Transcript THE 1920s: CHANGE VS. TRADITION

THE 1920s:
CHANGE VS. TRADITION
EUGENIA LANGAN
MATER ACADEMY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL
HIALEAH GARDENS, FLORIDA
WITH THANKS TO CRISTINA WEST AND SCOTT
MASTERS
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
TODAY:
 WHAT CAUSED THE TENSION BETWEEN NEW AND
CHANGING ATTITUDES, ON THE ONE HAND, AND
TRADITIONAL VALUES AND NOSTALGIA, ON THE OTHER
HAND, IN THE 1920s?
 WHICH GROUPS WERE PROGRESSIVE/RADICAL AND
WHICH WERE CONSERVATIVE, AND WHY?
 BROAD: HOW DID THE U.S. BECOME A SUPERPOWER? HOW DID U.S. IDENTITY CHANGE AS A RESULT?
BACKGROUND: POST-WAR TENSIONS
 WAR-TIME ECONOMY:
 WAR PRODUCTION + MOBILIZATION OF NEARLY 5
MILLION MEN = FLU DEATHS  HIGH EMPLOYMENT,
HIGH WAGES
 NATIONAL WAR LABOR BOARD GAVE UNIONS
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS (TO AVOID STRIKE)
 INCREASE IN UNION MEMBERSHIP (E.G., MORE THAN
3 MILLION MEMBERS OF AF OF L)
 SOME INFLATION (LOTS OF MONEY CHASING SCARE
GOODS – BUT WAGES ROSE WITH INFLATION
 ECONOMY 1919 – 21: RECESSION THEN
DEPRESSION -- CAUSES
 DEMOBILIZATION: OVER 4 MILLION SOLDIERS
RETURNED 1919-20, WITH NO JOBS AND NOTHING BUT
$60 AND A TRAIN TICKET HOME
 WAR PRODUCTION ENDED  LAYOFFS + SOME
FACTORIES SHUT DOWN PERMANENTLY
 TOO MANY WORKERS, TOO FEW JOBS  DECLINING
WAGES AND ABOUT 5.5% UNEMPLOYMENT 1918-19
 CONTINUED INFLATION: COST OF LIVING DOUBLED
1918 – 1920
WELCOME BACK TO LOW WAGES AND HIGH C.O.L.!
 1919 & 1920 FEDERAL RESERVE RAISED INTEREST
RATES (REDUCED MONEY SUPPLY) TO FIGHT INFLATION
 CREDIT TIGHTENS  INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
DECREASED ≈ 29%
 DEPRESSION, 1920 – 21
 ESTIMATES OF GDP DECLINE VARY, BUT ≈ 6%
 DEFLATION - RETAIL PRICES ≈ 18%, WHOLESALE
PRICES ≈ 36% (WORST IN U.S. HISTORY)
 UNEMPLOYMENT = 10%
 FARM PRICES = DEFLATION/ DEPRESSION EVEN
EARLIER THAN REST OF ECONOMY
 PLUS EVEN MORE ACRES UNDER CULTIVATION
THE USUAL (FARM PRICES DROP, FORECLOSURES)
STOCK MARKET: DOW-JONES AVERAGE 1918-23
"ROARING 20s" DIDN’T BEGIN UNTIL 1922!
POST-WAR STRIKES: IN 1919 OVER 4 MILLION U.S.
WORKERS (MOSTLY AF OF L) WENT ON STRIKE –
MORE THAN EVER BEFORE OR SINCE
 WHY?
 EMPLOYERS WANTED TO CUT HIGH WAGES AND
BREAK POWER UNIONS GAINED DURING WWI
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF MAJOR STRIKES IN
1919
BOSTON POLICE STRIKE, STEEL STRIKE, COAL
STRIKE
STRIKES UNSUCCESSFUL AND OPPOSED BY PUBLIC
 BOSTON POLICE STRIKE, SEPTEMBER 1919
 ORGANIZATIONAL STRIKE – POLICE WANTED AF OF
L UNION
 LOW WAGES, LONG WORK HOURS, ETC.
 ≈ 1100 POLICEMEN STRUCK (72% OF FORCE) 
SOME MINOR VANDALISM AND LOOTING
 MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR CALVIN COOLIDGE
CALLED OUT 5,000 TROOPS IN MASSACHUSETTS
MILITIA AGAINST STRIKERS (5 TO 1!)
 STRIKING OFFICERS AND MANY OTHER COPS
REPLACED
MASSACHUSETTS MILITIA IN SCOLLAY SQUARE,
BOSTON. DURING STRIKE 9 POLICEMEN WERE KILLED
 CALVIN COOLIDGE: "THERE IS NO
RIGHT TO STRIKE AGAINST THE
PUBLIC SAFETY, ANYWHERE,
ANYTIME."
