The “Roaring Twenties”: A Culture in Conflict: The “Roaring Twenties”: A Culture in Conflict The 1920’s was a decade of transition characterized by rural backlash against the material, superficial values of an increasingly urban culture.


I. The Impact of World War I: I. The Impact of World War I Increased power of the Federal Government Partnership forged between business and government The “Great Migration” of southern Blacks Temporary gains for women economically and socially Short-lived economic recession in 1921


II. The “Red Scare”: II. The “Red Scare” Bolsheviks called for worldwide revolution in 1917 Mail bombs in 1919 Attorney-General A. Mitchell Palmer Origins of the Scare J. Edgar Hoover begins career hunting down radicals Creation of the US Communist Party (1919)


II. The Red “Scare” (cont.): II. The Red “Scare” (cont.) November raids on alien “radicals” --The “Soviet Ark” More raids in January of 1920 “May Day” hysteria fizzles Legacy = crusade for 100% Americanism Sacco and Vanzetti Case


III. A Culture “on the Grow” and “on the Move”: III. A Culture “on the Grow” and “on the Move” Significance of the 1920 census Increase of white collar workers “Consumer goods revolution” The automobile: symbol of the second American industrial revolution --Ford Motor Company founded in 1903 The new technology of the moving assembly line


III. Culture “on the Move” (cont.): III. Culture “on the Move” (cont.) Social protest against the new technology “Multiplier effect” of the auto industry “Democratizing” the automobile Impact of cars on residential housing patterns The reality of traffic fatalities The need for advertising


IV. Counter-Attacks from a More Traditional, Rural Culture: IV. Counter-Attacks from a More Traditional, Rural Culture


A. Prohibition: A. Prohibition Reasons for victory of prohibition advocates Volstead Act (1922) Upper classes flaunted the law A Boost to Organized Crime --Al “Scarface” Capone --St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1929) Ultimate failure of prohibition


B. Rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan: B. Rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan Reorganization of the Klan (1915) Advertising techniques of the “consumer revolution” Expanded “hate” list Centered in the midwest Especially strong among southern Democrats The trial of Grand Dragon D.C. Stephenson


C. Religious Fundamentalism: C. Religious Fundamentalism Definition of “fundamentalism” The Fundamentals (1910) ACLU attack on prohibition against teaching on evolution Scopes “Monkey” Trial—Dayton, TN (1925) Economic implications of the Scopes Trial


C. Religious Fundamentalism (cont.): C. Religious Fundamentalism (cont.) Carnival-like atmosphere around the Trial Clarence Darrow vs. William Jennings Bryan Bryan’s opposition to the theory of evolution Darrow cross-examined Bryan Results of the Trial Publicity of the Trial hurt fundamentalism


D. Immigration Restriction: D. Immigration Restriction 1917 Literacy Test National Origins Quota Act (1924) Slanted toward favoring “old immigrants” Doors wide open to western hemisphere countries Increased mechanization had reduced need for labor


V. The Politics of the 1920’s: V. The Politics of the 1920’s Nation weary of reform and idealism A return to “normalcy” Progressivism transformed in a dark way A Republican decade Low voter turnout


A. The Presidency of Warren G. Harding (1921-1923): A. The Presidency of Warren G. Harding (1921-1923) Compromise choice at stalled Republican convention in 1920 Cox/FDR vs. Harding/Coolidge in 1920 campaign Positive aspects of Harding’s presidency Poor judge of character Scandal-ridden administration


A. Harding’s Presidency (cont.): A. Harding’s Presidency (cont.) Teapot Dome Scandal Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon’s favoritism of the rich High Tariffs plus insistence on repayment of European loans Harding’s “Ohio gang” Harding’s oratorical clumsiness


A. Harding’s Presidency (cont.): A. Harding’s Presidency (cont.) Harding was plagued with self-doubt Wants to please everyone Worked to dismantle progressive reform Death of Harding (August, 1923) Public response to Harding’s death and the decline of his reputation


B. The Presidency of Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929): B. The Presidency of Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) Coolidge’s passive approach to the presidency Famous for saying very little: “Silent Cal” Built his presidency around conservative business values Demonstrated hostility toward labor unions The Election of 1924


B. Coolidge’s Presidency (cont.): B. Coolidge’s Presidency (cont.) Coolidge believed in little government intervention in the economy Farmers became more business-like in their approach to farming McNary-Haugen Bill (1924)


