POSTWAR SOCIETY AND CULTURE: CHANGE AND ADJUSTMENT

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POSTWAR SOCIETY AND CULTURE CHANGE AND ADJUSTMENT

• CHAPTER 24 (640-667)

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CLOSING THE GATES TO NEW IMMIGRANTS

• Immigration rose from 110,000 in 1919 to 805,000
  in 1921 and continued to rise
• Congress passed an emergency act to place quotas
  on immigration 3 of the foreign born
  population as of 1910 in 1924 it was reduced to
  2 and the base year shifted to 1890 thus many
  southern and eastern Europeans were not allowed
  in
• In 1929, the number was limited to 150,000
  actually far fewer were allowed to enter
• The National Origins Act brought the foreign born
  population of America from about 13 in 1920 to
  4.7 in 1970 in 2005 it was 11
• Anti-Semitism began to rise in America

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NEW URBAN SOCIAL PATTERNS

• 1920 census more Americans lived in urban
  rather than rural places for the first time
• More and more people married for love and
  attraction than social status than ever
• They married later and had fewer children
• Intra-family democracy emerged
• Advocates of trial marriages began to appear
• scientific child rearing medical care and
  nutrition but also rigid training vs.
  permissive approach
• Sexual freedom derived from anonymity

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THE YOUNGER GENERATION

• The Jazz Age young people sought freedom and
  entertainment
• The old ways were no longer any good society
  was changing faster every year
• Dating became the norm, rather than calling on
  the girl the man became responsible for driving
  and providing the entertainment
• Women smoked, shortened their hair, wore make-up,
  and shortened their skirts
• Sexual relationships became more open and
  accepted a push was made to legalize birth
  control

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THE NEW WOMAN

• Contraception was still focused on married
  couples
• Margaret Sanger began to focus on poor women to
  educate them about birth-control she ran afoul
  of the law frequently and is associated with the
  eugenics movement.
• Some scientists began promoting birth control as
  a means to curb the productivity of unfit types
  (read poor and/or immigrants)

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THE NEW WOMAN

• Divorce laws were being modified to be more equal
• More women were working the Department of Labor
  established a Womens Bureau in 1920
• More women graduated from college but they were
  forced into subjects that made them better
  housewives
• There was still a huge double-standard
• Women were paid less and limited to the types of
  jobs they could do
• After the 19th Amendment was passed, many lost
  their desire to work for change, believing that
  the vote would fix everything it did not, at
  least not right away

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POPULAR CULTURE MOVIES AND RADIO

• The first motion pictures were made about 1900
• As they became more popular, technological
  advances increased to allow actual movies with
  sound and effects
• In the 1920s the film industry settled in
  Hollywood, CA
• Theaters became popular, Daily ticket sales
  averaged 10 million by the 1930s, million
  dollar productions were common

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POPULAR CULTURE MOVIES AND RADIO

• As today, sex, crime, war, romance, comedy and
  luxurious living were common themes
• Many complained that movies were corrupting the
  youth and glorifying materialism
• Charlie Chaplin, Walt Disney
• Radio was even more popular important during
  the war, it was an overnight sensation afterward
• KDKA in Pittsburg was the first commercial radio
  station in 1920, soon there were hundreds
• Radio instantly communicated news,
  advertisements, and music
• In 1934 the Federal Communications Commission was
  formed to govern the radio industry

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THE GOLDEN AGE OF SPORTS

• After the war, people had more money to spend and
  sports grew in popularity add to that the
  ability to broadcast events over the radio
• Superstars began to emerge
• Red Grange Illinois Football
• Jack Dempsey Boxing
• Big Bill Tilden Tennis
• Bobby Jones Golf
• Helen Wills Tennis
• Gertrude Ederle Swimming
• Babe Ruth Baseball
• New stadiums were built, football became prominent

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URBAN-RURAL CONFLICTS FUNDAMENTALISM

• Many rural people felt that the new city-oriented
  culture was sinful, materialistic, and unhealthy
  though admittedly fascinating
• Out of this feeling a resurgence of religious
  fundamentalism grew a very conservative frame
  of mind, rejecting evolution, resenting many
  aspects of modern culture
• William Jennings Bryan was a champion of many
  fundamentalist ideas especially the
  anti-evolutionist idea

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URBAN-RURAL CONFLICTS FUNDAMENTALISM

• The Scopes Trial
• John T. Scopes, a biology teacher, was convinced
  to violate Tennessee law against teaching
  evolution he was arrested
• Numerous big name lawyers came to his defense,
  including Clarence Darrow Bryan was brought in
  by the state
• The whole trial was a show both the
  evolutionists and fundamentalists came out
  looking foolish and weak but both continued

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URBAN-RURAL CONFLICTS PROHIBITION

• The 18th Amendment (1919) prohibited the
  manufacture, sale, and transportation of
  alcoholic beverages
• This was a rural triumph the temperance
  movement had been alive since Jackson
• The war helped the movement because food
  production became so important and beer drinking
  was associated with Germans

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URBAN-RURAL CONFLICTS PROHIBITION

