Unit 5: Boom and

Bust

Chapter 15

The Jazz Age1919-1929

Roaring 20s Begin

I. A Clash of Values A. War is Over

1. US attempts a return to isolationism * a national policy of avoiding involvement in world affairs

a. Shun diplomatic commitments w/ foreign countries

b. Denounce foreign ‘radical’ ideas2. atmosphere of disillusionment

a. economic recessionb. influx of immigrantsc. racial/cultural tensions

3. Scenarioa. immigration stopped during war –

up again in 1921 after WWIb. most new immigrants from S & E Europe

1) seen as threat to stability and order2) seen as threat to returning

soldiers who need jobs in an economy with rising prices and unemployment

c. leads to a rise in racism and nativismPost War Intolerance

NATIVISM* nativism = a preference for native-

born people and a desire to limit

immigration

4. The Sacco & Vanzetti Casea. The Crime: 2 Italian, Anarchist,

Immigrants accused of murdering a paymaster and guard during a payroll

holdup in Boston. April 1920.b. The Evidence: Flimsy at best see pg

490-491c. The Verdict: Guilty! Says the Judge:

“this man, although he may not actually have committed the crime, is nevertheless morally culpable, because he is the enemy of our existing institutions”

d. The Sentence: Death – both executed in 1927

Sacco and Vanzetti

4. Eugenics – emphasized that human inequalities were inherited and warned against breeding the unfit or inferior

a. superiority of American stock. WASPs = White, Anglo-Saxon,

Protestantsb. led to strict immigration control

5. Plight of Black Americans in the 1920sa. Great Migration: Southern Rural blacks

move to northern, industrial citiesb. Racial Prejudice: poverty, frozen out of

many jobs, high unemploymentc. Rise of KKK – devoted to persecuting minorities in US

- blamed immigrants for nations trouble

- attacked blacks, Catholics, Jews etc.

- used threats & violence to frighten “undesirables”

- influence declines in late ‘20s due to scandals & power struggles within organization leadership

KKK

The Klan: Gainesville, GA

B. Immigration Restrictions1. Anti-immigrant feelings rise – even in

big biza. racismb. fear of competition for jobsc. worries about political radicals

(Red Scare)

2. Emergency Quota Act of 1921a. only 3% of an ethnic grp (already here)

admitted (based on 1910 census)- restricted # imms. from all countries- discriminated heavily against people

from S & E Europeb. Effect? Ethnic identity & National Origin

determined admission into US3. National Origins Act of 1924

a. made immigration restriction permanentb. quota at 2% (1890 census) – so, larger #s from N & W Europe allowedc. 1929 addition to this act resulted in N & W

Europeans = 87% of quota

1. “America realizes that she is no longer a desert country in need of reinforcements to her population. She realizes that her present numbers and their descendants are amply sufficient to bring out her natural resources at a reasonable rate of progress. She knows that her prosperity at this moment far exceeds that of any other land in the world. She realizes that unless immigration is numerically restrained she will be overwhelmed by a vast migration of peoples from the war-stricken countries of Europe. Such a migration could not fail to have a baleful effect upon American wages and standards of living, and it would increase mightily our problem of assimilating the foreign-born who are already here. Out of these thoughts have risen the general demands for limitation of the number of immigrants who may enter this country.

2.” There has come about a general realization of the fact that the races of men who have been coming to us in recent years are wholly dissimilar to the native-born Americans; that they are untrained in self-government-- a faculty that it has taken the Northwestern Europeans many centuries to acquire. America was beginning also to smart under the irritation of her 'foreign colonies'-- those groups of aliens, either in city slums or in country districts, who speak a foreign language and live a foreign life, and who want neither to learn our common speech nor to share our common life. From all this has grown the conviction that it was best for America that our incoming immigrants should hereafter be of the same races as those of us who are already here, so that each year's immigration should so far as possible be a miniature America, resembling in national origins the persons who are already settled in our country. . . ."