 A HERO: REPUBLICAN VP
NOMINEE, 1920
TYPICAL NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF THE POLICE
STRIKE:
"BOLSHEVISM IN THE UNITED STATES IS NO LONGER
A SPECTER. BOSTON IN CHAOS REVEALS ITS
SINISTER SUBSTANCE." PHILADELPHIA LEDGER
"HE GIVES AID & COMFORT TO THE ENEMIES OF
SOCIETY" – CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"STRIKING BACK" – NEW YORK EVENING WORLD
 1919 STEEL STRIKE, SEPTEMBER 1919
 ORGANIZATIONAL STRIKE – AMALGAMATED
ASSOCIATION OF IRON, STEEL AND TIN WORKERS
(AF OF L) WANTED STEEL INDUSTRY TO RECOGNIZE
AND BARGAIN WITH UNION
 ≈ 350,000 STEELWORKERS
STRUCK, SHUT DOWN STEEL MILLS
IN NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA,
WEST VIRGINIA, OHIO, ILLINOIS,
INDIANA AND COLORADO
 WILLIAM Z. FOSTER, L, AF OF L
(MARXIST, IWW) LED STRIKE
 U.S. STEEL CHAIRMAN ELBERT GARY REFUSED
TO NEGOTIATE
 LED STEEL INDUSTRY IN HIRING 30- 40,000
AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND MEXICAN STRIKEBREAKERS ("SCABS")
 AS USUAL, PINKERTONS, LOCAL AND STATE
POLICE, AND IN SOME PLACES THE ARMY AND
NATIONAL GUARD ATTACKED STRIKERS
 RESULT = COMPLETE DEFEAT FOR UNION.
PUBLIC OPINION – AGAINST STRIKE, EQUATED
UNIONS WITH SOCIALISM AND COMMUNISM
ELBERT GARY – A HERO
 UNITED MINE WORKERS (UMW) – COAL STRIKE,
NOVEMBER 1919
 LED BY UMW PRESIDENT JOHN L.
LEWIS, L (NOT A MARXIST)
 ≈ 400,000 COAL MINERS STRUCK
OVER WAGES
 RED-BAITING: MINEOWNERS
CALLED UNION "BOLSHEVIKS," ETC.
 ATTORNEY GENERAL A. MITCHELL
PALMER GOT INJUNCTION AGAINST
STRIKE UNDER WARTIME FOOD AND
FUEL ACT – BUT WAR WAS OVER!
 FACING CRIMINAL CHARGES AND ACCUSATIONS
OF COMMUNISM, LEWIS CALLED OFF THE STRIKE
"KEEPING WARM" – LOS ANGELES TIMES
"IF CAPITAL AND LABOR DON'T PULL TOGETHER"
– CHICAGO TRIBUNE
 THE INTERNATIONAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD
("WOBBLIES) – A RADICAL UNION, SUCCESSOR TO
KNIGHTS OF LABOR
 FOUNDED 1905, IN CHICAGO BY
WILLIAM "BIG BILL" HAYWARD,
MARY "MOTHER" JONES, EUGENE V.
DEBS, AND OTHER SOCIALISTS,
ANARCHISTS, COMMUNISTS, ETC.
"THE FEW OWN THE MANY BECAUSE
THEY POSSESS THE MEANS OF
LIVELIHOOD OF ALL ... THE COUNTRY
IS GOVERNED FOR THE RICHEST, FOR
THE CORPORATIONS, THE BANKERS,
THE LAND SPECULATORS, AND FOR
THE EXPLOITERS OF LABOR. THE
MAJORITY OF MANKIND ARE WORKING
PEOPLE. SO LONG AS THEIR FAIR
DEMANDS - THE OWNERSHIP AND
CONTROL OF THEIR LIVELIHOODS ARE SET AT NAUGHT, WE CAN HAVE
NEITHER MEN'S RIGHTS NOR WOMEN'S
RIGHTS. THE MAJORITY OF MANKIND
IS GROUND DOWN BY INDUSTRIAL
OPPRESSION IN ORDER THAT THE
SMALL REMNANT MAY LIVE IN EASE."
— HELEN KELLER, IWW MEMBER, 1911
 WOBBLY THREAT? ORGANIZED FARMWORKERS,
TEXTILE MILLS, WESTERN MINES, LUMBERJACKS,
CALLED GENERAL STRIKES, OPPOSED WWI
 BUT LIKE KNIGHTS OF LABOR, RHETORIC ABOUT
CLASS WAR AND LACK OF FOCUS ON PRACTICAL
WORKING CONDITIONS, DISDAIN FOR COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING AGREEMENTS  LOW MEMBERSHIP
(ABOUT 50,000 AT PEAK © 1920)
 STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS CRACKED
DOWN ON IWW
 EXAMPLE: THE CASE OF JOE HILL, 1915
 HILL, SWEDISH IMMIGRANT,
ITINERANT WORKER, IWW
ORGANIZER, SONGWRITER –
CONVICTED AND EXECUTED FOR
ARMED ROBBERY AND MURDER
IN SALT LAKE CITY – ALMOST NO
EVIDENCE!
