From War to Peace 1919-1928
Ch. 9
The Roaring 20’s
The Decade of Normalcy
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After the WarSect 1 Postwar Havoc
Slides 1-14
• U.S. was faced with many problems
– Unemployment
– Labor Disputes
– Businesses lost military contracts
– Troubled Agricultural Markets
– Change in Presidential Administration and political
turmoil
“Trading a painful war for a troubling
peace”
• Political effects of WWI on U.S.
– Stirred deep feelings of Patriotism
– Also ignited hatred toward Germans
– Created a movement known as “100%
Americanism”
• This celebrated ideas and things “American” and
attacked ideas and people viewed as foreign or antiAmerican
The Bolshevik Revolution and Rise of
the Soviet Union
• 1917- Vladimir Lenin led the Red Army of the
Bolsheviks on a revolution in Russia. Eventually
the Bolsheviks and Lenin gain control and
established the Soviet Union.
• Lenin wanted to create a “communist” system
establishing a new social system for the people
with 1. no economic classes
2. no private property
3. people equally sharing in society’s wealth
• Lenin thought this revolution of workers would
eventually spread around the world, ending
capitalism
Am. Reaction to the Soviets
• Americans were frightened by communism
• Didn’t like the idea of overthrowing capitalist
ideas, and no private property
• Wanted to keep the opportunity to better
themselves by hard work and ingenuity.
• Threats of the spread of communism seemed
very likely to many Americans.
• Americans began to call communists and
other radicals “Reds”.
The Red Scare
• Communist parties formed in the U.S. and some called
for overthrowing the government.
• The threat of revolution began to seem real
• This becomes known as “The Red Scare” in the United
States.
• The Attorney Gen. A. Mitchell Palmer led raids on
suspected radicals, to limit their activity.
• Aliens became the target of many of these raids, and
groups they belonged to were targeted as well. The
government threatened aliens with deportation.
• Eventually failed revolutions in Germany and Hungary
reduced Americans anxiety about communism
somewhat
Labor/Labor Unions
• Even though wages were on the rise, many suffered
from technological unemployment- jobs lost to
machines
• Many soldiers returning from war did not have their
jobs they had left behind
• Assembly lines lowered costs of production, but work
was boring and full of tension trying to keep pace with
machines
• Labor Unions were on the decline, due to the open
shop- place where employers hired non-union
members.
• Employers also used welfare capitalism- enabling
employees to buy stock and have higher incentive to
work- this took power from the Unions as well.
Labor/Labor Unions continued
• Government once again sides with management in
breaking strikes, and the Sup. Ct. gives unfavorable
decisions for Unions despite the Clayton act.
• 1919 over 4 million workers participated in over 3,000
strikes, but most were unsuccessful
• Major strikes of 1919
– Seattle general Strike
– Boston police Strike
– Nationwide steel-workers strike
Nativists vs. Immigration
• Scarcity in jobs combined with the Red Scare
brought backlash against immigrants and
foreigners in the U.S. after WWI.
• The rise of nativism, the distrust of foreigners,
brought clash between new and old immigrants
• Old Immigrants were mostly Protestant, and
didn’t like the many new immigrants who were
Catholic or Jewish, because they were less willing
to be “Americanized”
• Nativists along side labor leaders pushed for
immigration restrictions
Immigration Restrictions
• 1917- Congress tried to limit immigration with
literacy tests
• Established immigrants resented new
immigrants & Catholic immigrants, Unions
disliked immigrants that provided cheap labor
• Business owners feared new immigrants,
believing many were radical & would call for a
communist revolution– Red Scare roots
More Restrictions on Immigrants
• 1921- Emergency Quota Act- Used to limit flood of
immigration after WWI; in response to Red Scare,
anti-German hysteria, and the KKK’s voice against
other ethnic groups
– Limited immigration to each group to 3% of the Am.
population of that group
• 1924-National Origins Act
– Made the Em. Quota act permanent
– Also said that after 1927, only a total of 150,000
immigrants could enter
– Insured that 85% of immigrants would be from Europe
Intent of National Origins Act
• Discriminate against certain ethnic groups,
especially from southern & eastern Europe.
