What was life like during
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Transcript What was life like during
Bell Ringer 3/1/06
“ We return. We return from fighting. We
return fighting.” (W.E.B DuBois)
What is this quote referring to?
Why did this quote prove to be true?
What was life like
during
?
1920’s Culture
The flapper
Short hair for women
Dancing & Music
Speakeasies
Silent movies
“The Jazz Age was wicked
and monstrous and silly.
Unfortunately, I had a good time.”
Heywood Broun
How did technology impact society?
15 million cars were sold
80% were bought on credit
A Model T Ford cost $290 in 1920
20% of U.S. homes had electricity by
the end of the decade
10 million families owned radios by
1929
Shifting of America from a rural country
to an urban country
Leisure Time???
Shorter work week and vacation time –
more free time to enjoy:
• Movies
• Reading
• Sports
• Music
Too much of a good thing????
Mass consumption, changing values,
new technologies – are they always
good???
– Many said NO
– Harlem Renaissance benefited and
reacted against it
Harlem Renaissance /Jazz Age
African American writers in NYC
Well-educated
Middle class group
– Alienated from society
Spoke against the bigotry on the time
and pride in African American culture
W.E.B DuBois, Langston Hughes, Zora
Neale Hurston, Alain Locke, Duke
Ellington, Bessie Smith
THE FLAPPER
by Dorothy Parker
The Playful flapper here we
see,
The fairest of the fair.
She's not what Grandma used
to be, -You might say, au contraire.
Her girlish ways may make a
stir,
Her manners cause a scene,
But there is no more harm in
her
Than in a submarine.
Women in the 20s…….
By 1929, made up 22% of the workforce
90% of married women did not work
Work available to women were low
paying and of lower status
Voted in 1920 election – not very many
participated
Majority were not flappers, but were
helped by the technology
Family size smaller, divorce laws still
favored men
Immigrants in the 20s ……
KKK
Quotas
Nativism
Struggle of OLD vs. NEW
Prohibition
Minorities
Cultural Values
Women
Scopes Trial
– Modernization of society
– Religion not as important
Who’s Who
Hand in:
– #1 Project
– #2 Sources
– #3 Rubric with your name on it!!!!
Harding vs. Coolidge
Harding (1920 – 1923)
Former Newspaper
Publisher and not
experienced in
politics
Scandals – theft of
Veteran supplies,
fraud, Teapot Dome
Scandal (bribery
and oil reserves)
Coolidge (1923 – 1928)
Laissez-faire
economic policy and
committed to
business interests
Small recession –
post war decline
1923 – 1929
business booming
“Coolidge Prosperity”
Coolidge Prosperity???????????
Large Business prosper – Upper Class
prospers
Middle Class, Laborers, Farmers,
Native Americans, and African
Americans did not prosper
Election of 1928
Hoover (Rep.) vs. Alfred Smith (Dem.)
Hoover – secretary of commerce
- Self Made Millionaire
- Humanitarian
- Leader in war effort and post
war reconstruction
Hoover won 84% of the electoral vote
Roaring 20s End
Great Depression Begins
What was the Great Depression?
The worst economic crisis of the century
Over 13 million people unemployed
“Dust bowl” as a result of drought
Farmers lost crops
Many lost their homes
What caused the Great
Depression?
Stock market crash of 1929
Unequal distribution of
wealth
Excessive Buying on Credit
Weak Business Structure
Weak Banking Structure
Inadequate Government
Policies
Weak International economy
Stock Market Crash
Many stocks purchased on speculation
– Panic sets in as they are forced to produce
the money for the loans
Stock prices fell
– Panic selling
Huge sums of money lost
Thursday, October 24, 1929
Stock values fell $14 billion
Unequal Distribution of Wealth
No middle class
Supply not equal to demand
Credit cards created false demand
Excessive Buying on Credit
Creates
a false demand
Under consumption
People unable to make installment
payments, therefore stop buying
Weak Business Structure
Business consolidation – makes a few
large companies for each industry
Profits and control were in the hands of
a few – fragile system
Weak Banking Structure
No FDIC – No government regulation
People pull money out – Panic
Banks close with people’s money
Inadequate Government Policies
No government regulation of stock
market
Tax policies contributed to unequal
distribution of wealth
Antitrust laws were not enforced
Federal Reserve Board made poor
decisions
Weak International Economy
WWI and the Stock Market crash
effected the world
No U.S. foreign investment – no money
to pay America back
Foreign countries had no money to buy
American goods
What was life like
in the 1930’s?