 HIS FINAL LETTER TO BIG BILL
HAYWARD: "DON'T WASTE ANY
TIME IN MOURNING. ORGANIZE...
COULD YOU ARRANGE TO HAVE
MY BODY HAULED TO THE STATE
LINE TO BE BURIED? I DON'T
WANT TO BE FOUND DEAD IN
UTAH."
 DURING WWI, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TRIED TO
WIPE OUT IWW
 SEPTEMBER 1917 – FEDERAL AGENTS RAIDED 49
IWW MEETING HALLS NATIONWIDE, ARRESTED
HUNDREDS OF WOBBLIES
 U.S. CHARGED 165 IWW LEADERS WITH VIOLATING
ESPIONAGE ACT – ALL CONVICTED
 BY END OF WAR, WOBBLIES WERE NO THREAT AT
ALL (IF THEY EVER WERE)
RED SCARE, 1919
A. MITCHELL PALMER
ATTORNEY GENERAL 1919-21
 LED BY A. MITCHELL
PALMER, U.S.
GOVERNMENT MANAGED
TO TRANSFER WARTIME
PUBLIC XENOPHOBIA
AGAINST GERMANS TO
PEACETIME XENOPHOBIA
AGAINST "REDS" –
COMMUNISTS,
SOCIALISTS, ANARCHISTS,
WOBBLIES
 NATIVISM LINK: "NEW
IMMIGRANTS" EQUATED
WITH "FOREIGN
AGITATORS"
 CAUSES OF RED SCARE:
 1919: COMMUNIST THIRD INTERNATIONAL
DECLARED GOAL OF WORLDWIDE COMMUNISM
 MITCHELL COULD CLAIM COMMUNIST PLOT
AGAINST U.S. "FREEDOM"
 APRIL AND JUNE 1919 – LETTER BOMBS ("WE WILL
DESTROY TO RID THE WORLD OF YOUR TYRANNICAL
INSTITUTIONS" ON PINK PAPER) SENT TO PALMER,
SENATORS, FBI INVESTIGATORS
 NOBODY KILLED BUT  PUBLIC PANIC
"WHAT A YEAR HAS
BROUGHT FORTH" – NEW
YORK WORLD
"PUT THEM OUT AND KEEP
THEM OUT" – PHILADELPHIA
INQUIRER
 1919 STRIKES
 RACE RIOTS, SUMMER 1919
 BACKGROUND: "GREAT MIGRATION" OF AFRICANAMERICANS TO NORTHERN CITIES (≈ 2 MILLION 1910 –
1930, ≈ 500,000 BY 1919)
 WHY: INDUSTRIAL AND OTHER JOBS IN NORTH
(ESPECIALLY DURING WWI), LESS
 1915: BOLL WEEVIL WIPED OUT COTTON CROP,
BANKRUPT SOUTHERN PLANTERS EJECTED
SOUTHERN SHARECROPPERS
 ALSO, RETURNING BLACK WAR
VETS MORE ASSERTIVE ABOUT
RIGHTS
 AT LEAST 30 RACE RIOTS OF 1919 ( = ATTACKS BY
WHITES ON AFRICAN-AMERICANS, ESPECIALLY
RETURNING VETS

MOST RIOTS IN NORTHERN CITIES SUCH AS
CHICAGO, PHILADELPHIA, SYRACUSE N.Y, AND
WASHINGTON D.C.
 SOME AFRICAN-AMERICAN RESISTANCE
(FIGHTING BACK)
 MEDIA AND PUBLIC BLAMED RIOTS ON AFRICANAMERICANS AND BOLSHEVIK AGITATORS
ABOVE, WHITE GANG LOOKING
FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS DURING
CHICAGO RACE RIOT OF 1919
LEFT: HEADLINE IN ARKANSAS
NEWSPAPER
HEADLINE IN NEW YORK TIMES:
"REDS TRY TO STIR NEGROES TO
REVOLT"
THE NEW BLACK MILITANCY: "IF WE MUST DIE" BY CLAUD MC
KAY – THEY DIDN'T START IT BUT THEY RESISTED!
