The Lost Generation Expressed anxiety about the future and criticized the brutality of WWI and the shallowness of consumerism Examples include Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, etc. Many Lost Generation writers spent a great deal of time out of the US

Philosophy and Science Nietzsche - Led the existentialism moment which held that there was no universal meaning to life Freud - Stated that humans driven by their own desires Einstein - Scientist who was known for his theory of relativity

1920s Art, Music, Movies Surrealism, a new art movement that showed the inner world of emotion and imagination, reflected postwar uncertainty Jazz music became popular Radios and phonographs connected people through shared entertainment Silent films were popular in the 1920s. Charlie Chaplin was a major star. Talkies replaced silent films in the late 1920s when synchronized sound was introduced.

Cultural Trends After their involvement in WWI, more women were granted suffrage Though most women weren’t flappers, women’s fashion and lifestyles became less restrictive Increasing accessibility of automobiles connected people and made it easier to travel Labor-saving devices transformed housework and increased consumerism

Germany’s Challenges Weimar Republic was blamed for Germany’s defeat in WWI Germany’s economy suffered due to war reparations set by the Treaty of Versailles Inflation became a major problem Dawes Plan was created to help Germany pay back her war debts

Long-Term Causes of the Worldwide Depression Economies were connected as Europe relied on US loans and investments — bad news if anything happens to the US economy! Many countries had war debts People bought what they couldn’t afford — consumers bought goods on credit, and investors bought stocks on margin, making it easy to get into debt Wealth was unequally distributed among classes of people

Short-Term Cause: Stock Market Crash After a series of minor crashes, the US stock market had a severe crash on Black Tuesday — October 29, 1929 People lost fortunes within minutes, banks shut down due to running out of cash when panicked consumers rushed to pull out their savings, and businesses and factories closed Global Depression began when the US reduced loans and foreign trade

Immediate Impact Banks closed, businesses went bankrupt, and there was high unemployment Some people lost faith in capitalism and democracy and turned to communism Some nations turned to authoritarian leaders

Solutions World gov’ts created jobs and welfare programs In the US, Franklin Delano Roosevelt launched the New Deal, a series of programs for public works, welfare, and regulations of the banking system and stock market Many historians say that US involvement in WWII helped pull the US officially out of the Depression

Lasting Impact Helped lead to the rise of Hitler, Mussolini, and other totalitarian dictators The Great Depression is often cited as one of the causes of World War II