The Roaring Twenties Mr Websters Class A Booming

The Roaring Twenties Mr. Webster’s Class

A Booming Economy • In the decade after WWI, the American economy experienced tremendous growth. • Using revolutionary massproduction techniques, American workers produced more goods in less time than ever before. • The boom fundamentally changed the lives of millions of people and helped create the modern consumer economy.

The Automobile Industry • Much of this explosive growth was sparked by a single business: the automobile industry. • Early in the century, only wealthy city dwellers could afford cars. • In 1908, carmaker Henry Ford introduced the Model T, a reliable car that the average American could afford. • The first Model T sold for

The Assembly Line • Although carmaker Henry Ford did not originate the idea of mass production, he brought it to new heights. • Ford hired scientific management experts to improve his massproduction techniques, and he put his cars on moving assembly lines. • At each step of Ford’s assembly line, workers added parts to construct a new automobile.

The Model T • The assembly line drastically reduced the time it took to manufacture a new automobile, which resulted in lower sale prices. • By 1927, a new Model T cost only $290. • The Model T was the first car that ordinary people could afford. • In 1919, only 10% of American families owned an automobile. By 1927, 56%

Ford’s Management Style • Ford was also a shrewd manager. • He doubled the wages of a large number of his workers, reduced their workday from 9 to 8 hours, and became the first major industrialist to give his workers both Saturday and Sunday off. • Ford realized that if workers made more money and had more leisure time, they would become potential customers for his automobiles.

Automobile-Related Industries • The boom in the automobile industry stimulated growth in other industries, such as steel, glass, rubber, asphalt, and gasoline. • Road construction boomed as well, especially when the government introduced the system of numbered highways in 1926. • New roads led to the rapid appearance of service stations, diners, and motels.

Suburban Expansion • The automobile prompted a new sense of freedom and prosperity. • Automobiles also changed residential patterns. • The ability to drive to work permitted people to live farther from their places of employment. • This led to the development of suburban communities linked to cities by arteries

A Consumer Revolution • The 1920 s brought about a consumer revolution, in which a flood of new, affordable goods became available to the public. • The widespread availability of electrical power supported the consumer revolution. • Electric washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and irons made housekeeping easier and less time-consuming. • Accessible electricity also contributed to radio and

Installment Buying • Advertising and new ways of buying fueled the consumer revolution. • Installment buying allowed consumers to buy products by paying a small down payment and then paying off the rest in regular monthly payments. • Installment buying allowed Americans to own products they might otherwise have been unable to afford.

The Bull Market • During the 1920 s, the stock market experienced a period of rising stock prices, known as a bull market. • As the market soared, people began buying on margin, where buyers paid as little as 10% of the stock price upfront, and then paid for the rest over a period of months. • Buyers gambled that they would be able to sell the stock

Cities and Suburbs Grow • In the 1920 s, the movement of people was directed toward cities. • The adoption of skyscraper technology allowed cities to stretch upward. • The completion of the Empire State Building in 1931 reflected the power and majesty of the United States. • Improved transportation also led to the creation and expansion of suburbs.

Warren G. Harding • Warren G. Harding was the 29 th President of the United States (1921 -1923). • Harding was elected on a pledge of a “return to normalcy, ” and he favored more conservative policies. • Harding’s presidency is often associated with the Teapot Dome Scandal. • After just two years in office, Harding suffered from a heart attack and died.

Calvin Coolidge • Calvin Coolidge was the 30 th President of the United States (1923 -1929). • Coolidge was quiet, and was often called was “Silent Cal. ” • During Coolidge’s presidency, the economy soared and there was an overall feeling of general prosperity. • This period of sustained economic prosperity is often referred to as the “Roaring

Urban vs. Rural America • The 1920 census reported that, for the first time, more Americans lived in urban areas than in rural areas. • Urban Americans enjoyed new consumer products, leisure activities, and they adopted more modernist, secular views. • Rural Americans missed out on many of the new consumer products and leisure activities, and they typically embraced

Fundamentalism • In the 1920 s, many devout Christians turned to fundamentalism, which was a strict adherence to religious doctrine. • Fundamentalism was especially strong in rural America. • Fundamentalism and modernism clashed head-on in the Scopes Trial of 1925.

The Scopes Monkey Trial • In 1925, Tennessee teacher John Scopes was arrested for teaching about evolution, which was illegal in that state. • Scopes was defended by attorney Clarence Darrow, and William Jennings Bryan was the prosecuting attorney. • The Scopes Trial drew nationwide attention, and showcased the divide between Christian fundamentalism and scientific modernism.