 EDGAR HOOVER BLAMED
THE RIOTS ON "BLACK MEN
RAPING WHITE WOMEN" AND
FOREIGN AGITATORS
 HOOVER WAS THEN HEAD OF
PALMER'S "GENERAL
INTELLIGENCE UNIT" WITHIN
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
PALMER RAIDS, 1919- 20
 STRATEGY: ROUND UP AND DEPORT FOREIGN
RADICALS (INCLUDING WOBBLIES)
 IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1919 AUTHORIZED
DEPORTATION OF ALIEN ANARCHISTS AND ANY ALIENS
ADVOCATING OVERTHROW OF U.S. GOVERNMENT
 GOVERNMENT USED WARRANTLESS WIRETAPS
(VIOLATED 4TH AMENDMENT)
 JANUARY 20, 1920: FEDERAL AND LOCAL RAIDED
OFFICES AND HOMES NATIONWIDE, ARREST OVER
6,000 PEOPLE (INCLUDING SOME U.S. CITIZENS)
 PEOPLE ARRESTED WERE DENIED ACCESS TO
LAWYERS (VIOLATED 6TH AMENDMENT)
 POLICE ARRESTING SUSPECTED "REDS" IN
CHICAGO
 BUT NOT EVERYONE ARRESTED WAS AN ALIEN!
"RADICALS" AWAITING DEPORTATION HEARINGS AT
ELLIS ISLAND
DECEMBER, 1920: EMMA GOLDMAN WAS ON THE BUFORD
 IN THE END ONLY ABOUT 565 ALIENS WERE
DEPORTED – MOSTLY NOT FOR ANY ACTS, ONLY FOR
MEMBERSHIP IN RADICAL ORGANIZATION
 SECRETARY OF LABOR
LEWIS FREEDLAND POST
OPPOSED THE RAIDS AND
THWARTED DEPORTATIONS
 INITIALLY PUBLIC SIDED
WITH PALMER, BUT AS 1920
WENT ON WITHOUT EITHER
STRIKES OR A REVOLUTION,
MEDIA SUPPORTED POST
DOES THE CARTOONIST SUPPORT THE PALMER
RAIDS?
 SOME EXCESSES IN STATES, SUCH AS NEW
YORK'S EXPULSION OF FIVE (CITIZEN)
SOCIALISTS FROM NEW YORK LEGISLATURE
ALSO CAUSED RED SCARE TO LOSE PUBLIC
SUPPORT
 THERE WERE ALSO LYNCHINGS OF WOBBLIES
SACCO AND VANZETTI: VICTIMS OF THE RED SCARE?
 ARRESTED 1920 FOR ARMED ROBBERY AND MURDER
– EXECUTED 1927
 PLENTY OF EVIDENCE THAT THEY WERE ANARCHISTS,
NOT MUCH THAT THEY DID THE CRIME
 WERE THEY GUILTY? (YOU SHOULD HAVE AN OPINION
BASED ON ASSIGNED READING)
SUPREME COURT DECISIONS
 SCHENCK V. UNITED STATES, 1919
1. OPINION BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR.
2. FACTS: CHARLES SCHENCK, SECRETARY OF
SOCIALIST PARTY OF AMERICA, WAS CONVICTED
OF VIOLATING THE ESPIONAGE ACT FOR
DISTRIBUTING A HANDBILL COMPARING THE
DRAFT TO SLAVERY
3. ISSUE: DID THE CONVICTION VIOLATE
SCHENCK'S 1ST-AMENDMENT RIGHT TO FREEDOM
OF SPEECH?
4. HOLDING: NO. DURING WARTIME, FREEDOM OF
SPEECH IS LESS BROAD THAN DURING PEACETIME
 AND AT ANYTIME: FREEDOM OF SPEECH NEVER
INCLUDES "SHOUTING FIRE IN A CROWDED THEATER
AND CAUSING A PANIC."
 IF SPEECH PRESENTS "A CLEAR AND PRESENT
DANGER" THAT SOMETHING THE GOVERNMENT HAS
THE RIGHT TO PREVENT WILL HAPPEN, THE SPEECH
HAS NO 1ST – AMENDMENT PROTECTION
5. LEGAL AND HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE – A VERY
BROAD EXCEPTION TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH!
 ABRAMS V. UNITED STATES, 1919
1. OPINION BY JUSTICE JOHN CLARKE (A NONENTITY
– NOT IMPORTANT)
2. FACTS: ABRAMS WAS CONVICTED UNDER
SECTION OF ESPIONAGE ACT BANNING
INTERFERENCE WITH WAR PRODUCTION. HE
DISTRIBUTED A LEAFLET CRITICIZING 1919
DEPLOYMENT OF U.S. TROOPS TO RUSSIA TO FIGHT
SOVIETS, AND URGING GENERAL STRIKE OF
MUNITION WORKERS TO STOP PRODUCING WEAPONS
FOR THIS
(SO NOT AGAINST WWI OR ANY DECLARED WAR OF
U.S.!)
3. ISSUE: WAS THE HANDBILL PROTECTED 1ST –
AMENDMENT SPEECH?
