Ch. 30: American Life in the Roaring Twenties
The war was over;
Transitioning from wartime to peacetime impacted American society in several ways
Demobilization
Military: Reduction of the armed forces of the US; no longer need over 4 million young men in our military who don’t need to be stationed in Europe (Need to come home)
The men were decommissioned and need to be returned to civilian life
This puts enormous strains on the economy (Can’t return 4 million at once)
Gradual phasing in
The concern with this is that as these men are returning to civilian life they are also returning to the workforce; jobs vacated filled by different groups: women, AFrican AMericans, immigrants
those people are going to be displaced when the soldiers return which contributes to significant unemployment
Economic: US moves from Wartime economy to peacetime economy
factories need to reconfigure themselves
They need to go back to making consumer goods, which is going to take time and money and lead to a decrease in business production
ALso want to keep in mind what happens after the world wars
Brief economic recession; pre ww1 (recession), ww1 (war effort brought economy to prosperity), and post ww1(brief recessions followed by period of prosperity) vs. pre ww2 (economic depression), ww2 (war effort brought economy to prosperity), post ww2 (brief recessions followed by period of prosperity)
REcession: Business productivity declines, GDP declines, increase in inflation, unemployment increases, the agricultural sector is going to struggle, Supply chain issues happen (economy depends on overseas production and trade) (things aren’t at same production levels)
During the progressive era and WW1: Good time for labor movement (political ship increased, mostly wages and working conditions improved, and union membership increased)
War Restrictions:
Freeze wages in some industries
freezing the price of goods results in scarcity of goods because we’re producing war materials
Resulting in too many dollars chasing too many goods and restrictriction of prices
Unions couldn’t strike: Work or Fight
RUnaway inflation: Significant increases in pricing of goods and services that is dramatically outpricing wage prices; double-digit inflation (more than regular inflation)
Bolshevik Revolution
Events overseas are going to impact events in America
March of 1917, the Romanov Dynasty (Tsar Nicholas was overthrown; his family was executed as well) was executed
Predates AMerican involvement in the war
What is put in place in Russia has a temporary representative government said they represented the people
Russia was losing autocratic government
The War continues andthe US enters but there’s unrest in Russia
vladimir Lenin and supporters (bolsheviks) rise up to challenge representative government
Lenin and his Bolsheviks are going to take control of the Russian government
March of 1918:
Russia Announces that they are going to withdraw from WWI
The War isn’t Doing nothing to benefit Russia and Russian soldiers dying
They view that it’s capitalist and imperialist war
Germany unleashes attack on Paris (Chateau-Thierry)
Bolshevism: Essence was that Marx and Angels break the world down into two types of people: The haves (bourgeoise) and the have nots (proletariat):
Have nots have grown tired of not having and the conditions of the world (starvation, poverty)
The workers are going to unite and rise up against the bourgeois
They seize control of the methods of production (farms and factories) and est. communal society where there is no class system and basic needs were taken care of
only way to accomplish that was through violent revolution (haves are not going to willingly give up their positions and have-nots were bitter )
RADICAL left
1919 Happens: Year of the Strike
3,000 major strikes in the US in 1919 (avg. was 8 a day)
First big one is going to contribute to the Red Scare following WWI
January of 1919: Shipyard workers in Seattle went on strike (Important for region’s commerce) and other unions in city of Seattle joined, making it a general strike and Shutting down commerce within Seattle
Break up the strike: Mayor sends in national guard
owners (the haves) have to discredit the union
Rationale: let’s label the unions as Bolsheviks (because some factory owners and ships also own the newspapers and radio stations and they can report stories that Bolshevism has taken root in the American labor movement)
Seattle, Washington is on the Pacific Northwest and Russia is not very far away
Now it seems feasible to people that immigrants from Russia may have come to Seattle and maybe in labor unions spreading Bolshevism and the idea’s going to spread
Unions aren’t going on strike to end capitalism because they want better working conditions (successful ploy by management which stings the labor movement)
The Boston police department (75 % of it) went on strike and were trying to form a union, but crime goes up (chaos and unrest; riots and looting)
AFter 3 days they decide to go back to work
The Mayor while this chaos was going on has no means to spot it because of his police dept. Was on strike; made call to governor and governor sends in national guard (governor: Calvin Coolidge)
Calvin Coolidge fired Boston Police Department when they tried coming back
Hired veterans to replace them
Becomes a darling to the conservatives of the republican party; in 1920 he is going to be the vice-presidential nominee for the party; William Harding became president
Harding wins the election in 1920
Harding dies in office and Coolidge becomes president of the US
The Great Migration (broad event tied to) Led to Red Summer
NOT the Red scare
Summer (began in April 1919) of racial violence, tension, and death
Series of riots in various cities
Called the Red Summer by NAACP field secretary James Weldon Johnson referring to the blood that was shed
The resurgence of the KKK during the 1920s led to racial violence
often there were claims of a Black man sexually abusing white woman (unsubstantiated)
part of it resulted from the Great Migration (taking away jobs, lowering wages, resentment boiled over in 1919)
Omaha Race Riot: September 28-29, 1919
Political Pendulum (more conservative vs. more liberal such as Labor unions being strong vs. weaker)
Happens with foreign Policy (Post civil war there was a dramatic change which was the Industrial revolution, Teddy Roosevelt, and becoming more internationalist when we had been traditionally isolationism)
Internationalists: Fully support war effort, Support ALlies w or w/o sending troops
Isolationists: don’t want US to get involved (Only need a european solution)
Americans were disillusioned with the outcome of world war I
50,000 Americans died on the battlefield in Europe at what cost?
