1. The 1920s

2. The Volstead Act 1920 18 th Amendment banned the sale and manufacture of alcohol. Congress passed the Volstead Act to enforce prohibition.

3. Only 19% of the population supported prohibition. Resulted in increased lawlessness such as smuggling and bootlegging. Criminals found a new source of income. Organized crime grew. Gangsters like Al Capone in Chicago grew illegal empires.

4. Nativism and Racism in the 1920s In 1921, immigration returns to prewar levels. Immigrants still mainly from Eastern and Southern Europe. The Red Scare creates stereotypes and fear of new immigrants. Sacco-Vanzetti Case.

5. Introduction of Immigration Quotas 1921, President Harding signs Emergency Quota Act. Only 3% of the total number of foreign-born people of a nationality already living in the U.S. could be admitted into the U.S. In practice, it mainly discriminated against Eastern and Southern Europe.

6. National Origins Act of 1924 Tightened the quota system. Law set quota at 2% of each national group residing in the U.S. since 1890. Favored larger proportion of the quotas to immigrants from northwestern Europe.

7. Mexican Immigration First wave of Mexican immigration followed the passage of the Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902. National Origins Act of 1924 exempted natives of the Western Hemisphere from the quota system. Mexican immigration increased in record numbers as the demand for cheap migrant work increased.

8. Eugenics Movement Eugenics, a pseudo- science that deals with improving hereditary traits. Warned against breeding the “unfit” or “inferior.” Fueled nativists’ argument for the superiority of white protestants of northern European descent and immigration controls. Even Woodrow Wilson embraced the notion of eugenics.

9. Resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan The new Klan founded by Protestant preacher, William Simmons, in Atlanta in 1915. Simmons pledged to preserve America’s “white, Protestant civilization.” In the 1920s, the Klan claimed it was fighting for “Americanism.” Klan membership up to 4 million in 1924 due to a large and expensive recruiting effort organized by a public relations firm hired by Simmons. Declined as a result of scandals and power struggles between Klan leaders.

10. Popular Culture

11. “The New Morality” of the 1920s Ideals of loving family and personal satisfaction. Ideals of romance in marriage. Women remain in the workforce after the war, especially single women. The automobile encouraged more independence.

12. Introducing…the Flapper! Bobbed hair-style, short skirt with stockings. Meant to copy glamour of film stars. Flapper was unconventional, carefree, dramatic, and stylish. Smoked cigarettes and drank prohibited alcohol.

15. The Charleston Dance that came associated with flappers and speakeasies. Originally a song by ragtime pianist J.P. Johnson and first developed in the African- American community. Became an international dance craze.

17. The Rise of Hollywood People across the country rushed to go see Hollywood films. Notable filmmakers and actors were Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplain, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford. Films were silent until the first talking film “the Jazz Singer” in 1927.

19. The Rise of Radio The medium that really helped unify the nation. All different variety of programs offered and national news could be broadcast across the nation.

20. Sports in the 1920s Reached new heights of popularity. Babe Ruth single handedly saved baseball after the 1919 World Series Scandal. Professional boxing was huge in the 20s. No pro-football. College football was the main attraction at the time. Once again, radio broadcasts and descriptive sports writers helped to unify the country.

23. Do you think the popular heroes of the 1920s were heroes in a real sense? Why or why not? THINK ABOUT: how you define heroism the media hyping of sports stars accomplishments of Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsy, Charles Lindbergh, etc.

24. Literary greats of the 1920s, not including African-Americans Playwright Eugene O’ Neill created a new type of theatre involving realism and tragedy. Chicago based Poet Carl Sandberg set to capture American life and history through simple language. Expatriate novelist Ernest Hemingway wrote about war, romance, and adventure seeking from a male macho point of view.

25. “Chicago” by Carl Sandberg

26. F. Scott Fitzgerald Wrote almost specifically about the Jazz Age. Captured superficial nature of people in modern 1920s society. Created glamorous and colorful characters usually chasing dreams. The Great Gatsby is Fitzgerald’s most famous work.

27. Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks”

28. The Harlem Renaissance In New York City, the neighborhood of Harlem became the center of African- American art, music, and literature in the 1920s.

29. In Harlem, African- Americans created an environment that stimulated artistic development, racial pride, sense of community, and political organization.

30. Literature of the Harlem Renaissance Langston Hughes was the most famous writer of the Harlem Renaissance. Became known as the “poet laureate of Harlem.” Through his poetry expressed the African- American experience in the United States.

32. Other famous writers Zora Neale Hurston wrote about the rural African-American experience and made females the central lead characters. Claude McKay wrote poems about his contempt for racism.

33. Jazz Music Jazz music has its roots in blues and black spiritual music and New Orleans where “Dixieland” music was born. Syncopated melodies and rhythms combining African traditional music and Western classical music. Very improvisational music. Many musicians from New Orleans moved north to play in clubs and theaters.

34. Louis Armstrong Born in New Orleans. Became one the best jazz trumpeters in the city. Called on to join the famous King Oliver’s Band in Chicago. Three years later led his own band in New York, the Hot Five.

35. Duke Ellington Raised in a middle- class family in Washington D.C. Composed more sultry and advanced music compositions. Lead a famous big band that often played at the Cotton Club in Harlem.

36. The Cotton Club Most famous club in Harlem but for whites only. Employed African-American staff, musicians and entertainers. Opened in 1922 on Lennox Ave. in Harlem and run by underworld figures.

38. African-American Politics Great Migration had huge impact in politics. Large African- American populations created voting blocs that could sway elections.

39. NAACP Made great efforts to bring national attention to lynching in the South. Kept lynching in the news. Became strong enough to influence congress members to create new laws against lynching. Stopped racist John J. Parker’s nomination to the Supreme Court through continued pressure on Congress.

40. Marcus Garvey and Black Nationalism Originally from Jamaica. Founded the Harlem based UNIA, the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Message to gain economic and political power through education. Advocated separation and independence from whites.

41. In 1920, Garvey in a more extreme message pushed for leaving America all together. Goal was to start a settlement in Liberia. Became known as the Pan-African movement. Other African-American leaders distanced themselves from Garvey. Government paranoid of Garvey and arrested him on mail fraud charges. Returned to Jamaica to continue activities but lost momentum.

42. Ford and the Assembly Line

43. Speedy assembly of cars increased output which in turn began to lower prices of cars. In 1908, Ford Model T sold for $850. In 1913, the assembly line began. One year later it sold for $490. By 1924, $295. By the mid-1920s other companies like GM and Chrysler were in the car business.

44. The Airline Industry

45. Innovations of the airplane in the 1920s opened up a new airline industry for commercial use. Airmail service became widely used by the Postal Service. After the first solo transatlantic flight by Charles Lindbergh won popular support for commercial flight. By 1928, there were 48 commercial airlines serving 355 cities.

46. The late 1920s brought in the next innovation, the trimotor plane. More spacious then ever and less hazardous. The larger single wing plane became the wave of the future for the airline business.

47. Comfortable with Personal Debt As wages grew across the board, a new consumer culture begun in the 1920s. People were introduced to installment plans to buy products.

48. Welfare Capitalism Companies began offering benefits packages like healthcare and vacation time. Benefits offered so there would be no need for a union to be involved. Companies then made “closed shops” meaning a potential employee could not be hired if part of a union.

49. Do you think the changes in the 1920s gave Americans more control over their lives? Explain. THINK ABOUT the impact of new technology the influence of advertising the results of installment buying