Palmer Raids and Sacco-Vanzetti Case • The Palmer Raids and Sacco. Vanzetti case both shed light on ethnic prejudices that existed in the 1920 s. • The Palmer Raids, which resulted in the capture, arrest, and deportation of radical leftists, were a response to the Red Scare. • The Sacco-Vanzetti Case resulted in a murder conviction (perhaps unfairly) for immigrants and anarchists, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo

Restricting Immigration • The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the National Origins Act of 1924 restricted the number of immigrants admitted from any country to a certain % of residents from that same country living in the United States. • These laws were passed to limit immigration from southern and eastern

The New Ku Klux Klan • In 1915, the Ku Klux Klan was revived. • The new Klan targeted not only African-Americans, but also Jews, Catholics, and immigrants. • Klan members boycotted businesses and terrorized citizens in the night. • At its peak in the mid-1920 s, the Klan boasted approximately 5 million

The Eighteenth Amendment • In 1919, the states ratified the Eighteenth Amendment, which forbade the manufacture, transport, or sale of alcohol. • The Volstead Act officially enforced the amendment. • The Eighteenth Amendment took effect on January 16, 1920.

Prohibition • During Prohibition, people made alcohol in homemade stills or smuggled it in from other countries. • Bootleggers sold illegal alcohol to consumers. • In cities, secret drinking establishments were known as speakeasies. • Clip

Organized Crime • Prohibition contributed to the growth of organized crime in America. • Al Capone was the most famous criminal of the Prohibition era, and his other “businesses” included prostitution, drugs, robbery, and murder. • Prohibition was finally repealed in 1933 via the Twenty-First Amendment.

Talking Pictures • By the 1920 s, Americans were now listening to the radio, going to movies, and following their favorite sports heroes. • In 1927, The Jazz Singer became the first movie to incorporate sound, and within a few years, silent movies were replaced by “talkies. ” • Jazz Singer Clip

The Radio • In the 1920 s, the radio emerged as a powerful instrument of mass popular culture. • Americans from every region listened to the same songs, learned the same dances, and shared the same popular culture as never before. • The phonograph allowed people to listen to the music they heard on the radio

The Charleston • The Charleston was a dance that became extremely popular in the United States in the 1920 s. • The dance was popularized by a 1923 song of the same name. • The peak years of the Charleston dance craze were 1926 -27. • The Charleston

The Golden Age of Sports • The 1920 s is often called the Golden Age of Sports. • Thanks to increased newspaper readership and the rise of radio coverage, every major sport boasted nationally famous performers. • Perhaps the leading sports hero was baseball homerun king Babe Ruth. • Others included Red Grange (football) and Jack Dempsey (boxing).

The Lost Generation • American writers of the 1920 s are often referred to as the Lost Generation as they openly criticized American cultural values. • One famous literary work of the Lost Generation is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925). • Other writers of the Lost Generation include Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Gertrude Stein, and Edith

Lucky Lindy • In 1927, Charles Lindbergh became an instant celebrity when he became the first person to conduct a nonstop, one-man flight across the Atlantic. • Lindbergh’s plane was the Spirit of St. Louis. • Lindbergh’s record-setting flight from New York to Paris took 33 ½ hours.

The New Woman • During the 1920 s, many women challenged political, economic, social, and educational boundaries. • The “New Woman” of the 1920 s wore dresses with shorter hemlines, put on more makeup, danced to the latest crazes, and generally assumed she had the same political and social rights as any man.

Flappers • The symbol of these changes was the flapper. • A flapper was a young woman with short skirts and rouged cheeks who had her hair cropped close in a style known as a bob. • Although flappers influenced styles and attitudes, relatively few women were full-fledged flappers.

Great Migration • As a result of the Great Migration, millions of African Americans relocated from the rural South to the urban North. • This mass migration continued through the 1920 s and contributed to a flowering of music and literature.

Black Nationalism • Marcus Garvey was the most prominent African American leader of the 1920 s. • Garvey promoted the idea of universal black nationalism, and his idea of black pride and black support of black-run businesses won considerable support. • When Garvey was sent to prison for mail fraud and then deported to Jamaica, his movement lost appeal.

Jazz • The 1920 s has often been called the “Jazz Age. ” • Jazz is a music form that blended African American blues, ragtime, and Europeanbased popular music. • Jazz emerged in the South and Mid-west, particularly in New Orleans, where different cultures and traditions came together and influenced each other.

The “Jazz Age” • Jazz became a symbol of the “Roaring Twenties. ” • It was a part of the Prohibition era, played in speakeasies and nightspots. • It was also a demonstration of the depth and richness of African American culture. • Perhaps most importantly, jazz bridged the races.

The Harlem Renaissance • During the 1920 s, Harlem became the focal point for black culture in America. • During the Harlem Renaissance, African American novelists (such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston), poets, and artists celebrated their culture. • The Harlem Renaissance fostered racial pride, and changed how many viewed African American culture.

Florida Land Boom • In the 1920 s, factors such as the thriving economy and the widespread usage of the automobile led to a land boom in Florida. • Many developers and investors rushed to acquire real estate, especially in and around Miami. • By the end of the decade, the land boom had fizzled out, and Florida’s economy would not recover until World War II.