Transcript The New Era - Pleasanton Unified School District

The New Era
Chapter 24
I. The New Economy
Economic Growth
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Huge economic boom in early 1920s
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output up 60%
per capita income up a third
Causes
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debilitation of European industry
technology
automobiles connected to everything else
radio
cheap and readily available energy
STUFF (home appliances, plastics, synthetic fibers,
aluminum, aviation, electronics)
Economic Organization
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Consolidation: U.S.
Steel and “Little Steel”
Administration and
expansion: General
Motors
Cooperation: trade
association
Limiting competition
connected to fear of
overproduction
Labor in the New Era
Strong economy, but uneven distribution of
wealth
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2/3 lived no better than “minimum comfort”
1/3 of the population “subsistence and poverty”
lack of political organization limited power of the poor
Positive Changes for Labor
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rise in the standard of living (STUFF)
improved working conditions
many employers wanted to avoid labor unrest: allowed
trade unions
paternalistic “welfare capitalism”
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U.S. Steel: improved safety and sanitation
Ford: shortened workweek, raised wages, instituted paid
vacations
Labor in the New Era Continued
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Limited / Negative Changes for Labor
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unions feeble
“welfare capitalism” survived only as long as
industry prospered… when 1929 hit, the entire
system collapsed
limited increase in salary due to large supply of
workers
making ends meet with more than one job
unemployment 5-7%
Union movement looked at as best
hope, but weak
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William Green, head of AFL 1924 frowned on strikes
Women and Minorities in the Work
Force
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increased number of women working
“pink collar” jobs
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salesclerks, telephone operators, secretaries
underpaid
not represented in unions
African Americans
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janitors, dishwashers, garbage collectors,
laundry
not represented in unions
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters 1925 all
black union
Women and Minorities in the Work
Force Continued
Asians in the West and Southwest
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excluded from Unions
Chinese Exclusion Acts (Angel Island)
Japanese success as truck farmers, laws passed in
response to make it difficult for them to buy land
Filipinos: Anti-Filipino riots led to legislation in 1934
eliminating immigration from the Philippines
Hispanics in the West and Southwest
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major part of unskilled labor force in the
Southwest and CA
½ million Mexicans entered US in the 1920s /
total over 1 million
concentrated in urban cities “barrios” without
plumbing or sewage
no laws to exclude, necessity for ready pool of
low-paid, unskilled, unorganized workers
The “American Plan”
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Strength of corporations was the principal reason for the
absence of effective labor organization
Corporate leaders worked hard to label unionism with
radicalism
Protection of the “open shop” became “American Plan”…
principal behind harsh campaign of union busting
Government Assistance goes to corporate leaders
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1921 the Supreme Court declares picketing illegal and supported
the right of courts to issue injunctions against strikers
1922 Justice Department quells a strike of 400,000 workers
1924 courts refused to protect members of the United Mine
Workers when mine owners launched a violent campaign to break
up a strike
union membership decreases as a response
The Plight of the Farmer
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number of tractors on American farms quadrupled in the
1920s… lead to 35 million new acres of cultivation
increased production did not increase demand… result
was overproduction
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decline in food prices
drop in income for farmers
farmer only made about a quarter of the salary of the nonfarmer
3 million people left agriculture in the course of the
decade… many that remained forced into tenancy
most farmers moderate… few demanded gov’t relief
American Farm Bureau Federation
Parity: a formula for guaranteeing farmers a fair price for their
crops regardless of national or international fluctuations
McNary-Haugen Bill… vetoed repeatedly by conservative
presidents
II. The New Culture
Consumerism
society in which people could buy things not
just out of need, but out of pleasure
new products: electric refrigerators, washing
machines, electric irons, vacuum cleaners,
wristwatches, cigarettes, cosmetics and
automobiles
how the automobile changed American life
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30 million cars on American roads
expanded geographical horizons of millions
vacations now available to more people
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means of escaping rural isolation
city dwellers able to escape from city life
suburbs
social lives for younger, affluent people
*Fake Smile*
Advertising
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advertising grows in response to
success of WWI propaganda
no longer just about sharing
information… now about persuasion
The Man Nobody Knows, Bruce
Barton… portrayed Jesus Christ as a
super salesman… advertising looked at
as good business
new vehicles of advertisement:
