The Roaring 20’s

US History

Standards and Objectives

• QC-D1B - Describe and evaluate the impact of scientific and technological innovations of the 1920s.

• QC-D1C - Identify and evaluate the impact of new cultural movements on American society in the 1920s

• QC-D1D - Identify the characteristics of social conflict and social change that took place in the early 1920s

I. Science and Technology

A. Air and Roads1. In the early 1900’s the Wright brothers forever

changed the world with their invention of the early airplane.

2. Airplane proved to be useful in WW1 combat3. After the war America became obsessed with

flying. Pilots became celebrities.

I. Science and Technology

A. Air and Roads4. Significant pilots include

A. Charles Lindbergh – who was the first pilot to cross the Atlantic.

B. Amelia Earhart – The first women to fly solo across the Atlantic

I. Science and Technology

A. Air and Roads5. Henry Ford helped to change the way Americans

lived by making the automobile more affordable.

6. Suburbs began to grow around cities and highways began being built throughout the country.

A. The Federal Highway Act (1916) – Encouraged states to create high departments to repair roads.

I. Science and Technology

B. The Fundamentalist Beliefs1. Because of a change in society, many Americans

feared for the nation’s moral decline2. Fundamentalism – a religious movement who

rejected science and evolutions, and favored creationism.

A. Evolution – human beings had developed from lower forms of life.

B. Creationism – the belief that God created the world1. Billy Sunday – passionate fundamentalist preacher

I. Science and Technology

B. The Scopes Trial1. Evolutionists and Creationists clashed in a

historic trial in 1925.2. Tennessee passed the Butler Act which made

the teaching of evolution in schools illegal.3. John T. Scopes taught evolution and was placed

on trial. A. Found guilty which was later overturnedB. Did little for the fundamentalists cause

II. Culture and Society

A. Immigration1. The end of the war brought a rise in immigration.

These new immigrants brought a rise in nativism2. Sacco and Vanzetti

1. Two immigrants were charged with murder2. Although no one knew if the two were guilty, many

jumped to conclusions because of their ethnicity.3. Sacco and Vanzetti were found guilty and executed. 4. Emergency Quota Act – limited immigration

II. Culture and Society

B. New Morality1. Role of women began to change significantly.

More women were available in the workforce and were becoming independent and obtaining educations.

2. Fashion changed significantly. Stage and screen stars were extremely influential.

A. Flapper – unconventional women of the 1920’s who rebelled against traditional ideas.

II. Culture and Society

C. Prohibition1. In 1920, the government passed the 18th

Amendment. A. 18th Amendment – banned alcohol

2. The government found that enforcing this amendment was a problem.

A. Bootleggers and speakeasies – illegal sale of alcohol

3. Organized crime became big business and gangsters corrupted local politicians.

A. Al CaponeB. 21st Amendment- repealed the 18th amendment

II. Culture and Society

D. Pop Culture1. Literature

A. The Lost Generation – authors critical of American ideas and values.1. E.E. Cummings2. Ernest Hemingway3. F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby

II. Culture and Society

E. Pop Culture2. Spectator Sports and Radio

A. Radio allowed baseball and boxing to become extremely popular.

B. Babe Ruth became a national hero and Jack Dempsey was an idolized boxer1. Jim Thorpe = Native American football star

C. Most radio stations played the popular music from the day (Jazz)

D. Mass Media not only entertained but provided information to people.

II. Culture and Society

E. Pop CultureE. Motion Pictures and Music

1. Motion pictures became very popular in the 1920’s. 2. Movie stars became national celebrities

A. Charlie ChaplinB. Mary Pickford

3. Jazz Music became so popular in the 1920’s, that the time period became known as the Jazz Age

A. Louis ArmstrongB. Bessie Smith

4. Night clubs and radio brought the music to new audiences1. Duke Ellington – band leader

II. Culture and Society

E. Pop CultureF. Harlem Renaissance

1. An outpouring of creativity from the African American culture. What was it like to be black in America?

2. Writers, authors and musicians fled to Harlem during the 1920’s.A. Langston Hughes – poet

II. Culture and Society

F. Racial UnrestA. Return of soldiers after WWI led many African

Americans who had moved North competing for jobs.

B. In Chicago, a race riot erupted after several African Americans went to a whites only beach.

C. The riot lasted for several days.

II. Culture and Society

G. The Red ScareA. Americans were terrified of communism thanks

to the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. B. As strikes began to erupt throughout the country,

many feared that communists might seize power. C. This led to a nationwide panic known as the Red

Scare.

II. Culture and Society

C. The Red ScareD. Several scary incidents led to the creation of a

special department in the government.E. J. Edgar Hoover headed the division that

eventually came to be know as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

II. Culture and Society

D. The Palmer RaidsA. A. Mitchell Palmer organized a series of raids on

headquarters of radical organizations. B. Focusing on foreign residents, authorities

detained and deported hundreds of suspects. C. Led the congress to limit immigration.

III. Economy and Politics

A. Economy1. WWI had created a great economic prosperity in

America. 2. With no plans for demobilization, huge problems

in the economy began to emergeA. Crop Prices fall – overseas demand dropsB. Cancellation of government contracts and return of

soldiers led to extreme unemployment.C. High inflation and rising unemployment led to a sharp

recession

III. Economics and Politics

A. Economy3. Recession of 1920

A. Farmers lost land, businesses shut down and many turned to crime to survive.1. Farmers did not share the prosperity that a consumer society

provided to others.

B. Nonetheless, the assembly line as well as growing airplane and radio industry and a new consumer society helped to avoid disaster…..for a while.

III. Economics and Politics

A. Economy3. A Consumer Society

1. Easy consumer credit – allowed individuals to go into debt to buy new goods

2. Mass Advertising – appealing, persuasive messages led to a consumer society.

3. Welfare Capitalism – Companies allowed workers to buy stock, participate in profit sharing and receive benefits

III. Economics and Politics

B. Politics1. Return to Normalcy

A. Warren G Harding was elected in 1920 on the idea of America returning to normalcy after WWI.

B. His election would lead to a new Republican era on the 1920’s.

C. Harding was committed to the free enterprise system and was determined to end the post war recession.

D. His fiscal policies were successful and by 1921 prices plunged and unemployment was significantly reduced.

III. Economics and Politics

B. Politics2. Harding and Friends

1. Harding filled his cabinet with old friends from Ohio. They became known as the Ohio Gang.

2. The Ohio gang soon betrayed Harding ‘s trustA. Teapot Dome Scandal – cabinet members accepted bribes

in exchange for the use of federal landB. Harding was criticized for standing by his man and died

shortly after.

III. Economics and Politics

B. Politics3. Harding and Friends

3. Calvin Coolidge took office the day after Harding’s death.

4. He continued the policies of Harding and America continued to prosper and in 1928 he decided not to run for re election.

III. Economics and Politics

B. Politics4. Herbert Hoover

A. Elected in 1928, Hoover had several government jobs before he became president.

B. He was forced into a policy of isolationism by Congress, but understood the need for trade.

C. Hoover’s ideas of self reliance and rugged individualism play a huge role in his downfall during the great depression.