The Roaring TwentiesSouth Carolina History Standard 8-6.2

Explain the causes and effects of changes in SC and the nation as a whole in the 1920s,

including Prohibition, the destruction caused by the boll weevil, the rise of mass

media, improvements in daily life, increases in tourism and recreation, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, and the contributions of Scers

to the Harlem Rennaisance and the Southern Literary Renaissance.

1) What happened that resulted in the first African American congressman in the North to be voted into office?

2) What is the Billy Sunday preaching against? 3)What does the 18th amendment do? 4) What is a moonshiner (or bootlegger)? 5) What were the effects of the Valentine’s Day

Massacre? 6) What crime does the FBI charge Al Capone

with? 7) What amendment makes this possible? 8) What is the connection between Al Capone and

Prohibition? 9) Prohibition ends in ________________ because

____________________________________________.

America the Story of US

A law forbidding the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol.◦ Officially began with the ratification of the 18th

amendment in 1920. The law turned out to be a disaster.

◦ Citizens found ways to produce and purchase alcohol, and organized criminals were the ones who profited.

◦ 21st amendment repealed the laws of Prohibition.

◦ -video clip on crime

Prohibition

Prohibition was supposed to reduce crime and poverty and improve the quality of life in America.◦ People still found drink and entertainment in

speakeasies. A speakeasy was a nightclub that operated

illegally during Prohibition.

Speakeasies

What problems were faced by German Americans during the Great War?

  How were African Americans treated in the

US military?   What was the “Red Summer” of 1919?

In the 1920’s, racism is everywhere in America. There is fear of foreigners and their different/new ideas.

I will be taking some of you on a free trip to Jamaica.

We will fly on a private jet to Miami. From there, we will ride on a cruise ship to Jamaica.

We will spend two weeks in Jamaica, sunbathing, swimming, going on ziplines,

surfing and eating the most delicious food.

Economic Issues: I only have enough money to take 9 of you.

From each class, I will be taking 8 students with first names that begin with an A-G.

I will choose 1 student at random with a

first name that begins with an H-Z. Is this a fair way to decide? Why or why not?

Who gets to go?

Immigration Quota System: in the 1920’s, a law was passed that allowed a certain number of people from each country to immigrate to the US. However, like our Jamaica trip, it was not fair. For example, many more people were allowed to immigrate from countries like England and France than countries such as Italy or China.

How could a law like this pass in America?

Nativism: ‘native’ Americans resented and feared immigrants from other cultures that were unfamiliar to them, such as Italians, Russians and Jewish people.

Social Darwinism: Native white Americans used this idea to justify their racism. They applied the ideas of natural selection and survival of the fittest to politics and society.

Racism soars in the 1920s.

This movie depicted the origins of the Klan positively as the Redeemers of the Reconstruction era and the

saviors of white women. It featured racist stereotypes that are shocking to us today.

The Birth of a Nation and the KKK

Who did they target? anyone who was different from them Targets included: immigrants, Catholics, political radicals, gamblers

and bootleggers as well as African Americans. Used a variety of tactics to terrorize and

intimidate: public beatings, lynching and cross burnings.

In the early 1920s, the Klan had between 3 and 4 million members and had great political power in many southern states.

They reached many recruits by advertising, using mass media.

Revival of the Ku Klux Klan

Communication technology that can reach a large audience in a short period of time.◦ Little prior to the 1920s

Mass production of radio and widespread circulation of newspapers◦ Connected Americans

Rise of the Mass Media

African Americans found their ideas spreading across the nation too.

The Harlem Renaissance was the result of the Great Migration.

Exalted the unique culture of African Americans and brought recognition and pride to black artists in a variety of genres, particularly musicians.

The radio helped to spread appreciation for new

music such as jazz to white audiences and promoted a shared national culture.

Harlem Renaissance

William H. Johnson of Florence, South Carolina, splashed his canvases with vibrant color that captured the dance halls, jazz bands and the emotion of the era.

Johnson traveled to Paris in 1926, where he settled, painted, and studied the works of modern European masters.

William H. Johnson

William H. Johnson

William H. JohnsonThe Harlem Renaissance further pointed out the second class citizenship of African Americans.

Please do a drawing of your own to represent WHJ.

Your William H. Johnson Drawing:

The radio helped to spread appreciation for new music such as jazz to white audiences and promoted a shared national culture.