"It is true that 75 per cent of our immigration will hereafter come from Northwestern Europe; but it is fair that it should do so, because 75 per cent of us who are now here owe our origin to immigrants from those same countries. . . ."

  

Flow of immigration under 3% law – based on 1910 census – largest quotas come from countries shaded in black

The flow of immigration under 2% law – Smallest quotas come from the lightly shaded countries and those shown in white (Turkey, Spain, Romania, Hungary, etc. ) Largest quotas from countries shaded in black

4. Hispanic Immigration to USa. lack of immigrants in the labor pool

led to rise of Mexican immigrationb. irrigation jobs ala Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902 open to Mexican immigrants

- 70,000 Mexicans flee to US after Mexican Rev.

- National Origins Act of 1924 exempted natives of Western

Hemisphere from quota system

C. The New Morality1. New Morality vs Traditional Values2. What was the new Morality?

a. glorified youth and personal freedom

b. more women working outside the home

- establish personal identity- independence from parental

authority- provide wages – can buy

things!c. more women attend college d. increased freedom thanks to auto

- provides independence/privacy for youth

- shift: socializing at home to socializing w/ friends

3. Women in the 1920sa. more social freedom b. the “flapper” : the symbol of the

revolution in manners and morals – young dramatic, stylish, and

unconventional woman- short skirts- short hair- danced the tango, foxtrot, and

the new Charlestonc. intellectual achievements - contribute to science, medicine, law & literature

The Flapper

Hairstyles circa 1922, 1925,1925,1926

Flapper fashion embraced all things and styles modern.  A fashionable flapper had short sleek hair, a shorter than average shapeless shift dress, a chest as flat as a board, wore make up and applied it in public, smoked with a long cigarette holder, exposed her limbs and epitomized the spirit of a reckless rebel who danced the nights away in the Jazz Age. 

The Flapperby Dorothy Parker

The playful flapper here we see,The fairest of the fair.

She's not what Grandma used to be,--You might say au contraire.Her girlish ways make a stir,Her manners cause a scene,

But there is no more harm in herThan in a submarine.

She nightly knocks for many a goalThe usual dancing men.

Her speed is great, but her controlIs something else again.

All spotlights focus on her pranks.All tongues her prowess herald.

For which she well may render thanksTo God or Scott Fitzgerald.

Her golden rule is plain enough-Just get them young and treat them

rough.

4. The Fundamentalist Movement – supporters of traditional values

a. saw moral decline in American society

- consumer culture- relaxed ethics- increased urbanization

b. Fundamentalist beliefs- literal translation of Bible- rejected theory of evolution –

supported creationism

c. Scopes Monkey Trial- laws against teaching evolution- ACLU determined to overthrow this law- arrange to have John Scopes

(Biology teacher), arrested for teaching it- Trial: Defense atty Clarence Darrow vs. prosecuting atty, William

Jennings Bryan- Scopes guilty, but Darrow bested

Bryan many times in trial – Bryan dies 5 days later

- Result? Fundamentalists further isolated from mainstream

Protestantism

Scopes Trial and Prohibition

D. Prohibition 1. Why ban alcohol? (18th Amendment Jan. 1920)

a. unemploymentb. domestic violencec. poverty

2. Volstead Acta. enforces prohibitionb. increased fed. gov’t’s police

powers (previously been left to the states)

3. Effects of Prohibitiona. Rise in ORGANIZED CRIME

- bootlegging- smuggling- speakeasies – illegal bars

b. Crime became big biz - gangsters corrupt public officials- most notorious – Al Capone

(Chicago)

Al Capone

4. Repealing Prohibition a. 21st amendment, 1933b. defeat for supporters of

traditional values & for those who favored the use of fed. police powers to achieve moral reform