The world isn’t safe for democracy and there’s lot of bitterness and resentment at the end of the war
not the war to end wars
retreating from internationalist viewpoints
Caused by disillusionment by World War I
US Shunned diplomatic commitments to foreign countries
US refusal to join the league of nations
Denounced radical foreign ideals
Communism, Socialism, Anarchy were radical foreign ideals
Condemned Un-American lifestyles
Immigrant Culture different from mainstream culture
Un-American:
religion: catholicism, Judaism, greek/russian orthodox, Atheist
Language
Education was different
Halted the flow of immigration to the country
Nativism: Prejudice against foreign-born (new immigrants)
Rise of Nativism coincides with an economic recession
Red Scare: fear that communism was taking root in American institutions
Three Factors that contributed to Red Scare:
Bolshevik Revolution in Russia
Changing immigration patterns: Influx from southern and eastern Europe
The rash of strikes in the US in 1919: Contributed most to the Red Scare **Best answer
Palmer Raids
Post-WWI Fighter of communism: Attorney general A Mitchell Palmer (Fighting Quaker) – believed there was a communist threat; thought it was part of a larger global conspiracy —-use the power of his office to STOP the communist threat
A Mitchell Palmer: Rounded up suspects: Americans arrested on suspicion of being a communist, socialist, or anarchist and 500 were deported from this country
The justice department raided businesses, union offices, magazine offices for anyone who they suspect may have had communist threats but it was a violation of due process and civil liberties
He talked about communist conspiracy but didn’t have evidence to support it
A Mitchell Palmer and his Palmer raids —faded from public interest
Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti
Two italian immigrants living in Massachusetts: accused of robbery and murder of a paymaster (all money who had to pay factory workers) and his guard
No eye witness
The witness in general vicinity who reported to police that there were two suspicious characters
They gave general description (it was raining and it was night)
Authorities rounded up Sacco and Vanzetti, who were Italian Immigrants, anarchists, drop dodgers, anarchists were unamerican
The trial gained national and international notoriety (Americans were split because some thought they were guilty and others thought they were only being arrested because they were Italian immigrants; strikes in Italy and America)
Evidence was circumstantial
At the end of the trial, judge found them guilty and sentenced them to die
Sacco and Vinzetti went through appeals process (turned down) and plead innocent
If you shoot a gun, there’s a fingerprint on the bullet; years later they dug up the bodies of the paymaster and the guard; Sacco and Vanzetti had the fingerprint
Resurgence of KKK
New KKK In post WWI Era was antiforeign and was very radical, conservative nativist society
Anti immigrants, anti black, anti jew, anti catholic, anti labor union
Klan was rising up against the modernization and diversity of America; membership reached at about 5 million in 1920s
SO influential in 1920s
Certain states were a card carrying member of the KKK or support of KKK to get elected
Reaction to influx of new immigrants
National Origins acts
Restrict new immigrants of coming into the country
Quota Act: est. of a quota system dealing with immigrant system; immigrants from Europe were restricted in any given year to a definite quota
quota set at 3% of the people of their nationality who had been in the US in 1910
Americans were trying to keep southern and eastern europeans out (millions living here)
Immigration Act: Change quota to 2% and the base year to 1890
This Kept southern and eastern europeans out
also had a provision prohibiting japanese immigration
Stayed the law of the land for 40 years
Purpose of these acts was to maintain and freeze the existence racial composition of the US; which was overwhelmingly northern european; wanted to keep white anglo-saxon protestant culture (WASPS)
End of a period of unrestricted immigration that had brought over 35 million newcomers to this country
Quota system would freeze existing racial composition and maintain the dominance of white, anglo-saxon, protestantism
Resurgence of the KKK
Resulted in Anti minority and Labor union
They didn’ t want modernization and diversity
Great Migration was a Catalyst for Red Summer
Noble Experiment -National prohibition of alcohol—arguments, people who supported believed that it would leave people to poverty because men were drinking instead of fam needs, accidents in the workplace, absenteeism.
People who were opposed - immigrants were part of the culture.
Also, veterans who were returning from war who didn't want to give up liquor after willing to die for their country
Conservatives who thought it was gov overreach
Despite the two sides, the amendment does pass
It is an era and an amendment, 1920-1933 - the 18th amendment was the law of the land.
Amendment - prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alc
Volstead Act- a congressional act that allowed for the prohibition.
Bill was popular in the midwest and south. People thought it lead to sinful behavior
Rural America trying to impose values on urban America
Bank savings increase
Absentees decrease
Job increases
Organized crime flourishes - mafia grows in strength.
