Chapter 16, Section 3

 The 1920s were the first decade in which more people lived in urban rather than rural areas.  There was a growing division in society between urban and rural citizens, and that was evident in the emerging two schools of thought: modernism and fundamentalism.  Modernism emphasized science and secular values;  Fundamentalism focused on the basic truths within religion, and that everything in the Bible was the literal truth.

 At the center of this clash was the debate over the teaching of evolution in schools.  Biology teacher John Scopes violated Tennessee law by teaching the theory of evolution to his class.  When the case went to trial, Scopes was defended by renowned attorney Clarence Darrow.  As an ‘expert’ witness on the Bible, the prosecution called William Jennings Bryan.  The trial was broadcast over the radio, connecting thousands of Americans to the trial.

 Nativists disliked the growing immigrant population in the United States. This dislike increased with the Red Scare.  New legislation was passed that established a quota system for various countries  This meant that only a certain amount of people could come to the U.S. in a given year from that country.  The quota system specifically targeted Asians, and used 1890 numbers, benefitting western and northern Europeans.

 The dislike for immigrants was not central to northern cities, though.  In the south during the 1920s, there was a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan that began at Stone Mountain, Georgia.  The ‘new’ KKK not only targeted Blacks, but Jews, Catholics and immigrants as well.

 The temperance movement in the U.S. had been around for years, but found a surge during the Progressive Era, when alcohol was blamed for the many societal problems.  In 1919, Congress passed the Eighteenth Amendment which banned the manufacture, sale and transport of alcohol.  The Volstead Act was the law that enforced it.  Rural citizens especially supported these two.  However, prohibition also generated more bootlegging (illegal sale) and organized crime.

Chapter 16, Section 4

 With the consumer revolution of the 1920s, American wages grew 30%, but the standard of living remained the same. This provided more disposable income.  Americans used this disposable income for leisure activities such as spectator sports, movies, and radios/phonographs.  The first movie with sound was The Jazz Singer in  Both movies and radio helped create a shared culture because of its mass distribution.

 The popularity of spectator sports grew in the 1920s– baseball, football and boxing.  No other sports star was as iconic as Babe Ruth.  Mass media also helped capture the major events of the time period, such as Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic in his plane, The Spirit of Saint Louis.

 Women’s roles changed socially, politically and economically during the 1920s.  Socially, women had more freedom. The symbol of social change for women was the flapper– a young woman who wore short dresses and had short hair.  Politically, women gained the right to vote in With its passage, women became more politically active.  Economically, women returned to housework, but benefitted from the emerging modern conveniences.

 Art and literature changed after the war to reflect new ideas and thoughts of the American people.  Art reflected the uncertainty of what direction to go after the war, conflicting with traditional artistic themes.  Similarly, postwar writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and T.S. Eliot reflected a growing disconnect in traditional ideas. They wanted their writings to reflect new ideas and influences.

Chapter 16, Section 5

 The prominent African American leader of the 1920s was Marcus Garvey.  Unlike Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, Garvey wanted the races to be separate.  Garvey promoted black nationalism and organized a “Back to Africa” movement.  However, when Garvey was deported back to Jamaica on mail fraud, the movement died.

 Jazz, a musical style that blended African and European forms of music, emerged from New Orleans in the 1920s.  Major musicians included Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington and George Gershwin.  It was not limited to a specific race.  Jazz moved North during the Great Migration as African Americans looked for industrial jobs.

 The Harlem Renaissance was an expression of African American culture in the United States by poets, novelists and writers.  Langston Hughes, Claude McKay and Zora Neale Hurston to name a few.  Major themes from the Harlem Renaissance included the diversity of African American life and the desire for freedom of expression for both men and women.