• Japan was totally excluded from immigration
quotas- no admission
– Japan took this as a national insult
• Nativism also helped revive the KKK in the 1920’s,
and targeted Jews, Catholics, and any group
deemed radical. “Native, white, Protestant
supremacy” was a famous slogan of the Klan that
helped move their groups ideas farther north.
Sacco & Vanzetti Trials
• Italian anarchists, which came to symbolize U.S.
mistrust of immigrants
• Conviction and execution for robbery and murder led
many to be critical of the Am. Justice system
• They believed they were found guilty because they
were Radicals, and Italian- not because of any crime
• Their guilt is still questioned today
• http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAsacco.ht
m
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAsacco.htm
Section 2- A New Economic Era
• 1920’s – Business boomed & wages rose
• Increase leisure time & new gadgets,
amusements, & more $$$ to spend allowed
people to purchase items that were more
luxurious
• A lot of this was credited to the mass
production of the Automobile- hence the
Roaring 20’s
Impact of the Automobile
• Henry Ford made the automobile a necessity
for all, not just a toy for the wealthy
• He made an affordable car- the Model “T”
– Or the Tin Lizzie- Production began in 1908
• How he did it
– Standardized parts- making cars identical
– Vertical integration
– Scientific Management of production
– Assembly line- with unskilled labor
• All of these helped reduce costs, and lower prices
More effects of the Car
• He paid workers $5/day, which allowed most of them to
purchase cars
• Competition between automakers helped the industry
grow and bring changes in styles
• Other industries borrowed assembly line practices to
increase production by 60% in the 1920’s.
• Successful businesses offered welfare capitalism, to give
more benefits to workers, and take power away from
unions.
• New fields were born related to automobile travel
– Garages/repair shops, diners/restaurants, tourist homes/motels,
gas stations/filling stations
– Tractors replaced draft horses & oxen
– Growth of petroleum industry
• The automobile also opened up more business, and aided
big businesses by provided distribution on a nation wide
scale
Growth of Big Business
• Big Business grew during the 1920’s due to
– Mass Production– Standardized Parts- Interchangeable Parts
– Growth of the Nationwide Market
• These things favored large businesses because
they allowed businesses to consolidate &
eliminate competition
• As businesses grew so did suburbs, and people
moved out of inner cities and commuted to work
Negative Effects of the Automobile
• Accidents
– Death rates were high- killed as many in U.S. as we
had killed in WWI, in 1928-29
• Growth of Suburbs- decline of inner cities
– The automobile made travel easy to & from work,
so many people moved just outside the city in
suburbs, and drove to work
– Many businesses began moving to suburbs also,
which caused tax revenue problems for the city,
leading to more slum conditions
The New consumer
• Chain stores developed & department stores
• These allowed big businesses to provide
– Cheap Quality Products
• New products include refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and the
Radio-used for entertainment and news
• Purchases using installment buying, or purchases on credit.
– Opportunities for wealth
• Stock market & investing-installment buying of stock
• More people began investing & speculating in the stock
market in the 1920’s*(key to the depression)
SEARS
• http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/coolhtml/coolencf.ht
ml#dtchain
• Sears, Roebuck and Company was especially
successful in taking advantage of these new market
circumstances. In 1895, Sears was a mail-order
company catering largely to rural demands for basic
goods, but in 1925 it branched out into direct
retailing, and by 1929 it operated a chain of 324
stores nationwide.
• In addition to the grocery and five- and tencent store chains, drugstore chains, candy
chains, shoe chains, cigar chains, and music
chains flourished.