The Twenties Woman
After the tumult of World War I, Americans were looking for a little fun in the 1920s
Women were becoming more independent and achieving greater freedoms (right to vote, more employment, freedom of the automobile)
Women were not independent in 1920s
MORE were becoming independent, but slow arc of history going on
women were getting more rights *19th amendment
There were more employment opportunities (During WWI—working in shipyards and factories—stereotypically male jobs)
Life in the 1920s:
Jeanette Rankin: First woman elected to Congress (1916)--served throughout the 1920s, which predates for 19th amendment; however, a number of states already gave women the right to vote
Flappers: minority modern women of the 1920s—young, rebellious (rebelling typical gender roles), fun-loving, and bold—short hair, short dresses (to the knees), more makeup (esp. lipstick)--attitude changes—ex. Began to smoke and drink in public
During the 1920s a new ideal emerged for some women: The Flapper
A flapper was an emancipated young woman who embraced the new fashions and urban attitudes
The New Woman and the New Morality; Louise Brooks
The image of the flapper and the “new woman,” who bobbed her hair, wore make-up, danced to jazz music, and smoked cigarettes is synonymous and the 1920s
The emerging advertising industry and mass media promoted more sexualized images of women, thus, giving license for young women to shed some of the old sexual mores that were perceived as “Victorian”
Advertising, billboard, radio was widely used and they Realized that sex sells
Used the iconic women of the era to sell their products and merchandise
Some people saw the 1920s women as a threat to the morality of American society
They thought Immigrants were responsible for radical ideas
Urbanization supposedly led to the delinquency of American Society (still going on today ex. With abortion rights)
In 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote
The notable birth control activist Margaret Sanger (trailblazer) campaigned across the country to educate women about family planning, remove the social stigma attached to contraceptives, and make safe birth control accessible to every class of women (poor women - pregnant at a young age—remain in poverty with children so the cycle continues)
Sanger began her campaign for birth control after spending years as a nurse in poor communities
Wanted to help young women make better choices about their bodies
Opens first birth control clinic in US
Changes in the feminine ideal: The well bred Gibson girl of the turn of the century and the decidedly more dangerous flapper of the Roaring 20s
New Roles for Women
The fast-changing world of the 1920s produced new roles for women
Many women entered the workplace as nurses, teachers, librarians, and secretaries
However, women earned less than men and were kept out of many traditional male jobs (management) and faced gender discrimination (AFrican Americans same thing – additional Jim Crow)
American birth rates declined for several decades before the 1920s
During the 1920s the trend increased as birth control information became widely available
Birth control clinics opened and the American Birth Control League was founded in 1921
Modern Family Emerges
Marriage was based on romantic love, women managed household & finances, and children were not considered laborers/wage earners but rather developing children who needed nurturing and education
DUring the 1920s Developments in education had a powerful impact on the nation
Enrollment in high schools quadrupled between 1914 and 1926
compulsory education because business is telling America that they want better educated workers
Public schools met the challenge of educating immigrants
States were requiring students to remain in school until age 16 or 19 or until graduation
High school graduation doubled in the 1920s
Change in Educational theory
Made by John Dewey
Principles of “learning by doing”
So-called progressive education
With its greater “permissiveness”
Believed the workbench was as essential as the blackboard
Education for life was the primary goal of the teacher
Rise of Fundamentalism
Every so often in the US, a wave of people become very religious
In the United States, religious waves have often been associated with questioning authority and power or questioning the elite
Often these religious revivals involve passionate speakers and people feel that they are directly connected to God
The First Great Awakening (1740s-1750s)--helped fuel rebellion against England the Anglican Church (popular religions: Presbyterianism, Baptists, Methodists)
Second Great Awakening (1820s-1840s): helped launch a number of 19th political movements—temperance, abolition (during this time, spread of Methodists and baptists; birth of Mormonism)
In the 1920s, a new religious wave hit the country: Fundamentalism. Fundamentalists believed in the literal truth of the bible. They also were very opposed to what they believed to be the sins of modern life
Nostalgia for past in reaction to changing social mores characterized the growing influence of religious fundamentalism in the Jazz Age
Secularist: Science only
Modernist: Science and God
Fundamentalist: God
Scientific and REligion Clash
Another battleground during the 1920s was between fundamentlaist religious groups and secular thinkers
In March 1925, Tennessee passed the nation's first law that made it a crime to teach evolution —-only teach the Creation story from the old testament
The American Civil Liberties Union promised to defend any teacher willing to challenge the law- John Scopes did (Scopes was a biology teacher who dared to teach evolution)
The ACLU hired Clarence Darrow, the most famous trial lawyer of the era to defend Scopes
The prosecution countered with William Jennings Bryan, the 3 time Democratic presidential nominee (fundamentalist)
Darrow called Bryan to the stand: Should the bible be interpreted literally
Under intense questioning, Darrow got Bryan to admit that the bible can be interpreted in different ways
Nonetheless, Scopes was found guilty and fined $100
Verdict was vacated
fundamentalism took a hit (people thought it was a foolish)
Bryan wanted to seek nomination for dem party in upcoming election, but his blood pressure became so elevated that he died after trial
Rising anti sentiment because new immigrants were so culturally different from previous immigrants
The Roaring Twenties: Life & Culture in America in the 1920s
Significance of 1920 Census: More Americans in cities than in rural areas
During the 1920s, urbanization continued to accelerate
For the first time more AMericans lived in cities than in rural areas
New York City was home to 5 million people in 1920
Chicago had nearly 3 million with lot of scandinavian immigrants
Push and Pull factors
Every 10 years we take a census to have representative democracy (need to know population) because constitution says so because we have representation based on population and it determines congressional districts (ONLY Changes HOR not the senate because there are 2 senators per state no matter the population)
The census is used for taxes, population growth (outcomes)
Throughout the 1920s Americans found themselves caught between urban and rural cultures
Each are trying to assert their way of life as a predominant culture of America
Urban life:
world of anonymous crowds, strangers, moneymakers, and pleasure seekers
