The Twenties

Part I

Key Factors Shaping

the 1920s
 The Roaring Twenties
The social and political
developments which had
begun in the late 19th
century reached fruition
in the twenties, and the
U.S. emerged as a
civilization that was
modern, increasingly
secular, and
materialistic.
 MODERNISM VS.
TRADITIONALISM
• A key feature of the 1920s was the tension caused
between Modernists and Traditionalists. Many times
this resulted in urban vs. rural and young vs. old.
• This focused on changing life-styles and technology but
more importantly on values and philosophy. In general,
Modernists (today called Liberals), for the most part,
were more secular and collectivist. Traditionalists
(today called Conservatives) were more biblically
religious and individualist.
• These differences manifested in economics, politics,
and culture.
 Factors Molding the 1920s
Three major developments shaped the 1920s.
1. World War I
2. The Modernist Culture.
3. The Mass Production/Mass Consumption Society.
 World War I
Americans were disillusioned with the results of the War.
They had sacrificed, believing their efforts would make the
world safe for democracy and bring a lasting peace. They
were disillusioned by the Versailles negotiations and
concerned about the instability resulting from the
communist revolution in Russia.

Fruits of War First League Meeting

 Problems of Demobilization

In addition, they were confronted with problems resulting from

demobilization including:
1. Deflation due to Federal Reserve raising the Discount Rate
(interest rate) too high, too rapidly. Result was 1920-21 high
unemployment.
2. A swollen labor pool, the result of returning veterans and
European immigrants.
3. Cuts in war-time production and dumping of cheap European
goods, which threatened existing jobs.
4. Labor dissatisfaction, resulting in violent strikes and a fear of
radicalism. Theses strikes hurt the supply of goods.
 Red Summer, 1919
The summer of 1919 witnessed several racial lynchings
and race riots in both the North and South, a result of
1. Social and economic gains by blacks during the war.
2. Rise in black expectations as a result of the war.
3. White fears of the changing status of blacks.

Race Riot, Tulsa, 1921 Lynching

 Red Scare, 1919-1920
The Red Scare, an anti-communist crusade led by Attorney
General A. Mitchell Palmer, was an outgrowth of
1. The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, combined with the world
revolutionary zeal of the Third International and communist
successes in post-war Europe. Communists threatened world
dominance.
2. Violent activities of radicals and anarchists in the U.S.
(including the mail bomb incidents).
3. Fear of radicalism (Marxism) in the labor movement, a result
of the strikes of 1919.
 Palmer Raids
The Palmer raids were directed against political
radicals and labor agitators. Based on information
gathered by the head of the new General
Intelligence Division of the Justice Department, J.
Edgar Hoover, police rounded up immigrant
radicals in December 1919, and deported
J. Edgar Hoover
them. In January, some 6000 people
were seized and lodged on Ellis
Island to await deportation.
Ultimately, the Red Scare faded
when disruptions predicted for May
1, 1920, did not materialize.

Palmer and Associates

 Sacco-Vanzetti Case
Sacco and Vanzetti, Italian-born radical anarchists, were arrested,
tried, convicted, and executed for a 1921 payroll robbery and
murder in South Braintree, Massachusetts. The case divided the
country as some believed the two were unjustly convicted.

Sacco Vanzetti Despite public protests, Sacco and

Vanzetti were executed in 1927.
 National Origin Acts
Immigration restriction, a result of economic worries about jobs
and low wages, and fear of foreign radicals, was achieved through
the National Origin Acts. Essentially, Americans attempted to
freeze the national composition, racially, ethnically, and
religiously, by setting quotas on
immigration from each
foreign nation (although
there were no quota
limitations for western
hemisphere nations). This
shut the door to many
desiring to immigrate from
Ellis Island become much less active as a
southern and eastern Europe. result of the National Origin Acts of the
1920s
 Rise of the Modernist Culture
New currents in science and social thought
shook the nation’s faith in an ordered
universe. Among these were

Charles Darwin’s Karl Marx’s emphasis Sigmund Freud’s

biology, which on impersonal psychology which
portrayed man as kin economic forces showed man as driven
to apes. which drove men. by subconscious needs.
 Relativity
In addition, the discoveries of Albert
Einstein and his contemporaries
were applied to social issues. Their
findings suggested that the universe
was not governed by laws which
man could unravel; instead, human
knowledge had limits. The ideas of
relativity and uncertainty led some
intellectuals to a denial of absolute
values in any area of society, thus
undermining the concepts of
personal responsibility and absolute
truth, especially as revealed in the
Albert Einstein
Bible.
 Flaming Youth and Flappers
Some Americans welcomed this denial of
absolutes and effected a revolution in
morals, aided by the speakeasy, and the
motion picture theater.

Soda Fountain

Speakeasy Paradise Model T

 The “It” Crowd
At the movies, they saw sex symbols such as Clara Bow (the
“It Girl”), Theda Bara (the Vamp) and Rudolph Valentino
and watched pictures such as “Forbidden Fruit,” “Week-End
Wives,” “Parlor, Bedroom, and Bath,” and “Love Mart.”

