POLITICS OF THE ROARING TWENTIES

1. POLITICS OF THE ROARING TWENTIES

2. How did World War I affect America? • Hurt the economy—returning soldiers needed jobs • Nativism—suspicious of foreigners • Fear of Communism—Russia became Communist & America saw this as a threat to their way of life • Return to Isolation—wanted to pull away from world affairs

3. The “RED SCARE” In the U.S., about 70,000 people joined the Communist Party. Still, the ideas of the communists, or “Reds”, frightened many people

4. SACCO & VANZETTI Two Italian immigrants who were arrested for robbery & murder in Massachusetts. Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco (Dedham courthouse, 1923)

5. Sacco & Vanzetti were admitted anarchists but… Denied committing any crime. The case against them was weak & they were convicted anyway JUDGE WEBSTER THAYER

6. Many protested the conviction…They believed it was based on a fear of foreigners.

7. Sacco & Vanzetti executed in 1927 Sacco and Vanzetti death masks Funeral Procession Death Watch in Union Square, New York

8. Some Americans used the Red Scare as an excuse to act against people who were different. Example was the Ku Klux Klan.

9. Limits on Immigration • Congress passed the EmergencyQuota Act of 1921. • Set a limit on how many immigrants from each country could enter the U.S. each year. • In 1924, a new quota limited immigration from Eastern & SouthernEurope…mostly Jews & Roman Catholics. • In 1924, banned immigration from Japan

10. THE BUSINESS OF AMERICA

11. The AUTOMOBILE changed the American landscape….

12. New roads were built. New businesses sprang up like gas stations, repair shops, public garages, motels, tourist camps & shopping centers.

13. The automobile also became a status symbol.Everyone wanted to have one. By the late 1920’s, about 80% of all the cars in the world were in the U.S. 1920 ROLLS-ROYCE

14. URBAN SPRAWL(Cities spread out in all directions) Cars ended isolation of rural families & gave young people & women more independence. Cars also made it possible for people to live farther from their jobs.

15. The airline industry also grew. Planes carried the nation’s mail. Passenger service began.

16. Increase in the number of women working outside the home. Nursing in the 1920’s

17. LIFE OF THE ROARING 1920’s

18. 1920 census showed that for the 1st time, more Americans live in large towns & cities than in small towns & farms. This movement was known as “URBANIZATION”

19. PROHIBITION was a ban on alcoholic beverages set forth in the 18th amendment. It took effect in 1920. Most support for prohibition came from religious rural white Protestants.

20. Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol Houston prohibition officers Claude Beverly and Carl Greene with captured stills.

21. The government didn’t have enough officers to enforce Prohibition. People made their own alcohol illegally. Chicago police raid on the North Side

22. Prohibition "bust" / photo by Harry M. Rhoads

23. SPEAKEASIES In cities, people flocked to these hidden saloons & nightclubs that served liquor illegally.

24. BOOTLEGGERS(Smugglers) People bought liquor from these smugglers who brought it in from Canada & the Caribbean.

25. Bootleggers created a chain of corruption by bribing police officers & judges.

26. ORGANIZED CRIME: Prohibition caused a general disrespect for the law. It caused lots of $ to flow out of lawful businesses & into organized crime.

27. Underworld gangs took control of the illegal liquor business. Most famous gang headed by Chicago’s Al Capone.

28. Rise in crime & violence led many to demand the repeal of prohibition. By the middle of the decade, only 19% of Americans supported it. Prohibition was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.

29. THE TWENTIES WOMAN

30. FLAPPERS These were young women who held new independent attitudes & liked the sophisticated new fashions of the day.

31. Flappers wore make-up, short skirts, short hair (bob), & lots of jewelry.

32. Flappers often smoked cigarettes & drank alcohol in public.She went dancing to new, exciting music.

33. By 1930, about 40% of American households had radios. Radio became the most powerful of the mass media. Radio networks w/stations in many cities were formed in the 20’s/

34. “Talkies”…Movies w/sound…. “The Jazz Singer”, the 1st movie w/sound in 1927. Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie”, was the 1st animated film w/sound in 1928.

35. 1920s Slang Bee’s Knees—something excellent, outstanding Cat’s meow—something stylish Breezer—convertible car Cheaters—eyeglasses Clam—a dollar Gams—a woman’s legs Jalopy—old car Pill—a teacher or unlikeable person Sinker--doughnut