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The Mass Media and the Working Class. Warren Harding and Normalcy. in 1920 ran for President promising a “return to normalcy” exact phrase: "America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration; . . . not surgery but serenity."
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Warren Harding and Normalcy • in 1920 ran for President promising a “return to normalcy” • exact phrase: "America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration; . . . not surgery but serenity." • some say he invented the word • in fact, “normalcy” is first known to be used in 1857, originally as a mathematical term; normality was first used in 1849.
Salaries and Prices in the 1920s • average US annual salary: $1,236 (approx. $24.00 per week) • industrial worker $35.00 per week • store clerk $8.00 per week • higher salaries but also higher cost of living: • $8.00 could by only $3.93 worth of 1914 goods. • Ford Model T car: $290 • Coney Island roller coaster ride: 15-25 cents (beach was free) • movie ticket: 25 cents (up from 5 cents in 1910s) • radio set: $50-$100 (making your own was much cheaper)
Movies > Charlie Chaplin, The Rink (1916) • excerpts shown in class - Chaplin as a waiter at a restaurant and on a skating rink • example of slapstick comedy • appealed to working-class viewers
Radio > People on a New York sidewalk listening to a football game, 1923
Radio > Amos’n’Andy on Presidential Elections, 1928 Amos: Andy, tell me one thing. Is you a Democrat or is you a Republican? Andy: Well, I was a Democrat . . . Amos: Uh-huh. Andy: But I believe I’ve done switched over to the Republicans now. Amos: Uh, who is the men that is running against each other this here election time. Explain that to me. Andy: Herbert Hoover [inaudible] Al Smith. Amos: Herbert Hoover [inaudible] Smith, huh? Andy: Yeah. Amos: And another thing I wanna ask you. What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican? Andy: Well, one of ‘em is a mule and the other one is a elephant. That’s the way I get it. Amos: Uh-huh. I don’t know if I was gonna be a Democrat or a Republican, you know? Andy: Well, what was your ancestors? Amos: My aunt didn’t have no sisters. Andy: Oh no, not your aunt’s sisters, your ancestors. I mean, how did your old man vote? Amos: What my papa, you mean? Andy: Yeah, that’s it. Amos: My papa used to always vote for the Democrats. Andy:Yeah, then if I was in your place, I would vote for the Republicans.