The Twenties, 1919-1929

“The Jazz Age”

I. A Booming Economy
II. The Business of Government
III. Clash of Values
IV. The New Mass Culture
V. The Harlem Renaissance
 4 Major Trends of the 1920s
1. The 1920s were a time of great
prosperity.
2. The 1920s were a time of great
tension between groups in society.
3. The 1920s were a time of great
creativity.
4. The 1920s were a time of great
inequality.
The Century: Americas Time 1920-1929: Boom to
Bust
 1920s Timeline
 1919—18th Amendment =Prohibition on alcohol
 1920—19th Amendment gave women the right to vote
 1921—Warren Harding, President, 1921-1923
 1922—Teapot Dome Scandal (government corruption)
 1923—Calvin Coolidge, President, 1923-1929
 1924—National Origins Act limits immigration to U.S.
 1925—Scopes Trial in TN: Science and Religion
 1927—The Jazz Singer, first talking movie
 1929—Herbert Hoover enters the White House
Stock Market Crashes
Prosperity of the 1920s ends
 The “New Economy”

1. After WWI, the American economy grew

rapidly.
2. With mass production, workers produced
more goods faster and cheaper than ever
before; they also began buying goods on credit.
3. The economic boom of the 1920s changed the
lives of millions of people and helped create our
modern consumer society of today.
 What factors drove the economic boom
of the 1920s?
Two Major factors:
 1. Europe had been devastated by war. The U.S.
was the only healthy industrial power in the
world.
 2. But the most important factor was new
technology and inventions led to
industrial expansion to produce
goods for the growing market
 New technology and products of the
1920s
1. Electric vacuum cleaners, refrigerators and freezers
2. Automatic washing machines
3. *** Radios
4. Scotch tape, Kleenex tissue paper, electric razor
5. Computers at MIT
6. Genetic Research
7. Faster Trains
8. Early stages of commercial aviation
It took over 100 years for the US Patent Office to issue its
millionth patent in 1911; within 15 years it issued its two-
millionth.
 *The Automobile was the most important
new technological invention of the 1920s:
 1. Automobile industry drove the booming
economy

 2. Autos led to the growth of other industries:

Steel, rubber, glass, gasoline, oil, road
construction, housing construction (suburbs),
motels, restaurants, gas stations
Henry Ford
 The Ford Assembly Line
Mass production=production of goods in
large numbers through the use of machinery
and assembly lines
Assembly line=arrangement of equipment
and workers in which work passes from
operation to operation in a direct line until
the product is assembled
Scientific management=experts study
ways to improve efficiency by studying
every step of the process
Innovation =change in way of doing
something
Model T=Henry Ford’s car many
Americans could afford
Henry Ford= his assembly line
revolutionized production, wages, and
working conditions, and daily life
Ford Assembly Line
1920s Gas Station
In 1929, the nation produced 5.5 million cars and 5 of every 6
cars in the world were owned by Americans.
 Automobiles transformed American
society:
 1. Drove the economy and promoted buying on
credit
 2. Social freedom, dating and privacy
 3. Drinking alcohol
 4. Cars were a status symbol
 5. Americans were mobile and took vacations
 6. Americans moved to the suburbs which
transformed cities
 7. Increased socialization, ended isolation
 8. Gave rise to a youth culture
“Story of Us” Video-Automobiles 12
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/
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tory+of+US+-+
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Advertising and Buying on Credit
Consumer revolution= more goods were affordable
and available to more people in American society
than ever before
The 1920s was the first true “Age of the
Consumer”

Installment purchases =customers would make

small down payment on an item and pay the rest in
monthly payments. Americans went into debt to
buy the consumer goods of the 1920s.
Walking ads for stockings
Movies of the
1920s
The Bull
Market of the
1920s
 The Bull Market
Bull Market=stock prices rose in the 1920s and
more Americans began to invest in stocks
Get rich quick!

Buying on Margin=to pay for stocks, many people

bought stocks on “credit” by only putting 10%
down. They believed they could pay the rest of the
cost with profits from the stock market.
Cities, Suburbs and the Country
Cities and suburbs grew and more
Americans moved to urban areas for
jobs and entertainment.
More skyscrapers were built.
Americans began to move to the
suburbs (Cars made travel in and
out of the city possible.)
Farmers were NOT prosperous.
Chrysler Building
First African American Union:
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
African Americans in office in
Hempstead, TX
Story of Us: Red Summer, 1919
Blacks migrate North during WWI for jobs
Racial tensions increase in cities in the North and West

Boom: 25:00 Chicago 1919, Red Summer

Farmers at the Market, 1920s
 Signs of the Booming Economy of the
1920s:
1.Wages rose from $36 billion to $51 billion
2. Gross National Product (GNP) jumped from $69
billion to $93 billion
3. Mass production led to lower prices for goods
4. US entered WWI a debtor nation and emerged the
largest creditor ($12 billion) Compared to other
nations, America was rich
5. Advertising increased and Americans bought goods
on credit
*In the 1920s, Americans had the highest per capita
income in the world.
 Republicans Dominate Politics of the
1920s

1. Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin

Coolidge and the government in the 1920s
supported business growth. Both believed in
a smaller federal government.

