Unit 8: The 1920s and the Great Depression

the anxious ‘20s

this was after WWI was over and people had felt scared

post-war economic recession

this was when American manufacturing had a big decrease because WWI was over, unemployment rate goes up, and high job demands after soldiers came home from war, but they do not have any (leading to economic and social problems)

1st Red Scare

Americans were scared of communism because red represented communism

communist american political party

Americans created this party because they were anxious about communism taking over America

palmer raids

these raids were a violation of traditional American rights and the FBI is breaking into homes and businesses and looking for evidence without a warrant (this is a violation). if they cannot find evidence, they will make something up and leave it there, leading the mass arrests without warrants

european immigrants = communists

what were the American’s perspective about the europeans after WWI and the Russian Revolution?

the national origins act, 1924

this set a limit on the number of Europeans allowed in the U.S.; preference was given to Northern and Western Europeans; banned Asian immigration entirely

the sacco and vanzetti trial

immigrants from Southern Europe and they were known communists; put on trial for being accused of murder; convicted and executed even though the FBI did not have much evidence on them

eugenics

fake science based on real science

2nd ku klux klan

take the popularity genetics and use it as a national group; they were so popular that both democratic and republican parties used this language during platforms

increase the number of lawsuits against states and start promoting a federal Anti-Lynching Law

what was the NAACP’s response to the clarity of the klan?

prohibition

this was when the 18th amendment was heavily enforced in the 1920s

bootleggers, speakeasies, and organized crimes

what were the three unintended consequences?

bootleggers

groups that are illegally making alcohol

speakeasies

illegal secret drinking clubs

organized crimes

mobs and gangs start to provide illegal alcohol to Americans, leading to gang wars

al capone

who was the head of gang wars and had a well-earned, ruthless reputation?

21st amendment

cancels the 18th amendment

charles darwin

theory of evolution; only focuses on the animal kingdom and has nothing to do with humanity; critters will evolve into lesser versions of themselves

sigmund freud

psychoanalytic theory; your unconscious mind is responsible for your behavior and your personality; basically saying we did not have free will

albert einstein

theory of relativity; states that space, time, and mass are relative and not absolute

fundamentalism

modern science cannot be true because every word in the Bible is true; it is temptation from Satan to take us away from God; these people were loud and individual states will ban modern science in schools

john t scopes “monkey” trial

science teacher who taught modern science in Tennessee (it was against the law back then); he goes on trial and it goes on international news

president warren g harding

corruption; promised to return to normalcy for the U.S.

cut taxes, increase tariff, reduce regulation on business, and return’s America’s policy to isolationism

what are the four things warren g harding does for America to return to normalcy?

the teapot dome scandal

one of his cabinet members sold federal oil fields, but Harding kept most of the money to himself

president calvin coolidge

this person uses normalcy, but makes it stronger and it leads to economic recovery

economic recovery

lasts for five years, factory production goes up, unemployment rate goes down, and Americans are happy about this

consumer culture

the middle-class is encouraged to keep buying the products, heavy purchases, and advertising booms

advertising booms

celebrity endorsements, increasingly directed at young adults, and ads are on the radios as well

henry ford

invented the assembly line, made the car more affordable for the middle-class, increased the production of cars, and paid his workers so well that his workers were considered middle-class, making them loyal to him

installment plan

the producer does not get the whole production until this is fully paid

jazz culture

the credit for the creation of this goes to the African American people from New Orleans; improvisation was used a lot during this period; this is going to unite African and white Americans

louis armstrong

one of the most successful musicians of all time

cab calloway

he makes jazz music more popular

pop culture

popular forms of entertainment during the 1920s

movies

paramount pictures and mgm studios

charlie chaplin

known for his comedies

rudolph valentino

known for romantic dramas

radio

media source of the 1920s

literature

“lost generation”; many people were getting more educated

“lost generation” literature

refers to the generation of men who fought in WWI, almost half of the men died because of this, and the book does not try to hide any detail

william faulkner, ernest hemingway, f. scott-fitzgerald

who were the three authors that made a big impact on literature?

f. scott-fitzgerald

wrote The Great Gatsby and meant to criticize the 1920s

flapper culture

this was when the role of women were changing in the 1920s; women were concerned about gaining social freedoms: education, career, marriage, and motherhood (they want to be in control about these); the average age for marriage and motherhood goes up

casual dating

women could go on dates without any supervision/chaperones

limited to what jobs they could have, still paid less than men for the same job, and were still expected to cook, clean, and take care of the children when they were home

the number of women in the workforce increases, letting them make more money, but what was the downside of this?

freedom

the flapper look was a sense of fashion and symbolized ___

nellie tayloe ross

first woman to be voted governor for state

miriam amanda “ma” ferguson

the first governor of texas and she was from texas herself

eleanor roosevelt

very political and powerful influencer; could get politicians to do tasks for her

equal rights amendment

not successful; created and pushed by alice paul and lucy burns; would have been approved based on gender stereotypes and fear that women would lose certain rights and protection

great migration

african americans moved more in the northern cities because of job opportunities

de facto segregation

fact by segregation

marcus garvey

agrees that discrimination will never go away and African Americans will never be equal in the U.S.; created pan-africanism; told african americans to move back to africa and never come back to America

pan-africanism → back to africa movement

what was the solution for african americans to avoid violence?

harlem renaissance

african americans were thriving and became successful; literature, art, and music will be the three most influential during this period

zora neale hurston and langston hughes

who were the two writers that influenced literature during the harlem renaissance?

