1. The Roaring Twenties APUSH
The roaring twenties marks the dawn of the modern era
Characteristics of the 1920s
- new consumer goods
- flood of automobiles from Detroit assembly lines
- millions of radios
- changing cultural values
- creativity in the arts
- bitter social conflict

2. Politics

3. 1. Who were the presidents of the 1920s?

4. Presidents of the 1920s… Warren G. Harding (1920-1923)
Calvin Coolidge ( )
Herbert Hoover ( )

6. 2. In general, what policies did these presidents share?

7. Similar Policies… conservatism as opposed to progressivism
limited government regulation of economy
sympathy for business more than labor

8. 3. What issues dominated Harding’s presidency?

9. Harding’s presidency…
appointments of able men
pardoning Eugene Debs
Fordney-McCumber Tariff
Washington Conference
Teapot Dome Scandal

10. Government For Sale
This 1924 cartoon satirizing the corruption of the Harding administration shows the sale of the capitol, the White House, and even the Washington monument

11. Washington officials trying to outrun the Teapot Dome Scandal of 1922

12. 4. What issues dominated Coolidge’s presidency?

13. Coolidge’s presidency…
best government was government that governed least
lowered taxes, decreased government regulation (low taxes = low service)

14. Cash Register Chorus
Business sings its appreciation of “Coolidge prosperity”

15. Calvin Coolidge Presides over the Jazz Age
Coolidge’s hands-off policies were sweet music to big business

16. 5. What issues dominated Hoover’s presidency?

17. Hoover’s presidency… Election of 1928
vs. Al Smith
Smith won immigrant vote in cities
Hoover won everywhere else
Showed cultural divide in the United States
the economy – start of Great Depression

18. Economy

19. 1.What characterized the economy of the 1920s?

20. Economy of the 1920s…
business prosperity
farm problems
labor problems

21. 2. What caused the period of business prosperity that dominated the 1920s?

22. Business prosperity… increased productivity
new, efficient, cheap energy sources
government policies

23. 3. What caused the farm problems that dominated the 1920s?

24. Farm problems…
debt
overproduction
European competition

25. 4. What problems did labor encounter in the 1920s?

26. Labor problems…
decline of labor unions
open shops
welfare capitalism

27. Culture

28. 1. What was the central cultural theme of the 1920s?

29. modernity (new) vs. fundamentalism (old)

30. 2. In what areas can one see the concept of modernity?

31. Jazz music… symbol of modern urban culture
roots in African-American music of south
appealed to high school and college youth

32. The Flapper
New dance styles, like the Charleston flamboyantly displayed the new social freedom of the flapper whose dress and antics frequently angered the guardians of respectability.

34. Consumerism…
The idea that consumer goods dominate the market and what we consume defines who we are
How did companies sell so much?
What did Americans start to consume?

35. Picture #1 – Henry Ford in his first car, built in 1896
Ford had been called the “Father of the traffic jam”
Picture #2 – The Modern Woman in the Driver’s Seat
As part of its efforts to sell to a mass market, the Ford Motor Company used advertising to convey that driving an automobile was respectable for women
A woman who drove was not only modern, but she also better fulfilled her traditional duties as a household manager
Picture #3 – Gas Station, 1923
Gas stations like this one began to appear about Before that the nation’s handful of automobile owners bought fuel from their local oil company and stored it in tanks in their own yards

36. Picture #1 – Family Listening to the Radio, 1922
This family in San Francisco gathered in their parlor to listen to a concert broadcast over the radio
Listening to the radio brought families together

37. New Gender Roles…
most women remained in traditional gender roles (housewife, mother)
some women did work
a select few challenged traditional gender roles

38. Pictures 1-3: Flappers
Picture 4: The Guardian of Morality
Women’s new one piece bathing suit were a sensation in the 1920s
Here a check is carefully made to ensure that not too much leg is showing

39. Religion… Liberal Protestantism… dominant in urban areas
took historical and critical view of Bible

40. Race…
“New Negro” – no longer deferential to whites; would assert talents, independence
Harlem Renaissance
Marcus Garvey: black nationalism

41. Prohibition… 18th Amendment Volstead Act Modern people defied the law
One clear result of Prohibition was a rise in criminal organizations that supplied illegal liquor
Chicago was the hotbed for this rise in organized crime (Al Capone)

43. 3. In what areas can we see the concept of fundamentalism?

44. Gender Roles…
Fundamentalists thought women should remain homemakers and mothers

45. Religion… Protestant fundamentalism dominated rural areas
took literal view of Bible
believed in creationism
blamed modernists for decline in morals
used radio to attack vices of communism, jazz, drinking, gambling, etc…

46. Race/Nativism… racism nativism
Ku Klux Klan
nativism
Immigration Quota of 1924
nativism in practice: Sacco and Vanzetti
The KKK of the 1920s was a reaction against the forces of diversity and modernity that was transforming American society
Nativists believed that northern Europeans were superior to southern and eastern Europeans

47. Picture #1: The Only Way to Handle It
Isolationists and nativists succeed in damming up the flow of immigration to the United States in the early 1920s
The Immigration Act of 1924 placed strict quotas on European immigrants and completely shut out the Japanese
Picture #2: Chart on Immigration
The National Origins Quota System was abolished in Legislation in that year capped the level of immigration at 170,000 per year but made exceptions for children, spouses, and parents of persons already arrived

49. Prohibition…
Clearly supported Prohibition

50. Picture #3: No More Moonshine
Federal agents gloat over a captured still in Dayton, Ohio in 1930
Moonshiners enjoyed a boom during Prohibition, though zealous G-Men put owners of makeshift distilleries out of business – at least temporarily

51. 4. Did anything ever UNITE modernists & fundamentalists?

52. Charles Lindbergh… he embodied modernism AND fundamentalism
Lucky Lindy
The first person to fly solo across the Atlantic, Lindbergh became an acclaimed celebrity

53. 5. What event depicted the divisions between modernists & fundamentalists?

54. Scopes Trial, 1925

55. The Scopes Trial, 1925… TN outlawed Darwinism in public schools
American Civil Liberties (ACLU) persuades teacher John Scopes to break the law
Significance
Modern ideas won public opinion
Fundamentalists won case

56. 6. Did anyone grow unhappy with modernity AND fundamentalism?

57. The “Lost Generation” Leading writers of post WW I period
Literature expresses disillusionment with earlier time/values AND with materialism/consumerism of the 1920s

58. Foreign Policy

59. 1. What 3 areas dominated US foreign policy during the 1920s?

60. Disarmament & Maintenance of Peace…
Washington Conference, 1921
Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928

61. Advancement of US Interests in other Regions…
Latin America
Middle East
Tariffs

62. War Debts & Reparations…
US lent $10 billion to Allies, insisted on repayment
Solution: Dawes Plan, 1924