Rise of American Entertainment Culture in the 1920s

1. Popular Culture (Identify the rise in popularity of these forms of entertainment) • National forms of entertainment all Americans are sharing • Movies (How were movies different from today? Why rise in popularity in 1920’s?) • Black and white, silents, over 10k theaters • Jazz Singer • 1st talking picture, black face (racist) • Radio (How popular?) • Most popular form of entertainment (in every home in 1920’s) • Types of Programs on Radio? • Radio dramas and comedies (like TV today w/out pictures) • NBC and CBS (How did they change American entertainment when started?) • National radio stations (allowed all Americans to listen to same news, sports, and shows (shared culture beyond regions and ethnicities)

2. Music • Jazz (Who invented it? Who was listening to it? Why is that significant?) • Black people (invented) • Young white people (listening) • Breaking down of racism by young people • Sports (Why did it rise in popularity in 1920’s nationally? i.e.- What changed to allow people to be NY Yankee fans in Los Angeles?) • Radio and newspapers allowed people in other towns to hear about exploits of teams and their heros • Be sure how to identify how these national pastime and forms of communication impacted and changed American culture • Conformity (Americans start copying, talking, and dressing like the stars in movies and sports) • Not like their immigrant or rural neighbors

3. Social Movements • Prohibition • 18th Amendment (define) • Alcohol banned • Supporters and opponents (Identify both groups and reasons for their beliefs) • Supporters- Women, Rural (Fundamentalist Christians-sin, women victims of abuse) • Opponents- Urbanites, Immigrants (drinking a part of life) • Difficulties enforcing (esp. why it is hard to enforcing a law against social behavior) • Hard to ban something people like to do for fun (can’t control behavior, can only limit aspects of behavior)

4. Red Scare • Targeting Immigrants (Which immigrants? Why?) • New Immigrants (S/E Europe) • Dark skinned, diff. lang., diff. rel. • Sacco and Vanzetti (identify? Why were they found guilty? Why should the US be ashamed?) • 2 Italian immigrants execute for murder • Guilty by prejudice (Am.s felt dark skinned, non-English speaking, anarchists are guilty of something) • Palmer Raids (Identify, who was targeted? Why did Americans support those raids in 1920’s/) • Round up and deportation of immigrants (esp. Russian) for being suspected Communists • Xenophobia- FEAR IMM. WERE CRIMINALS

5. Fundamentalism • Define- Traditional Christian values, word for word belief in bible • Scopes Monkey Trial (Identify, explain why so many people were interested in the outcome?) • Trial over whether school should teach evolution • Clash between creationism/Christianity and Science/Fundamentalism • KKK- • hate for blacks expanded to immigrants • Define and explain the reason for popularity in 1920’s • Christian fundamentalists, fear immigrants are destroying American values • Modernity- new groups too much freedom (WOMEN)

6. Women- gain more freedom • Flappers (Identify and define) • Women showed freedom by wearing short skirts, short hair (BOB), and drinking • Margret Sanger (identify, explain how her beliefs could change the lives of women and impacts today) • Birth control • Allows women not to get pregnant and could focus on furthering their own life • 19th Amendment (define) • Women right to vote • African-Americans • Great Migration (define) • Blacks from South begin to move north • Harlem Renaissance (define, explain importance of such a movement) • Black movement of equality to Whites through literature (Langston Hughes)

7. Consumerism (Why was there an availability of new previously unaffordable products in 1920’s?) • Mass Production through scientific management (assembly lines) • Automobile (Why did it rise in popularity in 1920’s? How did it change the American landscape and economy in 1920’s?) • Became affordable in 1920’s • Model T (Identify) • 1st affordable auto • Assembly Line (Define, who applied it to cars?) • Each worker had one job to build car, sped up production • Henry Ford • Frederick Taylor (Explain his ideas and how it impacted production in 1920’s?) • Stop wasted motion in workplace (make workers more efficient and unskilled, anyone can do the job- simplify)

8. Advertising (Why?) • To get people to buy product (overproduction, make people want to buy their product BECAUSE there are so many choices) • Buying on Credit (define, how did this change American consumerism in 1920’s? What is the dark side of credit and how can that impact the economy?) • Buy now, pay later • People fell into debt, pay back loan, CAN’T BUY NEW PRODUCTS • Politics • Return to Normalcy (Define- relate to government’s philosophy on its role in the economy- • Return to Laissez-Faire • President Harding- faults • Naïve, too gullible, not smart (surrounded by crooks) • Scandals (Explain why there was an increase in government scandals under the Harding Administration? Use “Return to Normalcy to help answer this question • Harding was not smart enough to police his administration and surrounded by people in Gov. desiring to get rich, not help people • Tea Pot Dome (Explain) • Navy oil reserves sold off to oil men in return for a bribe to a Gov. official (Albert Fall- Sec. of Interior)