newspapers, magazines… Saturday
Evening Post, Reader’s Digest and Time
Magazine
The Movies and Broadcasting
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Films
40 million had seen films in 1922 / 100 million by 1930
First feature length “talkie” The Jazz Singer
1921: Motion Picture Association to set up “standards” on
films
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Rudolph Valentino
Radio
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Will Hays uses broad powers to conform film industry
most important new communications vehicle
KDKA first commercial radio station in America
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National Broadcasting Company (NBC) first national radio
network
1923 500 radio stations
1929 12 million families owned radio sets
much less centralized than filmmaking
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self regulation
more controversial than film industry
Modernist Religion
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movement to abandon some literal
interpretation of the Bible for a belief system
that would help individuals live more fulfilling
lives in the present world
Harry Emerson Fosdick: aim of Christian religion
was not unexamined faith, but a fully developed
personality… liberal Protestantism
many stopped well short of embracing this new
religion… but pointed to general trend: the
devaluing of religion to a secondary role
Sunday becoming a day filled with activities and
entertainments
Professional Women
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substantial group of women now combined
marriage and careers: 25% of all women
workers married
continued debate about what were suitable roles
for women workers
“new professional woman” was a vivid and
widely publicized image in the 1920s… but
reality was different
most female workers were lower class and
unskilled… most middle class women in the
home
Changing Ideas of Motherhood
1920s = redefinition of motherhood
“behaviorist” psychology began to
challenge the idea that women had an
instinctive capacity for motherhood
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women become less likely to allow children to
intervene with development of marital
relationship
focus of sex shifts from procreation to
romantic expression
birth control = both a cause and an effect of
this new way of thinking
Margaret Sanger = advocate of birth control
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mothers should rely on assistance of experts
and professionals
motherhood more connected to institutions
outside of the family
working class women
poor communities
spread to middle class
Many birth control devices banned in many
states… abortion illegal nearly everywhere
Margaret Sanger
The “Flapper”:
Image and
Reality
some women believed that the in the “New Era” it was no longer necessary
to maintain a rigid, Victorian female “respectability”… general release from
repression and inhibition
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attend lively parties
flapper = term used to describe “New Era” woman whose liberated lifestyle
found new expression
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smoke and drink
dance
wear seductive clothes and makeup
dress
hairstyle
speech
behavior
huge impact on lower-middle class and working class single women who
were flocking to new industrial jobs in the service sector
despite independent image of flapper, most women remained highly
dependent on men: workplace and at home
Pressing for Women’s Rights
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realization that the “new woman” was a myth lead many
women to continue to press for reform
Alice Paul: National Women’s Party, continued to press
for an Equal Rights Amendment
League of Women Voters
1921 Sheppard-Towner Act: provided federal funds to
states to establish prenatal and child healthcare
programs… 1929 program terminated due to opposition
on many fronts
1929 discovered that female vote had done little change to
electoral votes… women divided the same way as men…
thus male politicians felt little concern about the
consequences of opposing the demands of female
reformers
Education and Youth
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more people going to school than ever before
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high school attendance from 2.2 million to 5 million during
decade
enrollment in colleges and universities goes up threefold
from 1900 to 1930
attendance increasing at trade and vocational schools
emergence of separate youth culture: concept of
adolescence
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influenced by Freudian psychology
extended period of training and preparation was necessary
before a young person was ready to move into the
workplace
school not just a place for academics, but
extracurricular activities
The Decline of the “Self-Made Man”
increase in the beliefs of
education and adolescence lead
to the gradual disappearance of
this theory
crisis of self-identification and
dependence among many
American males
Different outlets for masculinity
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Thomas Edison
Henry Ford
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Creation of three heroes… all of
which represented the triumphs
of modern technology, but did
not have formal education
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Charles Lindbergh
sports
fraternities
warfare
Thomas Edison: inventor of light
bulb and other technological
marvels
Henry Ford: creator of assembly
line, one of the founders of auto
industry
Charles Lindbergh: first aviator
to make a solo flight across the
Atlantic Ocean
The Disenchanted
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generation of artists and intellectuals who found
new society disturbing
rather than change society, they tried to isolate
themselves
“Lost Generation” (Who’s Lost?)
