2007

Amy Fletcher Byrnes High School

Politics in the 1920s

Warren G Harding (R)elected president in 1920 – campaign said he wouldBring a “return to normalcy”.

-Followed an isolationist policy-Set up a quota system limiting the number of immigrants coming into the US – KKK really active in pushing this - Emergency Quota Act-Red Scare in full swing – Sacco and Vanzetti trial is major issue-Teapot Dome Scandal ruins him – involves oil leases-He dies while in officce-18th amendment passed – Prohibition amendment-

Calvin Coolidge

Harding’s vice president – became president when Harding died

Reelected in 1924

Known for “supply side economics” – idea that if taxes were lowered thenbusinesses would invest that money and consumers would have more to spendand invest resulting in economic growth.

Did nothing to help the American farmers

Herbert Hoover

Elected in 1928

Had been Coolidge’s Secretary of Commerce and got credit for improved economy

Ran against a Catholic – Alfred E Smith – religion a big issue in the campaign

Stock Market crashed during his presidency

Hawley Smoot Tariff passed – caused foreign countries to raise their tariffs and number of goods sold overseas dropped

New Morality

Challenged traditional ideas

*glorified youth and personal freedom

*women broke away from families as they entered the workforce, earned own livings or attended college*new ideas about marriage, work, and pleasure affected lives*automobiles gave youth the opportunity to pursue interests away from parents

Flappers

Young, stylish,smoked,drank,wore revealing clothes

Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the US

Fundamentalist Religion Movement starts

John Scopes fired for teaching about evolution in his Tennessee class

*The big issue is evolution (Darwin) v creationism (God created the world as described in the Bible)

William Jennings Bryan was his prosecutoe. The defense attorney was Clarence Darrow.He was found guilty of violating the Butler Act which forbade teaching anythingOther than the creationist theory. The conviction was later overturned.The movie “The Grapes of Wrath” is about this case.

Prohibition

The Volstead Act made prohibitionthe responsibility of the UStreasury Department which changedpolice powers to control people andproperty in the public’s interestto the federal government where it hadbeen the responsibility of state governments before.

It became illegal to produce or sell alcohol when the 18th amendment passed.

Americans ignored the prohibition laws and went to secret bars called“speakeasies” where alcohol could be purchased.

Prohibition led to a massive increase in organized crime. One of the most Notorious of the “bootleggers” was Al Capone.

Gangsters corrupted many local politicians and governments.

Al Capone

Art and Literature

The “Lost Generation”

F. Scott Fitzgerald“The Great Gatsby”

Ernest Hemingway“For Whom The Bell Tolls”

Langston Hughes - author and poet

Zora Neale Hurston“Their Eyes Were Watching God”

Popular Culture

Jack Dempsey - Boxer

Babe Ruth – baseball player

Bessie Smith – singer (blues)

Duke Ellington - Musician

Cotton Club in Harlem where manyAfrican American musicians got theirstart

(Jazz)

The Great Migration brought many African Americans to the urban areasin the North hoping for a better life.

Harlem was one of the neighborhoods in New York City where many of themcame. There was a sense of racial pride and a sense of community there. It fostered a massive outpouring of African American arts . The name HarlemRenaissance is given to the massive efforts in all areas of the arts.Politically, the NAACP was very active.

Marcus Garvey (from Jamaica) encouraged education, but also suggested that African Americans go back to Africa – coined the phrase“Black is beautiful.”

Rise of New Industries

Assembly line usedin mass production

Started by Henry Ford

Mass production allowed the cost of a car to be cut in half – the lives ofmany Americans changedas more people could affordCars.

Other businesses grew as a result of the automobile – small businesses such as gas stations, garages, motels started up. People were also able to live further away from their jobs.

As wages increased people had more money to spend (disposible income)

People purchased things to make life easier.

* electric razors* frozen foods* vacuums* appliances

The Post Office had airmail service

Charles Lindbergh made the first solo transatlantic flight to ParisBy 1928 there were 48 airlines in operation

1926National Broadcasting Company set up a network of radio stations

1928 Columbia Broadcasting Company became the competitor for NBC

Consumer Society

The Great Depression

A period in US History when businesses began to slow down and many peoplelost their jobs.

Began October 29, 1929 when the stock market crashed. It began the longest and Worst period of unemployment this country has ever seen.

* Farmers lost their farms.* Banks failed and closed their doors.* Problem was that there were no social services to come in and help.* Millionaires became beggars overnight.* People were selling apples on the street* Suicide rates increased* It affected the entire world.

By 1932 one out of every four people was unemployed.

Children’s chores in the 1920s and 1930s.

Birdie Farr summarizes the routine of living on an acreage: "We were always busy. You had chores in those days to do... You came home from school, did your chores, helped with supper, get your lessons, and by that time it's almost bedtime." Many chores had to be done daily: hauling water, gathering eggs, tending the garden, and filling the wood box. And some chores like milking cows and feeding livestock had to be done more than once a day. Fieldwork started early, with feeding and harnessing the horses.

From

http://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/life_06.html

Life in the Rural Areas

Life in rural areas during the Depression was hard. Because prices for crops were very low, farmers received little for their efforts. They could not repay the loans that they had taken out on their farms in more prosperous times, and many lost their houses and farms.As the hard times deepened, the Red Cross and the government set up stations to dispense food and other necessities to the needy. Out in the country, there were not as many food stations, so people had to travel long distances to town to receive supplies. This trip was a hardship because few had transportation or the money to make the trip.

FACTS about this decade. Population: 123,188,000 in 48 states Life Expectancy: Male, 58.1; Female, 61.6 Average salary: $1,368 Unemployment rises to 25% Huey Long proposes a guaranteed annual income of $2,500 Car Sales: 2,787,400 Food Prices: Milk, 14 cents a qt.; Bread, 9 cents a loaf; Round Steak, 42 cents a pound Lynchings: 21

http://history1900s.about.com/library/photos/blyindexdepression.htm

Work Cited

http://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/life_05.html children’s chores nocopyright given

http://www.museum.siu.edu/museum_classroom_grant/Museum_Explorers/school_pages/bourbonnais/page4.htm no copyright given

http://www.geocities.com/bettye_sutton/greatdepression.html general facts about the decade of the 1930s. No copyright given