4. NOT PROTECTED SPEECH UNDER THE "CLEAR
AND PRESENT DANGER" TEST. EVEN THOUGH NO
STRIKE OR DAMAGE TO WAR EFFORT WAS
IMMINENT, THE HANDBILL HAD A "TENDENCY" TO
CAUSE THOSE THINGS.
5. LEGAL AND HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: TURNED
"CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER" TEST INTO "BAD
TENDENCY" TEST – EVEN EASIER FOR
GOVERNMENT TO RESTRICT SPEECH
HOLMES DISSENT: "CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER"
MEANS SOME UNLAWFUL ACTION IS IMMINENT
 TWO ANTITRUST DECISIONS TO KNOW:
 UNITED MINE WORKERS V. CORONADO COAL CO.,
1922 – OPINION BY CHIEF JUSTICE TAFT
 JUST KNOW WHAT IT HELD: LABOR UNIONS ARE
"ASSOCIATIONS" COVERED BY THE SHERMAN ANTITRUST
ACT – CAN BE SUED UNDER ACT FOR TREBLE DAMAGES
FOR STRIKES, MULTI-UNION AGREEMENTS TO SEEK
SAME WAGES, ETC.
 FEDERAL BASEBALL CLUB V. NATIONAL BASEBALL
LEAGUE, 1922 – OPINION BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES,
JR.
 PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUES ARE NOT
COVERED BY THE SHERMAN ACT, BECAUSE BASEBALL IS
A GAME, NOT A BUSINESS (EVEN THOUGH IT MAKES $)
ELECTION OF 1920: REPUBLICAN TRIUMPH ("IT'S
THE ECONOMY, STUPID," PLUS THE RED SCARE AND
OPPOSITION TO WILSON – END OF PROGRESSIVISM
FOR A WHILE
WARREN G.
HARDING AND
CALVIN
COOLIDGE
JAMES COX AND
FRANKLIN D.
ROOSEVELT
ALSO RAN: EUGENE V. DEBS, SOCIALIST PARTY:
FROM PRISON -- 913,000 VOTES (REFERENCE TO
HARDING'S "FRONT PORCH" CAMPAIGN
 WARREN G. HARDING – RANKED AS ONE OF THE
WORST PRESIDENTS. ADVOCATED "RETURN TO
NORMALCY"
 SCANDALS, ESPECIALLY TEAPOT DOME BRIBERY
SCANDAL
 1921: HARDING TRANSFERRED NAVY OIL RESERVES
AT TEAPOT DOME (AND OTHER WESTERN LOCATIONS)
TO DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
 1922: SECRETARY OF INTERIOR ALBERT B. FALL
LEASED RESERVES TO OIL COMPANIES – FOR
PERSONAL LOANS = $404,000
 FALL WAS CONVICTED OF BRIBERY,
GOT 1 YEAR IN PRISON – FIRST CABINET
OFFICER TO GO TO PRISON FOR CORRUPTION
 DEPLOYED MILITARY AGAINST STRIKES, ,
INCLUDING B-1 BOMBERS, AGAINST STRIKING COAL
MINERS IN MATEWAN, W. VA. (50-100 MINERS KILLED,
HUNDREDS CONVICTED OF CRIMES LATER – THE
USUAL!)
 SUPPORTED AND SIGNED FORDNEY-MC CUMBER
TARIFF, HIGHEST IN HISTORY – SUPPOSEDLY TO HELP
FARMERS
 FARMERS OF COURSE OPPOSED IT!
 DIED IN OFFICE, 1923
 COOLIDGE: YET ANOTHER VP BECAME
PRESIDENT (BUT WAS ELECTED IN OWN RIGHT IN
1924)
 MOST FAMOUS QUOTATION: "THE BUSINESS OF
AMERICA IS BUSINESS
 BUT NO HELP FOR FARMERS!
 HERBERT HOOVER
(MINING ENGINEER):
SECRETARY OF
COMMERCE FOR HARDING
AND COOLIDGE
 ELECTED PRESIDENT
1928
 HIS "SOUTHERN
STRATEGY": OUST ALL
BLACKS FROM
REPUBLICAN PARTY
LEADERSHIP, MAKE IT
ALL-WHITE PARTY
DOMESTIC POLITICS IN A NUTSHELL, 1920 – 32
 CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN ASCENDANCY
 HARDING, COOLIDGE, HOOVER TRILOGY
 LAISSEZ-FAIRE ON MOST DOMESTIC ISSUES:
 NO HELP FOR FARMERS
 OPPOSED TO UNIONS – SUPPORTED NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS "AMERICAN
PLAN:
 COMPANY UNIONS
 "OPEN" SHOPS
 STATE LAWS MAKING UNIONS ILLEGAL
 FAVORED EASY CREDIT TO PROMOTE BUSINESS
BY PROMOTING CONSUMERISM
 SUPPORTED HIGH TARIFFS
 SMOOT-HAWLEY TARIFF, 1930: HIGHEST YET 
RETALIATORY TARIFFS BY CANADA, BRITAIN,
FRANCE, GERMANY
 U.S. EXPORTS DROPPED 61% BETWEEN 1930
AND 1933
 TO WHAT EXTENT WERE THE HIGH TARIFFS OF
THE 1920S A CAUSE OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION?