Cities were impersonal (thought rural dudes were judging them)
Rural life was safe, close personal tiers, hard work, and morals (thought cities were elitists)
Tension between two sides (still have it today)
1920’s Pop Culture:
Charlie Chaplin (Hitler was a fan of Chaplin)
Contemporary ideas and items that are well-known and widely accepted
As literacy increased, newspaper circulation rose and mass-circulation magazines flourished
This was mostly because of compulsory education (businesses wanted literate americans because they were more productive)
By the end of the 1920s, ten American magazines—including Reader’s Digest and Time—boasted circulations of over 2 million
WAS the medium of the 1920s
ALthough print media was popular, radio was the most powerful communications medium to emerge in the 1920s
News was delivered faster and to a larger audience (KDKA)
AMericans could hear the voice of the president or listen to the world
- Babe Ruth—”The Sultan of Swat” or “The Great Bambino”
He was most famous baseball payer of the ‘20s
He played most of his career with the NY (Hit 60 home-runs in 1927 and 714 career home runs)
- Jack Dempsey
Gertrude Ederle was the 1st woman to swim across the 35 mile wide ENglish Channel and her time beat the men’s record by nearly 2 hours
America’s most beloved hero of the time wasn’t an athlete but a small-town pilot named Charles Lindbergh who made the first nonstop solo trans-atlantic flight
Took off from NYC in the SPirit of St. Louis and arrived in Paris 33 hours later to a hero’s welcome
No parachute, no radio, no heat, no sleep
Son was kidnapped and killed in the early in the 1930s
Didn’t want people to be involved WW2
Amelia Earhart- 1st woman to fly across the Atlantic without stopping
Disappeared while trying to fly around the world
Mass Culture: The Movies
With the mass communication came the parallel ascendancy of consumer culture and the cult of celebrity
Good for Immigrants to adapt
Jazz Singer
*white man playing black character (black face)
Music and Art
George Gershwin:
Edward Hopper
Georgia O'Keeffe
Writers of the 1920s: Greatest literary eras in american history
The Lost Generation (Critical of America’s conformity and materialism)
Sincalair Lewis, Ernest Hemingway, F. scott Fitzgerald
They were disillusioned with American values
John Dos Passos was soured by American culture and settled in Europe
Centered in Harlem NY
Outpouring of culture and art from African-Americans
This was going to occur North of Mason-Dickson line
Organization | NAACP | UNIA |
---|---|---|
Leader(s) *founders | WEB DuBoisIda B Wells | Marcus Garvey |
Belief, goals, Tactics | Anti-lynching legislation, voter participation, employment, due process, under the law, and educationReform unjust segregationIntegrated schoolsPeaceful protests | - owned restaurants - printing press- stores- racial pride- Pan-Africanism- EntrepreneurialismFormation of an independent Black nation in AfricaAdvance living conditionsActually separating rather than integrating |
Both Civil Rights Organizations and looking for racial equality for African Americans
Difference: *would not give you credit on AP exams for different founders; NAACP: wanted immediate and complete equality UNIA wanted to resettle African Americans into African Homeland (separatism was valued by UNIA and inclusion was valuedF NAACP)
Flapper: Rebellious and challenged gender stereotypes of 1920s
What was the real issue of the Scopes Trial:
Values of Rural America Vs. Values of Modern America
Rural America thought their way of life was dying (teaching of evolution, changing school curriculum, lifestyles, changing immigration patterns and they thought they might be bred out)
Claude McKay: through her works, celebrated peasant life in Jamaica, and poems that protested racial and economic inequalities
Langston Hughes
Zora Neale Hurston
Paul Robeson: actors and singer
Bass Baritone
Stage and Film actor
Louis Armstrong
Duke Ellington
Bessie Smith
Reasons for the growth of the 1920s
Favorable tax policies **MORE beneficial to wealthy than larger middle class
Cheap energy (oil)
Increased capital investment
New Industries blossom
Advertising (convince that want is a need) to increase consumption
The Man Nobody Knows (by Bruce Barton) claimed Jesus the greatest advertiser in history
Jesus has a product (christianity) but nobody knows about it (it’s new; it’s a breakoff from judaism)
The 12 apostles (sales team) spread the message
Jesus told parables (short stories with easy to understand messages)
The KEY to advertising: Short and easy messages
Buying on credit (installment payments) was precursor to credit card: this was good for business and consumers IF You have the money to pay for it
Prosperity built on debt which gave a lot of people a false sense of prosperity
Consumer Debt: 1920-1931:
Much of it spent on recreation and modern convenience (cars, refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, vacuums)
Good debt does exist (making timely payments meant a build up credits: look at income, and debt you have, and credit card; and all that increases credit rating, resulting in a lower interest rates with better credit rating when going for a loan)
Automobile Changes America
Inventing the automobile
1886: invented by European (Karl Benz)
1890s: adapted by Americans (Ford and others)
Henry Ford most responsible for popularizing cars
1910s-1920s: used assembly-line production and efficiency (Fordism) to standardize cars
made cheap enough for most workers
Ford introduced the five-dollar work day
Production and sales were going up; workers were quitting (high turnover because boring job, dangerous conditions, loud factory, but now we have to retrain replacement)
Innovation:
daily wage to $5
Payroll was the largest expense for a business, which allow them to have a different standard of living—gamble pays off
There’s less turnover and more production means more cars to sell, which also means more revenue
Revenue goes up significantly and people buying his cars were his employees because he was paying a very good salary
Very strict moral rules for employees (no smoking and drinking, go to church on Sunday) and he was one of the richest men in the world and made significant political contributions to the Nazis (EW)
Frederick W. Taylor (Taylorism)
Father of Scientific Management (Time everything):
Worker productivity was measured and after 8 hours worker productivity drops significantly
Ford and his management team desired to maximize productivity with an 8 hour workday every 3 shifts
The Social impact of the auto
Went from luxury to necessity
Badge of freedom, equality and social standing
Expanded leisure travel
Increased independence of women
Less isolation among sections of US
Less attractive states lost population
Consolidation of schools and churches
Sprawl of suburbs
Increased accidents and deaths
Increased freedom of youth, frequently for sex
Crime increased because of ability for quick getaway
At first, improved air and environmental quality (from horses)--> Now contributes to CO2
Speculation on the stock exchange
Stocks went up because people speculated that they would be able to sell for more than they paid
Buying “on margin” meant buying on credit which created false senses of prosperity
Stocks purchased w/small down payment
Only worked as long as stocks went up (like recent housing bubble and mortgages)
National debt and tax policies
Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon attacked high taxes (holdover from WWI) because:
Forced rich to invest in tax-exempt securities instead of factories
Brought lower net receipts into Treasury
Controversy over Mellon Policies
Shifted tax burden to middle-income groups
theoretically this meant that more money to businessmen meant more money was put into economy and doesn’t happen in practicality
The rich like to make more money so they invest and invest in market and you create a bubble in the stock market
Reduced national debt but should have reduced it more
Indirectly encouraged speculation on stock exchange by increasing holdings of the rich
THEORY of the trickle down economics is followed but no clear evidence that it will ever work–then or now
The war was over;
Transitioning from wartime to peacetime impacted American society in several ways
Demobilization
Military: Reduction of the armed forces of the US; no longer need over 4 million young men in our military who don’t need to be stationed in Europe (Need to come home)
The men were decommissioned and need to be returned to civilian life
This puts enormous strains on the economy (Can’t return 4 million at once)
Gradual phasing in
The concern with this is that as these men are returning to civilian life they are also returning to the workforce; jobs vacated filled by different groups: women, AFrican AMericans, immigrants
those people are going to be displaced when the soldiers return which contributes to significant unemployment
Economic: US moves from Wartime economy to peacetime economy
factories need to reconfigure themselves
They need to go back to making consumer goods, which is going to take time and money and lead to a decrease in business production
ALso want to keep in mind what happens after the world wars
Brief economic recession; pre ww1 (recession), ww1 (war effort brought economy to prosperity), and post ww1(brief recessions followed by period of prosperity) vs. pre ww2 (economic depression), ww2 (war effort brought economy to prosperity), post ww2 (brief recessions followed by period of prosperity)
REcession: Business productivity declines, GDP declines, increase in inflation, unemployment increases, the agricultural sector is going to struggle, Supply chain issues happen (economy depends on overseas production and trade) (things aren’t at same production levels)
During the progressive era and WW1: Good time for labor movement (political ship increased, mostly wages and working conditions improved, and union membership increased)
War Restrictions:
Freeze wages in some industries
freezing the price of goods results in scarcity of goods because we’re producing war materials
Resulting in too many dollars chasing too many goods and restrictriction of prices
Unions couldn’t strike: Work or Fight
RUnaway inflation: Significant increases in pricing of goods and services that is dramatically outpricing wage prices; double-digit inflation (more than regular inflation)
Bolshevik Revolution
Events overseas are going to impact events in America
March of 1917, the Romanov Dynasty (Tsar Nicholas was overthrown; his family was executed as well) was executed
Predates AMerican involvement in the war
What is put in place in Russia has a temporary representative government said they represented the people
Russia was losing autocratic government
The War continues andthe US enters but there’s unrest in Russia
vladimir Lenin and supporters (bolsheviks) rise up to challenge representative government
Lenin and his Bolsheviks are going to take control of the Russian government
March of 1918:
Russia Announces that they are going to withdraw from WWI
The War isn’t Doing nothing to benefit Russia and Russian soldiers dying
They view that it’s capitalist and imperialist war
Germany unleashes attack on Paris (Chateau-Thierry)
Bolshevism: Essence was that Marx and Angels break the world down into two types of people: The haves (bourgeoise) and the have nots (proletariat):
Have nots have grown tired of not having and the conditions of the world (starvation, poverty)
The workers are going to unite and rise up against the bourgeois
They seize control of the methods of production (farms and factories) and est. communal society where there is no class system and basic needs were taken care of
only way to accomplish that was through violent revolution (haves are not going to willingly give up their positions and have-nots were bitter )
RADICAL left
1919 Happens: Year of the Strike
3,000 major strikes in the US in 1919 (avg. was 8 a day)
First big one is going to contribute to the Red Scare following WWI
January of 1919: Shipyard workers in Seattle went on strike (Important for region’s commerce) and other unions in city of Seattle joined, making it a general strike and Shutting down commerce within Seattle
Break up the strike: Mayor sends in national guard
owners (the haves) have to discredit the union
Rationale: let’s label the unions as Bolsheviks (because some factory owners and ships also own the newspapers and radio stations and they can report stories that Bolshevism has taken root in the American labor movement)
Seattle, Washington is on the Pacific Northwest and Russia is not very far away
Now it seems feasible to people that immigrants from Russia may have come to Seattle and maybe in labor unions spreading Bolshevism and the idea’s going to spread
Unions aren’t going on strike to end capitalism because they want better working conditions (successful ploy by management which stings the labor movement)
The Boston police department (75 % of it) went on strike and were trying to form a union, but crime goes up (chaos and unrest; riots and looting)
AFter 3 days they decide to go back to work
The Mayor while this chaos was going on has no means to spot it because of his police dept. Was on strike; made call to governor and governor sends in national guard (governor: Calvin Coolidge)
Calvin Coolidge fired Boston Police Department when they tried coming back
Hired veterans to replace them
Becomes a darling to the conservatives of the republican party; in 1920 he is going to be the vice-presidential nominee for the party; William Harding became president
Harding wins the election in 1920
Harding dies in office and Coolidge becomes president of the US
The Great Migration (broad event tied to) Led to Red Summer
NOT the Red scare
Summer (began in April 1919) of racial violence, tension, and death
Series of riots in various cities
Called the Red Summer by NAACP field secretary James Weldon Johnson referring to the blood that was shed
The resurgence of the KKK during the 1920s led to racial violence
often there were claims of a Black man sexually abusing white woman (unsubstantiated)
part of it resulted from the Great Migration (taking away jobs, lowering wages, resentment boiled over in 1919)
Omaha Race Riot: September 28-29, 1919
Political Pendulum (more conservative vs. more liberal such as Labor unions being strong vs. weaker)
Happens with foreign Policy (Post civil war there was a dramatic change which was the Industrial revolution, Teddy Roosevelt, and becoming more internationalist when we had been traditionally isolationism)
Internationalists: Fully support war effort, Support ALlies w or w/o sending troops
Isolationists: don’t want US to get involved (Only need a european solution)
Americans were disillusioned with the outcome of world war I
50,000 Americans died on the battlefield in Europe at what cost?
