1920s USA

anti-immigrant sentiment

• bolshevik revolution 1917-23 brought world’s first communist state (Russia)

• americans worried about being swamped by southern + easter europeans who brought communist ideologies

• classed people with unamerican ideas as “reds”

• thought immigrants were adding to american problems and diluting true anglo-saxon nature

the red scare

• at height 1919-21

• period of public anxiety over supposed rise of communist/socialist ideologies in US

• 3600 strikes in 1919

• Industrial Workers of the World

red scare bombings + palmer raids

• destroyed home of attorney-general mitchell palmer

• ordered federal agnets to round up believed communitsts

• 4000-6000 arrests

• 556 deported

immigrant policies

• under Warren Harding (1921-23) and Calvin Coolidge (1923-29)

• emergency quota act 1921

  • same amount of immigrants allowed in as 3% of their nationality in 1910 census

• national origins act

  • reduced quota to 2% of 1890 census

sacco + vanzetti

• 1920

• Braintree, Massachusetts

• Nicola Sacco + Bartolomeo Vanzetti accused of murdering payroll guard and paymaster

• possessed radical beliefs, opposed to capitalism

• racist beliefs translated into jury + trial process

• despite flimsy case were found guilty

• put to death 1927

legislative changes for women

• 19th amendment

  • 1920

  • secured women the vote

• volstead act

  • under 18th amendment

  • 1920

  • introduced prohibition

  • believed that it would decrease dv in families

social habits (women)

• legislative rights became mirrored in values + lifestyle of women

• dubbed “new woman” or “flapper

• focused on youth, liberty + sexual freedom

• smoked, drank alcohol + wore makeup

• lifestyle argued to have been largely exaggerated by media but still shows shift in ideals by broader society

• marriage began to focus on companionship + sexual pleasure rather than duty

• higher divorce rates

  • 1/6 ending in divorce compared to 1/18 (1880s)

fashion (women)

• bobbed hair

• loose fitting dresses

• contrasted with restrictive clothing of previous era (corsets, long skirts)

workplace (women)

• WW1 led to more women entering workforce in areas previously restricted to men eg. construction + transportation

• over 2M women joined workforce

challenges + opposition (women)

• rural states much less accepting of changes

  • south carolina refused to grant divorces

  • laws in virginia forbid display of >3 inches of skin below throat

• continuation of idea that women belonged in domestic sphere

• marriage + motherhood seen as ultimate career

causes of prohibition

• temperance

  • movement that began in 1820/30s

  • worked to repress social ills for moral reasons

  • eg. women’s christian temperance union or anti-saloon league

• business workers believed alcohol lessened efficiency of workers

• anti-german sentiment following WW1

legislation (prohibition)

• volstead act under 18th amendment 1920

• 21st amendment repealed prohibition in 1933

positives

• alcohol consump decreased 30%

• arrests for drunkeness down 90% in detroit in the 1st year

negatives

• people believed went against personal liberty

• speakeasies, illegal stills, chemists

• 1000 deaths per year from tainted alcohol

• organised crime

  • al capone estimated to make $60M/year

  • st valentine’s day massacre 1929

  • enforcing officers prone to bribery

• business closure due to loss in revenue from alcohol sales

• govt. lost $11B in tax revenue since much came from liquor taxes

1st KKK

• secret organisation that emerged in the south following civil war (1861 - 65)

• aim was to intim. AA and prevent them from voting through violence

• suppressed by northern authorities and went underground late 1860s

2nd KKK

• revived in 1915, Georgia by William J Simmons

• thought to be due to D.W Griffith’s 1915 film Birth of a Nation

• ~ 2.5 - 4M members during peak

• became prevalent all across country in places that had large influx of AAs eg. Chicago

KKK values + methods

• supported white supremacy + believed minorities challenged anglo-saxon/american values

• employed violence + intim to prevent minorities from gaining power

  • tarring

  • feathering

  • lynching

  • beating

NAACP

• national association for the advancement of colour people

• 1909

• 90 000 members in early 20s

• main priority was to eradicate lynching

  • strongly supported Dyer Bill 1922 but failed to pass in Congress

harlem renaissance

• AA district in NY

• centre of cultural revival for AA

  • intellectuals

  • artists

• place where AAs could form strong cultural identity

  • jazz clubs eg Cotton Club

  • performers such as Louis Armstrong

darwinism

• evolutionary theory that humans + apes descended from common ancestors

• published 1859 by Charles Darwin

• contradicted christian teachings

the scopes trial (background)

• tennessee banned teaching of Darwin’s theory w Butler Law 1925

• banned in public schools + unis

• many other Southern states followed

• some argued BL breached FoS

• American Civil Liberties Union would fund legal defence of teacher willing to fight BL in court

scopes trial (trial)

• John Scopes - high school teacher, agreed + arrested

• Williams Jennings Bryan - prosecutor

• Clarence Darrow - defence

• July 1925

• became media frenzy - first ever radio broadcasted trial

• highly religious judge refused Darrow to bring expert witness to prove DET

• Darrow attacked literal interp. of the bible and called Bryan to stand

• Scopes still found guilty + fined $100

jazz

• blend of african, latin + european

• red light districts, new orleans

• primarily played by AA musicians in beginning

• considered immoral music —> even NYT published an anti-jazz article

• first album made by white Original Dixieland Jazz Band —> introduced jazz to broader US audience

• first original, original sophisticated instrumental music in US history

WW1 and jazz

• harlem hellfighters - segregared troop of AA soldiers

• started a jazz band who played music throughout europe