The Roaring Twenties
(1918-1929)
Why were the 1920’s so
Prosperous?…..
Prosperous (definition) – Having
success, flourishing, being well off
Reason #1-- TheAutomobile –
Question: What impact did Ford’s assembly line
have on the U.S.?
Reasons for Prosperity in the 1920s…
Ford and his Model T
Reasons for Prosperity in the 1920s…
Reason #2 – The development of New
Industries
Question: What are some of the new
industries in the 1920s?
Reasons for Prosperity in the 1920s…
Reasons #3 – More Efficient
Production Techniques lead to mass
consumption Question: What is an assembly line?
During the 1920s, there are many changes within the United States…
We will examine 3 forms of changes in American
Society:
1. What were some political changes?
2. What were some economic changes?
3. What were some social changes?
Political Changes during the 1920s
Warren Harding (1921-1923)--Republican
Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) -- Republican
Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) --Republican
Let’s look at each president…
President Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929
•Committed to business
•Laissez Faire
•Kellogg- Briand Pact
Question: What is the biggest problem you can think of with the
Kellogg-Briand Pact?
President Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
•Promised to end poverty/ unequal wealth
•Laissez faire
•"help people help themselves"
Question:
What massive problem occurred during his presidency?
Who didn't prosper from the economy during the 1920s?
1. Farmers -- European farms / overproduced 2. Native Americans -- Reservations, high
unemployment rate / short lifespan
3. African Americans – discrimination / segregation
Social Changes during the 1920's 1.) 18th Amendment – 1919 - alcohol illegal
Why were people for prohibition?
• high crime rates
•alcohol is evil
Famous gangster: Al Capone
Social Changes in the 1920s
2.) Lives of Women
•19th Amendment
•Women join the workforce
•Discrimination and low wages
•Rebellious, independent women
were called flappers
Social Changes during the 1920s
Clash between Science and Religion
Scopes Trial
•symbolizes tension between those for change and
those in favor of traditional beliefs
John Scopes
Social Changes during the 1920s
Threats to Civil Liberties
Red Scare:
Nativism:
• Your country is superior
• Distrusting and disliking foreigners
• Fear that communists would take over America.
Nativism and Racism effect everyday life in the U.S.
1. Ku Klux Klan
2. The National Origins Act/
Emergency Quota Act
3. Sacco and Venzetti case
Social Changes of the 1920s
What was the Harlem Renaissance?
Harlem Renaissance – •Poetry / Literature
•"Jazz Age"
Langston Hughes
Social Changes during the 1920s
New Technology and Consumer Habits
•first department stores (ie: JCPenny's)
•People buying on credit
•advertising industry grows
Popular Items : cars, radios, washing
machines, stoves, vacuum cleaners...