The world isn’t safe for democracy and there’s lot of bitterness and resentment at the end of the war
not the war to end wars
retreating from internationalist viewpoints
Caused by disillusionment by World War I
US Shunned diplomatic commitments to foreign countries
US refusal to join the league of nations
Denounced radical foreign ideals
Communism, Socialism, Anarchy were radical foreign ideals
Condemned Un-American lifestyles
Immigrant Culture different from mainstream culture
Un-American:
religion: catholicism, Judaism, greek/russian orthodox, Atheist
Language
Education was different
Halted the flow of immigration to the country
Nativism: Prejudice against foreign-born (new immigrants)
Rise of Nativism coincides with an economic recession
Red Scare: fear that communism was taking root in American institutions
Three Factors that contributed to Red Scare:
Bolshevik Revolution in Russia
Changing immigration patterns: Influx from southern and eastern Europe
The rash of strikes in the US in 1919: Contributed most to the Red Scare **Best answer
Palmer Raids
Post-WWI Fighter of communism: Attorney general A Mitchell Palmer (Fighting Quaker) – believed there was a communist threat; thought it was part of a larger global conspiracy —-use the power of his office to STOP the communist threat
A Mitchell Palmer: Rounded up suspects: Americans arrested on suspicion of being a communist, socialist, or anarchist and 500 were deported from this country
The justice department raided businesses, union offices, magazine offices for anyone who they suspect may have had communist threats but it was a violation of due process and civil liberties
He talked about communist conspiracy but didn’t have evidence to support it
A Mitchell Palmer and his Palmer raids —faded from public interest
Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti
Two italian immigrants living in Massachusetts: accused of robbery and murder of a paymaster (all money who had to pay factory workers) and his guard
No eye witness
The witness in general vicinity who reported to police that there were two suspicious characters
They gave general description (it was raining and it was night)
Authorities rounded up Sacco and Vanzetti, who were Italian Immigrants, anarchists, drop dodgers, anarchists were unamerican
The trial gained national and international notoriety (Americans were split because some thought they were guilty and others thought they were only being arrested because they were Italian immigrants; strikes in Italy and America)
Evidence was circumstantial
At the end of the trial, judge found them guilty and sentenced them to die
Sacco and Vinzetti went through appeals process (turned down) and plead innocent
If you shoot a gun, there’s a fingerprint on the bullet; years later they dug up the bodies of the paymaster and the guard; Sacco and Vanzetti had the fingerprint
Resurgence of KKK
New KKK In post WWI Era was antiforeign and was very radical, conservative nativist society
Anti immigrants, anti black, anti jew, anti catholic, anti labor union
Klan was rising up against the modernization and diversity of America; membership reached at about 5 million in 1920s
SO influential in 1920s
Certain states were a card carrying member of the KKK or support of KKK to get elected
Reaction to influx of new immigrants
National Origins acts
Restrict new immigrants of coming into the country
Quota Act: est. of a quota system dealing with immigrant system; immigrants from Europe were restricted in any given year to a definite quota
quota set at 3% of the people of their nationality who had been in the US in 1910
Americans were trying to keep southern and eastern europeans out (millions living here)
Immigration Act: Change quota to 2% and the base year to 1890
This Kept southern and eastern europeans out
also had a provision prohibiting japanese immigration
Stayed the law of the land for 40 years
Purpose of these acts was to maintain and freeze the existence racial composition of the US; which was overwhelmingly northern european; wanted to keep white anglo-saxon protestant culture (WASPS)
End of a period of unrestricted immigration that had brought over 35 million newcomers to this country
Quota system would freeze existing racial composition and maintain the dominance of white, anglo-saxon, protestantism
Resurgence of the KKK
Resulted in Anti minority and Labor union
They didn’ t want modernization and diversity
Great Migration was a Catalyst for Red Summer
Noble Experiment -National prohibition of alcohol—arguments, people who supported believed that it would leave people to poverty because men were drinking instead of fam needs, accidents in the workplace, absenteeism.
People who were opposed - immigrants were part of the culture.
Also, veterans who were returning from war who didn't want to give up liquor after willing to die for their country
Conservatives who thought it was gov overreach
Despite the two sides, the amendment does pass
It is an era and an amendment, 1920-1933 - the 18th amendment was the law of the land.
Amendment - prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alc
Volstead Act- a congressional act that allowed for the prohibition.
Bill was popular in the midwest and south. People thought it lead to sinful behavior
Rural America trying to impose values on urban America
Bank savings increase
Absentees decrease
Job increases
Organized crime flourishes - mafia grows in strength.
