1) The Twenties

a) After World War I, America would enter a new age of prosperity with
_________________, _________________, and electricity making life better.
b) American’s began focusing on making more ___money__ and enjoying themselves.
c) The 20s would be a period of economic prosperity and of new cultural values.
d) But, it didn’t start that way!
2) The Post War Recession
a) After World War 1, America went into a period of __isolationism__, refusing to be
drawn into Europe’s drama.
b) Government stopped spending money on the war effort.
c) Factories shut down to convert to making __civilian__ products.
d) Soldiers returned home from war and had a hard time finding work.
e) Farmers lost money since their European market was now gone.
3) THE RED SCARE
a) The end of World War 1 brought new fears to Americans about __Communists__,
___anarchists___, and __immigrants___.
b) In 1917, the Russians led by Lenin had a revolution, but instead of setting up a
democracy, it became a communist nation.
c) Communists threatened to spread their ___revolution___ to other nations in Europe.
d) When labor strikes hit the USA in 1919 many in the USA feared a communist revolution
happening in the U.S.
e) The Palmer Raids:
i) 1919, __Italian___ anarchists sets off a bomb at Attorney General Palmer’s house.
ii) It was one of series of attacks across America on that day.
iii) The nation demanded __action__ be taken.
iv) The US Attorney General rounded up suspected communists, without warrants, and
had them jailed or deported, often without any evidence of wrongdoing.
f) This new fear of communism led the government to violate many individuals civil rights.
g) Sacco and Vanzetti:
i) - Two __Italian__ immigrants who admitted to being communist were tried,
convicted, and executed of a robbery & murder on flimsy evidence.
ii) - Many thought they were __executed__ for being anarchists and communists.
h) This new fear of communism led the government to violate many individuals civil rights.
i) The RED SCARE, radical anarchist bombings, and the Sacco & Vanzetti trial led to a
rise in _nativism__ – the dislike of foreigners.
j) Nativists believed white _protestant__ Americans were superior to others.
k) These nativist attitudes would bring restrictions on immigration.
l) In the early 1900s over 70% of immigrants to the USA were from _Eastern_ and
__Southern__ Europe, they were the ‘New Immigrant’
4) Rise of Nativism
a) After World War 1, immigration was reduced to a _trickle_ as nativists pushed for
Congress to restrict European immigration for the first time.
b) The ‘New Immigrant’ without skills, education, or ability to _speak_ English was seen as
a threat to USA’s economic stability.
 c) These ‘New Immigrants’ settled in the cities and added to the _strain__ of providing
public services.
d) Immigration Acts of 1921, 1924, and 1929
i) These were laws designed to _keep__ immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe
out of America.
ii) Quotas were set allowing a certain number of immigrants from each nation to enter
the USA.
iii) Great Britain, Ireland, & Germany were allowed the __most__, while the ‘New
Immigrant’ was _limited_, and the Asians were totally stopped.
e) Eugenics
i) During the 1920s there was a belief in the _superiority__ of the Anglo-Saxon ‘race’.
ii) The theory of Eugenics was the belief that the human race could be improved by
breeding.
iii) Many held racist beliefs that light-skinned, _blond-haired__, blue-eyed people were
superior.
iv) Social Darwinism was the idea that the different races __competed__ for survival just
like plants and animals did, this explained that the rich were rich because they were
superior or better adapted.
5) Three Republican Presidents: Harding, Coolidge, & Hoover
a) During the 1920s, three Republicans would control the White House for __twelve__
years. They supported a laissez-faire policy of minimal government interference in
business activities. Warren Harding Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover
b) Pres. Warren G. Harding
i) In 1920, Warren Harding won the presidency in a __landslide___.
ii) Pres. Harding captured the national spirit with his campaign slogan of ‘return to
normalcy’.
iii) Harding focused less on __foreign__ policy and more on peace and prosperity at
home.
iv) Under Harding the USA refused to join the League of Nations, lowered taxes, and
restricted immigration.
v) Pres. Harding urged tolerance towards other races, supported greater rights for African
Americans, like __anti-lynching___ laws and tolerance of Jews.
vi) Pres. Harding appointed friends – the Ohio Gang - to positions of power.
vii) The Teapot Dome Scandal was one of the worst in history, as one of Harding’s
Cabinet members leased government land to friends for bribes.
viii) Additional scandals included Harding appointees stealing U.S.A.’s money.
6) Pres. Calvin Coolidge
a) Calvin Coolidge served as Pres. Harding’s Vice Pres., when Harding died, Coolidge
became President.
b) Coolidge was re-elected again in 1924 on a __pro-business__ policy and the slogan
“Keep Cool With Coolidge”.
c) “Silent Cal’ had a _motto__ of: “the business of America is business.”
d) The U.S. economy boomed under Coolidge, in fact some say that his laissez-faire attitude
towards the economy led to over speculation that resulted in the stock market crash.
