1920s: The Status Quo of Silent Cal, and its Countercurrents

Objective: We will identify and analyze the cultural,

economic, and intellectual innovations which

characterized American society during the

presidency of Calvin Coolidge.

c. New products 1. Installment plans a. “Buy on credit” b. By 1925 75% bought on credit 2. New household appliances d. Automobile biggest effect 1. Created ancillary industries

2. Art celebrates technology, city, & “the modern” such as Stella and Charles

Sheeler3. Henry Ford

a. Responsible for auto popularity b. 25kcars/day – middle class can afford

c. River Rouge, MI5. Advancement in the air

a. Charles Lindbergh--"Lucky Lindy" b. American hero

II. Politics and Culture in the Twenties A. The “New Normalcy,” and Fundamentalism

1. Politics staid; religion was nota. Fundamentalist Rebirthb. Biracial and gender inclusivec. Charismatic worship

i. Aimee Semple McPhersonii. Revivalsiii. “Redneck populism”

II. Politics and Culture in the Twenties B. W. G. Harding “Gamamielese” and

Normalcy 1. Poor qualifications 2. Successes a. Economy—Laissez Faire b. Foreign Policy—Big Four

Powers c. Pardoned Debs. d. Cabinet--Hoover, Mellon,

Wallace 3. Failures: Scandals 4. Then Died in office

C. Regulating business 1. Mellon – Laissez Faire - “LF” - supply side a. Lowered taxes on top 1% b. Fordney-McCumber Tariff of 1922 1. Protected industry 2. High tax on European farm goods

2. Business loved Harding-Coolidge a. “Business of the US is

business” b. ICC - FTC - business tools

D. Harding Scandals 1. Harding's Ohio gang 2. Forbes-Fall and Sinclair Oil a. Forbes Veterans Bureau b. Albert Fall - Sec of Interior-Teapot

Dome Scandali. Casper, WY, former Lakota

E. Election of 1924 1. Dems divide

a. McAdoo vs. Smith--John W. Davis, Dark Horse

2. Progressive - Robert La Follette 3. Republican - Coolidge 4. Reverse of 1912--Huge Rep victory

F. Political and Intellectual Countercurrents1. LF and Ethno-Racial Order Strong?

a. “One-Drop Rule” VA, 1924b. KKK influence, Dem. Conventionb. Buck v. Bell (1927)

2. African Americans Reenter Politicsa. Oscar DePriest (1929) b.Randolph, and Wells BSCP (1925) c. Mary Talbot, 1918-1923, lynching

3. Rise of the Rooseveltsa. FDR and Sarah Rooseveltb. Infidelity and Independence

4. Cracks in the Eugenic Consensusa. Hardy-Weinberg Equationb. Catholic Opposition

f. Franz Boas and Culture/Nurturei. Against Raceii. Disciples and mestizaje

a. Manuel Gamiob. Gilberto Freyrec. Valorizing indigenous and African culture in Latin America

g. African Americans, Literature,US History, and Anthropology

i. Alain Locke, The New Negro (1925)ii. Zora Neal Hurstoniii. Melville Herskovitsiv. Du Bois - Franklin Frazierv. New Immigrant histories

G. Coolidge: Business boomed--unemployment decline-wages rose 1. US 40% of world's $ a. Pent up money

created boom b. Construction

increased c. Industrial output

- Frederick W. Taylor

2. LF--interest rates low3. But Agriculture remained depressed