America: 1921-1930

ThesisAlthough during the 20’s American people were

thriving in every aspect of their life, their excessive spending and prosperity in their social,

economic, and political lives will not prepare them for what was to happen in only a few years that

will forever change their way of living.

Social Change:

Women in the 20’s• After the first World War

and after women got the right to vote in 1920, women took on a new role in society. They began drinking, smoking, swing dancing, cutting their skirts, hair, and wearing make-up. This modern women was known as a flapper.

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Harlem Renaissance:

Black literature and music became popular among Americans. It was a period of Black intellectual and artistic creativity.

Key Players: Music: Louie Armstrong, Duke Ellington, & Bessie Smith Literature: Langston Hughes & Zora Neal Hurston.

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I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother.They send me to eat in the kitchen. When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well,And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table. When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen,“ Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed-- I, too, am America.

-Langston Hughes

Modernists vs. Fundamentalists

Modernists:. Young Americans who didn’t think that the traditionalist ways would help America grow. These people wanted to step away from modest ways and were very bold in the way they went about doing so. Ex. Flappers, Jazz Music, and Birth Control.

Fundamentalists:. The traditional Americans who believed that the church rules were still the only ones the follow. They did not believe that the what the modernists were doing was right. They were very resistant to change and did not approve of the new young America.

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Sports:

• An interest in sports grew during the 20’s in recreation and at the professional level.

Babe Ruth breaks the homerun record in professional baseball in 1927.

Gertrude Ederle Swims the English Channel in 1926, being the first women to do so which brought upon woman power.

For the first time in public schools, sport teams were being formed for boys and girls.

Golf becomes affordable for the middle class as a hobby. Golf grew professionally and recreationally.

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The Rise of the KKK• The KKK’s membership saw a

dramatic rise in the 20’s, especially in the southern states. The blame of this came from the movie “The Birth of a Nation”. Racial tension grew rapidly in the 1920’s and the violence that the Ku Klux Klan was prevailing was proof that racial issues in America were always going to be an issue.

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Political Change

Important Trials:

Sacco and Vanzetti Trial (1921):

They were two Italian immigrants who were convicted of robbery and murdering two men. The men were found guilty and executed in 1927.

Scopes Trial (1925):

Trial that made it unlawful to teach any theory that was not supported by the bible. John Thomas Scopes taught evolution through the teachings of Darwin. The prosecution was lead by William Jennings Bryan who won the battle for Scopes was found guilty.

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Prohibition: The 18th amendment stated that the sale, manufacture, and

transportation of alcohol for consumption was banned in the U.S. During the 20’s bootlegging or rum running became very popular. A large number of Americans still wanted to drink and were not going to let the law stop them. Therefore bootlegging was very profitable during the 20’s.

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The Presidents• Woodrow Wilson - 1913 to 1921 • Warren G Harding - 1921to 1923 • Calvin Coolidge - 1923 to 1929 • Herbert Hoover - 1929 to 1933

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The Red Scare

• In the early 1920’s the Red Scare was a prominent factor in creating substantial fear amongst the general people that the government had been infiltrated with communist spies

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Government Action• By the 1920s, many Americans had grown tired of

war and constant attempts at reform, including numerous attempts to pass moral legislation. Many people longed for a simpler way of life. Warren G. Harding's policy of a "return to normalcy" was an attempt to capitalize on this populist feeling

My best judgment of America's needs is to steady down, to get squarely on our feet, to make sure of the right path. Let's get out of the fevered delirium of war, with the hallucination that all the money in the world is to be made in the madness of war and the wildness of its aftermath. Let us stop to consider that tranquillity at home is more precious than peace abroad, and that both our good fortune and our eminence are dependent on the normal forward stride of all the American people. - President Warren G. Harding

Economic Change

Effects from WWI

• In general, wartime is good for the economy and WWI was no exception. The war’s military necessities gave the U.S. many more job opportunities and an economic boom to go along with them.

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More Effects From WWII

• Fueled by easy money the nineteen-twenties were boom times like never before. The post-war recession was forgotten as everyone went on a spending spree. Credit, and not savings,

enabled consumers to boost corporate profits to new levels.

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Upper Class Growth• The growth in number of millionaires is shown in

Tax Reports by the Treasury Department, who reported that there were 21 individuals with an annual income of over one million dollars in 1921, 75 in 1924, and 207 in 1926. There were an estimated fifteen thousand U.S. millionaires in 1927, and at least one billionaire (cumulative net worth), nearly four thousand of these living in New York, including three thousand living on or

near Park Avenue.

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From Boom to Bust

• Late in 1929 the unprecedented booming economic decade was interrupted by an unprecedented stock market crash that would eventually lead to the countries hardest economic times.

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Conclusion

During this time of great prosperity the people of America were happy, adventurous, and expressive of themselves. They were very economically successful (except for one incident towards the end of the decade) as well as content with their political leaders. The roaring 20’s were truly amongst the most prosperous years in American history.

Works Cited• http://www.1920-30.com/politics/• http://www.businessweek.com/managing/economic_recovery/blog/archives/hoover.jpg• http://royalromania.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/president_woodrow_wilson_po.jpg • http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Warren_G_Harding_portrait_as_senator_June_1920.jpg• http://tjbrown.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/cal.jpg • http://www.1920-30.com/business/• http://1920-30.com/blog/category/1920s/• http://www.quotedb.com/speeches/return-to-normalcy

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920s• http://www.lawlessdecade.net/• http://www.1920-30.com/• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929

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