Title: The 1920
1The 1920sBoom to Bust
2I. Moral Change
- Progress vs. Tradition
- A. Cities-Held more people more
opportunity. - Also held alcohol, gambling, clubs.
- B. Scopes Trial
- John T. Scopes was tried for teaching
evolution in a high school classroom. He
was found guilty and fined, but the decision
was set aside because of a technicality.
Clarence Darrow defending John Scopes
Clarence Darrow and William J. Bryan
3I. Moral Change
- C. Prohibition-the "Noble Experiment"
- 18th Amendment, January, 1920-prohibited sale,
manufacture, and transportation of alcoholic
beverages. Results - 1. Drunkenness declined.
- 2. Speakeasies operated.
- 3. Bootlegging smuggling flourished.
- 4. Organized crime controlled many public
officials. - 5. 1933-21st Amendment repealed 18th.
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5II. Women Blacks Experience Change
- A. 19th Amendment-Ratified in 1920, gave women
the right to vote. Women had worked in many
different jobs during WWI, so it was a
natural step. - B. Flappers-wore shorter hair and shorter
skirts. Women became interested in politics
and social issues. - Jeannette Rankin-1st woman elected to the
House of Representatives, she opposed World
War I and World War II.
6II. Women Blacks Experience Change
- C. Black Americans Migrate Northward- Blacks
went to Northern cities such as New York and
Chicago for work. They faced prejudice from
white workers who were afraid they would lose
jobs.
7II. Women Blacks Experience Change
- D. Black Leaders
- W.E.B. DuBois-wanted blacks to strive for
higher education in industrial America. - Marcus Garvey-
- "Back to Africa"-encouraged blacks to
return to Africa. - "Black is Beautiful"-encouraged blacks to
be proud and not imitate whites.
8II. Women Blacks Experience Change
- D. Black Leaders
- Niagra Movement led to the founding of the
NAACP. - NAACP-National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People- founded by
DuBois, Ida Wells-Barnett and others, it helped
to bring attention to lynching and other
social injustices.
9II. Women Blacks Experience Change
- E. Harlem Renaissance
- Rise in art, literature, music, drama, and dance
from black Americans. - Langston Hughes-poet
- Louis Armstrong-musician
- Duke Ellington-musician
10III. Popular Culture Changes
- A. Idols
- 1. Charles Lindbergh-flew solo across the
Atlantic - 2. Babe Ruth-baseball player for the New York
Yankees, Lou Gehrig-The Iron Horse -
11III. Popular Culture Changes
- A. Idols
- 3. Red Grange-college football player at the
University of Illinois - 4. Jack Dempsey-boxer
-
- 5. Charlie Chaplin-
- actor/comedian
12III. Popular Culture Changes
- B. Writers
- 1. F. Scott Fitzgerald-This Side of Paradise
and The Great Gatsby- about our material society. - 2. Sinclair Lewis-criticized American
materialism - 3. Ernest Hemingway-A Farewell to
Arms-expressed disgust over the glorification of
war.
13III. Popular Culture Changes
- C. Serious Social Problems
- 1. Communism-Americans feared a communist
movement in the United States. - Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer
raided the offices of anarchists, socialists,
communists, arresting hundreds of
individuals. -
14III. Popular Culture Changes
- C. Serious Social Problems
- 2. KKK-as a result of new successes by blacks
and immigrants, the Klan became much more
active in the 1920's. The group even marched
on Washington D.C.
15III. Popular Culture Changes
- C. Serious Social Problems
- 3. Workers strike Steelworkers began a
strike in Sept. 1919 demanding shorter
hours and better conditions. - Coal miners walked out in Nov. 1919 and
President Wilson had to help mediate the
dispute. -
16III. Popular Culture Changes
- C. Serious Social Problems
- 4. Sacco and Vanzetti Trial-Italian
immigrants who evaded the draft in WWI and
were considered "anarchists."
They were found guilty of robbery and
murder. Even though the evidence
was not clear, they were both
executed.
17IV. Harding and Coolidge
- American foreign policy was that of
isolationism, the belief that the U.S. should set
itself apart from the affairs of others. - We continue this tradition until World War II
forces us to become involved all over the world.