The Twenties Woman
After the tumult of World War I, Americans were looking for a little fun in the 1920s
Women were becoming more independent and achieving greater freedoms (right to vote, more employment, freedom of the automobile)
Women were not independent in 1920s
MORE were becoming independent, but slow arc of history going on
women were getting more rights *19th amendment
There were more employment opportunities (During WWI—working in shipyards and factories—stereotypically male jobs)
Life in the 1920s:
Jeanette Rankin: First woman elected to Congress (1916)--served throughout the 1920s, which predates for 19th amendment; however, a number of states already gave women the right to vote
Flappers: minority modern women of the 1920s—young, rebellious (rebelling typical gender roles), fun-loving, and bold—short hair, short dresses (to the knees), more makeup (esp. lipstick)--attitude changes—ex. Began to smoke and drink in public
During the 1920s a new ideal emerged for some women: The Flapper
A flapper was an emancipated young woman who embraced the new fashions and urban attitudes
The New Woman and the New Morality; Louise Brooks
The image of the flapper and the “new woman,” who bobbed her hair, wore make-up, danced to jazz music, and smoked cigarettes is synonymous and the 1920s
The emerging advertising industry and mass media promoted more sexualized images of women, thus, giving license for young women to shed some of the old sexual mores that were perceived as “Victorian”
Advertising, billboard, radio was widely used and they Realized that sex sells
Used the iconic women of the era to sell their products and merchandise
Some people saw the 1920s women as a threat to the morality of American society
They thought Immigrants were responsible for radical ideas
Urbanization supposedly led to the delinquency of American Society (still going on today ex. With abortion rights)
In 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote
The notable birth control activist Margaret Sanger (trailblazer) campaigned across the country to educate women about family planning, remove the social stigma attached to contraceptives, and make safe birth control accessible to every class of women (poor women - pregnant at a young age—remain in poverty with children so the cycle continues)
Sanger began her campaign for birth control after spending years as a nurse in poor communities
Wanted to help young women make better choices about their bodies
Opens first birth control clinic in US
Changes in the feminine ideal: The well bred Gibson girl of the turn of the century and the decidedly more dangerous flapper of the Roaring 20s
New Roles for Women
The fast-changing world of the 1920s produced new roles for women
Many women entered the workplace as nurses, teachers, librarians, and secretaries
However, women earned less than men and were kept out of many traditional male jobs (management) and faced gender discrimination (AFrican Americans same thing – additional Jim Crow)
American birth rates declined for several decades before the 1920s
During the 1920s the trend increased as birth control information became widely available
Birth control clinics opened and the American Birth Control League was founded in 1921
Modern Family Emerges
Marriage was based on romantic love, women managed household & finances, and children were not considered laborers/wage earners but rather developing children who needed nurturing and education
DUring the 1920s Developments in education had a powerful impact on the nation
Enrollment in high schools quadrupled between 1914 and 1926
compulsory education because business is telling America that they want better educated workers
Public schools met the challenge of educating immigrants
States were requiring students to remain in school until age 16 or 19 or until graduation
High school graduation doubled in the 1920s
Change in Educational theory
Made by John Dewey
Principles of “learning by doing”
So-called progressive education
With its greater “permissiveness”
Believed the workbench was as essential as the blackboard
Education for life was the primary goal of the teacher
Rise of Fundamentalism
Every so often in the US, a wave of people become very religious
In the United States, religious waves have often been associated with questioning authority and power or questioning the elite
Often these religious revivals involve passionate speakers and people feel that they are directly connected to God
The First Great Awakening (1740s-1750s)--helped fuel rebellion against England the Anglican Church (popular religions: Presbyterianism, Baptists, Methodists)
Second Great Awakening (1820s-1840s): helped launch a number of 19th political movements—temperance, abolition (during this time, spread of Methodists and baptists; birth of Mormonism)
In the 1920s, a new religious wave hit the country: Fundamentalism. Fundamentalists believed in the literal truth of the bible. They also were very opposed to what they believed to be the sins of modern life
Nostalgia for past in reaction to changing social mores characterized the growing influence of religious fundamentalism in the Jazz Age
Secularist: Science only
Modernist: Science and God
Fundamentalist: God
Scientific and REligion Clash
Another battleground during the 1920s was between fundamentlaist religious groups and secular thinkers
In March 1925, Tennessee passed the nation's first law that made it a crime to teach evolution —-only teach the Creation story from the old testament
The American Civil Liberties Union promised to defend any teacher willing to challenge the law- John Scopes did (Scopes was a biology teacher who dared to teach evolution)
The ACLU hired Clarence Darrow, the most famous trial lawyer of the era to defend Scopes
The prosecution countered with William Jennings Bryan, the 3 time Democratic presidential nominee (fundamentalist)
Darrow called Bryan to the stand: Should the bible be interpreted literally
Under intense questioning, Darrow got Bryan to admit that the bible can be interpreted in different ways
Nonetheless, Scopes was found guilty and fined $100
Verdict was vacated
fundamentalism took a hit (people thought it was a foolish)
Bryan wanted to seek nomination for dem party in upcoming election, but his blood pressure became so elevated that he died after trial
Rising anti sentiment because new immigrants were so culturally different from previous immigrants
The Roaring Twenties: Life & Culture in America in the 1920s
Significance of 1920 Census: More Americans in cities than in rural areas
During the 1920s, urbanization continued to accelerate
For the first time more AMericans lived in cities than in rural areas
New York City was home to 5 million people in 1920
Chicago had nearly 3 million with lot of scandinavian immigrants
Push and Pull factors
Every 10 years we take a census to have representative democracy (need to know population) because constitution says so because we have representation based on population and it determines congressional districts (ONLY Changes HOR not the senate because there are 2 senators per state no matter the population)
The census is used for taxes, population growth (outcomes)
Throughout the 1920s Americans found themselves caught between urban and rural cultures
Each are trying to assert their way of life as a predominant culture of America
Urban life:
world of anonymous crowds, strangers, moneymakers, and pleasure seekers
Cities were impersonal (thought rural dudes were judging them)
Rural life was safe, close personal tiers, hard work, and morals (thought cities were elitists)
Tension between two sides (still have it today)
1920’s Pop Culture:
Charlie Chaplin (Hitler was a fan of Chaplin)
Contemporary ideas and items that are well-known and widely accepted
