Ch. 20.1
Americans Struggle with Post-war Issues
(Notes)
Main Idea: A desire for normality after the war and a fear of
communism and “foreigners” led to post-war isolationism.
Why does it matter now?
Our nation still struggles with the concept of isolationism and immigration
policy.
How was America left after the war?
-Exhausted!
-Divided
-Socially different
-Economically different
-Unemployed
How did these stressful conditions change Americans?
-Many Americans became fearful of outsiders and their ideas.
1. Nativism- a prejudice against foreign-born people
2. Isolationism-pulling away from involvement in world affairs
In what ways did this fear show up in society?
-the Red Scare- a general fear that American life was threatened by
Communism (red flag characterized their movement)
-Communism-an economic and political system based on a
single party government ruled by a dictator
-Palmer raids- the hunting down of communists at the
hands of Attorney General Palmer and his
special assistant J. Edgar Hoover
-Nativism-a suspicious nature concerning foreigners and immigrants
-Sacco and Vanzetti Trials-Italian immigrants arrested and charged with robbery
murder.
-asserted their innocence, had alibis, evidence was
circumstantial, judge made prejudiced remarks,
BUT were still found guilty and sentenced to
death
“In all my life I have never stole, never killed, never spilled blood….We
were tried during a time…when there was hysteria of resentment and hate
against the people of our principles, against the foreigner….”
-Bartolomeo Vanzetti
(Aug. 23, 1927)
-the rise of the KKK- grew out of the Red Scare and anti-immigrant
feelings
-comprised of bigots and anti-communists
-devoted to “100 percent Americanism”
-believed in:
- keeping blacks in their place
-destroying saloons
-opposing unions
-driving Roman Catholics, Jews, and foreign-born
people out of the country
-The Quota System-limiting the number of immigrants to the U.S.
-Emergency Quota Act of 1921- established the maximum number of
Immigrants from each European nation to 2% of their 1890 total
-discriminated against Jews and Catholics, eastern and southern
Europeans who came after 1890
-Amended in 1924 -to the 2% total from 1920
-150,000 people a year total
-prohibited Japanese immigrants
Chapter 21, Section 2
The Twenties Women
American women assumed new life styles and assumed new jobs and
different roles in the 1920’s.
-many women began to:
- assert their independence
- reject the values of the 19th century
- demand the same freedoms as men
-this new image could be seen in the flapper- an emancipated young
women who embraced new
fashions and urba attitudes
-young women became more assertive
-they began doing thing that would have ruined their reputations:
smoking,
drinking in public,
talking openly about sex
-marriage views changed to more of an equal partnership
-housework and child-rearing still remained women’s work
-the double standard- stricter principles to men than women
-the attitudes of the flapper did not reflect society in general
-women did however get new work opportunities
-10 million women were in the work force as:
-clerical workers
-pilots
-taxi drivers
-oil well drillers
- few however gained jobs in managerial positions
- wages were not equal
The family changed due to:
-birth control and its wider use
-wives and mothers no longer had to carry out traditional roles
-caring for elderly parents
- making of clothes
-making all the food (bread)
-housework
-marriage was not out of the necessity to have children to
help on the farm
-teens spent far less time at home and more socializing with peers
-this often caused rebelliousness.
Chapter 21, section 3
Education and Popular Culture
The mass media, movies, and spectator sports played important roles in creating the
popular culture of the 1920’s- a culture that many artists and writers criticized.
How did public schools change in the 1920’s?
-School enrollment increased dramatically
-sparked by prosperous times
-industry increased the educational standards to be employed
-Schools begin to cater to non-college bound students
-offered a broad range of courses
-including vocational training
-new immigrant families fill schools
-increased the number of literate Americans
-taxes increased to pay for the rising cost of public education
-costs doubled many times
How did mass media shape American culture?
-Radio, newspapers, and magazines figured out how to hook their audience
Newspapers:
-imitated the sensational stories of the tabloids (National Enquirer)
-huge national chains bought up small local papers
-more expansive coverage from the big cities
Magazines:
-many weekly magazines that summarized the news of the week
-included Reader’s Digest, Time
Radio:
-most powerful communications medium
-shared experience of hearing the news as it happened
-entertaining and informative at the same time
What did Americans do with their new found prosperity and leisure time?
-many Americans spent money on luxury items or entertainment
-$ 4.5 Billion
-worked on crossword puzzles or played Mahjong
-went to the movies
-flocked to athletic competitions
-the media made sports stars out to be super-heroes
-spent time on frivolous activities
-pole sitting, dance marathons
Who were some of the heroes of the day?
Babe Ruth-baseball player for the NY Yankees
Gertrude Ederle-first women to swim the English Channel
Helen Wills-played professional tennis
Charles Lindbergh-first pilot to fly nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean solo
(Spirit of St. Louis)
-these pioneers in their field, paved the way for others to achieve great feats decades later
How did entertainment and the arts affect the 1920’s?
Movies:
-offered people a chance to escape
-romance and comedy
-The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolsin was the first “talkie” in 1927
- Steamboat Willie by Walt Disney was the first animated movie
With sound in 1928
Music:
-broke away from the European tradition
-merged traditional elements with modern Jazz
-become known as a distinctly American sound (George Gershwin)
Art:
-painters began to paint American realities an dreams
-Georgia O’Keefe painted the grandeur of NYC
Writing:
-often outspoken and critical of society
-showed the negative side of America’s new found freedoms
- Sinclair Lewis was the first American to win Nobel Prize for Literature
-F. Scott Fitzgerald showed how imperiled the lives of Americans were in
The Great Gatsby
-some were so fed up with American life they even left the U.S. to
live in Europe and abroad. (Ernest Hemingway)
-Hemingway even wrote and spoke out against the glorification of WWI