• Kroger's, J. C. Penney's, and Walgreen Drug
were other examples of Chain stores that have
survived over many years.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/coolhtml/coolencf.html#dtchain
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/coolhtml/coolenm.html#dtma
cys
• Macy's Thanksgiving
Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving
Day parade, first held in
1924, originated as a
Christmas parade. It
highlighted the growth
of the children's toy
industry in the 1920s.
http://www.haverhillusa.com/wheregraphics/macy.jpg
Plight of Agriculture
• Farmer’s were not helped much by government
during the years other Americans were prosperous
• Technology led to greater production, which pushed
prices down, & production cost went up
• Prices dropped drastically in 1920-21
– Wheat prices fell from $2.50- less $1.50 per bushel
– Land prices dropped, and farm failures increased.
• Foreign farm markets shrank after WWI due to
countries already in debt to U.S. and the FordneyMcCumber Tariff
• Domestic markets also shrank
– Less draft animals to feed due to tractors
– Rayon being produced replaced a lot of cotton
that had been used for production of textiles
• It was difficult for many farmers to change to
producing new crops
• Many tried to increase production to increase
income to make land payments, forcing prices
lower & increasing debt
Farm Bloc
• Congressmen from Midwest & Plains states
• Worked to achieve relief for farmers
• Successful- Co-op’s free from anti-trust leg.
– Set up federal banks to give farm co-op’s loans
• Congress passed bills to help farmers, but Coolidge
vetoed many of them
• He felt that free competition provided for a healthy
economy, and refused to help farmers
Section 3 Harding & Coolidge
Presidencies
Election of 1920
• Republican nominee
– Warren G. Harding- Ohio Sen.
• VP- Calvin Coolidge-Mass. Gov
• Democratic nominee
– James M. Cox-Ohio Gov.
• VP- Franklin D. Roosevelt-asst. sec to navy
• Campaign focused on League of Nations
• Cox for the League
• Harding- against, but people weren’t sure where he
stood
Harding & Coolidge
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wh29.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/cc30.html
Harding Wins
• Harding was seen by some Republicans as for
a League, & by others as against the U.S.
joining- so he gained support from both
groups
• He promised “A return to Normalcy” like
before the war
• Announced after victory, that he would not
pursue joining the League of Nations
The Effect of War Debt
• Allies owed U.S. $10.3 Billion
• They argued Am. Tariffs hurt their economy,especially the Fordney-McCumber Tariff & the
U.S. should be willing to forgive debts,
because Allies had lost more lives in the War
• The U.S. felt like since Allies had gained
territory & reparations, they should pay the
U.S. back
Compromises & German Loans
• U.S. made agreements to reduce debts from
30-80% with most nations
• U.S. got most of this money through Germany
• Germany borrowed money from the U.S.
banks, & other foreign banks to repay
reparations
Washington Conference 1921-22
• After WWI, the U.S., Great Britain, & Japan
were competing in expensive naval buildup
trying to control territory & commercial rights
in Asia & the Pacific
• The Japanese had gained the German Pacific
territories after the War, & a Chinese port
• The U.S. called a conference to try to solve
these problems
Four & Five Power Treaty
• 4 countries
– U.S., Great Brit, France, & Japan
• Agreed to:
• Respect each other’s Pacific Island holdings
• 5 Power Treaty
– Countries- same as above with Italy joining
• Agreed to: Freeze Navies at 1921 levels, halt building of
large warships for 10 years, No new U.S. or British forts
built in the w. Pacific
• This gave Japan control of Pacific waters, in agreeing to
stay at inferior naval strength
Nine Power Treaty
• Belgium, Netherlands, China, and Portugal
joined the other 5 Nations in agreeing to put
the “Open Door” policy of China into a treaty.
• This preserved equal commercial rights in
China- Japan then withdrew from the port of
Shantung
Limits to the Conference
• Didn’t address land/ground forces
• Unlimited Numbers of small combat vessels
could still be built- subs, destroyers
• No provision for enforcement of 5 & 9 power
treaties were really made.