2. This is a part of a pattern in U.S. history

where economic cycles and government
action are tied together.
Republican Presidents of the 1920s

1. Warren Harding, 1920

2. Calvin Coolidge, 1923
3. Herbert Hoover, 1928
Republicans controlled
government for 12 years
Warren Harding, Ohio
WARREN HARDING (R), 1921-1923
Elected because he
promised a “Return to
Normalcy.”
Americans were tired of
war and Progressive reform
movements.
Harding promised smaller
government and lower
taxes.
“Ohio Gang” –Harding
placed his friends in public
 Harding’s Cabinet Members
1. Andrew Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury
Wealthy banker
Lowered taxes
Few regulations on businesses
2. Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Commerce
Promoted business

3. “Ohio Gang”-Harding’s corrupt and greedy friends who saw

government as a way to get rich. This leads several
scandals in the administration.
 Teapot Dome Scandal
Senator Albert Fall, Secretary of the
Interior, took bribes to lease lands with oil
reserves for the navy to businessmen. He
was convicted and served a year in jail.

Warren Harding died of a heart attack.

Calvin Coolidge became president.
 Warren Harding as President
Go to 13 minutes
The Presidents of the 1920s: Warren G. Harding
“Silent Cal”-Calvin Coolidge, 1923-29
 Calvin Coolidge and the Nation

1. Time of prosperity
2. Reduced the federal budget
3. Lowered taxes
4. Gave incentives to businesses
5. Believed in small government

“The chief business of the American people is

business.”

“The man who builds a factory, builds a temple.”

 America’s Role in the World
1. No war had been as deadly as World
War I.
2. All Americans agreed it should never
happen again
3. The U.S. and other nations took steps
to reduce weapons and avoid war.
U.S. International Affairs 1920-1929

GOAL U.S. Action

League of Nations To prevent war and W. Wilson wanted to

settle disputes join. U.S. Senate
between nations rejected membership

World Court To settle Warren Harding wanted

U.S. to participate;
international rejected by the U.S. Senate
disputes
Washington Naval To reduce the U.S. and other nations
Disarmament number of arms agreed to limit
construction of
Conference and size of navies
warships
of major powers
To “outlaw war….as U.S. and other nations
Kellogg- an instrument of agreed
Briand Pact national policy.”
Economic Question of 1920s: How do we
pay for WWI?
Dawes Plan-provided loans to
Germany so they could pay
their debts to Great Britain and
France (so they could pay the
U.S. )
This cycle of debt contributed
to the Great Depression.
Herbert Hoover, the Forgotten Progressive,
Elected in 1928
 1920s, Clash of Cultures: Many
Americans Resisted the Changes to
Society in 1920s
1. During the 1920s, the nation became increasingly
divided over major issues related to religion, science,
immigration, morality, and the changing economy.
2. These divisions increased tensions between those living
in urban areas and those living in rural areas.
 3. For the first time, urban Americans outnumbered rural
Americans. Many saw the new urban culture as a threat
to traditional values

Major Questions: What kind of nation are we?

 Terms to Know
Modernism-a growing trend that emphasized
science and secular values over traditional ideas
and religious beliefs.
Religious fundamentalism-belief in strict
interpretation of the Bible and that there are
“fundamental” truths based on scripture
Nativism-fear, suspicion, or resentment of
foreigners
 Clash of the Cultures, 1920s
City vs. Country
TRADITIONAL/ RURAL
VIEW MODERN/ URBAN VIEW
Religious Modern religion
fundamentalism Embraced science
Prohibition-end alcohol Promoted change
consumption Focus was more on the
Slower to embrace individual
change
Suspicious of foreigners
(nativism)
Three Examples of the conflicts created by
cultural change in the 1920s:
1. Debate over prohibition
2. The rise of nativism and the
New Ku Klux Klan
3. Religious fundamentalism
vs.
modern religion
(The Scopes Trial)
Prohibition: “Drys” vs the “Wets”
 History of U.S. Alcohol Consumption
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns
/prohibition/watch-video/#id=2082675582
Ken Burns: Prohibition Preview, 2 minutes
 Why did Americans outlaw alcohol in
1919?
Alcoholism, child abuse, injuries, job loss, gambling,
and prostitution were all connected to alcohol abuse.
Women were very active in the prohibition movement
The crusade against alcohol in the U.S. dated back to
the 1850s. Alcohol consumption in the 1800s and
early 1900s was much higher than today.
**During WWI, Americans argued the grain used to
make alcohol was needed for food.
Resentment toward German brewers in America after
WWI
http://www.history.com/videos/america
-goes-dry-with-prohibition
 The Laws (Prohibition)
18th Amendment to the
Constitution-(1919) prohibited
the distribution, sale, or
manufacture of alcohol.

