Roaring Twenties

1. Roaring Twenties 1920-1929

2. 1920s was a time of great prosperity in the U.S.

3. Popular actress Louise Brookes, 1927

4. Short hair, skirts, smoking & drinking in public, etc. were hallmarks of the flapper

5. Women’s fashions of the 1920s were much less restrictive than those of the previous Victorian era

6. Ford Model T was put into production on the assembly line in 1903 • Revolutionized automobile production • Prices dropped • Automobiles were affordable for almost all

7. Ford assembly line

8. People went wild for “talkies” during the 1920s since at the beginning of the decade most films were silent & black & white The first full-color, full-sound film, On with the Snow, was shown in 1929

10. 1917: With the October Revolution, Russia becomes a communist nation • Government controls everything

11. Upsets U.S. for Several Reasons • Government owned the land in communism • Single political party • No individual rights or freedoms • Overall goal was to start revolutions to spread communism • Leads to the First Red Scare

12. Red Scare • An intense fear of communism & its ideas • U.S. wanted communists jailed or deported

13. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer’s home after bombing Hunt for communists begins shortly after

14. Palmer Raids • 1919 Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer set up a special force to conduct raids & arrest suspected communists, socialists, & anarchists • More than 500 immigrants deported • Thousands are jailed

17. Sacco & Vanzetti

18. April 15, 1920 • Robbery / homicide was committed • Sacco & Vanzetti were arrested because they were immigrants & thus immediately suspected • They were executed in 1927 without strong evidence that they were guilty • Return of nativism

20. Schenck v. U.S. • Charles Schenck mailed letters to drafted men telling them not to report • He was tried & convicted under the Espionage Act/ Sedition Act • Court justified silencing free speech bc the nation was at war

21. Boston Police Strike • 1919: 19 police officers were fired for union activity • Had not received a raise since before WWI • The entire police force goes on strike • Riots broke out & the National Guard were used to break up the strike

22. Steel Strikes • 1919: Gary, Indiana • Strikes were blamed on communists • U.S. Steel Corporation used hired forces to break up the strike • 18 killed & hundreds beaten

23. Coal Strikes • 1919 • Coal workers strike because they want better pay & shorter work week • Court orders them back to work

24. Effects • Less strikes • Economy boomed & wages rose • Union membership declined

25. The Harding Administration became synonymous with scandal Harding appointed many friends to positions. He said of them once, “I have no trouble with my enemies, but my … friends, they’re the ones that keep me walking the floor nights.” Warren G. Harding

26. Harding’s Death in Office

27. Boston Police Strike

28. Calvin Coolidge’s Response as Governor of Massachusetts • Your assertion that the Commissioner was wrong cannot justify the wrong of leaving the city unguarded. That furnished the opportunity; the criminal element furnished the action. There is no right to strike against the public safety by anyone, anywhere, any time.  ... Telegram from Governor Calvin Coolidge to Samuel Gompers September 14, 1919.[59]

29. Calvin Coolidge becomes President after Harding’s Death

30. Economic policy = laissez-faire Big business favored him Delivered the first radio address from the White House in 1924 “Silent Cal”

31. 1924 Presidential Election

32. Teapot Dome, Wyoming Secretary of Interior Albert B. Fall gave oil rights on government land to private companies in exchange for $350,000 in illegal gifts & money Teapot Dome Scandal

35. Prior to both world wars, the U.S. did not want to be involved in foreign affairs After WWI, the U.S. retreats back into isolationism

36. Foreign Policy • Isolationism • Disarmament • Voluntarily give up weapons • 1922 • Fordney-McCumber Tariff • Raises rates on imports • Trade with other countries decreases as a result

37. Protest march prior to bombing at Pearl Harbor

38. Kellogg-Briand Pact • 1928 • 15 nations agree not to use the threat of war in their dealings with one another • Others join, & total = 60 nations • Attempting to keep the peace • No way to enforce it

39. Nativism • Favoring native born Americans over immigrants • Immigration Restriction Act of 1921 • passed to restrict immigration by setting up a quota • Amended in 1924 • Arguments in favor of nativism • Immigrants would not be loyal to U.S. • Wrong religion (Catholicism) • Cause of U.S. problems • Take American jobs (work for less money) • Fear of communism

41. Business Boom • The birth of modern America • Shopping centers, fast-food chains, advertising • Consumer Economy • Depends on a large amount of buying • Increased wages allowed average Americans to be able to buy more products

42. Buying on Credit • Installment plans: purchase items by making monthly payments • Fueled the consumer economy: allowed people to buy even more items • Top purchases: • Cars • Furniture • Vacuum cleaners • Washing machines • Radios • Sewing machines

43. Great Migration • African Americans migrated from the south to the north • Started during WWI • Continued until the 1940s • Looking for industrial jobs

44. Growth of the Suburbs • People who could afford to began to move to the suburbs of the cities • Due to: • Automobiles • Migration of African Americans to the cities

45. Charles Lindbergh First solo trans-Atlantic flight American Heroes

46. Amelia Earhart • Attempted & disappeared on a flight around the world

47. Jack Dempsey • Heavyweight champion of the world

48. George Herman “Babe” Ruth • 1927 homerun record of 60 in a season

49. Gertrude Ederle • Olympic gold medal winner / first woman to swim the English channel (35 miles wide)

50. Mass Media • Communication of large amounts of people at the same time • Methods: • Radio / 1920s was the golden age of radio • Film • National news • Created a national culture