The Roaring Twenties

1. The Roaring Twenties South Carolina History Standard 8-6.2 Explain the causes and effects of changes in SC and the nation as a whole in the 1920s, including Prohibition, the destruction caused by the boll weevil, the rise of mass media, improvements in daily life, increases in tourism and recreation, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, and the contributions of Scers to the Harlem Rennaisance and the Southern Literary Renaissance.

2. America the Story of US • 1) What happened that resulted in the first African American congressman in the Northto be voted into office? • 2) What is the Billy Sunday preaching against? • 3)What does the 18th amendment do? • 4) What is a moonshiner (or bootlegger)? • 5) What were the effects of the Valentine’s Day Massacre? • 6) What crime does the FBI charge Al Capone with? • 7) What amendment makes this possible? • 8) What is the connection between Al Capone and Prohibition? • 9) Prohibition ends in ________________ because ____________________________________________.

3. Prohibition • A law forbidding the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol. • Officially began with the ratification of the 18th amendment in 1920. • The law turned out to be a disaster. • Citizens found ways to produce and purchase alcohol, and organized criminals were the ones who profited. • 21st amendment repealed the laws of Prohibition. • -video clip on crime

4. Speakeasies • Prohibition was supposed to reduce crime and poverty and improve the quality of life in America. • People still found drink and entertainment in speakeasies. • A speakeasy was a nightclub that operated illegally during Prohibition.

5. In the 1920’s, racism is everywhere in America. There is fear of foreigners and their different/new ideas. • What problems were faced by German Americans during the Great War? • How were African Americans treated in the US military? • What was the “Red Summer” of 1919?

6. I will be taking some of you on a free trip to Jamaica. • We will fly on a private jet to Miami. From there, we will ride on a cruise ship to Jamaica. • We will spend two weeks in Jamaica, sunbathing, swimming, going on ziplines, • surfing and eating the most • delicious food.

7. Who gets to go? • Economic Issues: I only have enough money to take 9 of you. • From each class, I will be taking 8students with first names that begin with an A-G. • I will choose 1 student at random with a first name that begins with an H-Z. • Is this a fair way to decide? • Why or why not?

8. Immigration Quota System: in the 1920’s, a law was passed that allowed a certain number of people from each country to immigrate to the US. However, like our Jamaica trip, it was not fair. For example, many more people were allowed to immigrate from countries like England and France than countries such as Italy or China. • How could a law like this pass in America?

9. Racism soars in the 1920s. • Nativism: ‘native’ Americans resented and feared immigrants from other cultures that were unfamiliar to them, such as Italians, Russians and Jewish people. • Social Darwinism: Native white Americans used this idea to justify their racism. They applied the ideas of natural selection and survival of the fittest to politics and society.

10. The Birth of a Nation and the KKK • This movie depicted the origins of the Klan positively as the Redeemers of the Reconstruction era and the • saviors of white women. It • featured racist stereotypes • that are shocking to us today.

11. Revival of the Ku Klux Klan • Who did they target? • anyone who was different from them • Targets included: • immigrants, Catholics, political radicals, gamblers and bootleggers as well as African Americans. • Used a variety of tactics to terrorize and intimidate: public beatings, lynching and cross burnings. • In the early 1920s, the Klan had between 3 and 4 million members and had great political power in many southern states. • They reached many recruits by advertising, • using mass media.

12. Rise of the Mass Media • Communication technology that can reach a large audience in a short period of time. • Little prior to the 1920s • Mass production of radio and widespread circulation of newspapers • Connected Americans

13. Harlem Renaissance • African Americans found their ideas spreading across the nation too. • The Harlem Renaissance was the result of the Great Migration. • Exalted the unique culture of African Americans and brought recognition and pride to black artists in a variety of genres, particularly musicians. • The radio helped to spread appreciation for new music such as jazz to white audiences and promoted a shared national culture.

14. William H. Johnson • William H. Johnson of Florence, South Carolina, splashed his canvases with vibrant color that captured the dance halls, jazz bands and the emotion of the era. • Johnson traveled to Paris in 1926, where he settled, painted, and studied the works of modern European masters.