9. 1930’s/ Great Depression • Causes • 4 Causes (Explain how each of the following created the Great Depression) • Farmers Plight (Identify their problem, how does that negatively impact economy?) • Overproduction of food (prices dropped, farmers lost farms) • Farmers took out loans, could not pay back or BUY NEW PRODUCTS, lost farms • Rich vs. Poor (Think circulation of money) • 5% OF Am. controlled 35% of money • Money not circulating • Middle Class (Think pay) • Wages did not go up (can’t not buy new stuff, bus. hurt) • Consumerism/ Over Production (Why did companies have too many products that they could not sell?) • Companies made more goods than they could sell (Com. went out of business or laid off workers)

10. Stock Market • Buying on Margin (Define, how did this lead to… • Investors puts down 10% and borrows 90% for stocks • Saturation (rise in stock prices) • Too many investors that want stock so prices rose (not because of good products but because people want in) • Crash (what happens when people realize prices are too high? How are people who bought on margin affected?) • Prices dropped, people could not PAY BACK LOAN/MARGIN, sold their stock causing prices too drop more • Crash (Explain importance) • Start of Great Depression • Banks (What was happening to them?) • Went out of business (people lost their money!!!)

11. Hoover’s Responses • Rugged Individualism (define, explain Hoover’s belief on the role of government during the Depression) • People should help themselves • Gov. should not help, people will become lazy!!! • Reconstruction Finance Corporation (Define, what was its limitation on its ability to impact and help the country?) • Gov. loaned money to banks, insurance companies, business • $ given to banks and companies that kept $ rather than spend $ • $ could have gone to people who would have spent • Bonus Army (Define, impact on Hoover’s Presidency) • WWI veterans that wanted $ owed from war • Sent army to kick B Army out (looked careless and uncaring)

12. FDR/New Deal • New Deal (How did FDR change the role of Government?) • Gov. takes responsibilty to help people in need (safety net) • Alphabet Agencies (Define and explain how they were meant to provide Relief, Recovery, or Reform) • CCC- • put young people to work in nature (kept them out of crime) • TVA (answer above, but also explain criticism of Gov. getting involved in providing power to people’s homes- “Socia…”?) • Built dams and electricity • People suspicious of Socialism b/c Gov is getting involved in power industry • AAA (answer above, but also answer criticism of how Gov. was attempting to raise farm prices) • Raise food prices by destroying food and crops • People are starving and food was destroyed, not passed out

13. SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) • Regulate the stock market, prevent inside trading, • Prevent a stock market crash • WPA ( answer above, but also answer why people criticized program- i.e.- Gov. paid actors to put on plays) • Work Progress Administration- put people to work on a variety of projects • Some people felt that the gov. paying to put on plays was a waste of $ • Others felt that it gave people dignity through work • Glass-Steagall (FDIC) • Depositor insurance ($ insured by gov. if bank goes out of business) • Social Security • $ for elderly, disabled, and children in need

14. Opponents (Major criticism of New Deal?) • FDR could have spent more (liberals/Democrats) • FDR and Gov. was bordering on Socialism (Gov. doing too much) Conservatives/Republicans • Huey Long “Share Our Wealth” (define) • Gov. would give each family $5k by confiscating incomes over $5 mil per year • Supreme Court (Why were they opposed to the New Deal?) • Republicans on court believed in Laissez-Faire (7 Rep. judges, 2 Dem. Judges) • FDR’s Court Packing Scheme (explain) • FDR would added 6 judges to the Supreme Court (making a total of 15, 8 appointed by Dem.) • What was the American reaction to FDR’s Scheme? • FDR is tinkering w. Constitution (tyrant?) • What was the Supreme Court’s Reaction? • Started supporting New Deal programs

15. Other • Eleanor Roosevelt- FDR’s wife, seen as a person who connected with the people and could convince the President to provide further help • Fireside Chats (Define) • FDR radio talks to Americans to make them feel better about their situation

16. World War II • Causes of War and US attitudes at beginning • German Aggression • Hitler wanted to get back land lost in TofV • Sudetenland/ Appeasement • German speaking part of Cz. (Hetler threatened to invade if not given Sudentenland) • Appeasement- Eng. And Fr. Agree to give Hitler Sudetenland in return for promising not to take anymore land • Japanese Aggression • Wants to dominate Asia and have access to natural resources • Invasion of China and US Embargo (of what?) • Japan takes over China (Rape of Nanking and Shangjai) • US stops selling oil to Japan (seen as an aggressive act by Japan and feels the US will one day attack Japan) • Pearl Harbor • Japan surprise attack on HA. (US declares war) • US Reluctance to enter WWI • Isolationism, depression, European affair (until PH)