7) Pres. Herbert Hoover
a) Herbert Hoover organized U.S. food production in WW1 and predicted the end of
__poverty__ if elected president.
b) Hoover was impressed with the achievement of business in raising the standard of living
in America.
c) Hoover said this ‘__rugged individualism__‘ had happened because:
i) Individuals were given equal opportunities,
ii) They had a free education,
iii) They had a will to succeed
d) Hoover felt too much government interference in business would ruin a good thing.
8) Age of Mass Consumption: Factors Responsible for the Prosperity of the 1920s
9) The Rise of the Automobile
a) The single most important factor behind the prosperity of the 1920s was the expanded use
of the _automobile___.
b) Cars greatly affected all aspects of American life, as ownership rose from 8 to _24__
million owners.
c) By 1929 1 out of every 9 jobs was in an __auto-related__ business.
d) It also stimulated other industries like oil, steel, glass, & rubber.
e) Cars gave people mobility.
f) Families went on vacations or to visit relatives.
g) People moved out of inner cities to the suburbs.
h) School buses allowed rural __student__ to attend school regularly for the first time.
i) Rural people were no longer as isolated.
j) Henry Ford
i) Henry Ford didn’t invent the car, but he did perfect a way to make them cheaper and
faster so more people could afford a car.
ii) Ford pioneered the use of the __assembly line___ to mass produce cars.
iii) By 1924 Ford was producing one car every 10 seconds at a price of $300 per car.
iv) He increased workers’ _wages__ so they could afford to buy a car and other goods
being mass produced.
10) Rise of Other New Industries
a) The 1920s saw new discoveries and inventions in almost every field, opening the way for
many new businesses.
b) Inventions made improvements in transmitting __electricity__ to homes, businesses, &
factories.
c) New household appliances like vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, toasters, coffee makers,
stoves, radios, and motion pictures made life easier and more fun.
d) First Flights
i) ___Wright___ Brothers – in 1902 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina became first to fly.
ii) Glenn Curtiss – in 1908 designed a __seaplane__ that could take off and land on water.
iii) Curtiss eventually flew his ___hydroeroplane__ and marked the birth of the U.S. Naval
aviation.
e) More Efficient Production Techniques
 i) New manufacturing techniques, such as the assembly line, led to improved
_efficiency__.
ii) As efficiency increased consumers benefitted from lower prices for goods.
iii) An unintended consequence of this improved efficiency was that skilled workers were
no longer needed leading to an increase in unemployment.
iv) Production techniques changed and so did patterns of __consumption___.
v) Goods began to be mass marketed on a national level.
vi) __advertising___ stimulated demand.
vii) Workers were receiving higher wages and they had more money to spend and also
more leisure time.
viii) The more money a person made the more things thing’s they wanted to buy.
ix) Consumers for the first time began buying on credit.
x) VISA, MasterCard, and other credit cards were not yet around, but __installment__
plans were easy for a person to pay a small down payment and take the item home and
then pay a little each month.
xi) Suddenly Americans were in __debt___!
11) Speculation Boom
a) Speculation is the purchase of an item, not for personal use, but in the __hope__ of selling
it later at a higher price, to make a quick n’ easy profit!
b) 1920s saw millions speculate in the __stock market__ and in real estate (buying property).
c) The price of a share of a corporation skyrocketed as more and more people began to
invest in the stock market.
12) Uneven Prosperity
a) But not everyone shared in the prosperity of the 1920s.
b) A small percentage of Americans had the largest percent of the wealth.
c) With new farm equipment, electricity & fertilizers costs, farmers faced lower incomes
due to __overproduction__ of crops.
d) Textile workers faced competition for jobs with __immigrants__.
e) Minority Groups faced discrimination.
13) Temperance Movement and Prohibition
i) During the Progressive Era the growth of Temperance Movement (those against the
drinking of __alcohol__) led to the passage of 18th Amendment.
ii) The Temperance Movement thought that drinking alcohol was sinful, led to crime,
and domestic violence.
iii) Frances Willard was an outspoken leader of Temperance Movement, women’s rights,
women’s suffrage & better __working__ conditions for labor.
b) Prohibition - 18th Amendment
i) In 1919, the U.S. Congress passed the __18th__ Amendment to the Constitution which
banned the manufacture, sale, or distribution of alcohol.
ii) But instead of people obeying the law there was a growing disrespect for the law.
iii) __Speakeasies__ and bootlegging alcohol allowed the average consumer to obtain
liquor without any problems.
c) Prohibition - 18th Amendment
 i) Many Americans believed that Prohibition tried to force one group’s __morals___ on
others.
ii) Still others opposed Prohibition because it closed breweries, bars, and distilleries
where thousands worked.
iii) Many said that Prohibition led to an increase in organized crime, the gangsters which
willingly supplied illegal __booze___ to consumers became rich and famous.
iv) By 1933, the American public saw that Prohibition was a ‘failed experiment’.
v) People had been unwilling to accept the law, Pres. Harding even served alcohol in the
White House.
vi) The 21st Amendment __repealed__ or did away with Prohibition.
vii) Prohibition proved that unpopular laws are often unenforceable.