5. Lasting effect of Prohibitiona. anti-alcohol lawsb. alcohol awareness - less drinking at work etc.

II. Cultural Innovations A. Art & Literature

1. Greenwich Village & the South Side a. Greenwich Village = NYC; South

Side of Chicago b. Bohemian lifestyle – artistic and unconventional – perfect place for artists and writers to flourish, focus on

creativity

2. Modern American Arta. diverse range of artistic

stylesb. urban landscapes; cubism,

realism

Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks depicts isolated people in the city

3. Poets & Writers – varied styles and subject matter

a. poet Carl Sandburg glorified Midwest and expansive nature of American life

b. poet Vincent Mallay praised women’s freedom and equality

c. poet Gertrude Stein – important literary critic d. poet/writer T.S. Elliot concentrated

on negative effects of modernism

A penny for the Old Guy

We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass Or rats' feet over broken glass In our dry cellar Shape without form, shade without colour, Paralysed force, gesture without motion; Those who have crossed With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom Remember us -- if at all -- not as lost Violent souls, but only As the hollow men The stuffed men.

TS Elliot: The Hollow Men

This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper.

T.S.Eliot, author of The Waste Land (1922) and The Hollow Men (1925).

e. playwright Eugene O’Neill portrayed realistic characters and situations

f. Novelist Ernest Hemingway wrote about disillusionment and reevaluated myths about American heroes – result of his WWI experience as an ambulance driverg. writer F. Scott Fitzgerald exposed emptiness and superficiality of

modern society The Great Gatsby

B. Pop Culture 1. Economic Prosperity

a. Americans had more leisure time and more moneyb. Americans able to enjoy various forms of entertainment/pop

culture

2. Baseball, Boxing, and Other Sportsa. Media coverage (motion pictures, radios,

newspapers, magazines) of sports helped to increase its popularity

• Baseball – Babe Ruth famous worldwide• Boxing – Jack Dempsey • College Football – Red Grange of the

Univ of IL• Golf – Bobby Jones• Tennis – Bill Tilden; Helen Wills• Swimming – Gertrude Ederle – swam the

English Channel in record time

3. Rise of Hollywooda. Silent Movies

- live piano players set the tone in the theater

- subtitles revealed the plotb. First “talkie”: The Jazz Singer

1927- golden age of Hollywood began!

4. Popular Radio Shows and Musica. 1920 – KDKA Pittsburgh launched one of 1st commercial radio

broadcasts: election results of the 1920 Presidential Election – Harding’s landslide victory

b. Radios• played pop music of the day• comedy shows such as Amos ‘n’ Andy

c. Significance of 1920s mass media?1) broke down patterns of

provincialism2) unified Americans through shared

national culture3) spread new ideas and attitudes of

the times

III. African American Culture A. The Harlem Renaissance 1. Effects of Great Migration

a. Black American sought to escape segregated society of South & to find economic opportunities

b. New York City neighborhood of Harlem – area full of night clubs & music – culture movement known as the Harlem Renaissance – significance?

1) stimulated artistic development2) racial pride3) sense of community4) political organization

Harlem Renaissance

2. The Writersa. Claude McKay: immigrant from Jamaica – criticized racism in Americab. Langston Hughes: examined the place of blacks in a white world

- many of his poems expressed a positive, hopeful message – things may not be good now, but there is hope for the future

3. Jazz, Blues, and the Theatera. Music Biz grew thanks to radio &

phonographb. Most important musical development of

the 1920s was JAZZ- American style of music that

developed from ragtime & blues and which uses syncopated rhythms &

melodies- Louis Armstrong: 1st great coronet &

trumpet soloist in jazz music. Known for improvisation- Duke Ellington: bandleader who

created his own sound of improvisation & orchestration using

diff. combos of instruments

Birth of Jazz

- Cotton Club – Harlem neighborhood nightspot where many black

American artists got their starts (could play there, but couldn’t be a

customer!)• Bessie Smith: “empress of the blues”

