The Roaring 20's

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Chapter 18
The Roaring 20's
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Section 1 - America's "Return to Normalcy"

• In the 1920s, Americans were tired of the
  tensions of reform and war

• People wished the country would return to more
  normal times

• They wanted the nation to be less involved in
  world affairs and more involved in activities at
  home

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The National Woman Suffrage Association had been
fighting for womens right to vote
In 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified

• gave all women the right to vote

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• Republican Warren G. Harding became President in
  1920

• He promised Americans a return to normalcy

• Harding announced he was looking for quick
  solutions to U.S. problems

- not heroics, but healing
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Harding's Presidency

• Emergency Quota Act limited immigration to the
  U.S.

• the tariff on imported goods was raised

• Veterans Bureau gave aid to ex-soldiers and
  their families

• Bureau of the Budget organized U.S finances
  like never before

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• Despite those accomplishments, Harding was not
  an effective president

• He was a poor judge of character he hired many
  people who stole money from the government

• The most serious ? Teapot Dome scandal

• Albert B. Fall (secretary of the interior) went
  to prison fro the crime in 1929

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• Harding died suddenly in 1923

• Vice President Calvin Coolidge became president

• Coolidge believed that the chief business of
  America is business

• He felt that government rules on business were
  hurting the U.S. economy

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• In 1924, Coolidge was confident about the future
  of America

• The economy was strong and many people were
  making money

• America liked it and they voted to keep it cool
  with Coolidge

• Calvin Coolidge won the election of 1924

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Section 2 - Society Changes Fords, Flappers, and
Radios

• The 1920s were full of social changes

• Industry grew ? people earned more money, so
  they spent more money

• No cash? ? people bought on credit

• Americans had more free time more money to go
  out with

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America Becomes Mobile

• More Americans could afford to buy cars

• The Ford Model T became the most popular car

• Henry Ford used the assembly line to
  mass-produce the Model T

• The assembly line caused the price to drop from
  400 to 250

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• The Model T was nicknamed the Tin Lizzie

• The Model T put the nation on wheels

• The automobile gave people more choices on they
  could live and work

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• The Federal government encouraged the building
  of modern highways to replace dirt roads

Suburbs grew rapidly ? communities outside of the
cities
The automobile symbolized freedom
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Women Become More Independent

• Many young women rejected the ideas and styles
  of the older generation

• These women were known as flappers

• Flappers cut their hair short, wore skirts above
  their knees, and painted their lips bright red

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• Many women started taking jobs that had been
  open only to men

• Women began to challenge the old ideas of how
  they should behave

• Women wanted to gain more social freedom

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• By the mid 1920s, most homes had a telephone,
  a phonograph, and a radio

• The radio brought free information and
  entertainment right into the home

• The first radio station began in Pittsburgh in
  1920 (KDKA)

• KDKA broadcast the election results for 1920
  the 1921 World Series

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Sections 3 4
The Jazz Age and Social Problems

• Jazz started in the South among
  African-American musicians

? It was a mixture of African rhythms, work
songs, and spirituals
? Created a truly original American sound
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? Earliest type was Dixieland (South)
? Famous musicians Duke Ellington, Louis
Armstrong
The Jazz Age
? New Dances the Charleston
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• Literature produced important works

? The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
? Babbit by Sinclair Lewis
American Literature

• Writers tried to tell the story of what was
  happening in America

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The Harlem Renaissance

• Harlem, NY became a creative center for
  African-Americans

• Writers, musicians, poets, etc increased
  African-American pride

• Famous people Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen

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Marcus Garvey

• supporter of black nationalism

• organized the Universal Negro Improvement
  Association

• believed that blacks should return to their
  homeland - Africa

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Discrimination

• Some Americans wanted to deny equality and
  freedom to people who were different

• America First became their slogan

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• The Ku Klux Klan was re-born in the South in
  1915

? Feared blacks, Jews, Catholics, immigrants
? An American was white, Protestant,
native-born

• Their political power grew quickly, but died out
  just as fast

• The Klan turned to terrorism and violence to
  spread its message

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• Immigration Act (1924) limited the number of
  immigrants allowed into the U.S.

The Red Scare widespread fear of communism

• Many Americans feared the Russian Revolution
  would spread to the U.S.

Sacco Vanzetti two Italian anarchists
executed for a crime they may not have committed
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Prohibition

• called the Noble Experiment

• Reformers believed that alcohol was the root
  all crime, violence, etc

• The 18th Amendment made it illegal to make,
  sell, or transport alcohol

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Prohibition led to the rise of bootlegging
? Bootlegger someone who made or sold alcohol
illegally
Speakeasies became popular hangouts
? Speakeasy a bar or club where alcohol was
served illegally
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The only way to get alcohol legally was by
government prescription
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Many Americans ignored the law of Prohibition
Organized Crime made millions and became very
powerful
Gangsters like Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel became
heroes
In 1933, the 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition.
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The effects of Prohibition
1. It created disrespect for the law
2. It created organized crime
3. It corrupted law enforcement, the court
system, and politics
4. It changed the drinking habits of the country