American Life in the Roaring 20’s

APUSH

I. Xenophobia

A. Red Scare1. Nationwide crusade against left-wingers whose

Americanism was suspect. a. Bolshevik Revolution spawned a tiny communist party

in the US. B. Seattle General Strike

1. Labor strike that led to a call for federal troops to head off the “anarchy of Russia”

I. Xenophobia

A. Red ScareC. Billy Sunday – Preached the evils of the BolsheviksD. A. Mitchell Palmer – Att. General who rounded up nearly

6000 suspectsE. Buford – Ship filled with nearly 250 alleged alien radicals

to be sent back to Russia – deportationF. Criminal Syndicalism Laws - anti-red statutes – unlawful

the “mere advocacy of violence to secure social change”G. Sacco and Vanzetti Case (1921) – two Italian anarchists

that were convicted of killing a Boston pay master. Evidence would probably not have convinced a jury today to give the death sentence.

I. Xenophobia

B. Resurgence of the KKK1. Pro Anglo Saxon, pro native American, pro

Protestantism2. Bible Belt3. Anti Immigration

A. Emergency Quota Act - Newcomers restricted to a quota

B. Immigration Act 1924 – The end of unrestricted immigration in the US

II. Prohibition

A. 18th Amendment1. Supported by women and churches

A. Associated with prostitution, corruption and crime

2. Legally prohibited the sale/manufacturing of alcohol

3. Especially popular in the South and West. Hated on the east coast.

II. Prohibition

A. 18th Amendment4. Social Impact

A. Ordinary citizens became outlawsB. Increased corruption in Police forceC. Increased gagsters

1. Al Capone/St. Valentines Day Massacre2. Racketeer/Organized crime

III. Evolution v Fundamentalism

A. Scopes Monkey Trial1. Issue

A. John Scopes was indicted for teaching evolution in a TN high school.

B. Found guilty and fined $100. C. Fundamentalist –emphasis on literal reading of the

Bible.

IV. Modernism

A. Consumerism1. Producers increased buying desires of consumers

by allowing them to buy on credit. A. Buying on credit

1. By goods in installments2. Little down and pay off the remainder later

IV. Modernism

A. Consumerism2. Scientific Management

A. Eliminated waste motionB. Frederick W. Taylor

1. Assembly Line

IV. Modernism

B. Automobiles1. Social Impact

A. Americans were no longer culturally isolatedB. Exposure to new ideasC. Further development of suburbsD. Young became more adventurousE. Women less dependent on menF. Death rate increasedG. Get away cars

IV. Modernism

B. Automobiles2. Economic Impact

A. Affordable for average workerB. Spin off industriesC. Decrease in railroad industry

IV. Modernism

C. Airplanes1. December 17, 1903 – Kitty Hawk, NC the Wright

Brothers flew the first engine plane for 12 seconds.

2. Charles Lindbergh- 1st transcontinental flight on his plane The Spirit of St. Louis.

3. Airplanes are going to change the worldwide.- War, travel, etc.

IV. Modernism

D. Radio1. Impact

A. Long range communication during warB. Paperless advertisingC. Shows led to socializationD. Stimulated sports

IV. Modernism

E. Entertainment1. Nickelodeons

1. 1st 5 cent black and white silent movies.A. The Great Train Robbery (1903)B. Birth of a NationC. Talkies – movies with soundD. The Jazz SingerE. Hollywood

V. Social and Cultural Movements

A. Women1. Margaret Sanger- organized the birth control

movement2. Alice Paul – Equal Rights Amendment/ never passed3. Flappers – liberated women that wore dresses to

their kneesA. Youth had more freedom than beforeB. Charleston – danceC. Dr. Sigmund Freud – nervous and emotional ills cause by

sexual repression

V. Social and Cultural Movements

B. Harlem Renaissance1. African American movement based upon

uplifting African Americans through A. Music – JazzB. Literature

1. Langston Hughes

V. Social and Cultural Movements

C. Literature1. Disillusioned with conformity, and authority

A. The Lost Generation1. Ernest Hemingway – Farewell to Arms2. F. Scott Fitzgerald – Great Gatsby3. Robert Frost

VI. Bull Market

A. Buying on Margin1. Everyone bought stocks on margin2. Middle Class began to bear most tax

responsibilities. 3. America was well on its way to financial crisis.