Domestic Business Issues
• A shift away from trust-busting
• More protective tariffs added
– Fordney-McCumber Act 1922
– Raised tariffs to very high levels & allowed the
President to adjust rates by 50%
– Protected agriculture, and young Am. industries
• Bureau of the Budget created
• Taxes cut by 2/3’s
Harding Admin. Scandals
• The Ohio Gang- close friends to the Pres. Who used
ties to sell govt. appts., pardons, and immunity from
prosecution
• Vet. Bureau scandal
– Charles Forbes- director made illegal deals making
hundreds of thousands $, followed by a series of suicides
in relation to his deals
• Teapot Dome Scandal
– Albert B. Fall- Sec. Of Interior Made deals to lease oil land
set aside for Naval use at Teapot Dome, Wyoming & in Elk
Hills in California
– Fall gained over $300,000 and eventually went to prisonHarding became very depressed and concerned
– Harding had fallen ill, and died shortly before this news
broke out
• President Warren G. Harding had
ordered control of Naval oil
reserves at Teapot Dome, WY.,
and Elk Hill, CA, transferred from
the Navy to the Department of
the Interior in late 1921. A few
months later, Secretary of the
Interior Albert Fall leased,
without competitive bidding, the
Teapot Dome fields to an oil
operator named Henry Sinclair,
and the fields of Elk Hills to a man
named Edward L. Doheny.
Teapot Dome gas station I-82 se of Yakima, WY
http://www.thehowtoguys.com/Washington/Attraction/TeapotDome/teapotdome.htm
The Coolidge Era• Harding died in August 1923, while visiting
San Francisco, California- of a heart attack
• He was worried about whether or not he
should expose the scandals of his
administration- but never got to see the
public’s reaction to the corruption
• Calvin Coolidge then succeeded to the
Presidency, sworn in by his father who was a
Justice of the Peace, in Vermont
1924 Election
• Republican- Coolidge- VP Charles Dawes
• Democrat— rivals were William McAdoo of
Calif. & Alfred E. Smith of N.Y.
– Divided over two issues
• Prohibition
• Ku Klux Klan
– This gave the nomination to a compromise
candidate- John Davis of W. Virginia on the 103rd
ballot
Coolidge Wins
• Keep Cool with Coolidge- was his campaign
slogan- to keep in power the party that
favored business – “don’t rock the boat”
Foreign Affairs
• Kellogg-Briand Pact
– Treaty to outlaw war as a form of national policy,
signed by 64 nations
– Weakness – no viable way to enforce it.
• Latin America
– By mid 1920’s we withdrew Marines who had
been sent to Dom. Rep. & Nicaragua under the
Roosevelt Corallary.
– U.S. felt we should only intervene for political
stability, not business interests, due to resentment
from many of the people there.
Ch. 10 - The “Roaring 20’s”
• Marked by
– Automobiles
– Lindberg’s trans-Atlantic flight NY to Paris
• But also rapid changes in society
– Prohibition -18th Amendment (1919)- caused crime
– Women’s independence- Flappers
• Working outside the home
• Technical Improvements in the home
– Cultural Achievements
• Am. Literature, movies, the arts, music- JAZZ
• Harlem Renaissance
• Jazz Era
Effects of Prohibition
• Voters supported candidates for Prohibition in
1928 in both the Presidential & Congressional
elections
• Crime had become a big business in the
1920’s, and much of the crime was related to
illegal liquor sales & trade
• Al Capone was a leader in the illegal liquor
trade, earning millions of dollars in Chicago.
• Prohibition Bureau was set up to help control illegal
liquor production, sales, & consumption, but was
way undermanned and corrupt itself.
• Mobsters began to control local governments much
like political machines had earlier• Rural areas were usually more likely to support
prohibition than urban areas, which is ironic today,
because most moonshine stills today are in rural
areas
• Prohibition lasted until 1933. In the end it was too
difficult to police, and the crime associated with
prohibition was probably worse than the problems
that liquor caused.
