The 1920s A Time of Change Calvin Coolidge

The 1920’s A Time of Change

Calvin Coolidge Vice President under Harding n President in 1923 after Harding dies n Reelected in 1924 n Changes back to a Laissez-faire approach to economy n Return to Isolation n

Political Scandal n The Teapot Dome Scandal 1924 n Secretary of Interior indicted for bribery n Gave leases to government oil to companies for money n Oil reserves in Teapot Dome, Wyoming

Recession Economy suffers n Caused by shift from wartime to peacetime economies n – No longer producing for war Production, farm income, exports decline n Unemployment increases (12% in 1921) n

Recovery n Coolidge Prosperity – Gross National Product up 40% by 1923 – Standard of living increases

Pro-Business Policies Decreased corporate income taxes n Decreased national debt n Raised tariffs n Demanded repayment of war debts n

Labor During war, strikes decrease n Post-war strikes fail n – Troops and court orders used to end strikes Union membership decreases n Supreme Court rules against child labor laws n

Farming Policies favor large commercial farms n Small farms suffer n – Production increased during war – After war they are producing too much n Prices drop

The Stock Market Investments increase n Buying “on margin” n – Small down payments in cash – Borrow the rest – People could pay off the loans as long as stocks did well

Mass Consumption n New Technology – Automobiles – Mass production, assembly line n Lower n prices Cultural Homogenization – Everyone can buy the same products n Brand names

MORE THAN JUST A CAR Nations biggest manufacturing industry n Businesses to service cars and travel grow – garages, car dealerships, motels, campgrounds, gas stations, restaurants n 3. 7 million people employed directly or indirectly by industry in 1929 n $2 billion to build roads n Growth of suburbs n

New Values Emphasis on wealth, possessions, fun n Leisure n – Movies, sports, games – Flappers n Young women n Drank, smoked n More in movies than real life

Growth of Electricity n New ways to shop – Kansas City first shopping mall 1923 n Growth of electricity – 1913 16% people with electric lights – 1927 63% people with electric lights – only 4% farms with electricity

Unified America n Until 1920’s America divided into regional economies and cultures n Growth of Mass Media creates a more connected America – Radio – Movies

Prohibition Illegal to buy, sell, or consume alcohol n 18 th Amendment in 1919 n Hard to enforce n – Bootlegging- illegally making and selling alcohol n Ended in 1933 Prohibition video

Red Scare Fear of spread of communism after Russian Revolution n Leads to race riots, bombings, police raids, and deportations n

Scopes Trial Religion being challenged n Darwinism vs Protestant Religion n Evolution vs God n IMPORTANCE: This was the first time the bible was being questioned n

Sacco and Vanzetti n Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti convicted of murder – Little evidence against them – Both anarchists – executed

Ku Klux Klan Reorganized due to anti-foreign attitudes n Targeted African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and immigrants n

Immigration n Immigration Act of 1924 – Established quotas- limited number of allowed immigrants – Kept out immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe and Asia

Women’s Roles More women working n 1920’s Women’s Bureau n – Part of Department of Labor – Improved working conditions n 19 th Amendment – Women get right to vote

Harlem Renaissance African American movement based out of Harlem, NYC n Called for action against bigotry n Pride in African American culture n Writers n – W. E. B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes n Artists, musicians – jazz

Great Migration n Starting in World War One African Americans began moving from South to North 1914 14, 000 African Americans in NYC n 1930 200, 000 African Americans in NYC n

Jazz Age Combination of Ragtime and Blues = Jazz n Began in New Orleans n Grew to dominate radio n 500 Jazz Clubs in Harlem n