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belief that modern America no longer provided
individuals with avenues by which they could achieve
personal fulfillment
aftermath of war was shattering… war was a fraud
saddened by repudiation of idealism with “business as
usual”
disgust with materialism and consumerism
The Disenchanted Continued
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Ernest Hemmingway, Farwell
to Arms
“debunkers” writers who wrote
savage critiques of nearly
every aspect of society
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H.L. Mencken “why do people go
to the zoo?”
Sinclair Lewis
F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great
Gatsby
many went to live in isolated
places and engaged in
hedonistic lifestyles
end result was one of the
greatest decades of
American Literature
The Harlem
Renaissance
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once an affluent white suburb in northern Manhattan… by
the end of WWI: one of the largest and most influential
African American communities
“Harlem Renaissance” term used to describe a new
generation of black artists and intellectuals who created a
flourishing African American culture
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nightclubs (The Cotton Club) featuring jazz musicians (Duke
Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Fletcher Henderson)
theatres featuring musical comedies
poetry (Langston Hughes, Claude McKay…)
visual art (Aaron Douglas)
Brought African American products to the attention of
larger society
Some blacks combined there art with radical politics
The Southern Agrarians
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centered around Vanderbilt University
questioned modern industry
“Renegades” not originally connected to the
South, but eventually targeted the South
because it was underdeveloped… became
Agrarians
I’ll Take My Stand… Agrarian manifesto
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Justified segregation
Critique of industrialization
“backwards” South as model for a nation drunk
with visions of limitless growth and
modernization
III. A Conflict of Cultures
Prohibition
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when passed, huge symbol of
progressivism
within a year “noble experiment” not
working well
did reduce drinking in some regions of
the country
produced growing violations that
brought integrity of the law into question
in many places, easier to acquire illegal
alcohol than it was to acquire legal
alcohol before prohibition
Prohibition Continued
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trade once operated by
legitimate businessmen now
operated by organized crime
• Al Capone, Chicago
• Violent deaths of 250 people
between 1920 –1927
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rural, Protestant Americans
continue to defend
Prohibition
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saw drinking to be connected
with Catholic culture
old stock Americans trying to
discipline new stock
“wets” v. “drys”
1933 repealed during Great
Depression
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Nativism and the Klan
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again, old stock trying to discipline new
stock
post war ideology: immigration
associated with radicalism
Spreading Growth
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1921 immigration act establishing quotas: cut
immigration from 800,000 to 300,000
National Origins Act of 1924 banned immigration
from east Asia entirely
Large communities of foreign peoples, threat to
older more homogeneous America lead to rebirth of
KKK
Nativism and the Klan Continued
KKK
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Leo Frank, 1914 Jewish man lynched in Atlanta, Georgia
Stone Mountain, near Atlanta in 1915
D.W. Griffith’s film The Birth of a Nation: glorified early Klan
Originally connected to intimidating blacks, but after WWI,
primary concern shifted to Catholics, Jews and foreigners
Spreading in North (Indiana) and West (Oregon and Colorado)
1923: 3 million members / 1924: 4 million members
Systematic Terrorism
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boycott businesses
threaten families
public whipping
tarring and feathering
arson
hanging
Nativism and the Klan Continued Again
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The Klan didn’t just fear “racial impurities”
they feared any challenge to “traditional
values”
Provided poor whites with a sense of
community and seeming authority
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secret language and excitement
social “sphere” for women
Downfall of Klan 1925
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David Stephenson, Indiana: convicted of murder
He had control of everyone in Indiana with written
agreements
However, he breaks all of the rules of KKK (1. Prohibition
2. Protecting White Women 3. Acting like a Christian)
• Drinking, Rape, Caniballism, and Murder!!!
