APUSH REVIEW The Roaring Twenties As found in Barron’s Study Keys EZ-101 American History 1877 to the Present Published 1992

Theme Roaring Twenties The 1920s were characterized by conservatism, affluence, and cultural frivolity, yet it was also a time of social, economic, and political change. The first modern decade in American history paved the way for the reformers of the 1930s. American popular culture began to reflect an urban, industrial, consumer-oriented society. At the same time, conflicts surfaced regarding immigration restrictions, Prohibition, and race relations. It was a transitional period in which consumption and leisure were replacing the older values of self-denial and the work ethic.

Key 38: The Republican Era Overview: For 12 years after 1921, the presidency and the Congress were controlled by Republicans. The federal gov’t cultivated a relationship with American business. Despite its conservatism, the gov’t experimented with new approaches to public policy and was an active agent of economic change. Election of 1920: The Republican candidate, Warren G. Harding, an obscure Ohio senator, defeated the Democratic candidate, Ohio Governor James M. Cox, and the Socialist party candidate, Eugene V. Debs. The Republican opposed U.S. admission to the League of Nations The Republicans received 61% of the popular vote Warren G. Harding: Formerly a U.S. Senator from Ohio ( , Harding served as president from 1921 until his unexpected death on August 2, 1923, in San Francisco while on a speaking tour. He helped streamline the budget, approved measures assisting farm cooperatives and liberalizing farm credit, supported anti-lynching legislation, and was tolerant on civil liberties issues In 1921, he pardoned socialist Eugene V. Debs, who had been imprisoned during World War I for delivering a speech denouncing capitalism and the war After his death, the Veterans Bureau and the Teapot Dome scandals overshadowed the administration of Calvin Coolidge, who succeeded Harding as president. Ohio gang: These were certain friends of President Harding who, as gov’t appointees, were responsible for the scandals of his administration. They included Charles R. Forbes, Harry M. Daughtery, Edwin Denby, and Albert B. Fall Veterans Bureau scandal (1923) A Senate investigation disclosed that Charles R Forbes, director of the Veterans Bureau, was responsible for the waste and misappropriation of $250,000,000 of veterans’ funds. He was found guilty and received a 2 year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine

Key 38: The Republican Era Teapot Dome (1924) one of the scandals of the Harding administration exposed by a 1924 congressional investigation, chaired by Senator Thomas J. Walsh, involved naval oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, and Elk Hills, California In 1921, Secretary of the Interior Albert B Fall encouraged Harding to transfer control of the reserves from the Navy Department to the Interior Department Then Fall secretly leased the reserves to Harry F. Sinclair and Edward L. Doheny in return for over $100,000 in “loans” Charged with fraud and corruption, Fall was convicted of bribery and sentenced to 1 year in prison and a $100,000 fine Sinclair and Doheny was acquitted in their trials for bribery, but Sinclair was later sentenced to 9 months in prison for contempt In 1927 the oil leases were cancelled Harry Daugherty: Harding’s Attorney General ( ) he resigned under pressure in 1924 He was found to be lax in prosecuting for graft in the Veterans bureau and in enforcing prohibition laws In 1927 he was tried for conspiracy but was acquitted A close friend and aid to Attorney General Daugherty, Jesse Smith, was founded to be taking bribes, and he committed suicide Edwin Denby: Harding’s Secretary of the Navy ( ), he resigned in 1924 as a result of his part in the Teapot Dome scandal Calvin Coolidge: he completed President Harding’s term ( ) and was then elected for a second term ( ) He had gained national prominence for his handling of the Boston police strike while serving as gov’nor of Massachusetts ( ) He was an inactive president, proposing no significant legislation and avoiding foreign policy initiatives. Thus he acted on his belief that gov’t should interfere as little as possible in the life of the nation Andrew Mellon ( ) As secretary of the treasury, he got Congress to cut taxes on corporate profits, personal incomes, and inheritances. He was also responsible for streamlining the federal budget and for reducing the nation’s World War I debt

Key 38: The Republican Era Herbert Hoover ( ): As secretary of commerce under Harding and Coolidge, he worked to promote a more efficient, better organized national economy Advocated “associational” activity for business Believed that such trade associations, through shared informational and active cooperation, would strengthen the economy Election of 1924: This contest was between incumbent Calvin Coolidge a Republican, and a Wall Street lawyer, John W. Davis, a Democrat and former ambassador to Great Britain ( ) Robert LaFollete ran on the Progressive ticket 1.Farmers and labor leaders had formed this third party, expressing discontent with the established parties 2.Progressives called for nationalization of the railroads, public ownership of utilities, direct election of the president, and the right of Congress to overrule Supreme Court decisions Coolidge won easily Election of 1928: The Republicans, Secretary of Commerce Herbert C. Hoover, defeated the Democratic candidate, governor of New York Alfred E. Smith, the first Catholic candidate to run for president, and the Socialist party candidate Norman Thomas Prohibition was a major campaign issue; Republicans supported it, and Democrats opposed it Hoover received 58% of the popular vote Herbert Hoover ( ): As the Republicans president from 1929 to 1933, his administration is generally associated with the stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression. At the end of his administration (1933) the Twentieth Amendment which provided that presidents begin their terms in January was passed