Hooverisms
Hoover Hog – armadillos that were baked in
the desert
Hoover Flag – empty pocket turned out
Hoover Blanket – Newspaper slept under
Hoover Car – Abandoned Cars
Hoover Bag – suitcase with holes
Hoover Shoes – shoes with holes in soles
Hoovervilles – shack towns of boxes and
crates.
“Hooverism”
Hoover’s response to the Great
Depression:
– Restore confidence in economy
– Promoted helping businesses to help
economy
– Reconstruction Finance Corporation
– Federal Work Projects to create jobs
– Halted war repayment by Europe
– Asked businesses to not lower wages or
prices
Failure of “Hooverism”
No direct relief – damaged image
Economy was continuing to spiral and
Hoover continued to say things were
improving
“Bonus Army” - march on Washington,
disbanded by army
Dustbowls
A traveler noticed a nice new hat by the side of the road, and he stopped to pick it up.
Under the hat was a man, buried up to his neck in the dust! As he dug the poor fellow
out, the traveler asked if he wanted a ride into town. "No, I'll get there myself," the
man replied, "I'm on a horse."
(Excerpt from THE DUST BOWL by Tricia Andryszewski, p. 33.)
FDR’s New Deal
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Elected in 1932 with 89% of the
electoral vote
Government experience:
– NYS Legislature
– Asst. Secretary of the Navy
– Governor of NYS
3 R’s of the New Deal
RELIEF of those who were suffering
RECOVERY for the economy
REFORM to avoid future depressions
New Deal Programs Outcomes
Banking Emergency Act (FDIC) – restored
confidence, soon more deposits than
withdrawls
Federal Emergency Relief Admin. (FERA)
– Helped to revitalize relief organizations and
encourage work
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) –
Taught men and women to be independent,
increased self confidence and self esteem
New Deal Programs Outcomes
Public Work Administration PWA –
benefited America and American workers
Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) –
Declared unconstitutional, did not raise prices
as hoped – just made people upset
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) - cheap
electric power, flood control, and recreational
opportunities to the entire Tennessee River
valley.
New Deal Programs Outcomes
Works Progress Admin. (WPA) –
decreased unemployment
Social Security Act (SSA) - it did help
millions of Americans feel more secure.
National Recovery Admin. (NRA) –
organized the relief effort, centralized
government efforts
Rural Electrification Admin. (REA) –
gave several small farmers electricity
Wagner Act
Also known as the National Labor
Relations Act (1935)
Guaranteed labor unions the right to
form unions and to practice collective
bargaining
Progressive Legislation??????
So What?
Central
Bank,
Silver
Father
backing
of
money,
Coughlin
increase circulation
Government
Francis
Pension
Plan
Townsend
for Elderly –
no SSA
“Production for Use”
Upton – state ownership of
Sinclair land and factories
Table of Contents
#1 Outline/Concepts
#16 Hoover vs. FDR
#2 Twenties Talk
#17 Share our Wealth
#3 Sports Stars
#18 FDR’s New Deal
#4 Who’s Who
#19 You and the New Deal
#5 Roaring 20s Culture
#20 Be a New Deal Worker
#6 The Automobile
#21 No New Deal
#7 The New Woman
#22 The S.C. and New Deal
#8 Roaring 20s Packet
#23 FDR and the S.C.
#9 Great Migration
#10 Immigration
#11 Urban-Rural Change
#12 Roaring 20s Politics
#13 What caused the Great Depression?
#14 Hooverisms
#15 Images of the Great Depression
The New Deal and the Supreme
Court
NRA – Schechter Poultry Corp v. United
States (1935)
– NRA codes were too much like laws
– Executive was legislating
– Declared unconstitutional
AAA – declared unconstitutional
– Congress passed another similar law to
circumvent the Supreme Court.
The New Deal and the Supreme
Court
Court-Packing
– Conservative Court did not follow FDR’s
plan
– Democratic President and a Republican
Court
– Proposed a plan to increase the number of
justices
Third Term Controversy
Elected:
– 1932
– 1936
– 1940
– 1944
Republicans accused him of breaking
the unwritten constitution
After death, 22nd Amendment was
proposed to limit to two terms
1951 – 22nd Amendment ratified
The Results
Bank Failure
Unemployment
Loss of homes
“Hoovervilles”
Here were all these people living in old
rusted-out car bodies. ... One family ... [was]
living in a piano box. This wasn't just a little
section, this was maybe 10 miles wide and 10
miles long. People living in whatever they
could junk together. ..."
Depression
Did everyone suffer during the
depression?
“The only thing we have to fear
is fear itself”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Our greatest primary task is to put people to work”
A Long Way From Chicago
By Richard Peck