THE ROARING 20s
1922 - 1929
WHILE ALL THOSE
CONSERVATIVE
REPUBLICANS WERE
RULING THE
COUNTRY, A LOT OF
PEOPLE WERE
PARTYING – IN VERY
NON-CONSERVATIVE
Q
PROSPERITY
 1921: FEDERAL RESERVE CUT INTEREST RATES,
RECOVERY BEGAN
 ECONOMY BOOMED 1923 – 29:
 AVERAGE ANNUAL INCOME INCREASED FROM $641 IN
1921 TO $ 847 IN 1929 (32%)
 U.S. GDP GREATER THAN ALL OF EUROPE'S
COMBINED
 LOW INFLATION, LOW UNEMPLOYMENT (< 4%)
 WHO DIDN'T PROSPER?
FARMERS AND NON-UNION BLUE-COLLAR WORKERS
WHAT FUELED PROSPERITY? CONSUMERISM!
ESPECIALLY THE MODEL T!
 HENRY FORD'S
ASSEMBLY LINE
 STANDARD BLACK
MODEL TO
 REDUCED PRICE:
$950 - 1909
$360 - 1916
$290 – 1925
MOST AMERICANS
COULD AFFORD A
CAR – BY 1930 MOST
FAMILIES HAD ONE!
INDIVIDUAL MOBILITY: A MAJOR SOCIAL CHANGE
 RISE OF AUTO AGE  RIPPLE SOCIOECONOMIC
EFFECTS:
RUBBER
 GLASS
 STEEL
 ROAD CONSTRUCTION
 HOUSES IN THE SUBURBS
 MOTELS
 ROADSIDE RESTAURANTS AND DINERS
 GAS STATIONS
ANOTHER REASON FOR INCREASED PROSPERITY:
MORE PEOPLE MOVING TO CITIES (HIGHER
INCOMES)
HOW 'YA GONNA KEEP 'EM DOWN ON THE FARM
(AFTER THEY'VE SEEN PAREE)
REUBEN, REUBEN, I'VE BEEN THINKING
SAID HIS WIFEY DEAR
NOW THAT ALL IS PEACEFUL AND CALM
THE BOYS WILL SOON BE BACK ON THE FARM
MISTER REUBEN STARTED WINKING AND SLOWLY RUBBED HIS CHIN
HE PULLED HIS CHAIR UP CLOSE TO MOTHER
AND HE ASKED HER WITH A GRIN):
HOW YA GONNA KEEP 'EM DOWN ON THE FARM
AFTER THEY'VE SEEN PAREE'?
HOW YA GONNA KEEP 'EM AWAY FROM BROADWAY
JAZZIN AROUND AND PAINTIN' THE TOWN
HOW YA GONNA KEEP 'EM AWAY FROM HARM? THAT'S A MYSTERY
THEY'LL NEVER WANT TO SEE A RAKE OR PLOW
AND WHO THE DEUCE CAN PARLEYVOUS A COW?
HOW YA GONNA KEEP 'EM DOWN ON THE FARM
AFTER THEY'VE SEEN PAREE'?
 RISE OF CONSUMER CREDIT:
 BEFORE 1920, MOST AMERICANS THOUGHT
PERSONAL BORROWING WAS WRONG EXCEPT IN
EMERGENCIES
 BY 1928, 2/3 OF ALL FURNITURE, WASHING MACHINES,
CARS, ETC. WERE BOUGHT ON CREDIT
 WHY? ADVERTISING – PEOPLE FELT THEY NEEDED
THINGS THAT DIDN'T EVEN EXIST BEFORE!
 WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THE LOANS COME DUE?
 PEOPLE ALSO BORROWED TO BUY STOCK
 "BUYING ON THE MARGIN": 10-20%
DOWNPAYMENT ON STOCK, THE OTHER 80-90%
BORROWED FROM BROKER
 IF STOCK PRICE ROSE ENOUGH, BUYER COULD
PAY BACK LOAN AND MAKE PROFIT
 BUT IF STOCK PRICE FELL, BROKER ISSUED
"MARGIN CALL" AND BUYER HAD TO PAY DEBT OUT
OF POCKET
 STOCK MARKET WENT UP AND UP IN 20s, SO
PEOPLE FELT OK TO BUY ON MARGIN (IT NEVER IS!)
SOCIAL CHANGES
 "THE NEW WOMAN"
 19TH AMENDMENT, 1920 – WOMEN COULD VOTE
 DID IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN ELECTIONS?