As literacy increased, newspaper circulation rose and mass-circulation magazines flourished
This was mostly because of compulsory education (businesses wanted literate americans because they were more productive)
By the end of the 1920s, ten American magazines—including Reader’s Digest and Time—boasted circulations of over 2 million
WAS the medium of the 1920s
ALthough print media was popular, radio was the most powerful communications medium to emerge in the 1920s
News was delivered faster and to a larger audience (KDKA)
AMericans could hear the voice of the president or listen to the world
- Babe Ruth—”The Sultan of Swat” or “The Great Bambino”
He was most famous baseball payer of the ‘20s
He played most of his career with the NY (Hit 60 home-runs in 1927 and 714 career home runs)
- Jack Dempsey
Gertrude Ederle was the 1st woman to swim across the 35 mile wide ENglish Channel and her time beat the men’s record by nearly 2 hours
America’s most beloved hero of the time wasn’t an athlete but a small-town pilot named Charles Lindbergh who made the first nonstop solo trans-atlantic flight
Took off from NYC in the SPirit of St. Louis and arrived in Paris 33 hours later to a hero’s welcome
No parachute, no radio, no heat, no sleep
Son was kidnapped and killed in the early in the 1930s
Didn’t want people to be involved WW2
Amelia Earhart- 1st woman to fly across the Atlantic without stopping
Disappeared while trying to fly around the world
Mass Culture: The Movies
With the mass communication came the parallel ascendancy of consumer culture and the cult of celebrity
Good for Immigrants to adapt
Jazz Singer
*white man playing black character (black face)
Music and Art
George Gershwin:
Edward Hopper
Georgia O'Keeffe
Writers of the 1920s: Greatest literary eras in american history
The Lost Generation (Critical of America’s conformity and materialism)
Sincalair Lewis, Ernest Hemingway, F. scott Fitzgerald
They were disillusioned with American values
John Dos Passos was soured by American culture and settled in Europe
Centered in Harlem NY
Outpouring of culture and art from African-Americans
This was going to occur North of Mason-Dickson line
Organization | NAACP | UNIA |
---|---|---|
Leader(s) *founders | WEB DuBoisIda B Wells | Marcus Garvey |
Belief, goals, Tactics | Anti-lynching legislation, voter participation, employment, due process, under the law, and educationReform unjust segregationIntegrated schoolsPeaceful protests | - owned restaurants - printing press- stores- racial pride- Pan-Africanism- EntrepreneurialismFormation of an independent Black nation in AfricaAdvance living conditionsActually separating rather than integrating |
Both Civil Rights Organizations and looking for racial equality for African Americans
Difference: *would not give you credit on AP exams for different founders; NAACP: wanted immediate and complete equality UNIA wanted to resettle African Americans into African Homeland (separatism was valued by UNIA and inclusion was valuedF NAACP)
Flapper: Rebellious and challenged gender stereotypes of 1920s
What was the real issue of the Scopes Trial:
Values of Rural America Vs. Values of Modern America
Rural America thought their way of life was dying (teaching of evolution, changing school curriculum, lifestyles, changing immigration patterns and they thought they might be bred out)
Claude McKay: through her works, celebrated peasant life in Jamaica, and poems that protested racial and economic inequalities
Langston Hughes
Zora Neale Hurston
Paul Robeson: actors and singer
Bass Baritone
Stage and Film actor
Louis Armstrong
Duke Ellington
Bessie Smith
Reasons for the growth of the 1920s
Favorable tax policies **MORE beneficial to wealthy than larger middle class
Cheap energy (oil)
Increased capital investment
New Industries blossom
Advertising (convince that want is a need) to increase consumption
The Man Nobody Knows (by Bruce Barton) claimed Jesus the greatest advertiser in history
Jesus has a product (christianity) but nobody knows about it (it’s new; it’s a breakoff from judaism)
The 12 apostles (sales team) spread the message
Jesus told parables (short stories with easy to understand messages)
The KEY to advertising: Short and easy messages
Buying on credit (installment payments) was precursor to credit card: this was good for business and consumers IF You have the money to pay for it
Prosperity built on debt which gave a lot of people a false sense of prosperity
Consumer Debt: 1920-1931:
Much of it spent on recreation and modern convenience (cars, refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, vacuums)
Good debt does exist (making timely payments meant a build up credits: look at income, and debt you have, and credit card; and all that increases credit rating, resulting in a lower interest rates with better credit rating when going for a loan)
Automobile Changes America
Inventing the automobile
1886: invented by European (Karl Benz)
1890s: adapted by Americans (Ford and others)
Henry Ford most responsible for popularizing cars
1910s-1920s: used assembly-line production and efficiency (Fordism) to standardize cars
made cheap enough for most workers
Ford introduced the five-dollar work day
Production and sales were going up; workers were quitting (high turnover because boring job, dangerous conditions, loud factory, but now we have to retrain replacement)
Innovation:
daily wage to $5
Payroll was the largest expense for a business, which allow them to have a different standard of living—gamble pays off
There’s less turnover and more production means more cars to sell, which also means more revenue
Revenue goes up significantly and people buying his cars were his employees because he was paying a very good salary
Very strict moral rules for employees (no smoking and drinking, go to church on Sunday) and he was one of the richest men in the world and made significant political contributions to the Nazis (EW)
Frederick W. Taylor (Taylorism)
Father of Scientific Management (Time everything):
Worker productivity was measured and after 8 hours worker productivity drops significantly
Ford and his management team desired to maximize productivity with an 8 hour workday every 3 shifts
The Social impact of the auto
Went from luxury to necessity
Badge of freedom, equality and social standing
Expanded leisure travel
Increased independence of women
Less isolation among sections of US
Less attractive states lost population
Consolidation of schools and churches
Sprawl of suburbs
Increased accidents and deaths
Increased freedom of youth, frequently for sex
Crime increased because of ability for quick getaway
At first, improved air and environmental quality (from horses)--> Now contributes to CO2
Speculation on the stock exchange
Stocks went up because people speculated that they would be able to sell for more than they paid
Buying “on margin” meant buying on credit which created false senses of prosperity
Stocks purchased w/small down payment
Only worked as long as stocks went up (like recent housing bubble and mortgages)
National debt and tax policies
Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon attacked high taxes (holdover from WWI) because:
Forced rich to invest in tax-exempt securities instead of factories
Brought lower net receipts into Treasury
Controversy over Mellon Policies
Shifted tax burden to middle-income groups
theoretically this meant that more money to businessmen meant more money was put into economy and doesn’t happen in practicality
The rich like to make more money so they invest and invest in market and you create a bubble in the stock market
Reduced national debt but should have reduced it more
Indirectly encouraged speculation on stock exchange by increasing holdings of the rich
THEORY of the trickle down economics is followed but no clear evidence that it will ever work–then or now