• Eventually, others borrowed heavily from jazz, produced a quieter version that appealed to white audiences ” Big Band” (great for dancing)

B. African American Politics1. Role of Harlem Renaissance:

brought int’l fame to many black Americans + sparked a political transformation in the

US2. Great Migration led to increased

political power of black Americans – created a strong voting bloc in the north

3. NAACPa. battled discrimination and segregation through the legal system – in the courtsb. led efforts in Congress to pass anti- lynching legislationc. political strength of black Americans

evident with the defeat of Judge John Parker’s nomination to the

Supreme Court

4. Rise of Black Nationalism – Marcus Garvey

a. glorify black culture & traditions of the past

b. Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Assoc. (UNIA) - believed blacks could gain economic and political power by educating themselves

c. Eventually, Garvey proclaimed that blacks could never find justice or freedom in the US – developed plan to lead blacks to new homeland in Africa

d. $ sent in for his cause was wasted/mismanaged. Garvey

jailed, deported back to Jamaica – organization collapsed

Chapter 16

Normalcy & Good Times

1921-1929

I. Presidential PoliticsA. The Harding Administration

1. 1920 Electiona. Democratic Platform

1) continue Progressive Mvmt2) support League of Nations3) increase role of gov’t in economy

b. Republican Platform1) return to Laissez-Faire2) avoid foreign entanglements3) “normalcy” (a return to a state of normal) – Harding’s campaign

slogan

c. Republicans – Warren G. Harding win

- more in tune w/ public mood: tired of wartime wage & price

controls; anxious to avoid another foreign war

Warren G. Harding

2. The Republican Formula: Lower Spending + Lower Taxes + Higher Tariffs = Economic Growth

a. run gov’t more efficiently – return to laissez faire – avoid heavy federal

spendingb. appointed Andrew Mellon as Sec. of

Treasury (1 of 6 richest men in US) - Who is Sec of Treasury today?

c. believed in cutting taxes on industry to spur economic growth

d. cut gov’t spending (did by 1/3)

Official Seal

Incumbent:

Timothy Geithnersince: January 26, 2009

First Alexander Hamilton

Formation September 11, 1789

Presidentialsuccession Fifth

Website www.treasury.gov

                  US Secretary of the Treasury

3. Political Scandals - Harding: hard working & good natured, but remembered for

scandals while in office a. Ohio Gang: a group of political friends

from Ohio that Harding appointed to high gov’t posts

1) good appts: Sec of State Charles Hughes, Sec of Commerce Hebert

Hoover, Sec of Treasury Andrew Mellon 2) most not qualified – or just plain corrupt 3) stories of misconduct made it to the

press

- Charles Forbes, head of Vets bureau: swindled country

out of $200m- Reports of Ohio gang selling

favors, including pardons & appts to office

b. Harding takes trip to Alaska, gets sick, dies Aug 1923

c. Teapot Dome Scandal – new out after Harding’s death

1) secret, illegal leasing of gov’t oil reserves to pvt oil companies in

Teapot Dome, WY2) Albert B. Fall, Sec. of Interior,

leased the reserves to oilmen who paid him kickbacks

d. Harding’s Atty Gen. Harry Daugherty forced to resign in 1924 charged w/

bribery & fraude. Harding admin goes down in history as

most corrupt in US History

B. The Coolidge Administration1. VP Coolidge of MA takes over

a. “Silent Cal”b. untouched by scandals of Harding admin

- Integrity earns him honor of being one of most popular Presidents

- distanced himself from most in Hardings admin- Kept Harding’s most capable: Hughes, Mellon, Hoover

c. Philosophy: to make sure gov’t interfered w/ biz and industry as little as

possible **America’s prosperity rested on biz leadership

Calvin Coolidge

2. 1924 Electiona. Coolidge (R) v. Davis (D) v. LaFollette (P)b. Ds turn away from Progressivism, Ps call

for gov’t to spend more time regulating biz than fighting labor unions

c. Farmers support Ps to demand gov’t subsidies

d. Coolidge wins easily “Keep Cool with Coolidge”