14) The Bible vs. Science: Fundamentalism vs. Modernism
15) The Scopes Monkey Trial In the 1920s many southern states passed laws making it
illegal to teach Darwin’s Theory of Evolution in schools. John Scopes taught evolution in his
Tennessee Biology class and was arrested and put on trial for it. The Scopes Monkey Trial
became the most sensational trial of the decade.
a) William Jennings Bryan ___prosecuted___ John Scopes and Clarence Darrow defended
him.
b) The Scopes Trial was the first trial to be broadcast over radio, as it pitted older religious
beliefs against newer scientific theories,
c) Darrow cross-examined Bryan about inconsistencies in the ___Bible__ and made him
look old school and out of touch with the modern world.
d) The result of the trial was that Scopes was found __guilty___ and fined $1.
16) The Emergence of New Values
a) Traditional values that had existed in America before the 1920s were found to be old and
__outdated__. Instead the 1920s led to newer, more modern values which encouraged a
greater openness and self-expression.
b) Changes in music, art, literature, and sexuality provided the opportunity for
__expression__ of these freedoms.
c) Changing Roles of Women
i) Women had demonstrated their abilities during World War I.
ii) A booming economy created new jobs & more women began working outside the
_home__.
iii) Women wanted __equality__ with men in all areas.
iv) In 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women suffrage or the right to vote. These women
worked for women’s suffrage
v) A new independent attitude began to appear among young, urban women.
vi) These new women came to be known as ___flappers___.
vii) These flappers took more risks, __cut__ their hair short, wore short skirts, smoked
and drank in public, danced, and even chewed gum.
d) Flappers came to symbolize the new freedoms that many women felt during the 1920s
i) Women of today owe a great deal to the flappers who helped women gain their
__independent___ spirit!
e) Tin Pan Alley
 i) Following the Civil War, thousands of pianos were sold, as a result the sale of
__sheet____ exploded.
ii) Around 1910, New York City became the music __publishing__ capital.
iii) Tin Pan Alley, a section of New York, was the center of this activity.
iv) Song-writing and musical ideas mixed together to form American popular music.
v) Publisher found that average people bought sheet music for popular tunes, just so they
could play this music at home.
vi) __Vaudeville___ became the most popular form of entertainment and its shows had a
great need for music.
vii) Musicians like, Scott Joplin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin
became famous.
f) Youth and the Lost Generation
i) During the 1920s, young adults were responsible for zany fads, like __fads__ sitting
and ___marathon___ dancing.
ii) Dances like the Charleston became wildly popular.
iii) New words came into use
iv) A new group of writers, known as the “___Lost Generation___”, rejected the desire for
material wealth.
v) These writers believed they did not fit the patterns of everyday life after the
__horrors___ of World War I.
vi) The Lost Generation felt America had become overly materialistic and lacked
spirituality.
g) The Great Migration
i) During the 1920s many African Americans began moving out of the South to the
‘Promised Land’ of the Northern cities.
ii) This mass movement became known as the Great Migration.
iii) They left in search of __jobs__ in the industrial cities, and to escape sharecropping,
tenant farming, and the deep racism of the South.
iv) It changed the culture of these northern cities, especially __Harlem___, a section of
New York.
h) The Harlem Renaissance
i) The 1920s is often called the __Jazz Age__, because of the importance of the new
form of African American music.
ii) This ‘rebirth’ in the interest of the African American culture became known as the
“Harlem Renaissance”.
iii) The Renaissance was more than just about the __music__, it included dance, visual
arts, literature, and poetry.
iv) Langston Hughes – writer/poet who expressed his pride in his heritage as well as
attacking ___racism__.
v) Countee Cullen – won more major __literary___ awards than any other African
American writer.
vi) Zora Neale Hurston – one of first successful African American women writers, her
greatest novel “Their Eyes Watching God”
17) Popular New Heroes
 i) The 1920s saw people have more leisure time and a greater opportunity for
entertainment.
ii) The American public embraced _spectator__ sports, the radio, movies, and magazines.
iii) On the _radio_ people tuned into hear drama, crime, or mystery stories.
iv) Charlie Chaplin was one of the early movie stars. Charlie Chaplin movie It happened
in the 1920s
b) Charles Lindbergh
i) In the 1920s a $25,000 reward was offered to the 1st person to fly across the Atlantic
Ocean to deliver the mail.
ii) On May 20, 1927, Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly solo across the
___Atlantic___.
iii) Lindbergh’s flight made him a national hero and he opened the way for
__commercial__ flights between America and Europe!
c) Popular New Heroes
i) Sports figures became legendary heroes during the 1920s,
d) Summary of the Roaring 20s
i) The 1920s was a time of great excitement and rapid changes that ended with a crash!
ii) The 1920s started out slowly but grew into a period of great prosperity.
iii) A fear of communism, immigrants, & alcohol helped create feelings of mistrust,
hatred, and unlawfulness.
iv) Women’s suffrage, flappers, Ford cars, the Harlem Renaissance, and new technologies
made the 1920s
v) an exciting time to live.
vi) The 20s roared until the stock market crashed and brought on the Great Depression.