To Roar, or Not to Roar, That is the Question…

While the 1920s was a decade of prosperity for many with the emergence of new technologies, forms of entertainment, and ideas that challenged traditional American values, it was still an era where the gap between rich and poor continued to increase, rising nativist fervor, and where all men (and women) were still not created equal.

Rising Nativist Fervor

• Fear of people flooding into America from war-torn Europe and veterans returning to limited job opportunities led to stricter immigration policies throughout the 1920s.

• A series of events demonstrated the anti-immigrant sentiment:– Red Scare– Rise of the New Ku Klux Klan– The Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti

Red Scare• Russian Revolution in

1919 and the rise of communism showed that a major power could be overthrown – a threat to capitalism.

• Most labor strikes were said to be inspired by communism (Karl Marx).

• Dozens of bombs mailed to government and business leaders fueled the fear of a communist uprising in America (Red Scare).

Red Scare (cont.)• Palmer Raids - Attorney General A.

Mitchell Palmer responded by having 6,000 suspected “radicals” (communists, socialists, and anarchists) people (many American citizens) arrested on January 2, 1920.– Homes and offices were invaded

and searched, many people were held for weeks without bail, beaten, forced to sign confessions.

– Hundreds deported without a trial.• Palmer predicted a major

communist uprising that never happened – turned people against his conspiracy.

The KKK Returns

• The Ku Klux Klan had died out during the 1880s, but had a resurgence in Georgia in 1915 calling for “100% Americanism.”

• The Klan now targeted blacks, Latinos, Jews, Catholics, anyone not born in the United States, socialists, communists….anyone who was different from the accepted White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant.

The KKK Returns (cont.)

• The new KKK had a major influence on politics at all levels (local, state, and national).– 4.5 million members by 1924 with many in the

midwest (not just in the south).

The Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti

• Nicolo Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants and anarchists who evaded the draft during World War I.

• The two were arrested and charged with murder in 1920.• Found guilty and sentenced to death despite a lack of

evidence.

The Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti (cont.)

• Many protests by those who thought they were mistreated as a result of their beliefs/ethnicity.

• The trial was fueled by a general suspicion of foreigners and immigrants after World War I.

The Bible on Trial

• In 1925, Tennessee passed the first law prohibiting the teaching of Darwinian evolution in public schools.

• John Scopes decided to challenge the law with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) by teaching evolution and was charged with violating the law.

The Bible on Trial (cont.)

• Scopes was found guilty and fined $100.• The trial (also known as the Scopes Monkey Trial)

demonstrated the battle between science and religion in America and the change from traditional views.

Dry America• Reformers viewed alcohol as

the cause for American problems-corruption, crime, abuse, infidelity, accidents, etc.– This movement against alcohol

was known as Prohibition.• 18th Amendment-banned the

manufacture, sale, and transport of alcoholic beverages.– Supported by Women’s

Christian Temperance Union, rural areas in the South and West, and areas of large native populations.

Dry America (cont.)• Prohibition ushered in

an era of law-breaking:– Speakeasies - bars

and nightclubs that sold alcoholic beverages illegally.

– Bootlegging – the unlawful production, selling, or transporting of alcohol.o Al Capone

reportedly made $60 million a year from illegally selling alcohol.

Dry America (cont.)

• Government did not fund efforts to enforce laws effectively, thus prohibition was a failure.– 21st Amendment (1933) repealed the 18th,

making alcohol legal again.

Technology

• New technologies made life seem better-washers, vacuums, electric sewing machines, refrigerators, toasters, etc.

• The Automobile:– Led to rapid

construction of gas stations, repair shops, motels, shopping centers.

– People could travel to cities for shopping and entertainment.

– Provided the freedom to travel further, faster.

The New Woman

• The 19th Amendment (1919) gave women the right to vote and ushered in a new era for women.

The New Woman (cont.)

• Flappers – emancipated young women who rejected traditional roles for women (the cult of domesticity).– Embraced new

fashion and hairstyles

– Embraced new attitudes – smoking, drinking in public, new dancing

The New Woman (cont.)

• More women continued to enter the workplace.– “Women’s

Profession”: Nurses, teachers, librarians, typists, filing clerk, secretaries, stenographers

– Few managers – men argued, women’s real job was at home

New Experiences

During the 1920s Americans were able to experience new forms of leisure and entertainment through the development of the radio, movies, jazz, and a wealth of great American literature.

Radio• KDKA in Pittsburg established

the first commercial radio station in 1920 and soon hundreds of stations popped-up across the country.

• Provided millions of people with access to news, sports, and advertising.– Could hear things they never had

access to before as they happened live: the World Series, the voice of the president, election returns, and commercials (the price for “free” radio).

• By 1929, 12 million families owned radios.

Movies

• Hollywood emerged as the movie capital of the world by the end of the 1920s.

• In 1927, The Jazz Singer, the first “talkie” was released and in 1928, Steamboat Willie, the first animated movie with sound was released.

• The addition of sound to movies doubled movie attendance by 1930.

Movies (cont.)

• Movie palaces popped up in every major city, where millions of patrons flocked to see the stars of the day (Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, and Clara Bow).

• These movies influenced American culture.

Jazz

• Jazz began in New Orleans in the early 20th century – first truly unique American art form.

• Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Bessie Smith became major pop culture icons in America.

Literature

• Era of great American literature:– F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby / This Side of Paradise)– Sinclair Lewis (Babbitt)– Ernest Hemingway (The Sun Also Rises / A Farewell to Arms)

1920s Economics• The average annual

income rose 35% between 1920 and 1929 ($522 to $705).

• Advertising shaped American culture and fads.

1920s Economics (cont.)• High tariffs on

foreign goods increased output by American manufacturers.

