The Roaring Twenties A Culture in Conflict The

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.

PRELUDE ©DEMOBILIZATION ©RECESSION ©STRIKES ©PALMER RAIDS, RED SCARE ©TERRORIST BOMBS ©RACE RIOTS; KKK

Cont’d ©The flu epidemic ©Wilson’s stroke ©the election of 1920

HARDING ADMIN. ©“NORMALCY” ©CONSERVATIVE ©SCANDALS ©TEAPOT DOME, ET AL ©COOLIDGE ©“The business of America is business. ”

POLICIES ©TARIFFS ©TAXES ©TRICKLE-DOWN ©FARM AID ©LABOR ©ERA

1920 s CULTURE ©HARLEM RENAISSANCE ©MARCUS GARVEY ©THE LOST GENERATION ©FLAPPERS ©CELEBRITIES DUKE ELLINGTON

CELEBRITIES ©GERTRUDE EDERLE ©JOHNNY WEISMULLER ©BOBBY JONES ©GENE TUNNEY, JACK DEMPSEY ©CHARLES LINDBERGH ©KNUTE ROCKNE

FADS OF THE 20 s ©crossword puzzles ©dance marathons ©mahjong ©flagpole sitting ©misc. ALVIN “SHIPWRECK” KELLY

MISCELLANEOUS * SACCO & VANZETTI * SCOPES TRIAL * AUTOMOBILE * RADIO * BULL MARKET

THE GREAT EXPERIMENT ©THE VOLSTEAD ACT ©THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT ©LEGISLATING MORALITY

PROHIBITION MYTHS ©ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION ©BEFORE AND AFTER ©RATIFICATION (18 TH) ©CRIME ©OTHER EFFECTS ©REPEAL (21 ST)

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” © 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. ) © 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” © 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. ) © 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

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

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 © 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) © 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. ) © 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. ) © 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) © 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. ) © Coolidge believed in little government intervention in the economy © Farmers became more business-like in their approach to farming

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

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 © 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 © 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 © 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 --1 st Miss America (1921)

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 © 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 © 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” © 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. ) © 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” © The Harlem Renaissance --Langston Hughes © “Negro Nationalism” of Marcus Garvey © Failure of an Anti. Lynching bill in Congress © Key Black Political victories © Legal strategy takes shape

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. ) © 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. ) © The race to build higher © The Chrysler Building (1929 -1930) © The Empire State Building (1931) © Skyscrapers offered new opportunities for women professionally

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 © Problems for farmers during the 1920’s © Worker’s wages remained low --Tug River Mine War (1920 -1921) © Serious misdistribution of American wealth © Dangerous personal debt

Leaders of the 1920 s

The Roaring Twenties The decade of the twenties is often referred to as the “ Jazz Age’. However, the term has much to do with the jazzy atmosphere of the time as with the music!

Jazzy Sounds © Prohibition caused many of the jazz musicians to migrate north from New Orleans to Chicago © Joe “King” Oliver” was one of the best © His claim to fame was hiring Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong

Louis Armstrong © Louis Armstrong is the greatest single figure in the entire history of jazz. © The “Hot Five” seen here was one of the hottest groups of the twenties.

Jelly Roll Morton © Jelly Roll Morton led one of Chicago’s most popular groups © He was a piano player, band leader, and show business personality © He got the name “Jelly Roll” because he rolled his fingers and his music was sweet

Symphonic Jazz © George Gershwin wrote both classical and popular music © He was the first composer to combine jazz and classical music with Rhapsody in Blue in 1924. © He followed with © An American in Paris in 1928.

Jazzy Duds © Flappers were typical young girls of the twenties, usually with bobbed hair, short skirts, rolled stockings, and powdered knees! © They danced the night away doing the Charleston and the Black Bottom.

Jazzy Talk -Twenties Slang © All Wet - wrong © Berries - anything wonderful © Bee’s Knees - a superb person or thing © Big Cheese -an important person © Bump Off - to murder © Dumb Dora - a stupid girl © Flat Tire - a dull, boring person © Gam - a girls leg © Gin Mill - A speak easy © Hooch - bootleg liquor © Hoofer - chorus girl © Torpedo - a hired gunman

Twenty - Two Skidoo