• Average consumption went from 2.6 gallons to
  under 1 gallon in the 1930s
• Arrests for drunkenness fell sharply
• Death from alcoholism fell also
• Fewer workers squandered their wages on drink
• Of course, strict enforcement was impossible, and
  smuggling became a major business
• Consumption of sacramental wine increased by
  800,000 gallons
• Doctors proscribed alcohol more freely
• Saloons were replaced by speak easys secret
  bars overlooked by the police
• Organized crime became more powerful

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THE KU KLUX CLAN

• Reformed in 1915, the Klan admitted only
  native-born white Protestants
• By 1923 they claimed 5 million members
• They appealed to masses of people who were
  frustrated and hostile but afraid to express
  themselves the Klan wore masks, hid behind
  crazy titles and mystical sounding jargon,
  intimidated people, burned crosses, and tried to
  influence people against blacks, Jews, and
  immigrants, and Catholics

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THE KU KLUX CLAN

• They had little support in the North or in large
  cities, but had large membership in smaller towns
  in the mid-west, west, and south
• Their own activities led to factionalism and
  squabbling they also made many enemies
• By 1930, they only had about 9,000 members and
  ceased to be important
• The third KKK was revived in 1946

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LITERARY TRENDS

• After the Civil War literature trended toward
  realism after WWI it trended toward
  disillusionment
• Many became intense critics of society and many
  flocked to places like Rome, Berlin, and Paris
• F. Scott Fitzgerald, Earnest Hemingway, Edith
  Wharton, H.L. Mencken, Sinclair Lewis

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THE NEW NEGRO

• With the Klan and the backlash against black
  labor after the war, the post-war period brought
  despair for many blacks
• They were increasingly being forced into ghetto
  neighborhoods and treated poorly
• W.E.B. Du Bois became more militant calling them
  cowards and jackasses if they dont rise up to
  fight
• Marcus Garvey, another black leader, preached
  Back to Africa and built racial pride among the
  poorer blacks Du Bois couldnt stand him

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THE NEW NEGRO

• Ghetto life had some perks
• By congregating they could elect their own
  representatives to congress
• They had economic opportunities
• More freedom (within the ghetto)
• Black writers, musicians, and artists found an
  audience there Jazz was created there
• The ghetto was a black world where black men and
  women could be themselves
• The Harlem Renaissance became the cultural
  capital, newspapers, theaters, magazines, and
  culture flourished

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ECONOMIC EXPANSION

• Business boomed, wages increased, unemployment
  declined 40 of the worlds wealth was in
  American hands
• Laissez-faire government toward business
  bolstered confidence
• The Federal Reserve kept interest rates low
• Pent-up wartime demand further stimulated it
• Continued mechanization and rationalization of
  industry kept it rolling industrial output
  almost doubled between 1921 and 1929
• By 1929, the US was producing more electricity
  than the entire world combined

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THE AGE OF THE CONSUMER

• Needing to create new consumer demands,
  advertisers and marketers became very important
  to the business world
• Manufacturers continued to improve their
  products, installment payment plans were
  developed
• Radios, automobiles, electric appliances,
  gadgets, entertainment all these influenced
  business

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THE AGE OF THE CONSUMER

• The automobile industry was one of the most
  important
• By 1929, there were 23 million private cars on
  the road nearly one per family
• The auto industry created other whole industries
  and consumed huge amounts of natural resources
• It triggered huge national road building projects
• The tourist industry grew rapidly

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THE AGE OF THE CONSUMER

• The automobile changed recreational patterns
• Created a new generation of tinkerers and
  mechanics
• It gave Americans more freedom
• There were also bad side effects
• Numerous billboards clogging the scenery
• Traffic jams and soaring accident rates
• Air pollution

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HENRY FORD

• Henry Ford did not invent the automobile
• Ransom E. Old produced the first low-cost car the
  Merry Oldsmobile
• Fords contribution was in the realm of mass
  production he developed the assembly line
  system, cutting costs, increasing efficiency, and
  increasing production
• Ford also recognized the importance of high wages
  to promote increased production

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HENRY FORD

• Ford was also stubborn
• He didnt change the Model T for nearly 20
  years, allowing other car makers to take a large
  portion of his business
• He refused to deal with any unions
• He employed spies to investigate the lives of
  his workers and thugs to enforce his rules - He
  fired any employee not driving a Ford
• Ford was outspoken and not well liked a genius
  manufacturer, he was not a successful politician
  or humanitarian

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THE AIRPLANE

• The Write Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk in 1903,
  ushering in a new era
• Malcolm and Haimes Lockheed built the first
  passenger plane the Model G - in 1913 they
  gave rides for 5
• Airplane technology was greatly advanced during
  eh war years as its limits were tested in battle
• Barnstormers circus people of the skies
• Charles Lindbergh flew from New York to Paris in
  33 hours in May 1927 a striking achievement
  that increased the publics awareness and
  interest in flight
• In July 1927, William E. Boeing began running
  passengers and mail between San Francisco and
  Chicago this spurred more creativity and
  invention in the aeronautical world

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