Their Eyes Were Watching God

which book did zora neale hurston write?

The Weary Blues

which book did langston hughes?

art

___ is combined with the U.S. and African traditions

music

___ became famous in Harlem when jazz music originated in New Orleans

the cotton club

promotes the success for african americans; the audience was white only because this was located in a segregated area

“the prosperity of the 1920s will lead the way to the Great Depression of the 1930s”

what was the quote that led from the roaring 20s to the great depression in the 1930s?

president herbert hoover

born and raised as a quaker (brand of christian); elected in 1928, republican, and defeated alfred smith; promised the American people that “there will be chicken in every pot”

the power of individual effort and the local community knows you best and can help you best during hard times

what were the two beliefs that president herbert hoover strongly believed in?

overuse of credit, uneven prosperity (wealth), uneven wealth distribution, unsafe banking practices, overproduction of durable goods, and stock market crash

what were the six causes that led to the great depression?

overuse of credit

many unemployed people relied too much on installment plans and made companies bankrupt

cycle of failure

this was when businesses kept failing and failing

uneven prosperity (wealth)

american farmers were already doing poorly and did not share any wealth in the 1920s; as the ‘20s go on, the price of food goes down; more and more farmers lose their livelihood as the years go on

uneven wealth distribution

when the wealth gap gets too high, the worker’s salary cannot keep up and won’t have enough money to buy what they need; no one notices because of the installment plan

unsafe banking practices

lack of regulations make the banks less wealthy; the banks give out a ton of loans to speculators (financial gamblers)

overproduction of durable goods

the consumption of goods go down because the product is so good

bull market/stock market crash

excessively goes up; stocks will continuously fall for the next four years; they lost $30 billion worth of stocks; suicide rate goes up because of this; businesses will lay off their workers and will eventually go out of business; all of the savings are gone at the banks

september 1929 - stocks start decreasing; october 1929 - stocks decrease more

what were the dates for the stock market crashes?

tuesday, october 29, 1929

which day was considered black tuesday?

they did not have new markets to sell to; america’s economy was overwhelmingly industrial (no other job opportunity); and hawley-smoot tariff

what were the three failures to recovery from the great depression?

hawley-smoot tariff

this was taking the tariff from coolidge and making that tariff even higher; the tariff only took the national economic situation into an international situation

unemployment

25% of american people were out of jobs; by 1932, 13 million people were not working; employed people were underpaid; the american people lost a lot of confidence and thought that they could never fix this; they even suggest taking away their liberties; this does not get better throughout the 1930s

overfarming and extensive droughts on the great plains

what were the two causes of the dust bowl?

dust bowl

this was when the dust winds destroy lives, crops, and homes

okie migration

800,000 people were moving to the west coast and this led to a lot of conflict and unrest on the west coast

rugged individualism

herbert hoover’s response to the great depression saying that the american people were going to work harder to fix this; he encouraged the wealthy people to pull their money and donate to charity; the government cannot and will not fix the Great Depression and it is up to the people to fix this; hoover’s message came up as unsympathetic and his popularity went down

bonus army

this was when many WWI veterans marched to Washington, D.C., and demanded the government to pay their bonus early

douglas macarthur

hoover orders this person to drive out the protesters; he went out to burn the people’s possessions, which were one of the only possessions the people had during the time, making hoover’s popularity rate goes down even more and his reputation is ruined

1932 presidential election

hoover had to run as a republican who promised more rugged individualism whereas democrats will run franklin d. roosevelt (teddy roosevelt’s cousin)

franklin roosevelt

“happy days are here again”; promised a new deal → strong government in action to fix the Great Depression

mandate victory

this was when fdr won the election very easily

the brain trust

fdr brings in the best experts and he tells them that their job is to come up with a plan and fix the economy

frances perkins

first woman to be a cabinet secretary

fireside chats

fdr spoke over the radio and addressed the american people about the deal so he could sell it to them; the america people loved these because he was a people person and talked casually to them

relief, recovery, and reform

what were the 3 r’s that fdr created for the great depression?

relief

immediate charity aid to those who need it

recovery

fix the employment problem

reform

long-term steps to make sure that the great depression never happens again

1934 midterm elections

at this point, the american people seemed more confident about the economy themselves, but the unemployment rate was still very high

midterm

half of the house is up for re-election

super-majority of congress

democrats won; this allowed them to pass the 2nd new deal

2nd new deal

this deal was very controversial because there was a lot of government involvement

liberals and conservative critics

what were the two groups that were against the 2nd new deal?