Flu Epidemic

• 1918-1919

• Was the deadliest global pandemic since the Black Death, and rare among flu viruses for striking down the young and healthy, often within days of exhibiting the first symptoms

• Because soldiers and workers lived together in cities, it spread extremely quickly

Jazz Age

• A period in the 1920s and 1930s in which jazz music and dance styles rapidly gained nationwide popularity in the United States

• Created a cultural exchange and encouraged a spirit of revolt

Henry Ford

• Invented the famous Model T car

• Implemented mass production for efficiency

• Promoted the 8 hour workday and the minimum wage for his workers

• During World War I, his company produced war machines

Model T

• Invented by Henry Ford

• Produced on assembly lines, where each worker is only responsible for 1 piece of the car, making assembly very quick and efficient

• Because of the efficient production, the price of the car decreased while industrial productivity increased

Radio

• Increased use of the radio for entertainment and advertising

• More long-distance broadcasting

• People were easily able to hear programs and advertisements, contributing to the spread of information

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

• 1905

• Nicknamed the “wobblies”

• Were very radical with their protests, including using murder and sabotage

• Increased fears of communism and the Red Scare

Red Scare

• Began in 1919

• A huge increase in nativist mindsets and anti-Communist fears

• Public hysteria about Communism taking over the US

• Radicals were revealed and highly punished

Palmer Raids

• Began in 1919

• Led by A. Mitchell Palmer

• A series of raids conducted in November 1919 and January 1920 by the United States Department of Justice under the administration of President Woodrow Wilson to capture and arrest suspected socialists, especially anarchists and communists, and deport them from the United States

• Mass arrests in labor unions

Immigration Act

• 1924

• The act hoped to decrease the number of Southern and Eastern European immigrants

• Banned all Asian immigrants

• Contributed to nativism in the US

Sacco and Vanzetti Case

• 1927 - Sacco and Vanzetti, a pair of anarchists, were arrested and put on trial

• Although the arguments brought against them were mostly disproven in court, the fact that the two men were known radicals (and that their trial took place during the height of the Red Scare) prejudiced the judge and jury against them

• The two were sentenced to death

Warren G. Harding

• A Republican and a political machine

• Was elected president in 1920, promising the US with a “return to normalcy”

• Calvin Coolidge served as his Vice President

• High corruption during his time as President

Teapot Dome Scandal

• 1922

• Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming, as well as two locations in California, to private oil companies at low rates without competitive bidding

• The leases were the subject of a seminal investigation by Senator Thomas J. Walsh

Frederick Taylor

• An American mechanical engineer

• Widely known for his methods to improve industrial efficiency

• One of the first management consultants

Calvin Coolidge

• Became President in 1923

• Demonstrated his determination to preserve the old moral and economic precepts of frugality

• Served the US under a thriving economy and a calm world

• Promoted the policy of laissez-faire, where the government stays out of the economy and lets natural forces take over

Andrew Mellon

• 1921 - Served as Secretary of the Treasury

• Cutting taxes and reducing spending led to lower deficit and a boosted economy

• The eventual stock market crash ruined his reputation

Marcus Garvey

• Supporter of African nationalism

• Founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, through which he declared himself Provisional President of Africa

• Promoted the “Back to Africa” movement

Lost Generation

• 1920s

• Famous literary figures included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, etc.

• These figures believed that American society was materialistic and alienated

• Led to the rise of an urban youth revolt

Scopes Monkey Trial

• 1925

• A high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which had made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school

• Clarence Darrow vs. William Jennings Bryan

• Scopes was eventually found guilty

Fundamentalism

• A Protestant Christian movement

• Upholding the belief in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture

• Defended the "fundamentals of belief" against the corrosive effects of liberalism that had grown within the ranks of Protestantism itself

Flappers

• Young women with short hemlines and flapping dresses

• Freely used tobacco and alcohol and practiced romantic and sexual freedom

• Pushed barriers in economic, political and sexual freedom for women

Prohibition

• 1919 - The Volstead Act was passed, which enforced Prohibition

• This contributed to an increased in illegal liquor distribution and manufacturing, with speakeasies to illegally serve alcohol

Speakeasies

• Small, secret bars where alcohol was illegally served

• Became widespread in the United States during the Prohibition era from 1920 to 1933

• Required password to enter

H.L. Mencken

• Criticized America

• An American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English

• Commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, and contemporary movements

Charles Lindbergh

• A famous aviator

• 1927 - Became well-known for his non-stop flight from New York to Paris

• Served as a test pilot and combat pilot in World War II

BIG PICTURE

• Roaring Twenties - Societal change + moral & sexual revolution

• Technological breakthroughs

• Fears of communist infiltration → Mass hysteria

• Cultural drift → Reject American society + Christian belief ↓

• Prohibition + temperance movement