Politics of the Roaring Twenties

1. Politics of the Roaring Twenties Chapter 12

2. CHAPTER 12 Section 1Americans Struggle with Postwar Issues • MAIN IDEA: • A desire for normality after the war and a fear of communism and “foreigners” led to postwar isolationism

3. Post War Issues • Post War Trends: • Nativism- prejudice against foreign-born people • Isolationism- policy of pulling away from involvement in world affairs Fear of Communism • Communism- economic and political system based on a single-party government ruled by a dictatorship

4. POSTWAR TRENDS • Public exhausted • Debate over League of Nations divided America • Returning soldiers faced unemployment or took their old jobs from women and minorities • Cost of living doubled • Farmers and factory workers suffered as wartime orders diminished

5. Post War Trends • Palmer Raids • Bombs mailed to government • U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer & J. Edgar Hoover hunted for communists, socialists and anarchists • ANARCHIST- People who opposed any form of government • Trampled people’s rights, invaded homes, jailed without legal counsel

6. Post War Trends • Sacco and Vanzetti • Italian immigrants • Anarchists • Evaded draft during WWI • Arrested and charged with robbery and murder of a factory paymaster • Found guilty and sentenced to die • 1961 ballistic tests showed the pistol found on Sacco was the one used in the murder but no proof that Sacco pulled the trigger

7. Limiting Immigration • “Keep America for Americans” • The Klan Rises Again: 100% Americans and liked no one else. 1924 the Klan had 4.5 Million members. Klan dominated state Politics but decreased in power by 1930 • The Quota System- B/t 1919-1921 the number of immigrants had grown 600%. • The Emergency Quota Act of 1921: System established a maximum number of people who could enter the US (max number 150,000 per year)

8. A Time of Labor Unrest • During war strikes were limited b/c they disrupt production • Employers did not want to give raises • 4 million walked off the job • BOSTON POLICE STRIKE- police had not been given a raise since beginning of WWI • Denied right to unionize • When asked for a raise=fired • Coolidge declared no right to strike • New officers were hired

9. The Steel Mill Strike • Workers wanted shorter working hours, better wages, the right to unionize, and collective bargaining rights. • September 29th 1919- Steel Corporation refused to meet with Union reps and 300,000 workers walked off. • Hired strike breakers but ended in a deadlock and Wilson made a written plea to negotiators. • Strike ended 1920 and steel companies agreed to an 8 hour work day but workers remained without a union.

10. The Coal Miners Strike • John L Lewis- leader of United Mine Workers (UMW) proposed higher wages and shorter work days and went on strike • Wilson appointed an judge to put an end to the dispute and the coal miners received a 27% increase in wages but not a shorter workday. • John L Lewis became a national hero!

11. Labor Movement Loses Appeal • 1920s hurt the labor movement badly • Union membership declined by 1.5 million members • Immigrant willing to work in harsh conditions • Language barriers with in Unions and organization • Farmers used to relying on themselves when moved to work in the factory in the city • Most Unions excluded African Americans

12. Section 2:THE HARDING PRESIDENCY • MAIN IDEA: • The Harding administration appealed to America’s desire for calm and peace after the war, but resulted in scandal

13. Section 2: The Harding Presidency • Warren G Harding was described as a good-natured man who “looked like a president ought to look”. • Harding struggles for Peace: • Problems surfaced relating to arms control, war debts, and the reconstruction of war torn countries

14. Washington Naval Conference • Charles Evans Hughes: Sectary of State urged that no more warships be built for 10 years. • Russia was left out of conference because of Communist Government • The five major Naval Powers (Italy, United States, France, Great Britain, and Japan) scrap many of their largest warships • Kellogg Briand pact- pact renouncing war as a national policy • 15 countries signed but it was futile and provided no means of enforcement

15. High Tariffs and Reparations • France and Britain owed US 10 Billion dollars • 1922- Fordney-McCumber Tariff- raised taxes on imports to 60% (highest ever) • France turned to Germany to give them money and when that failed Charles Dawes sent out negotiation loans to avoid world conflicts