Clara Bow Rudolph Valentino Theda Bara

 Flaming Youth (cont.)
Their songs--”Show Me the Way to Go Home,” “Makin’
Whoopee,” “Hot Lips,” and “Hot Mama” suggested
drunkenness and passion, their dress revealed erogenous zones
such as the ankles, and their language included forbidden words
such as arm, leg, breast, and even sex.

1920 day wear 1925 day wear 1926 evening wear

 Reaction
The older generation was horrified, attributing all that was
perverse in their society to the city and its corner saloon, boss
government, immigrants, and skepticism of the literal
interpretation of the Bible. But, at second glance, the youth of
the 1920s seem to be engaged in a revolution in attitude rather
than a sexual revolution.
 Mass Production/Consumption
By the 1920s, industrial growth and consolidation was
concentrated in consumer industries, making big business
and the public increasingly interdependent. Business
needed mass consumption of its products, while the public
looked to business not only for products but also for jobs.
The result was the development of new forms of
1. Distribution.
2. Credit.
3. Advertising
Distribution
To reach the consumer, new forms of
distribution emerged, such as the chain
department store, the supermarket, and the
drugstore.
Penney (left) and
Walgreen led in new
marketing techniques.
 Credit
To enable the public to consume at the required rate, new forms of
credit were needed. Financial institutions arose to meet this need,
while corporations also entered into installment purchasing
arrangements (1915).
 Advertisement
Businesses also had to
create a consumer
mentality, hence the
advertising industry arose,
not only to hawk the
products of American
industry but also to create
a demand for these
products. Thus the
consumer needed the
product to be attractive or
socially acceptable, to
Listerine ad stresses impress his friends, or to Pet stresses convenience,
personal appeal save time. being a good homemaker.
 Advertising (2)
Employing all forms of the media, the advertising executives
reshaped American expectations and goals and created a
credo of sustained consumption.

Better than
Refrigerator will Become part of elite,
Cleopatra’s jewels!
be source of pride. use Maxwell House.
Conclusion

The clash between the new, modernist, secular lifestyle which

was bringing major changes to American life and the
traditional lifestyle whose adherents felt threatened by this
change and who resisted it with reactionary responses
determined the political, economic, and social atmosphere of
the 1920s.
 Politics
In the twenties, Americans abandoned utopianism and sought
stability, a return to traditional values, and an absence of rapid
change. The result was a decline of progressivism and an
emphasis on prosperity, order, and business. The Republican
Party and its
philosophy of individualism and
personal responsibility dominated the
national government.
 Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding, Senator from
Ohio, was elected president in 1920 in
an election Wilson had billed as a
“solemn referendum on the League of
Nations.” Rather, Americans voted for
Harding and the promise of
“normalcy.” People wanted to be free
of federal government interference;
the result was a renewed emphasis on
economic freedom.
 Harding Scandals
Harding’s administration was riddled
with scandal. Among the most famous
was Teapot Dome. Secretary of the
Interior Albert B. Fall and Secretary
of the Navy Edwin Denby entered into
a corrupt alliance with oilmen Edward
Doheny and Harry S. Sinclair which
gave the latter control of immensely
valuable naval oil reserves in return
for bribes. Ultimately, Denby and Fall
were forced to resign, the oil leases
were cancelled, and Fall and Sinclair Two views of Teapot Dome
were sent to prison.
 Harding’s Private Life
In addition, Harding, although married, had a long-time
mistress and had fathered a child by a third woman, Nan
Britton. He and his Ohio Gang friends frequented the “little
green house” on H Street, which was the scene of a suicide and
was tainted by rumors of orgies and homosexual activities
(Harding was NOT gay). And despite national prohibition, he
employed a bootlegger for the White House and held frequent
poker parties where booze was served.

Harding and wife

(left); Carrie
Phillips, long-
term mistress
(center); Nan
Britton, mother
of child (right)
 President Coolidge
Harding died while on a trip to the west coast and Alaska in
the summer of 1923, and Calvin Coolidge became president.
“Silent Cal” had gained fame as a
result of his strong stand against the
Boston Police Strike. One of the
most popular of American
presidents, he represented the
virtues and nostalgic longings of
Americans for their small-town New
England roots. The scrupulously
honest Coolidge proved a breath of
fresh air after the scandals of the
Harding Administration.
 Coolidge Administration
Coolidge, like Harding relied heavily on key
cabinet officers including Secretary of State
Charles Evans Hughes, Secretary of Commerce
Herbert Hoover, and, most especially, Secretary
of the Treasury Andrew Mellon. Mellon and
Coolidge agreed that the government’s purpose
Andrew Mellon
was to encourage business and oppose
business’ enemies, thus the
business community was
encouraged to create jobs
and wealth and freedom of
the individual in economic
matters was promoted. Charles Evans
Hughes Herbert Hoover
 Election of 1928
While the popular Coolidge could have won re-election in
1928, he decided to retire. The popular (but not with
Coolidge), but progressive, Secretary of Commerce Herbert
Hoover, who had first gained fame as war-time Food
Administrator, headed the Republican ticket, while the
Democrats nominated the Governor of New York, Al Smith,
who was a Catholic.

Herbert Hoover
Al Smith