15. William H. Johnson

16. William H. JohnsonThe Harlem Renaissance further pointed out the second class citizenship of African Americans.

18. Your William H. Johnson Drawing: • Please do a drawing of your own to represent WHJ.

19. The Jazz Age • The radio helped to spread appreciation for new music such as jazz to white audiences and promoted a shared national culture. • (Play Coltrane, Miles Davis or Chicago) • The flapper became a new fashion choice for young women. • Referred to a young woman who wore short skirts, bobbed her hair, and showed her • frustration for the mainstream • culture of the time. • South Carolina clung to tradition, there were very few flappers in SC.

20. So you think you can dance? • The decade of the 1920s is known for several dances. • The Charleston • The Big Apple

21. Southern Literacy Renaissance • Response to critics that SC is a cultural wasteland • Formed by the Poetry Society to celebrate South Carolina’s heritage. • Important time in American literature. • Famous writers include Julia Peterkinand DuBose Heyward.

22. Porgy and Bess • Heyward DuBose wrote a book which was very radical for its time because it portrayed life for African Americans in the South in a realistic way. • George and Ira Gershwin (composers) create an opera from the book. Today it is a very famous Broadway play, movie and story. • Please look in your book, Page _____

23. 1920s Fashion

24. Where was all this time and money to party coming from? • Great Gatsby party clip • Buying in installments: a credit system for paying for an item in fixed amounts at specified intervals. • New technologies/conveniences

25. Social Changes • Improvements in urban life b/c of new technologies • Little change for rural farmers • Water and sanitation systems built in towns and cities. • Trolley systems and the automobile brought people to live in suburbs. • New appliances (i.e. washing machine/vacuum cleaner) • Bought on installment plans

26. Electricity became more available due to water power and creation of dams.

30. SC Economics in the 1920s • Prosperity from WW1 did not last and soon cotton and tobacco prices fell as a result of overproduction and the loss of overseas markets. • The first radio station in SC set up in Charleston, in 1930. • Provides entertainment and news for those who can afford it. • SC continues to be sexist & segregated • Much of the population of SC was unaware of the national optimism and positive changes that took place during the “Roaring Twenties.”

31. Agriculture Problems… • The Boll Weevil: Small insect located in the southeastern part of the United States. • Destroyed over half of the state’s cotton crop and devastated the agricultural economy. • Drought, erosion & soil depletion make for dire conditions for farming • People emigrated (movement of people to other regions) to cities in the North and Midwest. • Play: Boll Weevil Why don’t you • Get out of your home……

32. Increases in the Tourism and Recreation Industries • Tourism= the industry that caters to vacationers and those traveling for recreational purposes. • Began to form in SC in the 1920s. Result of: • Several attractive beaches on the coastline • Widespread use of the automobile & new road systems • Development of mass media (advertising) • Industry grew throughout the 20th century and remains a major • contributor to the • economy of SC.

33. Please write a short story. Include at least five of the words below. • Nativism, Social Darwinism, Speakeasy, Boll Weevil, Mass Media, Installment Plan, Tourism, Recreation, Prohibition, Bootlegger, Flapper

34. Comparing Now & Then • Roaring Twenties were defined by the spread of mass media. • Rank the following forms of media based on how much they impacted American culture in the 1920s (greatest to least): • Newspapers • Magazines • Radio • Movies (talking movies introduced in 1927) • Sporting events • Vaudeville theater (traveling theater show) • Rank them one more time based on today’s culture. Include TV, Internet, and video games. • Why might there be differences between the lists?

35. Which of the following best describes the US approach to WW1 when it first began? • A. Actively involved • B. Instigators • C. Neutrality • D. Pacifism (strong anti-war feelings)

36. How did the use of U-boats impact the US’s role in WW1? • A. U-boats convinced the US to stay out of WW1. • B. U-boats convinced the US to join the War, fighting with Germany. • C. U-boats allowed the US to attack the Central Powers without being detected. • D. U-boats contributed to the US decision to enter the war on the side of the Allied Powers.

37. What was the significance of the Zimmerman telegram in WW1? • A. the Zimmerman Telegram brought Mexico into WW1. • B. the Zimmerman Telegram ended WW1. • C. the Zimmerman Telegram convinced Germany to attack the US. • D. The Zimmerman Telegram was a factor in convincing the US to enter WW1.

38. As a result of the Selective Service Act, military bases in SC: • A. encouraged women to join and serve in combat. • B. allowed black and white Americans to serve together in the military. • C. contributed to economic growth in the state • D. cut back on services provided for the war effort.