics on the right said that this law laid the
foundation for America becoming a welfare state.
The New Deal also established minimum wage and
maximum hours with the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The Wagner Act gave workers the right to organize in
labor unions and bargain collectively with owners. This
had been a goal of unions since the late 19th century.
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In order to pass all of the New Deal programs, FDR’s
Congress had to run an unbalanced budget.
Deficit spending is when the government does not have
enough money and must borrow money to spend.
Conservatives criticized FDR for deficit spending. In
response, FDR cut spending in 1937. But this caused the
Recession of 1937.
Since the 1930s, deficit spending has been used by the
government to prevent depressions.
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In 1933, the unemployment rate for blacks was an
astounding 48%.
But, the New Deal did not do much to help blacks. The
money given to farmers did not help blacks because
they did not own farms.
The CCC was segregated, blacks and whites worked
separately. And the TVA gave the best jobs to whites.
But, FDR regularly met with a group of black
government workers that was called the “Black
Cabinet.”
Also, after blacks threatened to march on Washington,
the Fair Employment Practices Commission was set up
to make sure blacks had jobs during WWII.
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As a result, many blacks in the north began voting for
the Democratic Party.
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During the Depression, women had to “use it up, wear it
out, make it do or do without.”
They also had to find jobs, but were discriminated
against because they were seen as taking jobs away
from men.
The New Deal did not address the needs of women.
Many of its programs were specifically designed to help
men.
However, FDR appointed the first female Cabinet
member ever – Frances Perkins.
He also relied greatly on his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, for
advice.