C. The Presidency of Herbert Hoover (1929-1933): C. The Presidency of Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) Hoover’s background Coolidge’s Secretary of Commerce Championed the Trade Association movement Hoover vs. Al Smith in the 1928 election Very able administrator


C. Hoover’s Presidency (cont.): C. Hoover’s Presidency (cont.) Hoover was more progressive and humanitarian than Coolidge Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930 Elected during a great time of prosperity, his fortunes will rise and fall with the economy


VI. The Culture of the Twenties: A Glittering Surface: VI. The Culture of the Twenties: A Glittering Surface A “mass” culture Faith in the economy and American business The notion of being very “modern” and “new” Post-war disillusionment with the idea of the progress of civilization --Farewell to Arms (1929) --Waste Land (1922)


A. Radio and the Movies: A. Radio and the Movies First radio station = KDKA (Pittsburgh)—1920 NBC = first radio network (1926) Average annual movie attendance = 90 million The advent of “talkies” (1927) Disney pioneers in the arena of animation and sound (1928)


B. Sports and Fads: B. Sports and Fads The “Black Sox” scandal (1919) Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb The Significance of the Negro Leagues College Football and Boxing Beauty Pageants and Crossword puzzles --1st Miss America (1921)


C. Literature and Education: C. Literature and Education Modernist literature explored the irrational and subconscious F. Scott Fitzgerald --The Great Gatsby (1925) Ernest Hemingway Sinclair Lewis --Babbitt (1922) --Main Street (1920) Enrollments and attendance up in all levels of education


D. The Importance of Science: D. The Importance of Science New findings in physics shook the faith in human reason The significance of Albert Einstein’s theories Limits of Human Knowledge established --Heisenberg’s “Principle of Uncertainty” (1927) Planck’s quantum theory


D. The Importance of Science: D. The Importance of Science General cultural acceptance of the denial of absolute values Robert Goddard launched the first liquid rocket (1926) The Kelly Act (1925) Lindbergh flies the Atlantic solo in May of 1927 Growth of the airline industry


E. “The Sexual Revolution”, Divorce and the “New Woman”: E. “The Sexual Revolution”, Divorce and the “New Woman” Apparent loosening of American sexual mores Sex seen as fun and discussed with frankness Sexual content in magazines, movies and songs Jazz as the musical complement to the era The sexual revolution in literature


E. “The Sexual Revolution” (cont.): E. “The Sexual Revolution” (cont.) F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise (1920) The “flapper” stereotype Sexual revolution more of a sideshow for most American women Triumph of romantic love Changing feminist goals Escalating American divorce rate


F. The “Harlem Renaissance” and the “New Negro”: F. The “Harlem Renaissance” and the “New Negro” The Harlem Renaissance --Langston Hughes “Negro Nationalism” of Marcus Garvey --United Negro Improvement Association (1916) Failure of an Anti-Lynching bill in Congress Key Black Political victories Legal strategy takes shape


G. Business and Skyscrapers: G. Business and Skyscrapers Americans worshipped material prosperity as they bought in installments Chain stores begin to dominate the market This decade was the age of the “manager” The boom in advertising --Bruce Barton’s The Man Nobody Knows (1925)


G. Business and Skyscrapers (cont.): G. Business and Skyscrapers (cont.) Critics of growing American materialism Skyscrapers as the symbol of the veneration of corporate America Skeletal structure of the skyscraper The Woolworth Building (1913) Period revivalism of these corporate symbols


G. Business and Skyscrapers (cont.): G. Business and Skyscrapers (cont.) The race to build higher The Chrysler Building (1929-1930) The Empire State Building (1931) Symbolism of the interior of these buildings Skyscrapers offered new opportunities for women professionally


G. Business and Skyscrapers (cont.): G. Business and Skyscrapers (cont.) Era of the richly decorated skyscrapers ended in the early 1930’s New, unornamented modern skyscraper -- “Form follows function” Business and prosperity very prominent on the cultural and political landscape in 1929


VII. The Culture of the Twenties: A Rotten Core: VII. The Culture of the Twenties: A Rotten Core Problems for farmers during the 1920’s Worker’s wages remained low --Tug River Mine War (1920-1921) Textile “Ghost” towns Serious misdistribution of American wealth Saturation of key American industries Dangerous personal debt