Volstead Act (1920) law to

officially enforce the amendment.
 Stories from the Prohibition Period
Freddie Johnson, historian:
People made money during prohibition a number of rather
ingenious ways. One was right here in the city of Frankfurt that
went on for a number of years. There was one family that came
up with a system that was based on the delivery of milk in the
mornings. So what they did was they had their still located down
in the basement of their home in a little cellar. It was underneath
the mother's bedroom floor in the little cellar. And what she
would do is when they would make the moonshine they would
move the bed out of the way, move the throw rug, and they
would go down and they'd make a batch of hooch. Their little
truck was painted just like a milk truck. Their uniforms were
white and the jugs, they painted them up just like milk. And so
they would fill it up with moonshine. And they did this for years.
 Impact of Prohibition (1920s)
Alcohol consumption did drop for a short period, but
the law did not stop Americans from drinking.
Speakeasies were illegal bars for drinking “hooch” or
white lightning
An illegal trade in bootleg alcohol led to a rise in
organized crime and violence.
The most famous organized crime boss was Al Capone.
Bootleggers produced, transported and sold alcohol.
The issue of Prohibition divided America: Drys vs.
Wets
 TWO AMERICAS: Election of 1924
8 minutes
PBS Prohibition: Election 1924, A Divided America

WETS vs DRYS and KKK

Al Capone’s Hangout and Coroner’s Report

http://www.history.com/videos/al-capone
Largest moonshine still seized—”hooch” and white
lightning
Story of Us: 1920s Prohibition

(33:00)
 Nativism Increased in the 1920s
Nativism, resentment of foreigners, increased in the
1920s.
Americans argued they took jobs and threatened the
nation’s political, religious, and cultural traditions.
Two laws were passed that limited immigration:
Quota System
1. Emergency Quota Act (1921)
2. National Origins Act (1924)
Italian immigrants Sacco and Vanzetti (Italian
Immigrants) were convicted of murder based on
little evidence.
Rise in Nativism: Sacco and Vanzetti
Decline in
immigration to the
U.S. after the passage
of Emergency Quota
Act (1921) and
National Origins Act
(1924)
 The New Ku Klux Klan of 1920s
Connected to nativism, this organization persecuted Jews,
Catholics, African Americans, and immigrants.
“Old” Klan had been formed in the South after the Civil
War.
The “New” Klan was strong in the South , but also in the
Midwest (Indiana) and the Northeast.
Many Americans opposed the KKK:
NAACP
Jewish Anti-Defamation League
Klan members were often corrupt.
KKK Marches in Washington
KKK Initiation in Mississippi, 1923
 Religious Fundamentalism vs Modern Religion: Clash of
Values, 1920s
Scopes Trial, occurred in Dayton, TN to test the
Butler Law
Butler Law-forbade the teaching of evolution in
schools
John Scopes taught high school Dayton and had
assigned readings on the theory of evolution
The trial pitted Clarence Darrow against William
Jennings Bryan
The trial was a part of the debate between
modernism and fundamentalism in American Society
Religion and Science: the Ongoing
Debate
In 1632 Galileo
published his work on
the solar system
asserting that the earth
revolved around the sun
(heliocentric).
He was tried and
convicted of heresy and
sentenced to house
arrest.
Charles Darwin’s book, On the Origin of Species (1859) =Within
20 years it convinced most of the international scientific community
that evolution was a fact.
John Scopes and the Scopes Trial, Clash of Cultures
Science teacher in Dayton, TN who was
charged with violating a TN law that
banned the teaching of evolution in
schools. He was tried and found guilt.

