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From Prosperity to Crisis

From Prosperity to Crisis. 1920-1939 Roaring 20s Great Depression New Deal. Isolationism refusing to get involved in other nations’ disputes. The Red Scare. Anti-communism hysteria US government conducted raids against radicals accused of plotting against the government

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From Prosperity to Crisis

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  1. From Prosperity to Crisis 1920-1939 Roaring 20s Great Depression New Deal

  2. Isolationismrefusing to get involved in other nations’ disputes

  3. The Red Scare Anti-communism hysteria US government conducted raids against radicals accused of plotting against the government Thousands were arrested and deported Sacco & Vanzetti—2 Italian immigrants were convicted of committing murder during a robbery to obtain funds for an anarchist revolution; they were found guilty and executed

  4. Rise in Nativism • Dislike of foreigners that led to immigration restrictions in the early 1920s • African Americans from the South migrated to Northern cities after WWI created racial tension • The KKK revived itself and was hostile toward African-Americans, immigrants, Catholics and Jews

  5. Causes of Economic Growth and Prosperity • Wages and employment opportunities increased • Business profits and production soared • Republicans in the White House supported laissez-faire policies, which called for minimal government interference in business activities

  6. Warren Harding

  7. Calvin Coolidge

  8. Herbert Hoover

  9. Policies Favoring Business • High Protective Tariffs to keep out foreign-goods and protect domestic manufacturers • Lower Taxes on the Wealthy and Corporations tax burden shifted to the average wage earner • Lax Enforcement of Antitrust Laws a large number of mergers took place

  10. The Rise of New Industries • Growth in the use of automobiles spurred the steel, glass and rubber industries • Mobility caused a growth in suburbs • School buses allowed students in remote areas to attend school regularly • Farmers replace animals with tractors • Electric based—appliances, vacuums, refrigerators, radios, and motion pictures

  11. More Efficient Production Techniques • Henry Ford introduced the assembly line • Used standardized parts • In 1925—one car was produced every 10 seconds

  12. Mass Consumption & Speculation • Advertising stimulated demand • Retailers developed programs for installment purchases and buying on credit • New industries and mass markets helped fuel a speculative boom on the stock market

  13. Cultural Values of the 1920s The 1920s also saw the emergence of new values. Greater mobility and material comfort had a significant impact on social patterns and cultural values. Many groups, especially women, the young, and African Americans, felt a new sense of power and freedom. Others felt threatened and sought to preserve traditional values.

  14. Prohibition • Protestant reformers often saw liquor as the cause of poverty, crime, and the breakdown of family. • 18th Amendment (1919)—banned the sale of alcoholic drinks

  15. Prohibition • Americans refused to accept the ban • The demand for illegal liquor helped stimulate the growth of organized crime, instead of lowering crime. • 21st Amendment—repealed the 18th Amendment

  16. Scopes “Monkey” Trial • 1924—twelve states passed a law forbidding the teaching of Darwin’s theory of evolution • 1925—John Scopes, biology teacher, was tried and convicted for teaching evolution • William Jennings Bryan assisted the prosecution • Clarence Darrow defended Scopes

  17. Bryan, Democratic candidate for President three times, advocated reforms like women’s suffrage and believed in the literal interpretation of the Bibile Darrow, trial attorney was accused of murder in the Haymarket Affair and defended labor leaders in the Pullman Strike

  18. Restrictions on Immigration • Immigration Acts of 1921, 1924, 1929 established quotas for each nationality • Great Britain, Ireland and Germany were allowed the greatest number of immigrants • “New Immigrants” were severely limited (Italians and Eastern European) • Asian immigrants were stopped

  19. “Lost Generation” • Youth challenged traditions • Zany fads—flagpole sitting and marathon dancing • Flappers wore short skirts and danced the Charleston

  20. Women • Appliances reduce household work • Go to college • Worked outside the home • More assertive • Began to smoke and drink in public • Rejected restrictive clothing for skirts above the knees and wore their hair short • Unchaperoned dates

  21. Harlem Renaissance • Jazz Age—reflected the greater importance of African-American music • Great Migration—African-Americans moved North to work in cities • Awakening of African-American culture

  22. Louis Armstrong

  23. Langston Hughes

  24. Marcus Garvey Stressed racial unity through self-help and encouraged African-Americans to set up their own shops and businesses

  25. Popular Heroes Babe Ruth Jack Dempsey

  26. Charles Lindbergh • 1st to fly across the Atlantic Ocean • In the Spirit of St. Louis • Helped the aviation industry boom

  27. The Great Depression1929-1940 Economies historically pass through good and bad periods that usually repeat themselves. The bad times are called depressions, characterized by falling prices, business failures and high unemployment.

  28. Causes of The Great Depression • Overproduction—companies produced more than consumers could buy • Uneven distribution of income—farmers, minorities and workers faced hard times • Stock Market Frenzy—people bought stock causing the prices to go up and bought on margin (promising to pay for it later)

  29. Causes of The Great Depression • Real Estate Speculation—people hoping to get rich quick • Shaky Banking & Debt—government didn’t regulate; bankers invested depositors’ money in unsound investments • Consumer Debt—consumers bought more on credit than they could afford

  30. Stock Market CrashOctober 29, 1929 • As stock prices fell, people tried to sell of their holdings, driving stock prices still lower. • The Stock Market Crash, in combination with the long-term factors, brought about the Great Depression.

  31. Effects of Stock Market Crash • Corporations could not raise funds. • People could not repay loans or rents • Leading to bank failures that • Wiped out people’s life savings • No one had $$ to buy goods so prices fall • Causing factories to close and lay off workers Vicious downward spiral

  32. Decline in Worldwide Trade • High US tariffs made it hard for Europeans to sell their products and repay war debt • When the stock market crashed, US banks recalled their loans. • US raised their tariffs to their highest • Other countries did the same bringing world trade to a halt, which prolonged and deepen the Great Depression

  33. The Dust Bowl, 1936 • Since the 1870s, farmers had been tilling the Great Plains and tapping underground water supplies. • A series of droughts in the 1930s dried up crops and topsoil. • Heavy winds carried the dust away in huge clouds that darkened the sky turning the Great Plains into a giant “Dust Bowl” • Farmers in Oklahoma and elsewhere abandoned their land and moved to California (Route 66)

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