• Stephenson, individually, helped the rise and the FALL
of the KKK!
Religious Fundamentalism
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American Protestantism divided into two
camps
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Modernists: mostly urban, middle-class people who
had attempted to adapt religion to modern science
Traditionalists: largely rural, fighting to maintain the
centrality of religion in American life “fundamentalists”
i. strongly opposed Darwin
ii. literal interpretation of the Bible
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Tennessee March 1925: adopted a law making it
illegal for any public school teacher to teach
evolution opposed to creation
Religious Fundamentalism Continued
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American Civil Liberties Union: founded in 1920 by
citizens who were alarmed with the repressive legal
and social climate of the war and it’s aftermath (Jane
Addams, Norman Thomas and Helen Keller)
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offered free council to anyone willing to defy the law
24 year old biology teacher, John T. Scopes agreed to have
himself arrested
Trial pitted two famous lawyers against each other
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Clarence Darrow: famous defense attorney
William Jennings Bryan: important fundamentalist spokesman
Judge refused expert testimony by expert scholars
Scopes was fined $100, case later dismissed in a higher court
Bryan put on the stand as an “expert on the Bible”!
Scopes Trial = huge setback for fundamentalists
Who were the real winners???
The Democrats’ Ordeal
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suffered in response to fractions between urban
and rural factions
on one side: prohibitionists, Klansmen, and
fundamentalists
on the other side: Catholics, urban workers, and
immigrants
1924 Primary: 103 Ballots! Split between Alfred E.
Smith (urban Catholic) and William McAdoo (rural)
1928: Alfred E. Smith secures party nomination
and secures total division in Democratic party
(the next and last Catholic to receive a major
party nomination would be JFK)
Herbert Hoover took office widely believed to be
one of the most capable and well equipped to
take office….
IV. Republican Government
Harding and Coolidge
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two men who characterized the nature of 1920s politics:
passive
Warren G. Harding
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undistinguished
easily controlled
lacked the strength to abandon interests that made him president
Scandal! Secretary Fall convicted of bribery for selling gov’t oil
preserves… one year in prison (TeaPot Dome Scandal)
died of “heart attack”
Calvin Coolidge
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main advisers were from the advertising industry
built a reputation as a simple man defending country virtues… but
was thoroughly urban man of modern sensibilities
conviction that gov’t should interfere as little as possible
“He aspired to become the least President the country ever had. He
attained his desire”
“Silent Cal” but not governor of Massachusetts
Written statement “I do not choose to run for president in 1928”
Calvin Coolidge Warren G. Harding
Government and Business
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despite ineptness of presidents, much gov’t was working
effectively to adapt public policy to the widely accepted goal of
helping business and industry operate with maximum efficiency
and productivity
Business continued to work with gov’t… but in altered form
which was contrary to progressive ideals
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Business Secretary of Treasury Andrew Mellon: cut taxes on
corporate profits
Herbert Hoover: believed public institutions had a responsibility to
create a new, cooperative order
William Howard Taft: Chief Justice 1921
Lochner v. New York: struck down a law limiting the number of
hours bankers in New York could be required to work.
Bailey v. Drexel Furniture: struck down federal legislation regulating
child labor
Adkins v. Children’s Hospital: nullified a minimum wage law for
women
Sanctioned trade unions as being hurtful to competition, but
allowed U.S Steel to continue its monopolistic practices…
Government and Business Continued
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Remaining progressive
reformers lacked the
power to overthrow
presidential vetoes
Some progressives were
encouraged with the
election of Herbert
Hoover… widely
regarded as the most
progressive member of
the Harding and
Coolidge
administrations… but he
would have little
opportunity to prove
himself