Defense Attorney: Clarence Darrow

Prosecuting Attorney: William Jennings

Bryan
High School in Dayton, TN
 Outcome of the Scopes Trial
John Scopes was found guilty and fined $100.
William Jennings Bryan died 6 days later.
The case was appealed to the state supreme court
but overturned on a technicality.
Of the 15 states that banned the teaching of
evolution only two continued to enforce the law:
Mississippi and Arkansas
**The debate between science and religion
and what should be taught in schools
continues today.
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/
watch?videoId
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25&uploadUsername=
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 Why was the Scopes Trial so important
in American history?
It has been studied for 75 years
Scopes trial and the subsequent
dramatizations mirror a continuous cultural
conflict between different belief systems:
modernists and fundamentalists.
People were looking for meaning in an
increasingly complex world.
This is a common theme throughout history.
 Current and Future Debates Between
Science and Religion

Intelligent design or evolution?

Birth Control and Abortion
Stem Cell Research
Cloning
What types of changes and laws will
Americans support?
How will the government react?
 The Harlem Renaissance
Why It Matters:

1. Around WWI, African Americans

began to migrate from the South to
cities in the North.
2. This movement led to the rise of
jazz and literary traditions that
impacted all of American culture.
 Reasons Blacks Migrated North 1915-
1920s
Pull Factors
1. Seeking manufacturing jobs in the North
2. Greater political rights
3. Social advancement

Push Factors
1. Low paying jobs in the South
2. Jim Crow oppression and racism
3. Very few good schools
Blacks faced challenges in the North
Wages were better in the North
They still experienced racism and
segregation in Northern cities
Race riots occurred in cities across
the nation in 1919
Over 200,000 African Americans
settled in Harlem, a neighborhood in
New York City.
 The Jazz Age: 1920s
JAZZ-a style of music where musicians creatively combine
different forms of music often including blues and ragtime.
Improvisation-create music as you play
*Jazz-one of the only truly indigenous forms of American
music (created in this nation)
Jazz originated in New Orleans and moved North with the
migration.

JAZZ GREATS:
1. Louis Armstrong
2. Bessie Smith
Duke Ellington made his debut at the Cotton Club in
1927
Louis Armstrong

From New Orleans

Trumpet Player (soloist)
“Satchmo”
 Bessie Smith
“Empress of the Blues”
Singer (vocalist)
Jazz for Bears in the Park
 The Harlem Renaissance:
Harlem Renaissance-an explosion of African American
culture during the 1920s in the New York neighborhood of
Harlem of black writers, poets, artists and musicians.

African American Writers:

Claude McKay-writer who wrote about ordinary African
Americans struggling for dignity and advancement in the
face of discrimination.
Langston Hughes-the most powerful literary voice of his
time. He celebrated African culture and life.
Zora Neale Hurston –in her book, Their Eyes Were
Watching God, she talked about the independence women
were seeking in society.
Langston Hughes
Zora Neal Hurston
History Channel Video: Harlem Renaissance (3
min)
Significance of the Harlem Renaissance
of the 1920s
1. The movement gave a voice to
African American culture
2. Promoted black creativity and
pride in the African American
community
3. Jazz spread to Europe and
other nations around the world.
 N.A.A.C.P.-National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People founded in
1920
 Women in the 1920s
Young women were more independent
Voted, some went to college
Had more free time thanks to new technology-vacuum
cleaners, washing machines,…
Many young women worked: secretaries, teachers,
nurses
Became major consumers
Number of children declined,
New Ideal: “Flappers” –loose dresses, shorter dresses,
bobbed hair, smoking, consuming alcohol
 Education in the 1920s
***The number of Americans attending high school
grew rapidly (p447)
Americans were more informed because of radio and
newsmagazines (mass media)
Many realized they needed more education for the jobs
in society
More people attended college
Helped promote the rise of a YOUTH CULTURE:
Sports, time with friends, dancing, fads,
music
 Important Americans of 1920s
Charles Lindbergh—(1927) first nonstop flight from
New York to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis
Babe Ruth—Baseball great
F. Scott Fitzgerald –writer--coined the phrase “Jazz Age”,
criticized the excesses of the 1920s in The Great Gatsby
Earnest Hemingway—writer— A Farewell to Arms
Marcus Garvey --Black activist who promoted black
pride and a back to Africa movement
 Harlem Renaissance writers and artists: Langston
Hughes, Claude McKay, Zora Neal Hurston
Musicians of the 1920s: Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington,
Louis Armstrong, Paul Robeson
http://
www.history.com/shows/gangland/videos/playl
ists/historical-gangs#john-dillinger
Video: Fads of 1920s
Fads of the 1920s: Pole Sitting
Snapshot of 1920s, 10 minutes