16. Scandal Hits Harding’s Administration • Hardings OHIO GANG (Poker-playing buddies) were in the cabinet • Harding did not understand the issues so his administration and friends were corrupt. • Charles R Forbes (head of Veterans Bureau was caught illegally selling government and hospital supplies to private companies • Colonel Thomas W Miller (head of Office of Alien Property) was caught taking a bribe THE TEAPOT DOME SCANDAL: Oil-rich lands set aside for the US Navy. Albert B Fall (Secretary of Interior) secretly leased the land to private oil companies and received more that 400,000$. Shortly after Harding died of a heart attack or stroke Aug 2nd 1923! The Public lost respect for the Republican Party and the Presidency

17. Section 3: The Business of America • American Industries Flourish: • New Inventions and Trends • Automobiles • Airplanes • Electrical appliances • Alternating Electrical Currrent • Modern Advertising • Installment Plan

18. Chapter 13 Section 1Changing Ways of Life • MAIN IDEA • Americans experienced cultural conflicts as customs and values changed in the 1920s.

19. Rural and Urban Differences • Between 1922-1929, migration to the cities accelerated • “Cities were the place to be” • New York topped the list of big cities with a population of 5.6 million • Philadelphia nearly 2 million

20. CITY LIFE • Life was different in cities than rural towns • The city was a world of competition and change • City dwellers tolerated drinking, gambling, and casual dating • Life was fast paced

21. THE PROHIBTION EXPERIMENT • 18th Amendment: the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages were legally prohibited • Reformers believed liquor to be: 1. the cause of corruption & crime 2. social problems 3. wife and child abuse 4. accidents on the job • Support for amendment came from the rural South and West

22. SPEAKEASIES • Speakeasies-to obtain liquor illegally, drinkers went underground to hidden saloons and nightclubs • So called because when inside, one spoke quietly, or “easily” to avoid detection • Could be found in penthouses, offices, hardware stores, and tearooms • To get in you had to present a card or use a password

23. BOOTLEGGERS • Bootleggers-smuggled liquor in from Canada, Cuba and the West Indies • People distilled their own alcohol in the home • Legally alcohol only allowed for medical purposes or religious purposes • Prohibition led to organized crime • Chicago/home of Al Capone • Bootlegging empire created over 60 million a year • Mid 1920’s 19% of Americans supported prohibition • 18th Amendment remained until 1933; then overturned by the 21st Amendment

24. Science and Religion Clash • Fundamentalism- protestant movement grounded in literal (nonsymbolic) interpretation of the Bible • Fundamentalists believed that the Bible was inspired by God, therefore true • They rejected the theory of Evolution-Charles Darwin (humans evolved from apes) • They believed in the biblical creation that God made the world and all its forms in 6 days

25. SCOPES TRIAL • 1925 Tennessee passed the nation’s first law that made it a crime to teach evolution • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) promised to defend any teacher who broke the law • John T. Scopes-young biology teacher challenged the law and was arrested

26. SCOPES TRIAL • ACLU hired Clarence Darrow (the most famous trial lawyer) to defend Scopes • William Jennings Bryan served as special prosecutor in the case • Scopes Trial was a fight over evolution and the role of science and religion in public schools • Scopes was found guilty • Fined $100

27. Section 2: The Twenties Woman • MAIN IDEA: • American women pursued new lifestyles and assumed new jobs and different roles in society during the 1920s.

28. Young Women Change the Rules • In the rebellious, pleasure loving atmosphere of the 1920s, many women began to assert their independence • Demanded the same freedoms as men • Rejected the values of the 19th century • FLAPPER- young women who embraced the new fashions and urban attitudes of the day • Close fitting felt hats, bright waistless dresses, skin toned stockings, sleek pumps, strings of beads, boyish bob haircuts

29. DOUBLE STANDARD • Women became more assertive • Magazines & advertisements promoted the flapper • Flapper became more of an image of rebellious youth than reality • 1920s morals loosened only so far • “Double Standard”-set of principles granting greater sexual freedom to men than to women; required women to observe stricter standards of behavior than men did