Effects of the 1920’s on Women
• Women’s Independence movement came
after the 19th Amendment
• Many women began to work outside the
home, like they had in WWI
• The “Flapper”- a women who demanded all
the freedoms of a man
– Often smoked, drank liquor, and dressed much
differently than traditional women. Dancers of the
Jazz era
The Flapper
• Flappers did not truly emerge until 1926. Flapper fashion
embraced all things and styles modern. A fashionable flapper
had short sleek hair, a shorter than average shapeless shift
dress,….,.. wore make up and applied it in public, smoked with
a long cigarette holder, exposed her limbs and epitomised the
spirit of a reckless rebel who danced the nights away in the
Jazz Age.
• http://www.fashionera.com/flapper_fashion_1920s.htm#The%20Flapper
Women in the workplace in the ’20’s
• Education increased & some college grads began
seeking jobs in business, not just traditional jobs
such as salesclerks, and teachers
• Women face wage discrimination, & also
discrimination in areas of law & science
• Famous women
– Amelia Earhart-pilot
– Dorothy Thompson- journalist
– Mary McLeod Bethune- Af. Am. who founded a college,
the National Council of Negro Women, and was a
government consultant
Changes in Family life
• Fewer children
• Higher divorce rates
• More women began seeking work outside the
home to help provide for the family
• Days became more routine
– Planned meal times
– Children’s activities, music lessons, clubs
Women in the Home
• Most women still believed their place was in
the home, and they were to be homemakers
& mothers first, not bread winners
• New Appliances to help women
– Refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines
– Other improvements that helped
• Canned commercial food
• Commercial laundries
The Arts
• Some writers tried to recapture the spirit &
traditions of rural America, others tried to focus on
city life, and changes
• Postwar disillusionment – dissatisfaction of the
times, was shown in literature by some writers also.
• Famous writer’s of the time
– Willa Cather- “O’ Pioneers”
– Robert Frost, Ernest Hemingway,Carl Sandburg
– Eugene O’Neil(playwright), T.S. Elliot
The Arts
• New skyscrapers- Frank Lloyd Wright followed
in the footsteps of Louis Sullivan
• Jazz became popular- began in New
Orleans,Louisiana
• Painters- Reginald Marsh, Thomas Hart
Benton, Goerge Bellows. Edward Hopper
• Motion picture industry grew dramatically
– Full length films developed
– -----------
Education
• Education began to favor scientific method
and use of experiments- led by John Dewey
• Public education grew, and the one-room
school house begins disappearing
• High schools become more common, but most
still do not graduate
• Enrollment in colleges increase also
Evolution
• Religious groups gained support of some state
legislatures in outlawing the teaching of
evolution in public schools
• Trial of John T. Scopes- teacher in Dayton,
Tennessee
– Arrested for teaching evolution in h.s. classes
– He was supported by the ACLU, led by attorney
Clarence Darrow
– William Jennings Bryan helped with the
prosecution
Also called “The Monkey Trial”
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/monkeytrial
/peopleevents/p_scopes.html
Scopes Trial- con’t.
• Scopes was eventually convicted
• Bryan took the stand as an expert on the
bible, and was made of fool of by Darrow
• The Scopes case symbolized tension in
America, as some people wanted to resist
social change & preserve traditional values &
beliefs.
Harlem Renaissance
• Rise to fame of many African-Americans in the
performing arts and literature, in NY
• Many Af.Am. were still being discriminated against,
and these people excelled during this time.
• Marcus Garvey became a dynamic leader and
spokesman for Negro Nationalism, which tried to
bring out African American culture & TraditionsSparked a Back to Africa movement, because he
believed blacks would never get what they deserved
in America
Harlem Renaissance
• Langston Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin,
Mo., yet from 1903 to 1915 lived primarily in
Lawrence.
http://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/1980spring_scott.htm