Key 39: Economic Conditions Overview: Throughout the 1920s farmers and labor organizations made few gains. After a recession in , the gross national product grew by 40%, unemployment remained around 3-4%, and inflation was negligible. Farmers never rebounded after the recession and faced difficulties throughout the decade. Welfare capitalism: Paternalistic techniques adopted by industrial employers and designed to weaken the union mov’t and to remove the causes of industrial discontent. Workers received important economic benefits: bonuses, insurance plans, profit-sharing, and medical services Welfare capitalism affected a relatively small number of workers and did not offer them real control over their working lives “American Plan” Corporate leaders’ crusade for the open shop, which received the support of the National Association of Manufacturers in 1920 Union busting prevailed in the 1920s because unions were viewed as un-American and subversive. Union power was curbed by actions of the Justice Department and the Supreme Court Consequently, union membership seriously declined Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932) Prohibited the use of injunctions against certain union practices such as strikes, boycotts, picketing. Made “yellow dog” contracts, those in which an employee agrees to not to join a union, unenforceable in courts Guaranteed jury trials for strikers held for contempt of court. Conditions among farmers; Primarily because of overproduction, food prices and farm income declined sharply during the 1920s. Many farmers lost ownership of their land and were forced to rent land from banks or landlords. Emergency Tariff Act (1921): Raised the rates on agricultural products; overall, was designed to end the downward trend of tariff rates Fordney-McCumber Tariff (1922): Imposed the highest tariff rates in U.S. history Rates were increased on farm products and on dyes, chemicals, hardware, toys, and lace The president could change rates by as much as 50% on the recommendation of the Tariff Commission Grain and Cotton Stabilization Corporation (1930): Established by the Federal Farm Board and authorized to purchase grain and cotton in order to raise prices, the agency was unsuccessful because commodity prices did not remain at a high level

Key 40: Material Culture in America Overview: The urban and consumer-oriented culture affected the lives of Americans in the 1920s. This culture helped to homogenize American life, creating a new middle class. New values, reflecting economic prosperity, became increasingly prevalent. As millions of Americans began to share the same daily experiences, a national culture was born. Consumerism: Patterns of consumption and leisure made the 1920s a distinctive decade Advertising and the movies fed the materialistic desires of the mass consumption economy. Whether rich or poor, Americans began purchasing goods for pleasure as well as for need. They bought appliances, commercially processed foods, mass-produced automobiles, cosmetics and fashions Consumption became a dominant cultural ideal, and with it came the introduction of installment buying 1.The installment plan was most often utilized to purchase an automobile 2.However, the “buy now, pay later” philosophy quickly spread to other items: radios, sewing machines, refrigerators. Motion picture industry: A highly influential force in shaping popular culture because it promoted the diffusion of common values and attitudes nationwide Movies were one of the main industries of the 1920s 1.Major film studios built elaborate movie palaces in most large cities 2.By 1930, national weekly movie attendance grew to 115 million Movies with sound first appeared in 1927 Movies encouraged consumerism as well as new patterns of leisure and recreation They created national trends in clothing and hair styles and even served as a form of sex education Radio: The newest instrument of mass culture during the 1920s America’s first commercial radio station, KDKA in Pittsburgh, began broadcasting in 1920 The National Broadcasting Company, the first national radio network, was established in 1927 Stations featured sports events, news, and variety entertainment shows and broadcast advertisements By % of American households owned radios, with broadcasts linking the nation together by providing listeners with a common source of information and entertainment The radio elevated professional sports to a national pastime and fueled American consumerism

Key 40: Material Culture in America Leisure Public recreation thrived as state and local governments built baseball diamonds, swimming pools, golf courses, and tennis courts. In the New York metropolitan area, for example, Robert Moses created a vast system of highways, parks, playgrounds, and picnic areas Sports: Professional sports flourished during the 1920s Baseball drew about 10 million fans each year, truly becoming the national pastime College football and boxing were exceedingly popular Numerous sports heroes emerged at this time (e.g. Gene Tunney, Babe Ruth, Red Grange, Bobby Jones, Bill Tilden) Gertrude Ederle, who broke all records by swimming the English Channel in just over 14 hours in 1927, was the decade’s best-known swimmer Jazz: A musical innovation of the decade, it sparked the term “Jazz Age.” It was brought from the South to Northern cities such as Chicago and New York Early jazz musicians were black: examples include Ferdinand Morton and Louis Armstrong The automobile: The most important symbol of the 1920s, it had a pervasive effect on every aspect of American life It stimulated economic prosperity, affected patterns of crime, and shaped the sexual behavior of young men and women Car ownership encouraged suburbanization, fueled real estate speculation, and promoted the development of shopping centers The automobile changed patterns of leisure as more Americans took to the roads (many unpaved) for day trips or extensive vacations The Ford Model T was the most popular car of the decade. 15 million were mass-produced between 1908 and 1927, when the Ford Model A was introduced