1. Participation in WWI transformed the United States in the 1920s:
The USA was the richest and most developed country in the world
Mass production, high wages, new consumer goods and forms of entertainment labeled the decade the “Roaring Twenties”

2. In 1920, Americans elected Republican Warren Harding who promised a “return to normalcy”
“America’s present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration”
—President Warren Harding
Quick Class Discussion: What would a “return to normalcy” mean for America after World War I?

3. What do these images reveal about America in the 1920s?

4. In the 1920s, American foreign policy “returned to normal” by embracing isolationism
The U.S. rejected the Treaty of Versailles and never joined the League of Nations
Many citizens felt the U.S. was “duped” into joining WWI and became committed to neutrality

5. However, U.S. isolationism was selective because the USA did play a role in world affairs
The U.S. hosted a naval conference aimed to reduce the military strength of all nations
The USA loaned European nations billions of dollars to help rebuild after WWI

6. However, U.S. isolationism was selective because the USA did play a role in world affairs
The USA joined other world powers in a commitment to world peace by signing the Kellogg-Briand Pact
Member nations

7. What does this image and quote reveal about America in the 1920s
What does this image and quote reveal about America in the 1920s? “The chief business of the American people is business.” —President Calvin Coolidge, 1925

8. Republicans kept taxes low so Americans could spend their wages
In the 1920s, Republican presidents were elected (Harding, Coolidge, Hoover) who helped America “return to normalcy” by using pro-business policies
Republicans kept taxes low so Americans could spend their wages
Republican presidents kept government interference in business to a minimum to allow private enterprise to flourish

9. Harding’s Presidency Less Gov’t Pro business
Reduce taxes on the wealthy
Ohio Gang-old friends, convicted of taking bribes

10. Teapot Dome Scandal
Secretary of the Interior (Albert Fall) took bribes in return for allowing oil companies to drill federal oil reserves on federal land in Wyoming

11. Pro-business policies meant no new progressive reforms
Americans felt confident that reforms had limited the influence of monopolies, cleaned up cities, and regulated the economy
As workers’ wages rose and their hours declined, Americans were happy to spend their money

12. What do these images reveal about America in the 1920s?

13. Pro-business policies and mass production techniques developed during WWI led to an industrial revolution in consumer goods
Industrial growth led to high wages for workers and cheap products for Americans to buy
The appetite for consumer goods and availability of cheap credit led to a decade of spending called the Roaring Twenties

14. Henry Ford’s mass production techniques made automobiles affordable for many Americans

15. The 1920s led to an era of mass entertainment in movies, music, and sports

16. What do these images reveal about America in the 1920s?

17. By 1920, more people lived in cities than in rural areas due to the industrial revolution, mass immigration, and jobs during World War I

18. The dominance of urban America divided society
The values of these 2 societies clashed in the 1920s
Urban society was characterized by diversity, consumerism, freedom, entertainment
Rural society was characterized by religious fundamentalism, nativism, and tradition

19. 1920s: Consumerism

20. The 1920s saw a burst of personal prosperity and consumer spending
Mass production led to a huge number of new products: Cars, electric appliances, new fashions
Companies offered ways for consumers to buy on credit through monthly installment plans
Advertising boomed to convince people to spend their money

21. 1920s: Harlem Renaissance

22. The Great Migration during WWI led to a concentration of African Americans in northern cities

23. The Harlem Renaissance was the flourishing of black culture
Jazz blended African and European musical traditions into a distinctly “American” style of music
Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington were popular jazz musicians

25. The most popular author was Langston Hughes, who wrote poems and novels about black pride

26. Harlem represented the “New Negro”: the idea that African Americans should freely express themselves, embrace their culture, and strive for equality

27. 1920s: Women

28. Women’s roles changed in the 1920s
In 1920, women gained the right to vote (But, many women did not vote)
New fashion trends, voting rights, and more leisure time led to an increased sense of freedom

29. Advertisers sold products by targeting women’s sexuality and appearance

30. Many young, unmarried women embraced their independence and sexuality as “flappers”

31. …had sex outside of marriage and dated boys without chaperones
“Flappers” popularized new women’s fashions like shorter hemlines, “bobbed” hair, and hats
Young women shocked traditional-minded women by smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, dancing at clubs, using makeup…
…had sex outside of marriage and dated boys without chaperones

32. 1920s: Literature

33. The 1920s produced some of America’s most important literature
The “Lost Generation” authors including T.S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald rejected war and criticized 1920 consumerism and conformity

34. 1920s: Sports

35. Baseball, boxing, and football were popular sports
Sports was a popular form of entrainment in the 1920s as Americans gained more leisure time and income
Baseball, boxing, and football were popular sports
Radio broadcasts brought sporting events to national audiences

36. Sports gave Americans a new generation of heroes
Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees was the biggest sports hero of the 1920s
Boxer Jack Dempsey
Football star Red Grange
Gertrude
Baseball was segregated; Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson were Negro League heroes

37. Heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey was so popular, his fights set financial and attendance records in the 1920s
Football star Red Grange
Gertrudez
Other sports heroes of the 1920s include: Red Grange, Gertrude Ederle, Bobby Jones

38. 1920s: Movies and Radio

39. Movies and radios were widely popular in the 1920s
Over 500 stations connected the nation by broadcasting music, sports, as well as news, religious, comedic, and dramatic programming

40. Tin Pan Alley produced 90% of the popular music in the 1920s, focusing on ragtime, dance music, and jazz
American Popular Music had arrived!
Within a year, Irving Berlin published "Alexander’s Ragtime Band," which mixed the popular beat of the day along with the legend of Ragtime. The song gave Tin Pan Alley its crowning achievement and Berlin his first million. The song also changed the way America listened to music, "Alexander’s Ragtime Band" has often been credited, in part, for the increase in the sales of radios and phonographs, both rather new to the buying public.
Soon the attention of Tin Pan Alley shifted from Ragtime to other popular topics such as dances (The Charleston, the Fox Trot) and other music forms (Blues, jazz).
Towards the end of World War I, Tin Pan Alley’s publishing companies moved closer to the Broadway and vaudeville districts. Once the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) was formed, Tin Pan Alley became a mega force in popular music, producing over 90% of the commercial songs and inspiring the sales of millions of copies of both sheet music and 78 recordings.
Irving Berlin was the most popular of the ragtime composers of the 1920s

41. “Talking” movies helped grow Hollywood and celebrity movie stars
By 1929, over 100 million people went to movies each week
“The Jazz Singer” was the first “talking” picture

42. 1920s: Transportation

43. Automobiles transformed America
Henry Ford’s assembly line made cars affordable; By 1929, 1 of 5 Americans owned a car
Car manufacturing became the biggest industry in America
Cars gave people freedom and became a symbol of status

44. New roads, gas stations, and shopping centers were built
Country Club Plaza, the First Shopping Center

45. Airplanes captured the attention of Americans in the 1920s
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made the first solo flight across the Atlantic and became the biggest celebrity of the 1920s

46. Airplanes captured the attention of Americans in the 1920s
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made the first trans-Atlantic solo flight, becoming the biggest celebrity of the 1920s