30. Women Shed Old Roles at Home and at Work • Booming industrial economy opened new work opportunities for women in offices, factories, & stores • Women were often replaced with men returning from war • College graduates returned to “women’s professions”; teachers, nurses, and librarians • By 1930 10 million women were earning wages but few rose to managerial jobs & still earned less than men

31. The Changing Family • Birthrate dropped slightly in the 1920s • Birth control was more widely available • First birth control clinic 1916 • Social and technological innovations simplified household chores • Stores had ready made clothes, sliced bread, and canned foods

32. Changing Family • Innovations freed housewives from traditional family responsibilities • Women were granted greater equality in marriage, based more on romance • Children spent time in school • Women adjusted to the changing roles but struggled with rebellious teens

33. Section 3: Education and Popular Culture • MAIN IDEA: • The mass media, movies, and spectator sports played important roles is creating the popular culture of the 1920s-a culture that many artists and writers criticized

34. EDUCATION BEFORE THE 1920s • Enrollments- 1 million high school students • Types of Courses-high school courses centered to college bound students • Immigrants- Many immigrant students spoke some English (English and Irish) • Financing- costs doubled from 1913-1920

35. EDUCATION DURING THE 1920s • Enrollments- 4 million high school students • Types of Courses-Catered to broad range of students including those interested in vocational training and home economics • Immigrants- Many spoke no English • Financing- Costs doubled again totaling $2.7 billion a year between 1926

36. MAGAZINES • TIME (1923) • READERS DIGEST (1922) • Circulation of 2 million each

37. RADIO • Most powerful form of communication to emerge • KOKA-Pittsburgh-first commercial radio station, listeners tuned in for news, entertainment, and advertisements

38. MOVIES • The Jazz Singer-1927 the first major movie with sound • Steamboat Willie- Walt Disney’s first animated film with sound (1928) • Movies called “talkies”

39. SPORTS • Babe Ruth-record 60 homeruns in 1927 • Jack Dempsey-heavyweight champ • Gertrude Ederle-at 19 became first woman to swim the English Channel • Andrew Foster-1920 founded the Negro National League; “The Father of Black Baseball”

40. Theater, Music and Art • Eugene O’Neill- Famous play The Hairy Ape; forced Americans to reflect upon modern isolationism, confusion and family conflict • George Gershwin-Concert Music Composer; influenced by Louis Armstrong and traditional music • Georgia O’Keeffe-produced intensely colored canvases that captured New York

41. Literature • Sinclair Lewis-first American to win a Nobel Prize in literature; novel Babbitt • F. Scott Fitzgerald-coined the term “Jazz Age”; The Great Gatsby (revealed the negative side of the period’s freedom, portraying wealthy and attractive people leading imperiled lives • Edith Whatton-clash between traditional and modern values

42. Literature • Edna St. Vincent Millay-wrote poems celebrating youth and life • Ernest Hemingway-wounded in WWI; most well-known author; criticized the glorification of war • Introduced a simplified style of writing • T.S. Elliot-poem The Waste Land

43. CHARLES LINDBERGH • 1st non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean

44. Section 4: The Harlem Renaissance • Main Idea • African-American ideas, politics, art, literature, and music flourished in Harlem and elsewhere in the United States.

45. Organizations • NAACP- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People led by James Weldon Johnson and W.E. B. DuBoise fought for legislation to protect African American Rights (Antilynching organizations) • UNIA-Marcus Garvey- immigrant from Jamaica felt African Americans should build a separate society. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) 1 mil followers by 1920. Left behind powerful legacy •  Marcus Garvey=Back to Africa Movement

46. New York Harlem Renaissance • Harlem Renaissance- a literary and artistic movement celebrating African American culture • -Claude McKay- Novelist poet, Jamaican Immigrant, verses urged • African American to resist prejudice and discrimination • -Langston Hughes- Best known African American Poet

47. Harlem Renaissance • -Paul Robeson-dramatic actor (Othello) • -Louis Armstrong- Jazz musician (Henderson’s band of NY) • -Edward Kennedy “duke” Ellington- Jazz Pianist/composer • -Bessie Smith- female blues singer