ch 21 history

Chapter 21 The Twenties

Section 1: A Republican Decade

I. The Red Scare – referred to the strong fear in U.S. society of Communism and other radical political ideas.

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A major cause of this fear was the communist Revolution in Russia. Lenin’s government took over vast amounts of

private property and suppressed people’s rights.

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Lenin also created the Communist International which vowed to help spread Communism to the rest of the world.

A. Schenk vs. The United States – (1919) Supreme Court case; Charles Schenk and Elizabeth Baer were socialists who

had been convicted of violating the Espionage Act.

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Schenk had distributed a pamphlet urging men who had been drafted to resist going into the military. He claimed he

was simply practicing his First Amendment right of free speech.

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The Supreme Court ruled against Schenk stating that the government had the right to limit free speech when it

presented a,

“clear and present danger,

” to the country

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This decision was used to justify increased police activity against “radical” groups.

B. Palmer Raids - Law enforcement raids, organized by Wilson’s Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, in November of

1919 and January of 1920, in which thousands of people were arrested.

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The raids targeted political radicals (Communists, Socialists, and Anarchists). Most of the people arrested had

committed no crimes. Many of them were immigrants.

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Over 500 immigrants were deported, with little justification.

One of those deported was Emma Goldman; she was targeted because she was a well known radical. She had toured

the country giving lectures on controversial topics.

C.

“Red Summer” As more and more African Americans migrated into cities from the rural South, hostility between

whites and blacks increased.

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In the summer of 1919, race riots occurred in many cities across the nation, the worst of which took place in Chicago

and Arkansas.

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These riots left hundreds of people dead, mostly black men. They also destroyed homes and businesses. Thousands of

black families became homeless and were sometimes forced to move out of the towns they had lived in.

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Woodrow Wilson refused to allow Federal Troops to be used to stop violence against blacks in Southern States

claiming that it was a local matter.

D. Sacco & Vanzetti Trial (1920) - involved two Italian immigrants arrested for murdering the paymaster of a

Massachusetts shoe factory.

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The evidence against the pair was questionable, but they were convicted and sentenced to death.

Many believed that they had not received a fair trial because they were immigrants and admitted to being anarchists.

Sacco & Vanzetti were executed in 1927, amid international protest.

II. Labor Unrest – In 1919, there were over 3,600 strikes in the U.S.

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These strikes were largely the result of a rise in the cost of living and the desire for higher wages, and concerns about

job security.

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Another contributing factor was that many businesses refused to continue to recognize and negotiate with unions

now that the regulations in place during the war were removed.

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Many Americans believed that the numerous strikes were the work of Communist subversives hoping to overthrow

the government.

A. ●

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Boston Police Strike – Boston police had been fighting for a pay raise when 19 officers were fired for union activity.

In response, the entire police force went on strike.

Lack of a police force led to rioting in Boston.

Mass. Governor Calvin Coolidge denounced the strike and called in the National Guard to restore order.

The entire police force was fired and a new one was formed.

B. Steel Workers Strike – Included 350,000 steel workers who walked off the job in numerous cities.

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They demanded an eight-hour workday and recognition of their union●

Employers used violence against the strikers; in Gary, Indiana 18 workers were killed in a riot. The strike eventually

collapsed.

C. Coal Strike – Involved the United Mine Workers (UMW) that had shown some cooperation during the war. They

now struck for better pay and a shorter workweek.

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Attorney General Palmer obtained a court order instructing the miners to go back to work.

The UMW canceled the strike; however, workers eventually received a raise.

III. Republican Presidents – supported less restriction of business, a return to isolationism, disarmament, and restriction

of immigration.

A. ●

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Warren G. Harding – elected in 1920, his campaign promised a “return to normalcy” for the U.S.

Harding pursued a foreign policy of isolationism. Accordingly, the U.S. remained absent from the League of Nations.

1921 Washington Conference - The U.S. and several other countries agreed to limit the size of their navies.

1922, Fordney-McCumber Tariff – protected U.S. industries by raising tariffs on imported goods.

