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Presidential PoliticsWarren G. Harding
– Post WW I President– Promised “Return to Normalcy”– Republican Conservatism– Presidency plagued with
political, personal scandals – “Ohio Gang” cabinet of poker
players and drinkers ran White House
Teapot Dome Scandal– Harding’s Secretary of the
Interior sold public lands to private oil companies for bribes
– One of several scandals that plagued the Harding Administration
Presidential Politics
Calvin Coolidge• Succeeded Harding as
president• Known as “Silent Cal”– Said little, did little– Greatly reduced
government spending and regulation
– Business-focused leadership
Consumerism
Model T• Car made affordable by
Henry Ford• Efficient assembly line
production• Allowed payments in
installments
Consumerism
Consumer Society• New products
– car, radio, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, sewing machines, soda, toasters
• Increased Advertising– Newspapers, radio,
billboards
• Easy Credit– Payoff in installments
Nativism
Sacco & Vanzetti Trial• Immigrants tried &
executed on little evidence of murdering a factory paymaster
• Conviction fueled by fear of immigrants and communists
NativismKu Klux Klan• Expanded message of hate to
all non-WASPs– WASP ideal-white, Anglo-Saxon
(western European), Protestant• Anti-black, anti-immigrant,
anti-Catholic, anti-Jew, anti-communists
• *KKK membership grew--4.5 million (1924)
• *Utilized violence, terrorism, and political pressure to push agenda in creating “100% American Society”
Nativism
Quota System • Limited immigration to
3% of 1890 census figures
• Eastern/southern European countries virtually denied access
• Most restrictive immigration policy in United States History
Clash of CulturesFlappers• Young women of the era who
challenge feminine ideals– Assertive, speak up, drink,
smoke, dance, casual dating, loose fitting dresses above knee, bobbed hair, taped down breasts, string beads, felt hats, silk stockings, use birth control
• Emancipated Woman• 19th Amendment
– Right to vote, politically active• Outgoing Urban woman• Modern household
conveniences liberate
Clash of Cultures
Adoption of Prohibition• Return to days of
temperance• Attack on Catholics,
immigrants• 18th Amendment
– outlaws manufacturing, sale, distribution of alcohol
• Success—drinking did decline, related abuses, health problems declined
Clash of Culture
Repeal of Prohibition• Prohibition did not
outlaw drinking alcohol• Abuse—speakeasies,
bootleggers, mobsters (Al Capone), lost respect for law, underground culture
• 21st Amendment repeals Prohibition
Clash of CulturesAmerican Fundamentalism• Protestant movement• Attack on science of
modern era• Reject evolution theory• Tennessee Law outlawed
teaching evolution• Scopes Trial (Monkey Trial)
– Teacher John Scopes arrested for teaching evolution
– Becomes trial between free speech & science v. fundamentalism & faith
Clash of Cultures
Lost Generation• Post-World War I writers
disillusioned by war, faddishness, and materialism of the 1920s
• Generally cynical writers– Sinclair Lewis—Babbit– F. Scott Fitzgerald—The
Great Gatsby– Earnest Hemingway—The
Sun Also Rises– T.S. Eliot—The Waste Land
Entertainment
Movies• Began as silent films
with subtitles• Stars emerge– Rudolph Valentino--hunk– Charlie Chaplin--slapstick– Clara Bow--“It Girl”
• “Talkies” by end of the decade
Entertainment
Radio Shows• Fastest growing
entertainment of the era
• Comedies-Amos N’ Andy
• Music (Irving Berlin)• News• Sports coverage
Entertainment
Sports• Newspapers, radio
increased popularity• Baseball—Babe Ruth• Boxing—Jack Dempsey• Football—Red Grange• Golf—Bobby Jones• Tennis—Helen Wills
African American Culture
Jazz• Combines ragtime, blues, Negro
spirituals, modern instruments, rhythm, & improvisation
• Truly American Music– Originates New Orleans
• Transforms musical world• Foundation for rock n’ roll • Jazz Greats
– Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith…more
• Jazz bridges the racial divide– Blacks played white clubs – Jazz adapted by white musicians
African American CultureHarlem Renaissance• African American cultural, political,
literary, musical revival• Centered in Harlem, NY• Beginnings of black pride-“Black is
beautiful.”• NAACP continues efforts combating
lynching, protecting civil rights• Marcus Garvey—encouraged black
improvement, pride, economic independence, return to Africa
• Langston Hughes—literary voice of the African American
• Cotton Club-African-American night club
“…the chief business of the American people is business”
“Besides,They’ll see howBeautiful I amAnd be ashamed—
I, too, am American”
"I've never been hurt by anything I
didn't say."
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