- avoided war, avoided scandal, avoided reform – but supported biz

Prosperity

- “The chief business of the American people is business”

II. A Growing Economy A. The Rise of New Industries

1. Wages UP, Productivity UP – thanks to new technology

a. more $ to spendb. more stuff to buy: radios,

washing machines, vacuum cleaners, phones & CARS

2. The Assembly Linea. Henry Ford made mass production of autos possible thru use of AL

- divide operations into simple tasks – cut unnecessary motion to min.- The Model T

b. made auto affordable (not just a luxury for the wealthy)c. Ford’s philosophy: lower the cost per car = increased volume of salesd. increased pay, established 8 hr shifts =

increased worker loyalty, decreased union influence

e. competition grew: GM, Chrysler

Henry Ford with Model T in Buffalo, NY, 1921Henry Ford

3. Success of Auto Industry = ripple effect on economy

a. steel, rubber, glassb. construction industryc. fed & state gov’t built roadsd. motels, gas stations

4. Social impact of Autoa. affordable to middle classb. new biz opportunitiesc. higher demand for educated workers

(mgrs, sales)- high school enrollment 2X- college enrollment almost 2X- biz schools

d. eased isolation of rural lifee. enabled people to live farther from work –

more suburban

5. Consumer Goods Industry – more $, more to buy

a. For the home:- indoor plumbing- household cleansers- frozen foods

b. New Appliances- electric irons- vacuum cleaners- washing machines- refrigerators

c. For You- electric razors- disposable tissues- home hair dye

6. Airline Industrya. 1st flight? Orville & Wilbur Wright, Kitty Hawk, NC

Dec. 1903b. Glenn Curtiss – invents ailerons – made it possible to build rigid wings & much larger aircraftc. WWI – use of airplanes in ward. US gov’t use of airplanes: USPS airmail service 1918

- Kelly Act 1925: authorized postal official to contract w/ pvt airplane operators to carry mail - economic boost

to airplane industry- Air Commerce Act 1926: provided federal aid for building airports

e. Charles A. Lindbergh - 1st solo, trans-Atlantic flight 1927- symbolized American ingenuity, courage & ability- individ. effort mattered in the machine age!

f. 1928: 48 airlines serving 355 US cities – advent of airline advertising

7. Radio Industrya. 1912: Edwin Armstrong invented special circuit that made long-range radio transmission of voice

and music practicalb. 1920: 1st radio station KDKA Pittsburgh, PA

announces election resultsc. 1926: NBC established permanent network of

stations to distribute daily programsd. By 1927: 700 stations nationwide; Fed. Radio Commission regulates theme. 1928: CBS competing with NBC – both sell ad time, hire musicians, actors, comedians etc; play

pop music; ads to Political Parties in 1928 electionf. 1929: 10 m radio sets in home in US; almost 40%

of US population

B. The Consumer Society: higher pay + shorter workdays = buying spree

1. Easy Consumer Credita. 1920s prosperity gave Americans

confidence to go into debt to buy consumer goods – to buy on credit –

believed in their ability to pay off debts over time

b. Rise of auto & expensive long-lasting goods convinced people to buy on installment plans/credit (bought 75% radios, 60% autos on installment)c. Personal debt rose 2 ½ times faster than incomed. Stimulated production, but people began getting in debt over their heads

2. Mass Advertisinga. Americans had to be convinced that they

needed all the new products availableb. Preyed on consumers’ fears and anxieties:

- health concerns? buy cleansers etc - hectic pace of modern life? Buy labor savers (iron, fridge etc)

c. Linked products to progress and success- concerned with fashion and appeal?