(Play Coltrane, Miles Davis or Chicago)

The flapper became a new fashion choice for young women.◦ Referred to a young woman who wore short skirts,

bobbed her hair, and showed her ◦ frustration for the mainstream ◦ culture of the time.

◦ South Carolina clung to tradition,there were very few flappers in SC.

The Jazz Age

The decade of the 1920s is known for several dances.

The Charleston

The Big Apple

So you think you can dance?

Southern Literacy Renaissance Response to critics that SC is a cultural

wasteland Formed by the Poetry Society to celebrate

South Carolina’s heritage. Important time in American literature. Famous writers include Julia Peterkin and

DuBose Heyward.

Heyward DuBose wrote a book which was very radical for its time because it portrayed life for African Americans in the South in a realistic way.

George and Ira Gershwin (composers) create an opera from the book. Today it is a very famous Broadway play, movie and story.

Please look in your book, Page _____

Porgy and Bess

1920s Fashion

Great Gatsby party clip

Buying in installments: a credit system for paying for an item in fixed amounts at specified intervals.

New technologies/conveniences

Where was all this time and money to party coming from?

Social Changes Improvements in urban life b/c of new technologies Little change for rural farmers Water and sanitation systems built in towns and

cities. Trolley systems and the automobile brought people

to live in suburbs. New appliances (i.e. washing machine/vacuum

cleaner)◦ Bought on installment plans

Electricity became more available due to water power and creation of dams.

Prosperity from WW1 did not last and soon cotton and tobacco prices fell as a result of overproduction and the loss of overseas markets.

The first radio station in SC set up in Charleston, in 1930.◦ Provides entertainment and news for those who can

afford it.

SC continues to be sexist & segregated

Much of the population of SC was unaware of the national optimism and positive changes that took place during the “Roaring Twenties.”

SC Economics in the 1920s

The Boll Weevil: Small insect located in the southeastern part of the United States.

Destroyed over half of the state’s cotton crop and devastated the agricultural economy.

Drought, erosion & soil depletion make for dire conditions for farming

People emigrated (movement of people to other regions) to cities in the North and Midwest.

Play: Boll Weevil Why don’t you Get out of your home……

Agriculture Problems…

Tourism= the industry that caters to vacationers and those traveling for recreational purposes.

Began to form in SC in the 1920s. Result of:◦ Several attractive beaches on the coastline◦ Widespread use of the automobile & new road

systems◦ Development of mass media (advertising)

Industry grew throughout the 20th century and remains a major

contributor to the economy of SC.

Increases in the Tourism and Recreation Industries

Nativism, Social Darwinism, Speakeasy, Boll Weevil,

Mass Media, Installment Plan, Tourism, Recreation, Prohibition, Bootlegger, Flapper

Please write a short story. Include at least five of the words below.

Roaring Twenties were defined by the spread of mass media.

Rank the following forms of media based on how much they impacted American culture in the 1920s (greatest to least):◦ Newspapers◦ Magazines◦ Radio◦ Movies (talking movies introduced in 1927)◦ Sporting events◦ Vaudeville theater (traveling theater show)

Rank them one more time based on today’s culture. Include TV, Internet, and video games.◦ Why might there be differences between the lists?

Comparing Now & Then

Which of the following best describes the US approach to WW1 when it first began?

A. Actively involved B. Instigators C. Neutrality D. Pacifism (strong anti-war feelings)

How did the use of U-boats impact the US’s role in WW1?

A. U-boats convinced the US to stay out of WW1.

B. U-boats convinced the US to join the War, fighting with Germany.

C. U-boats allowed the US to attack the Central Powers without being detected.

D. U-boats contributed to the US decision to enter the war on the side of the Allied Powers.

What was the significance of the Zimmerman telegram in WW1?

A. the Zimmerman Telegram brought Mexico into WW1.

B. the Zimmerman Telegram ended WW1. C. the Zimmerman Telegram convinced

Germany to attack the US. D. The Zimmerman Telegram was a factor in

convincing the US to enter WW1.

As a result of the Selective Service Act, military bases in SC:

A. encouraged women to join and serve in combat.

B. allowed black and white Americans to serve together in the military.

C. contributed to economic growth in the state

D. cut back on services provided for the war effort.