American Life in the Roaring Twenties

American Life in the Roaring TwentiesObjective: Students will understand how Americans reacted to rapid social change during the 1920s

Seeing RedAfter the war America became even more isolationistStandard of living and wages both sky rocketed in the twentiesAmericans feared the red Russians after the Bolshevik takeoverThis was bolstered by the large number of labor disputes thought to be started by the communistsRed Scare came in 1919-1920 against people whose Americanism was suspectFighting QuakerAttorney General A. Mitchell PalmerRounded up thousands of suspectsHouse was blown up by a bomb in June of 1919December 1919 249 aliens were deported to RussiaBomb on Wall Street in September 1920 kept the hysteria aliveStates passed criminal syndicalism lawsAnti Red laws made it illegal even to suggest using violence to solve a social problem in dozens of statesOfficials elected on the Socialist ticket were even denied their rightful place in governmentfive in the New York legislatureBusiness used the red scare to break the labor unionsMurder trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo VanzettiMillions worldwide protested against the trial but they were executed anyway

Hooded Hoodlums of the KKKThe new KKK of the 1920sVery nativist, antiblack, anti-Jewish, antipacifistic, anti-Communist, anti-internationalist, etc.Pro Anglo Saxon, native American, ProtestantExtremely conservative1920 it had 5 million members mostly in the Midwest and SouthStill used fearburning cross, lash, tar and feather, etc. (Terrorism)Reign ended in late 1920s but lasted well into the late 20th century

Stemming the Foreign Flood800,000 immigrants arrived from Europe in 1920US was against it, very isolationist, roaring 20s, etcEmergency Quota Act of 1921Set the amount of immigrants the US would let in at 3% of the people from that country that were already in the US in 1910Immigration Act of 1924Cut quotas to 2% and changed it to 1890 instead of 1910Didnt allow any JapaneseCanadians and Latin Americans were exemptcould easily sent back when they werent needed for laborShift in policy from letting anybody in to the idea America was full1931 more immigrants left than arrivedHorace Kallen and Randolph BourneCultural PluralismChampioned alternative roles for the immigrantsWanted them to maintain their lifestyles and identitiesAdvocated cross-fertilization of the races to make US a transnationality

The Prohibition Experiment18th amendment in 1919Especially popular in South and WestMany believed the way to end the law was to violate it on a large enough scaleJazz and booze went hand in handEnforcement agencies were understaffed and underpaidSaloons were replaced with speakeasiesunderground clubs Prohibition made hard liquor more popular because it was too hard to conceal large amounts of alcohol mainly beer Home brewed, bathtub gin, moonshine, etc became popularWasnt a complete failureSavings went upless $ spent on liquorAbsenteeism from work went downAlcohol consumption as a whole decreased