17. War At Home • Japanese Internment (Why? Also, think of where they live in US, why move them?) • Imprisonment of all Japanese/Americans • Fear- Jap. Spies • Anger- over Pearl Harbor • Racism- US has history of prejudice towards Asians • Korematsu vs. US • US Supreme Court decision that allowed US to arrest Jap/Am (worst decision ever) • 442 Combat Unit • Bravest unit in WWII (made up of Jap/Am. From Ha) • Women • Took place of men in factories • Rosie the Riveter • Symbol of the fact that women did a good job in replacing male workers and contributed to winning the war

18. Rationing (Explain limitations on US consumerism, change of the role of government from 1920’s Laissez-Faire) • Americans could not purchase non-essential items (cars, clothes) or were rationed/limited essential items (gas, food) • African-Americans (role in war?) • Fought in segregated unitsand worked in factories • Tuskeegee Airmen- 1st black airplane unit • Great Migration • Af/Am. Move out of South to West (LA) and North (NY) • Latinos (Role in War?) • Farm labor • Bracero Program • Allowed immigration of Mexicans (deferred from draft) • Zoot Suit Riots • Sailors attack Pachucos while waiting to leave to fight against Japanese, Pachucos arrested

19. War Strategies and Major Events • Original War Strategy to Defeat Axis Powers (explain) • Defeat Hitler first, then focus on Japan • Problem- US started winning against Japan and ended fighting both at same time • D-Day • Invasion of France to liberate Europe from Nazis • Battle of Bulge • Last offensive by Germans, heavy casualties, Ger. about to lose • Island Hopping (define) • Strategy to reach Japan by invading islands held by Japanese so a final invasion and bombing campaign could be mounted • Midway • Turning point of war in Pacific (6 months after Pearl Harbor US is winning against Japanese)

20. Leyte Gulf • Liberates Philippines, Japanese navy is destroyed • Kamikaze- used by Japanese • Japan still not surrendering • Atomic Bomb (identify) • Most powerful weapon ever • Manhattan Project (reason to develop bomb?) • Project to build A-Bomb before Germans • Two cities dropped on? Reasons to drop the bomb? • Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Japan would not surrender • Scare Stalin and Russia (end war quickly so Russia will not invade and keep anymore land)

21. Major Treaties and • US provided Allies with money and supplies to fight Germany BEFORE US enters war • Four Freedoms Speech • Freedom from Fear and Want • Goals of Allies in fighting WWII • Atlantic Charter • FDR and Churchill devise Four Freedoms • Importance- US and Allies are not fighting to gain more land (unlike WWI) but to free people from oppression and tyranny • Yalta Conference • FDR, Stalin, and Churchill meet to discuss how war in Europe will end • Stalin promises to free Poland, lies • Marks beginning of Cold War and end of WWII alliance w. Rusia

22. Cold War • Foundations • Communism/ Soviet Union/Russia (Identify and define the type of government in the Soviet Union, what does this type of government believe about expansion • Communism (Gov. control of everything, limited freedoms) • Communism will one day take over the world (because Communism supports the poor, and poor are everywhere) • Buffer Zone- Relate the Soviet’s WWII experience to the mentality towards dealing with the US and Western Europe • Russia lost 20 mil. people (prevent invasion) • Next war will not take place in Russia (but in E. Eur.) • Capitalism/ Democracy/USA • Internationalism- How is the US foreign policy going to change compared to after WWII? What political position will take a lead role in this change? • No longer isolationist (join alliances, keep military abroad) • President (b/c he is in charge of military, can lame quick war like decisions b/c Russia is constant enemy)

23. Policies • Marshall Plan (Define, why did the US want to help so much? (think of European point of view and also how the plan would help the US) • Help Europe rebuild, prevent them from going to Russia for aid and turning Communist • Europe would buy US products (everyone else is destroyed) • Truman Doctrine (define, what two countries did it help) • US will help any country threatened by Communism w. aid • Greece and Turkey • Containment/George Keenan (Define, how has the US changed its foreign policy) • US will threaten to use force every time Communism tries to expand • Not isolationist • NATO (define, change in US foreign policy?) • Military alliance b/t US, Canada, and Western Europe • Not isolationist (in an “Entangling Alliance”) • United Nations (define purpose) • Settle international disputes by meeting (and using military force to enforce decisions) • Korean War (Police Action) Why did the US get involved in Korea? How could the US go to war without declaring war? • North Korea (Com) invaded South Korea (Dem.) • Police Action- UN said it needed help, US came to aid UN