 HEMLINES WENT UP, DID MORALS GO DOWN?
 MORE WOMEN WORKED OUTSIDE HOME, MORE
WENT TO COLLEGE
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE
NEW!
 "THE FLAPPER" – FREE, FUN-LOVING, SEXUAL,
SMOKING, DRINKING, DANCED THE CHARLESTON . .
.
LIBERATION, OR A NEW FORM OF OPPRESSION?
MISS AMERICA PAGEANT, 1926
WOMEN ENCOURAGED TO STRUT AROUND HALFNAKED FOR ENJOYMENT OF MEN
 "MORALITY POLICE"
"THE STENO POOL": OFFICE CLERICAL WORK
BECAME FEMINIZED
 ACCENT ON
YOUTH: WHY?
"NEW ERA?"
DISILLUSIONMENT
WITH WHAT OLDER
GENERATION
CREATED?
LOSS OF YOUNG
PEOPLE IN WAR,
FLU?
"NOT FOR OLD FOGIES"
 1920S STYLES
 RISE OF MASS HOMOGENIZED CULTURE, DUE
TO MOBILITY, RADIO AND FILM
FIRST FULL-LENGTH MOTION
PICTURE: BIRTH OF A
NATION, 1915: RACIST
(GLORIFIED KKK)
FIRST "TALKIE" – THE JAZZ SINGER (1920) – ALSO
RACIST (YOU SAW A CLIP FROM IT EARLIER!)
1920S – A NEW KIND OF
CELEBRITY– ATHLETES,
PILOTS
BABE RUTH &TY COBB
CHARLES LINDBERGH
THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS
JACK DEMPSEY
MOVIE STARS: CHARLIE CHAPLIN, MARK PICKFORD
("AMERICA'S SWEETHEART"), RUDOLPH VALENTINO
AND THE CELEBRITY FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
CLARA BOW: THE
"IT" GIRL – MINOR
ACTRESS
CELEBRATED FOR
EXEMPLIFYING THE
FLAPPER
JAZZ: THE 1920S IS THE "JAZZ AGE"
LOUIS ARMSTRONG, "SATCHMO": "WEST END
BLUES," ONE OF THE EARLIEST JAZZ RECORDS
(RECORDS THANKS TO THOMAS EDISON)
YOUNG PEOPLE FLOCKED TO BARS AND NIGHTCLUBS TO
HEAR JAZZ, SMOKE, DRINK.
DRINK? HUH? WHAT ABOUT PROHIBITION (18TH AMDT?)?
PROHIBITION MAKE DRINKING GLAMOROUS!
“WHEN PROHIBITION WAS INTRODUCED, I HOPED
THAT IT WOULD BE WIDELY SUPPORTED BY PUBLIC
OPINION AND THE DAY WOULD SOON COME WHEN
THE EVIL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL WOULD BE
RECOGNIZED. I HAVE SLOWLY AND RELUCTANTLY
COME TO BELIEVE THAT THIS HAS NOT BEEN THE
RESULT. INSTEAD, DRINKING HAS GENERALLY
INCREASED; THE SPEAKEASY HAS REPLACED THE
SALOON; A VAST ARMY OF LAWBREAKERS HAS
APPEARED; MANY OF OUR BEST CITIZENS HAVE
OPENLY IGNORED PROHIBITION; RESPECT FOR THE
LAW HAS BEEN GREATLY LESSENED; AND CRIME HAS
INCREASED TO A LEVEL NEVER SEEN BEFORE.”
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, JR. – AND HE WAS
ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!
 PROHIBITION LED TO ORGANIZED
CRIME IN THE U.S.
LEADING PROHITION-ERA GANGSTERS – AL CAPONE
AND BUGS MORAN – BOOTLEGGERS
WHEN GOVERNMENTS BAN SOMETHING PEOPLE
WILL BUY NO MATTER WHAT (LIKE BOOZE AND
DRUGS) IT CREATES BLACK MARKETS FOR THOSE
THINGS
 HOW MUST BLACK-MARKET BUSINESSES
RESOLVE DISPUTES?
 THROUGH VIOLENCE – “WAR”
THE “SAINT VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE,” 1929 –
PART OF A WAR OVER CONTROL OF THE LIQUOR
TRADE IN CHICAGO
 SUPPORT FOR PROHIBITION BECAME ASSOCIATED
WITH “BACKWARD” ELEMENTS
HUMORIST WILL ROGERS
REMARKED, “THE SOUTH IS DRY
AND WILL VOTE DRY. THAT IS,
EVERYBODY SOBER ENOUGH TO
STAGGER TO THE POLLS."