Nativism was again a growing sentiment among Americans. In 1921, Harding asked Congress to limit immigration

by setting quotas (350,000 per year). Quotas favored Northern & Western Europe. (Emergency Quota Act 1921 -

institutes 3% quota.

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National Origins Act 1924 - sts 2% quota - Expands the “Asiatic Barred Zone” that was created in 1917)

B. Teapot Dome Scandal – a number of officials in Harding’s administration turned out to be corrupt.

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A number of officials took part in scandals involving bribery, fraud, and embezzlement of government funds.

The most famous scandal involved Secretary of the Interior, Albert B. Fall, who received over $300,000 in bribes

from two businessmen in exchange for drilling rights on government-owned oil fields in Teapot Dome, Wyoming and

Elk Hills, California.

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Shortly after these scandals, Harding died of a heart attack.

C. ●

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Calvin Coolidge – became president in 1923 when Harding died.

Coolidge took a laissez-faire approach to dealing with business (“The business of the American people is business.

”).

The Coolidge administration continued to pursue isolationism and disarmament.

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) involving 62 countries, it outlawed war as an instrument of foreign policy.

In 1928, Coolidge chose not to run for re-election. Herbert Hoover received the Republican nomination and was

elected president.

Section 2: A Business Boom

A. Economic Growth - During the 1920s the U.S. economy grew tremendously based on the sale of consumer items

(consumer economy).

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American workers had earned higher wages than ever before during WWI.

The availability of consumer goods had been limited during the war and many people had invested in war bonds as a

way of saving for the future.

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This growth was fueled largely by increased use of credit to purchase consumer items. Installment buying allowed

people to make more purchases then they could if they had to pay all at once.

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There were many new consumer items developed, many of which used electric power (sewing machines, electric

toasters, vacuums, refrigerators).

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Distribution and consumption of electric power grew rapidly, mainly in cities. Rural areas still had little access to

electricity.

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Growth in business was also facilitated by Republicans laissez-faire economic policies.

B. Automobile Industry – was the most important industry in the expansion of the American economy.

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Henry Ford revolutionized the industry through the use of the motorized assembly line, which allowed his factories to

produce a new car about every 24 seconds.

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This mass production lowered Ford’s costs and the price of the automobile. For the first time, cars became affordable

to the average consumer.

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Emergence of the auto industry fueled the growth of many other businesses, from materials used in production (steel,

glass, rubber) to related businesses (gasoline, auto mechanics, motels).Section 3: Society in the 1920s

A. Behavior - for much of America's youth became more unrestrained than it had been in the past.

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Dance halls became a popular attraction where men and women socialized in public together.

Some young women became known as "flappers.

" They were rebellious in their dress and behavior. They often

smoked and drank in public and went out unaccompanied.

B. Women in Society - The majority of women did not behave as flappers did, but their roles did change to some degree.

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After 1920, women had the right to vote and became more active in politics. Women began to make up a larger

percentage of the workforce. However, it was often in low paying, service-oriented jobs, such as secretaries, sales

clerks, and telephone operators.

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The female workforce was made up largely of single women; many women left their jobs when they got married.

C. Demographics - During the 1920s, Americans continued to move away from rural areas towards cities and suburbs.

For the first time more Americans lived in cities than in rural areas.

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Suburbs continued to grow along with improvements in transportation, especially the increased availability of the

automobile.

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African Americans continued to move from the South to Northern cities, such as Chicago, Detroit and New York.

Harlem's black population grew from 14,000 in 1914 to 200,000 by 1930.

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African Americans moved north for higher paying factory jobs, and to escape the segregation and racism of the South.

They still encountered discrimination in the North, especially from working class whites who feared competition for

their jobs.

D. Heroes - Some Americans looked to heroes for a sense of virtue that they felt had been lost in American society.

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Charles Lindbergh became an enormous national hero in 1927 when he became the first man to make a solo flight

across the Atlantic.

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Amelia Earhart became the first woman to make this flight in 1932.

Sports grew in popularity and provided heroes such as Jack Dempsey and Babe Ruth.

