The Roaring Twenties

1. The Roaring Twenties US History Honors

2. I. The Red Scare (1919-1920)

3. A. The Red Scare • Communism: economic & political system, single-party government ruled by a dictator and no private property • 1919: Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks set up Communist state in Russia • US Communist Party forms; some Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) join

4. A. The Red Scare • Bombs mailed to government and businesses; people fear Red conspiracy • Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer takes action

5. B. Palmer Raids • Palmer and Hoover hunt down Communists, socialists and anarchists • Anarchistsoppose any form government • Raids trample civil rights and fail to find evidence of conspiracy

6. II. Sacco & Vanzetti Trial

7. Sacco & Vanzetti Trial

8. A. Sacco and Vanzetti Trial • Red Scare feeds fear of foreigners, ruins reputations, and wrecks lives • 1920: Sacco and Vanzetti (Italian immigrants) who were also anarchists were arrested… • Charged with robbery and murder • Trial does not prove guilt • Jury finds them guilty; widespread protests in US and aboard • Sacco and Vanzetti executed in 1927

9. III. Nativism & The New KKK

10. A. Nativism • Nativists: fewer unskilled jobs available which means fewer immigrants needed • Between 1919 and 1921 over a million foreigners entered the country

12. B. The New KKK • The most extreme expression of nativism in the 1920s was the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan • KKK opposes blacks, Catholics, Jews, immigrants, and unions • Klan controls many states’ politics • By 1925 the Klan had 5 million members

13. IV. The Quota System

15. A. The Quota System • Quota System sets maximum number of immigrants that can enter the US from each country • 1924: European arrivals cut to 2% of number of residents in 1890 • Discriminates against southern and eastern Europeans • Prohibits Japanese immigrants which will cause ill will between the US and Japan

16. Check Point

17. The Red Scare, the National Origins Acts of the 1920s, and the verdict in the Sacco and Vanzetti trial are examples of negative American attitudes toward immigrants business leaders African Americans Labor union leaders

18. Which characteristic of the 1920s is illustrated by the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti? hostility toward woman’s suffrage support for segregation opposition to separation of church and state intolerance toward immigrants

19. During the 1920s, Congress passed a series of immigration laws that were primarily designed to increase immigration from Asia expand the workforce for the growing economy limit immigration from southern and eastern Europe prohibit immigration from Latin America

20. The influence of nativism during the 1920s is best illustrated by the increase in the popularity of the automobile emergence of the flappers expansion of trusts and monopolies growth of the Ku Klux Klan

21. A major goal of the immigration acts of the 1920s was to allow unlimited immigration from Southeast Asia assure equal numbers of immigrants from all nations favor wealthy and well-educated immigrants use quotas to limit immigration from southern and eastern Europe

22. V. Prohibition experiment

25. A. The Prohibition Experiment • 18th Amendment launchesProhibitionEra • Supported by religious groups, rural South & West • Prohibition: illegal to produce, sell or transport alcohol • Government does not budget enough money to enforce the law

27. B. Defying the Law • Prohibition did not stop people from drinking alcohol at home or in public • In the cities it became fashionable to defy the law by going to speakeasies (bar or club) • Bootleggers smuggle alcohol from surrounding countries (Canada) • City police were paid to look the other way

29. C. Organized Crime • Prohibition contributes to organized crime in most major cities (NYC and Chicago) • Al Capone controls Chicago liquor business by killing his competitors • By mid-1920s only 19% support Prohibition • 18th Amendment in force until 1933 • It will be repealed by the 21st Amendment

30. VI. The Scopes Trial

34. A. American Fundamentalism • Fundamentalism:movement based on literal interpretation of Bible • Fundamentalists skeptical of some scientific discoveries and theories • They reject the theory of evolution • Believe all important knowledge can be found in Bible

35. B. The Scopes Trial • The entire nation followed the Scopes Trial both in the newspapers and on the radio • 1925: Tennessee passes law making it a crime to teach evolution in schools • American Civil Liberties Union backs John Scopes challenge of the law • The debates evolution, role of science and religion in schools

36. C. The Aftermath • Scopes was found guilty but the conviction was later overturned on a technicality • Laws banning the teaching of evolution remained on the books for years • Darrow (Scope’s lawyer) had thoroughly discredited fundamentalism

37. VII. Women in the 1920’s

39. A. Revolution in Morals • Young men and women of the 1920s revolted against sexual taboos • Some were influenced by the writings of Sigmund Freud • The work of Margaret Sanger and other advocates of birth control achieved growing acceptance in the twenties

43. B. Flappers • Young women shocked their elders by wearing dresses hemmed at the knee • ‘Bobbing’ their hair • Smoking cigarettes • Driving cars • Taking office jobs before they married

44. Check Point

45. During the 1920s, controversies concerning the Scopes trial, national Prohibition, and the behavior of “flappers” were all signs of disagreement over the return to normalcy traditional values and changing lifestyles causes of the Great Depression the benefits of new technology

46. The failure of national Prohibition led to a public awareness that crime rates decline when the sale of alcoholic beverages is banned economic prosperity encourages social conformity unpopular laws are difficult to enforce geographic conditions affect law enforcement

47. The national policy of Prohibition ended when the states strengthened food and drug laws legalized alcohol for medical purposes ratified the 21st amendment banned interstate shipment of alcoholic beverages

48. In 1920, women gained the right to vote as a result of a presidential order Supreme Court decision national election constitutional amendment

49. The Scopes trial of 1925 is an example of the effects of assimilation on American culture a clash between scientific ideas and religious beliefs an increase in violence in American society government intervention in racial conflicts

50. National Prohibition, as authorized by the 18th amendment, stated that Americans must be 18 years old to purchase alcoholic beverages only imported alcoholic beverages would be sold alcoholic beverages could be sold only in government run stores the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages was banned