• Credit allowed consumers to buy things they could not currently afford.– Make monthly

payments (installments) with interest.

– Like a credit card.

The Great Depression

• The Great Depression = larges economic decline in US history.

• October 29, 1929 (“Black Tuesday”) – Stock market

collapsed– Starts depression

Crash Cycle

People made investments

with borrowed money

(overspeculation)

Excessive expansion of credit

Banks invested customer money in the stock market.

Business failures led to increased

bankruptcies

When the market

collapsed, the banks ran out

of money

The stock market crashed as a result of a number of factors:

Causes of the Great Depression

• Uneven distribution of wealth: wages did not keep up with inflation

• Consumer Debt: Workers could not pay off debt.

Causes of the Great Depression (cont.)

• Depressed Farm Conditions: Nation’s farmers remained in debt due to falling prices from overproduction.

• Buying on the Margin: Many people took loans to buy stock. – Stock value fell, they

couldn’t pay off their loans.

Causes of the Great Depression (cont.)

• Smoot-Hawley Tariff-the highest protective tariff in American history.– Europeans stopped

buying American goods.

Causes of the Great Depression (cont.)• Stock Market Crash

– Caused millions to lose their savings.– People went to take out their money, which was

gone.– Investments stopped.

Impacts of the Great Depression

• Homelessness and unemployment– 25% unemployed by 1932

• Employed working for lower wages

• Farm prices fell to very low levels– Between 1929 and 1932,

400,000 farms were lost• Factory production cut by

50%– Demand for goods

decreased• 5,200 banks closed and

foreclosures quickly rose• Political unrest (growing

militancy of labor unions)

Herbert Hoover• President Hoover believed

that the government should not directly aid Americans (Laissez-faire).– Economy would fix itself.

• Hoover realized this policy would not work:

Cut taxes Public Works (Hoover Dam) Reconstruction Finance

Corp. (loans to business) Federal Farm Board to buy

up farmers surplus to raise prices.

False Prophecy

“We in America are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in history of the land…We shall with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from the nation.” -Herbert Hoover, 1928

Election of 1932• Hoover’s response was not enough and Americans

elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932.

“This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.”-Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address

A Frightened Nation• Until the Great Depression, the government had played a

limited role in the American economy (laissez faire).• People began to look to the government to play an active role

in fixing a broken economy.

Roosevelt Responds• President Roosevelt believed that the federal government should

directly help Americans by providing money and jobs.• Money encouraged people to spend and stimulated the economy.• Roosevelt’s plan to end the Great Depression - The New Deal.

The New Deal• Roosevelt transformed

the role of the government in lives of Americans-the government was now responsible for its citizens-a “new deal for the American people.”

• His goals were: Relief, Recovery, and Reform.

The Three R’s

• Relief - measures that provided direct payment to people for immediate help.

• Recovery - programs designed to bring the nation out of the depression over time.

• Reform - measures designed to correct unsound banking and investment practices.

The New Deal (cont.)• The first 100 days in office, his New Deal legislation

included:– Declared a Bank Holiday (1933)-closed all banks and had

Congress pass the Emergency Banking Relief Act:• Allowed the government to look at all banks and decide

which could reopen immediately and which could reopen with government loans.• Made people more confident in the banking system.

– Glass-Steagall Act (1933)-created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC):• Insured individual bank accounts up to $5,000 (more

today)-made people feel safe about their money.• Also, required banks to use customer money with caution.

The New Deal (cont.)– Federal Securities Act (1933)-

required corporations to accurately provide information about their companies, especially when it came to stock offerings.• Securities Exchange Commission

(SEC) was created in 1934 to regulate the stock market.

– Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) (1933)-raise crop prices by limiting production:• Farmers paid not to use parts of

their land, kill livestock, and grow less.

• Increased the prices farmers received.

What causes of the Depression did the SEC and FDIC attempt to fix?

The New Deal (cont.)– Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

(1933)-Put men aged 18-25 to work building roads, parks, planting trees, and working on soil-erosion and flood-control projects.

– Civil Works Administration (CWA) (1933)-provided money for the construction of schools and community buildings:• Built 40,000 schools and paid the

salaries of more than 50,000 teachers.• Built more than 500,000 miles of road.

– National Industrial Recovery Act (1933)-set prices for certain products and limited production for industrial goods.

What was the purpose of the CCC and the CWA? Why did people think organizations like these could help end the Depression?

Critics• The New Deal benefitted millions and helped instill some

confidence in the American people, it did not immediately end the Great Depression:– Some argued deficit spending (spending more than what is

brought in) would only further the problems.– Liberals argued that the policies did not go far enough.– Conservatives argued the laws gave the federal government too

much power in farming and industry.– Many argued these policies undermined the free-market

economy.– The Supreme Court ruled some New Deal policies were

unconstitutional.

More New Deal• Works Progress Administration (WPA) (1935)-created more

than 8 million jobs.• A better deal for workers:– Wagner Act (1935):

• Protected workers right to join unions and engage in collective bargaining

• Prohibited employers from threatening workers, firing union members, and interfering with union organization.

More New Deal (cont.)

• Social Security Act (1935)-provided safeguards for workers:– Provided retirement funds

for those 65 and older (funds paid by employers and employees).

– Provided unemployment compensation for those unable to find work.

– Provided money to families with children with disabilities.

What impacts of the Depression does Social Security address?

New Deal Legacy• The New Deal permanently

changed the role of the American government in the economy.

• Now people looked to the government for help.

• Many New Deal programs still exist today (FDIC, Social Security, National Labor Relations Board, etc.).

How did the role of the government change during the New Deal? Was the government more or less involved in the economy?