History 1302 Part Three
25: The Roaring Twenties:
Transition to Modern America
Overview of the 1920s
Following ratification of the 18th Amendment and passage of
the Volstead Act, Prohibition takes effect in January 1920,
leading to widespread law-breaking.
3 min. 09 sec.
In 1920 the U.S. census revealed that
more people lived in cities (54 million)
than in rural areas (52 million).
A growing demand for electrical
appliances, such as refrigerators,
toasters, washing machines, and vacuum
cleaners helped stimulate the economy.
And you could buy appliances on credit (notice
the “Easy Terms” sign in the window).
Before the 1920s, radio enthusiasts listened, mainly to
each other, on primitive crystal radio sets.
The first commercial radio station in the U.S. was
KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA, which began broadcasting
on Nov. 2, 1920. By 1930 there were more than 800
independent stations.
7 min. 15 sec.
The auto industry flourished in the
1920s. In 1920 there were 10
million cars in the U.S. By 1930
there were 26 million!
The Auto Industry stimulated other
areas of the economy: particularly
petroleum, rubber, glass, and steel.
There was a dramatic increase in road,
bridge, and tunnel building in the 1920s,
as well as a proliferation of billboards.
2 min. 01 sec.
The 1920s was the “Jazz Age.”
Musicians such as Duke Ellington,
Bessie Smith, and Louis Armstrong
were popular performers and recording
artists.
4 min. 03 sec.
“Flappers” -- young women who
smoked, drank, wore their hair and
skirts short, and defied conventional
behavior were another 1920s
phenomenon.
Rudolph Valentino
Charlie Chaplin
Mabel Normand
Mary Pickford
Douglas Fairbanks
Clara Bow
In the 1920s it only cost a nickel to go the “pictures”
to see your favorite movie star in a silent film.
1 min. 46 sec.
In 1927 the first “talkie,” “The Jazz Singer” starring
Al Jolson, was released by Warner Brothers.
1920s Sports “Heroes”
1 min. 57 sec.
In 1927 “Babe” Ruth
hit 60 home runs (a
record that held for 40
years!)
In 1926 boxer Gene Tunney
defeated Jack Dempsey, to
become heavyweight
champion of the world.
Charles A. Lindbergh,
“Lucky Lindy,” flew
solo across the Atlantic
in 1927; New York to
Paris in 33 hours.
3 min. 56 sec.
Reactionary America
In the 1920s anti-immigrant sentiment and fears there might
be a “red revolution” in the U.S. led authorities to overreact.
The first “Red Scare” was
prompted by the attempted
bombing of Attorney General
Palmer’s house in 1919.
A. Mitchell Palmer
1 min. 28 sec.
January 1920: Federal agents arrest
thousands of Socialists, Wobblies,
Anarchists, and labor agitators.
Hundreds of foreign-born radicals are
deported.
A 1915 motion picture, “The Birth of a Nation,”
inspired a revival of the Ku Klux Klan.
1 min. 29 sec.
By the early 1920s the Ku Klux Klan had become a
powerful organization with 4 million members.
Klansmen saw themselves as
patriots and the upholders of
Christian moral values.
The “new” Klan was a national phenomenon,
attracting members from all over the country.
The new Klan was not only antiblack but also anti-Catholic, antiJewish, and anti-immigrant.
3 min. 53 sec.
In 1924 anti-immigration sentiment
led Congress to pass a restrictive law
setting quotas that favored
immigrants from Northern Europe.
7 min. 07 sec.
In 1927 Italian immigrants Sacco
and Vanzetti, convicted in 1922
for a crime they may not have
committed, were executed.
In 1925 the Scopes “Monkey Trial” in Dayton,
Tennessee was seen as a battle between Science and
Religion, pitting Clarence Darrow (for the defense)
against William Jennings Bryan (for the prosecution).
Teacher John Scopes
3 min. 27 sec.
The Roots of the
Great Depression
On the surface, the 1920s seemed like a prosperous time. There were
plenty of jobs but real wages rose only slightly, limiting buying power.
This explains the popularity of installment (credit) buying.
Throughout the 1920s Republicans controlled the White House and
Congress. There was also a conservative majority on the Supreme Court.
Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover were
business-friendly fiscal Conservatives.
Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon was
the architect of 1920s Republican fiscal policy.
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Give big tax cuts to the “investor class”
Give modest tax cuts to average Americans
Reduce the federal inheritance or estate tax (which only the wealthy paid)
Run the government efficiently
In 1924 and again in 1926, President
Coolidge approved cuts in income tax
for the wealthy, first from 72% to
46% and then to 25%. Individuals
earning less than $24,000 a year
received a 1 percent cut.
Tax cuts for the investor class encouraged speculation in an unregulated
stock market, which artificially inflated share prices.
Many businesses also encouraged speculation by paying high dividends
to investors instead of raising workers’ wages. Profits also went into
expansion of production.
In addition, stockbrokers began selling stocks to ordinary
Americans “on the margin,” i.e. for 10 percent down.
When sales began to decline, some people realized the
prosperity wouldn’t last forever but most didn’t.