Buy mouthwash, deodorant etc

3. Managerial Revolutiona. industries began to create organizational structureb. divided into divisions with diff.

functions (sales, accounting, operations etc)

c. managers with biz skills hired – created expansion of middle classd. engineers needed for new

technology – expansion of middle class

4. Welfare Capitalisma. companies allowed industrial

workers to buy stock, participate in profit sharing, receive benefits such as med. care and pensionsb. unions less important with rise in employee benefitsc. employers promoted open shopd. with benefits covering certain

needs, workers could spend more of their income

C. Division in American Society – The Farm Crisis1. 1900 = 42% Farmers; 1929: 25% Farmers

a. young people lured to cities for better pay, more exciting life

b. other left farms as they weren’t sharing in prosperity of the decade

- after WWI, not longer selling to European Allies, demand

down – but farmers had bought lots of new

equipment on credit!- urbanization: people ate less

due to less hard labor- less grain needed for livestock

– we have cars now- prohibition: no grapes for wine,

no barley for beer

2. Result? Overproduction of farm goods and prices way down

a. Advances in tech. only added to overproduction

b. falling food prices made it hard to make farm mortgage pays.

3. 1920-21: ½ m farmers lost their farms – bankruptcy4. Gov’t attempts to help

a. Federal Farm loans increasedb. McNary-Haugen Bill – gov’t buys surplus, sell it overseas while protecting

US market w/ high tariff – Coolidge vetos 2 X

c. Farmers in recession thoughout 1920s

III. The Policies of Prosperity A. Promoting Prosperity

1. The Mellon Program (Sec. of Treasury Andrew Mellon – chief architect of economic policy in the US in the 1920s)

a. believed gov’t should apply biz principles to its operations- created Bureau of Budget –

to prepare Budget- General Accounting Office –

to track gov’t spending

b. 3 Major Goals1) balance budget2) reduce gov’t debt3) cut taxes

c. Accomplishments?1) cut spending2) reduced debt3) cut taxes

For most: from 5% to .5%For wealthy: 73% to 25%

d. Supply-Side Economics - economic theory that lower taxes will boost

the economy as biz and individuals invest their $, thereby creating higher tax revenue

2. Hoover’s Cooperative Individualisma. encouraged manufacturers & distributors to form trade associations to reduce cost and

promote economic efficiencyb. expanded Office of Foreign & Domestic Commerce to find new markets & biz opportunitiesc. established Bureau of Aviation – regulate airline industryd. established Federal Radio Commission – set rules for radio transmission

B. Trade & Arms Control1. US becomes dominant economic power - due to WWI, US shifts from debtor nation

to creditor nation2. Isolationism

a. most Americans favored isolationism – nat’l policy of avoiding involvement in

foreign affairsb. Though not a member of League of Nations – hard for US to be isolationist –

too powerful, too economically connected, too involved in int’l affairs

- promoted peace thru agreements with individual countries instead of

thru L of N

3. The Dawes Plan – plan for European economic recovery

a. after WWI, European economies suffered

- high debt burden- no $ to buy American exports

b. Dawes Plan: American banks would make loans to Germans – Germans

could pay their reparations payments to Brits and French – Brits and French

would accept less in reparations & pay more of their war debts (to US)

c. unsuccessful – Europeans further into debt to US banks & corporations

4. Washington Conference – plan for disarmament

a. 3 agreements1) Five-Power Naval Limitation Treaty (Brits, Fr, Italy, Japan, US)

- freeze naval production to 1921 levels- build no warships for 10 yrs- US & Brits wouldn’t build new naval bases in w. Pacific

2) Four-Power Treaty (US, Japan, France, Brits)

- respect e/os Pacific territory- negotiate disagreements

3) Nine-Power Treaty- preserve = trading rights in China (Open Door Policy)- guaranteed China’s independence

b. Problems with the treaties1) didn’t limit land forces2) Japanese unhappy – limited them to smaller Navy

5. Abolishing Wara. Kellogg-Briand Pact – outlaws warb. ratified by 62 nations – all agreed to abandon war and to settle disputes by

peaceful means