The New Era The 1920 s Main

The New Era: The 1920 s

Main Points & Themes ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ Shock of World War I Depression, anxiety, nervousness, and materialism Decline of reform idealism/progressivism Manufacturing economy to service and consumer economy Popular & mass culture Leisure & individual gratification New gender roles Race and citizenship “Culture Wars”

Consumer Culture New opportunities and jobs ¡ Declining cost of products ¡ Rise of consumer goods ¡ Credit and loans ¡ Advertising and creating desires ¡ Department stores ¡ Rise of leisure and vacations ¡

The Growing Economy ¡ Mechanization & Technology ¡ Electrification of production ¡ Increased productivity and purchasing power (up 20%) ¡ 7% growth rate (high) ¡ Urban and suburban growth

Consumer Products ¡ Washing Machines ¡ Model T cars ($850 -$250) l Roads, suburbs, restaurants, gas stations, hotels, gender and youth ¡ Radios, Cosmetics, Clothes, Cigarettes ¡ Planned obsolescence

Consumer Culture

Ford Factory

Popular Entertainment ¡ ¡ ¡ Cheap public entertainment Parks, beaches boardwalks, Movies Penny arcades Night Clubs

Hollywood ¡ ¡ ¡ Popular culture Escapism & fantasy “Stars” & gender Assimilation Chaplin Valentino

Anti-immigrant Culture Despite national culture and rising consumption rates, social and ethnic tensions remained ¡ Post-World War I fears and hatred continued ¡ Red Scare, Alien & Sedition ¡ Advertisements and mass communication distributed fears across the country ¡

Anti-Immigrant Fears ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ Sons of the Golden West Japanese Exclusion League KKK Border Patrol TX/AZ Rangers Red Scare MX/Russian Rev

Virginia, 1931

1924 Johnson-Reed Act ¡ ¡ ¡ Quota System 2% of immigrants from countries based on 1890 immigration rates Jews, Slavs, Greeks Strengthened 1883 Added Japanese

Texas Rangers, 1915 -1919

Angel Island, CA Inspection Station

Border Patrol, est. 1920 s

Sacco & Vanzetti ¡ ¡ ¡ Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti Charged with murder, MA Denied charges and had alibis Convicted Electrocuted 1927 Anti-immigrant fears

African Americans ¡ ¡ ¡ Great Migrations Rural south to urban north Jim Crow and Sharecropping World War One Black Colleges NAACP

Marcus Garvey ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ Jamaica, black nationalist New York City Universal Negro Improvement Association “Back to Africa” Black Star Line Investigated Deported

Harlem Renaissance ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ Black intellectuals Artists, writers, poets Jazz music Racism, oppression Black spirituality African-American Langston Hughes

Racial Violence ¡ ¡ ¡ Tulsa Race Riot, 300 killed in 1921 Rosewood Massacre, over 100 dead in 1923 Levi County, FL

Culture Wars Modern, industrial America vs. traditional, conservative America ¡ Fear of change ¡ Pop culture and entertainment ¡ Science and religion ¡ Changing gender roles ¡ Immigration ¡

Buck v. Bell, 1927 ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ Eugenics & sterilization Racial superiority & fear of the “feeble-minded’ being able to reproduce VA law allowed it Carrie Buck raped Institutionalized Sterilized (so was sister) Supreme Court upheld

The Scopes Trial, 1925 ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ TENN outlawed teaching evolution ACLU aided John Scopes Clarence Darrow defended him against William J. Bryan Lost case Abolished evolution curriculum Fears about science & challenges to “faith” Politics of culture

Politics & Corruption ¡ ¡ Progressive business reforms stripped after the war Economic growth Anti-reform sentiments Political scandal l Cronyism l Spoils and patronage

Teapot Dome Scandal ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ 1922 Oil Reserves in Wyoming Sec. Interior Albert Fall Secret oil lease Campaign contributions $400, 000 bribe Fall Jailed

“The Roaring Twenties”? ? ? ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ Consumer debt grew High (un)underemployment rates No workers comp, health care, social security, retirement funds Risky investment & speculation w/o down payments, expectation of high return Unprotected bank loans Overproduction “Laissez-faire” philosophy

The Great Crash October 29, 1929 ¡ $14 billion drop in stock value ¡ $74 billion in wealth disappeared ¡ 100, 000 business bankrupt ¡ 5000 banks closed ¡ 25 -30% unemployment ¡

Conclusions Benefits and costs of consumerism ¡ Pop culture and entertainment ¡ Anti-Immigrant fears ¡ African Americans ¡ Culture Wars ¡ Political corruption, wealth inequalities, debt ¡ Stock Market Crash ¡