18IV. Harding and Coolidge
- A. Warren G. Harding won the Election of 1920.
He promised a "return to normalcy" and he
rejected the League of Nations. - 1. Peace-Harding convinced 5 major nations to
reduce arms after WWI. Several nations also
aligned to preserve peace in Asia. -
19IV. Harding and Coolidge
- A. Warren G. Harding
- 2. Reparations-Serious debts existed for
France and Great Britain after WWI. The U.S.
refused to lower tariffs on goods from these
countries to help them out. The U.S. loaned
money to Germany, who used these loans to help
pay reparations to France and Great Britain,
who in turn paid debts to the United States.
20IV. Harding and Coolidge
- A. Warren G. Harding
- 3. Nativists-Congress introduced a quota
system, giving each European nation a limit of
immigrants that it could have in the United
States. Also, in 1924, Japanese immigrants were
"ineligible" for citizenship.
21IV. Harding and Coolidge
- A. Warren G. Harding
- 4. Scandals
- Several of Harding's advisors had taken bribes
and illegal kickbacks from businesses. - Teapot Dome Scandal-Naval oil reserves were
leased to private companies by the Secretary
of the Interior, who became very rich in
the deal. President Harding died soon
after this scandal.
22IV. Harding and Coolidge
- B. Calvin Coolidge
- 1. Prosperity-Coolidge supported businesses
by keeping taxes low and profits high. Sec.
of the Treasury Andrew Mellon continued to
expand profits for businesses. - Advances Electricity became common, Chevrolet
became a competitor to Ford, retailers
introduced credit installment plans, and
advertisers made Americans desire products
more than ever.
23IV. Harding and Coolidge
- B. Calvin Coolidge
- 1. Prosperity-Coolidge supported businesses by
keeping taxes low and profits high. Sec. of the
Treasury Andrew Mellon continued to expand
profits for businesses. - Advances Electricity became common, Chevrolet
became a competitor to Ford, retailers
introduced credit installment plans, and
advertisers made Americans desire products
more than ever.
24IV. Harding and Coolidge
- B. Calvin Coolidge
- 1. Prosperity-Coolidge supported businesses by
keeping taxes low and profits high. Sec. of the
Treasury Andrew Mellon continued to expand
profits for businesses. - Advances Electricity became common, Chevrolet
became a competitor to Ford, retailers
introduced credit installment plans, and
advertisers made Americans desire products
more than ever.
25IV. Harding and Coolidge
- B. Calvin Coolidge
- 2. Slipping Economy
- Railroads-faced government regulation and
competition from new transportation. - Textiles-foreign textiles were cheaper than
American. - Coal Mining-other energy sources cut the
need for coal. -
26IV. Harding and Coolidge
- B. Calvin Coolidge
- 2. Slipping Economy
- Farmers-had increased production during
WWI, borrowing money to expand. When the
demand for agricultural products declined,
farmers had no way to repay debts.
Coolidge vetoed several attempts to set up
price supports for farmers.
27V. Stock Market Crash-October 1929
- A. Election of 1928-Coolidge chose not to run.
Herbert Hoover is elected. - A former Secretary of Commerce, he had never run
for office before. He immediately began to
improve relations in Latin America,
recalling Marines from Haiti and Nicaragua.
28V. Stock Market Crash-October 1929
- B. Signs of Economic Slowdown
- Construction declined, lack of consumer buying,
production declined, prices fell, crops demands
were low. All of these factors meant that
prosperity was slowly ending.
29V. Stock Market Crash-October 1929
- C. The Crash
- Stock prices had been on the rise for over a
year. Millions of dollars were made as
speculators bought low and sold high. - Buying on the margin (paying only a of the
stock's cost, then paying it back when the price
rose) became common.
30V. Stock Market Crash-October 1929
- C. The Crash
- October 24-13 million shares sold, causing prices
to fall. - October 29-Black Thursday-Bottom fell out of the
market. Investors tried to sell off everything
before prices fell too far. 16 million shares
were sold and millions more could not find
buyers. By mid November, 30 billion in wealth
had disappeared.