Hallmarks of the

1920’s

Closing the gates

of Immigrati

on New Social

Patterns

WWI Generatio

n

The New Woman

Golden Age of Sports

Urban v. Rural

The Emergence of the

KKK

Economic Explosion:

Age of Consumer

ism

Closing the Gates of Immigration• Xenophobia (fear of foreigners) took hold after

WWI: • Congress installed quotas: such as these

Italian quota = Italian-origin population, 1920150,000 White population, 1920

Italian quota = 3,800,000150,000 95,500,000

Italian quota=6,000

Excluded groups?• Widespread prejudice against Eastern and

Southeastern Europeans.• They were given very low numbers of the total

immigration allowed, which was 3% of the population in a given year or in 1910-350,000.

• By 1929 Congress capped immigration at 150,000!

• We went from a melting pot to an ice cube.

New Social Patterns• 1920-saw a new trend…for the first time in our

history more people lived in urban areas than on rural farms.

• This transformed America in the following ways: • Educational opportunities• Family life• Widening gap between rich and poor• Tensions between urban and rural (Scopes Trial)• Etc…

WWI Generation• WWI impacted the world in different ways, but one

way it had in common was the creation of a generation of people who were hopeless and pessimistic.

• They tended to look at politics and government with disappointment and held these types of things to blame for all that happened and would happen.

The New Woman• American women changed. They adopted new

fashions and attitudes.• They had been liberated and given the right to vote.• They started to take on more aggressive personality

traits.• They advocated new technologies like birth control

(Margaret Sanger)• More women were divorcing• More women were working outside the home and

attending college• 1920: 8.2 million were working outside home; 1925:

10.6 million!

The Golden Age of Sports• After the War, sports surged in popularity. This

was due in large part to a surge in great athletes that captured America’s attention.

Urban versus Rural Conflicts• Highlighted by a widening gap in how race and

religion were viewed.• Events like the Scottsboro trial and Scopes Trial

divided America.

Urban v. Rural Conflicts: Prohibition• Urban America was in favor of a repeal of the 18th

amendment.• The rural communities tended to be more

orthodox in their religious views and didn’t appreciate such ideas.

• “Corn belt versus conveyer belt”• Social results?• Social costs?