THE NEW KKK: ("KOONS, KIKES AND KATH'LICS):
NOT JUST ANTI-BLACK, ALSO ANTI-SEMITIC, ANTIIMMIGRATION, ANTI-WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE
WOMEN'S KLAN – 500,000 MEMBERS NATIONWIDE
HIGH CULTURE OF THE 1920s
 HARLEM RENAISSANCE (RESULT OF GREAT
MIGRATION) – NOT JUST JAZZ – ALSO GREAT
NOVELISTS AND POETS
 LANGSTON HUGHES
 JAMES WELDON JOHNSON
 CLAUDE MCKAY
 ZORA NEALE HURSTON
 COUNTEE CULLEN
INCIDENT
ONCE RIDING IN OLD BALTIMORE,
HEART-FILLED, HEAD-FILLED WITH GLEE;
I SAW A BALTIMOREAN
KEEP LOOKING STRAIGHT AT ME.
NOW I WAS EIGHT AND VERY SMALL,
AND HE WAS NO WHIT BIGGER,
AND SO I SMILED, BUT HE POKED OUT
HIS TONGUE, AND CALLED ME, "NIGGER."
I SAW THE WHOLE OF BALTIMORE
FROM MAY UNTIL DECEMBER;
OF ALL THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED THERE
THAT'S ALL THAT I REMEMBER.
--COUNTEE CULLEN
WHITE AUTHORS: "THE LOST GENERATION"
(LARGELY EXPATRIATES F. SCOTT FITZGERALD (WITH
ZELDA)
ERNEST HEMINGWAY AND
GERTRUDE STEIN (BY
PICASSO) – SHE COINED TERM
"LOST GENERATION"
• F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
– GREAT GATSBY
– THIS SIDE OF
PARADISE
• 1920
• EARNEST HEMINGWAY
– SUN ALSO RISES
(1926)
– FAREWELL TO ARMS
(1929)
• THEODORE DREISER
– AMERICAN TRAGEDY
(1925)
• SINCLAIR LEWIS
– MAIN STREET (1920)
– BABBITT (1922)
• WILLIAM FAULKNER
– SOLDIER’S PAY
(1926)
– SOUND AND THE
FURY
• 1929
• T.S. ELIOT
– THE WASTE LAND
(1922)
CULTURE CLASS: OLD V. NEW – THE SCOPES TRIAL
 TENNESSEE'S BUTLER ACT BANNED TEACHING
EVOLUTION
 IN DAYTON, TN., HIGH-SCHOOL BIOLOGY TEACHER
JOHN SCOPES WAS CHARGED WITH
VIOLATING THE ACT
 TRIAL BECAME A NATIONAL CAUSECELÈBRE: SCIENCE V. BIBLE
THE MOST FAMOUS LAWYERS IN THE COUNTRY
HANDLED THE TRIAL: CLARENCE DARROW FOR
SCOPES, WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN FOR TENNESSEE
 DARROW LOST – BUT HE HUMILIATED BRYANT BY
PUTTING HIM ON THE STAND AND QUESTIONING HIM
ABOUT THE BIBLE (LIKE "WHERE DID CAIN'S WIFE
COME FROM?)
 DARROW QUOTATION: "WE HAVE THE PURPOSE OF
PREVENTING BIGOTS AND IGNORAMUSES FROM
CONTROLLING THE EDUCATION OF THE UNITED
STATES."
 SCOPES GOT $100 FINE – CONVICTION REVERSED
ON APPEAL
 TRIAL MARKED BEGINNING OF STILL-EXISTING
DIVISION IN CHRISTIANITY BETWEEN
FUNDAMENTALISTS AND PEOPLE WHO ACCEPT
SCIENCE
ARCHITECTURE
"OLD STYLE"
SKYSCRAPERS
WRIGLEY BUILDING
CHICAGO
BEGUN 1920
NEW STYLE:
ART DECO
CHRYSLER BUILDING,
BEGUN 1928 (COM. 1930)
CHRYSLER BUILDING LOBBY
 IN 1928, U.S. APPEARED TO BE AT THE PEAK OF
PROSPERITY
 1928: STOCK MARKET BOOM: EVEN MORE
PEOPLE INVESTED, MOSTLY ON THE MARGIN
OCTOBER 24, 1929 – BLACK THURSDAY – STOCK
MARKET CRASHED  MILLIONS OF MARGIN CALLS!
PROMPT FOR DBQ ESSAY YOU'LL WRITE NEXT
CLASS:
WHAT WERE THE PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF THE
GREAT DEPRESSION? BE SURE TO CONSIDER ALL
POSSIBLE CAUSES IN YOUR ANSWER. USE THE
DOCUMENTS AND YOUR OUTSIDE KNOWLEDGE OF
THE PERIOD 1920 - 1935 TO ANSWER THE
QUESTION.
BRING THE DBQ RUBRIC AND AN OUTLINE OF YOUR
OI! YOU SHOULD HAVE A LOT OF OI FROM
ASSIGNED READING AND THIS LECTURE