Postwar America

The Roaring Twenties

What was American life

like after World War I?

(The Great War)

Presidents of the 1920’sWoodrow Wilson: 1913-1921

Democrat

28th President of the United States

Warren G. Harding: 1921-1923 Republican

29th President of the United States

Died in office in 1923 from a heart attack

Vice-President Calvin Coolidge became President of the United States

Presidents of the 1920’s

Calvin Coolidge: 1923-1929

Republican

30th President of the United States

Herbert Hoover: 1929-1933 Republican

31st President of the United States

Americans blamed him for the stock market crash of 1929 and the start of the Great Depression

Aviators● The Wright

Brothers flew the first plane from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

● Charles Lindbergh was the first pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

● Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Prohibition

● 18th Amendment:

● This was a Constitutional amendment that declared the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol illegal.

● Criminal activity increased

● due to the number of mobsters that continued to produce, sell, and consume alcohol.

● Secret places, called speakeasies, opened and continue to serve alcohol.

● Men carried the bottles of alcohol in their boots, and they became known as bootleggers.

Alcohol being poured out of large barrels

Ad that promoted the 18th amendment

Newspaper headlines

Prohibition

The period of time from January 19, 1920, until late 1933 where the making, buying, selling, and consumption of alcoholic beverages was illegal.

Prohibition ended in 1933 with the passing of the21st Amendment, which nullified the 18thAmendment.

19th Amendment

● In 1919, the 19th Amendment was ratified to the Constitution. This meant that women now had the right to vote. This amendment went into effect in 1920.

The Stock Market● Because people were making

money, they were able to invest in the stock market, a place where they could invest their money and hope to make a large profit.

● Consumers would buy “stock”, a piece of paper that showed how much a particular stock was worth, and that made them an investor in a particular company.

● If the company made money, the investor made money.

● If the company lost money, the investor lost money.

● In 1929, when too many people had invested and the production of goods had slowed, the stock market crashed, or stocks suddenly became worth nothing.

● Thousands of Americans lost their savings.

BLACK TUESDAY

Harlem Renaissance

● The Harlem Renaissance was a time when poetry, music, art, and literature from the African-American community became a part of American culture.

● Musicians, like Louis Armstrong, played jazz music and people dances new dances that were born from African dances.

● Langston Hughes, an African-American poet, wrote about the lives of African-Americans.

● Jazz dancing became popular and originated from African dances.

Louis Armstrong

Jazz dancingLangston Hughes

Mass production, assembly line,

and division of labor● Henry Ford introduced the new concept of ● mass production, the process of producing

goods in large quantities for a lower price, when he began producing mass quantities of his Model-T car.

● Ford was able to do this due to the assembly line, which was a long line of workers each doing a specific job or skill. This type of new technology meant that a worker had one specific job and workers on either side of him had another specific job. Together, they could produce a good quicker and more efficiently.

● This concept of division of labor helped America create new jobs and put Americans to work like never before. This meant more economic success for companies and their workers.

● Because of this new way of production, the price of a car decreased and average Americans were able to purchase the car.

Model-T

Assembly line

Henry Ford and his Model-T

Installment buying and home improvements

● Because many people were working and making a good living, consumers began buying many of the new home inventions, like the washing machine, stove, and telephone. (consumer goods)

● A new system of purchasing, installment buying, or credit, meant a consumer could purchase a new good and not pay in full. They would pay the company a small amount each month on the item until the item was paid off.

● Example: Mr. and Mrs. Jones want a new washing machine. They go to the local appliance store and choose the one they want. Mr. and Mrs. Jones give the owner $10.00 towards the $50.00 washer. They are able to take the washing machine home with them with only a $10.00 deposit. The Joneses will then pay the appliance store $5.00 each month until the washing machine is paid off. They, and millions of other working Americans, were able to do this with other items, such as cars, homes, household appliances, and other items.

Broadcast and the telephone● The invention of the radio

brought the outside world to the homes of millions of Americans. Now people could listen to the news, listen to a baseball game, or listen to music that was being played miles away. It was a new form of communication and entertainment.

● Families gathered around the radio to listen to a variety of programs.

● The telephone could now be found in many homes as Americans were now able to afford much more! This meant that neighborhood news could travel much faster!

Boom Economy

An economy where people are making money, jobs are plentiful, and new technologies are being invented. Living standards are high and investments in businesses and stock markets are high.

Jazz

A new style of music that came from the African-American culture and became popular among the people of the 1920’s.

Ku Klux Klan

A group of whites who practiced violent protests and attacks against African-Americans