Chapter 22 - The New Era

I. Introduction

  • The context of the 1920s in America represents a decade of paradox, characterized by massive economic expansion and deep-seated social friction.

  • Warren G. Harding’s inauguration on March 4, 1921, signaled a shift away from Wilsonian idealism toward "normalcy," a term he used to describe a return to pre-war stability, isolationism, and laissez-faire economics.

  • Major themes include:

    • Post-WWI Aftermath: The transition from a wartime to a peacetime economy led to initial inflation followed by a massive boom.

    • Racial and Political Repression: The First Red Scare (1919-1920), fueled by the Bolshevik Revolution, led to the Palmer Raids and a crackdown on suspected radicals and labor unions.

    • Nomenclature: The era is variously dubbed the Jazz Age (coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald), the Age of Loosened Morals, and the Prosperity Decade.

  • Key changes included:

    • Technological Advancements: The proliferation of the automobile and electrical appliances revolutionized daily life.

    • Mass Culture: The synchronization of American habits through national radio broadcasts and Hollywood cinema.

  • Counter-reactions: The decade saw a sharp rise in nativism, the defense of traditional Protestant values, and a legislative push for immigration restriction.

II. Republican White House, 1921-1933

  • Contextual background:

    • The nation was reeling from the loss of over 115,000 soldiers in World War I and the devastating Spanish Flu epidemic (1918-1920), which infected nearly 20\% of the global population and killed approximately 700,000 Americans.

    • Labor unrest peaked in 1919 with over 3,000 strikes, contributing to a public desire for conservative governance.

  • Harding's Administration:

    • Implemented the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, which capped immigration to 3\% of the number of people from any country living in the U.S. as of the 1910 census.

    • Appointed a "Cabinet of Best Minds," including Herbert Hoover (Commerce) and Andrew Mellon (Treasury), but also the "Ohio Gang," who were responsible for widespread corruption.

    • Teapot Dome Scandal: Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall was convicted of leasing navy oil reserves in Wyoming to private companies in exchange for bribes.

  • Coolidge Administration (1923-1929):

    • Calvin Coolidge assumed office after Harding’s sudden death. He believed that minimized government interference was the key to prosperity.

    • Mellon Plan: Under Secretary Mellon, the top marginal tax rate was slashed from 66\% to 20\%, and the federal debt was significantly reduced.

III. Culture of Consumption

  • Economic Drivers:

    • Henry Ford and the Assembly Line: Ford’s techniques reduced the price of the Model T from over \$800 to under \$300, making car ownership accessible to the working class.

    • Electrification: By the end of the decade, nearly 70\% of American homes had electricity, sparking demand for vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and refrigerators.

  • Selling Mrs. Consumer:

    • Christine Frederick’s 1929 monograph emphasized that women made 90\% of household purchasing decisions, leading advertisers to target women's emotions and social status.

    • The shift from "needs" to "wants" was facilitated by the professionalization of the advertising industry (e.g., Bruce Barton).

  • Credit Revolution:

    • The "buy now, pay later" mentality took hold; by 1927, over 60\% of cars and 80\% of radios were bought on installment plans.

IV. Culture of Escape

  • Mobility and Leisure:

    • The automobile broke down rural isolation and facilitated the rise of the "Sunday drive."

    • Tourism grew as families visited newly established National Parks.

  • The Rise of Cinema:

    • Hollywood became the world’s film capital. The transition from silent films to "talkies" began with The Jazz Singer in 1927.

    • Weekly movie attendance reached 40 million by 1922 and soared to 100 million by 1930.

    • Films promoted a standardized version of the "American Dream."

  • Radio and Sporting Icons:

    • KDKA in Pittsburgh became the first commercial radio station in 1920.

    • Media created national heroes like Babe Ruth (baseball), Gertrude Ederle (swimming), and Charles Lindbergh, whose 1927 solo transatlantic flight epitomized modern bravery.

V. “The New Woman”

  • The Flapper Image:

    • Represented a break from the "Gibson Girl" ideal. Flappers wore shorter skirts, bobbed their hair, smoked in public, and frequented speakeasies.

  • Political and Social Reality:

    • While the 19th Amendment (1920) gave women the vote, the female electorate was not a monolithic voting bloc.

    • Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party introduced the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in 1923, which faced opposition from those fearing it would eliminate protective labor laws for women.

    • Margaret Sanger pioneered the birth control movement, though she faced significant legal hurdles through the Comstock Laws.

VI. “The New Negro”

  • The Great Migration: Hundreds of thousands of Black Americans moved from the rural South to Northern urban centers (New York, Chicago, Detroit) to escape Jim Crow and find industrial jobs.

  • Harlem Renaissance:

    • A cultural blossoming in Harlem that emphasized Black pride and intellectualism. Alain Locke’s The New Negro (1925) served as a manifesto for this movement.

    • Poetry by Langston Hughes and Claude McKay expressed defiance against racism, while Zora Neale Hurston explored Black folklore.

  • Marcus Garvey and the UNIA:

    • The Universal Negro Improvement Association promoted "Pan-Africanism" and economic independence.

    • Garvey’s "Back to Africa" movement and the Black Star Line shipping company garnered over 1 million followers before his deportation for mail fraud.

VII. Culture War

  • Nativism and the Red Scare:

    • The trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (1921-1927) became a symbol of anti-immigrant and anti-radical prejudice, as they were executed for a crime many believed they did not commit.

  • Immigration Quotas:

    • The National Origins Act of 1924 further restricted immigration, setting quotas at 2\% of the 1890 census levels, specifically targeting Southern and Eastern Europeans and banning Asian immigration entirely.

VIII. Fundamentalist Christianity

  • Conflict with Modernism:

    • Fundamentalists insisted on a literal interpretation of the Bible, leading to a clash with "modernists" who sought to reconcile faith with Darwinian evolution.

  • The Scopes Monkey Trial (1925):

    • High school teacher John Scopes was tried for violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which prohibited teaching evolution.

    • The trial featured a dramatic showdown between William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow, highlighting the divide between rural, religious tradition and urban, secular modernity.

IX. Rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

  • Second Klan Resurgence:

    • Founded at Stone Mountain, GA, in 1915, the new KKK targeted not only Black Americans but also Catholics, Jews, and immigrants.

    • Promoted "100\% Americanism" and peaked in the mid-1920s with membership estimates between 3 million and 5 million.

    • The Klan exerted massive political power in states like Indiana and Oregon before declining due to internal scandals and corruption.

X. Conclusion

  • Economic Fragility: Though the decade appeared prosperous, wealth was highly concentrated (the top 0.1\% shared as much wealth as the bottom 42\%). Agricultural prices collapsed throughout the decade, leaving farmers in a permanent depression.

  • The Crash: The speculative bubble in the stock market burst on October 29, 1929 (Black Tuesday), exposing the underlying weaknesses of the New Era.

  • Legacy: The 1920s laid the groundwork for modern American consumer culture and civil rights struggles, while its failures necessitated the massive governmental shifts of the New Deal.