Section 4: Mass Media and the Jazz Age

A. Growth of Mass Media - Movies, newspapers, and radio expanded and influenced the ideas and culture of the entire

nation.

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Filmmaking, based in Hollywood, CA, became the fourth largest industry in the nation. In 1927, The Jazz Singer was

released. It was the first “talkie” or film with sound.

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Newspapers grew in size and distribution and they often reported on the same stories nationwide.

Radio became a fixture in American households during the 1920s. Between 1920 and 1930, the number of homes with

radios rose from 20,000 to almost 14 million.

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The radio gave people access to news on an almost immediate basis. They could hear about events from across the

nation and around the world.

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This growth in mass media led to a closer connection between the different regions of the United States and caused

greater similarity in beliefs and culture. (“national culture”)

B. Jazz - A distinctly American style of jazz developed from African traditions blended with black music of the

American south, it featured lively rhythms and improvisation.

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Jazz became the most popular style of music in the U.S. and its popularity spread to Europe. It was played on radios,

in dance halls, and in jazz clubs.

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Popular artists included Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. The most important center for jazz clubs was Harlem,

NY .

C. ●

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Literature - The 1920s saw a number of successful American authors.

One group of writers became known as the “Lost Generation” because they depicted a very negative view of U.S.

society and the world in general. This group included F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway.

Another movement, based largely in literature, was the Harlem Renaissance. This was an important development of

African American culture and also included music and various other art forms.

Harlem Renaissance writers included, Zora Neale Hurston, Cluade McKay, Countee Cullen, Allain Locke, and

Langston Hughes.Section 5: Cultural Conflicts

American society was divided between traditional and modern views on many issues. One of the sharpest contrasts

in values existed between people in rural parts of the country and those living in cities.

A. ●

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Prohibition – went into effect January 1920 and was called the “noble experiment.

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The ban on alcohol was obeyed to a large degree in the rural areas, but was widely violated in cities.

The continued demand for alcohol made bootlegging highly profitable, since the market was now closed to legitimate

businesses.

Alcohol was smuggled in from Canada and the Caribbean or was homemade. People often drank in illegal bars called

speakeasies.

Bootlegging provided an enormous source of income for organized crime groups. This increased their power and

influence. They often paid off police, politicians, and judges.

Crime organizations were also involved with gambling, prostitution, and racketeering. Rivalries between different

groups often led to violence, including gunfights. One of the most notorious gangsters was Chicago’s Al Capone.

B. ●

Religion – some Americans believed that Christianity was being threatened by modern society. One response was the

Fundamentalist movement which believed in a literal interpretation of the Bible.

Scopes Trial (1925) – involved a challenge to a Fundamentalist-inspired law in Tennessee that prohibited teaching the

theory of evolution in public schools.

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The challenge was instigated by a new organization known as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The trial represented a battle between traditional and modern cultures and was widely covered by the media. Two

famous lawyers were involved: William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution and Clarence Darrow for the defense.

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The trial was widely covered by the media, and broadcast on radio. Fundamentalist views were largely discredited

when Darrow questioned Bryan on the witness stand.

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The schoolteacher, Scopes, was found guilty and fined 100 dollars. The ruling was later dismissed on a technicality,

and the case never reached the Supreme Court as the ACLU had hoped.

C. Racial Tensions

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In 1915, in the South, the Ku Klux Klan, which had largely died out during Reconstruction, was revived. By 1924, it

had over four million and had spread to the North and West.

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The new Klan targeted not only African Americans but Catholics, Jews and immigrants as well.

By 1927, Klan activity declined due to increased law enforcement activity against them and scandal among its

leadership.

D. The Garvey Movement - Marcus Garvey was an immigrant from Jamaica who brought his Universal Negro

Improvement Association (UNIA) to the United States in 1916.

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Garvey encouraged African Americans to increase their pride and self respect. He said that blacks should work

together to improve their economic standing.

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He also preached resistance to assimilating into white society.

Garvey launched a plan for relocating blacks to Africa. The UNIA collapsed when Garvey was deported back to Jamaica. This plan eventually got him convicted of business fraud.

However, ideas of “black pride” persisted in the

United State