The Roaring Twenties

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The Roaring Twenties

• Mr. Miller
• Seward Middle School

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The Roaring Twenties

• After World War I, the U.S. went into a short
  economic recession, but then things picked up
  again in the 1920s for many, but not all, people
  in the U.S.
• This feel good time was known as the Roaring
  Twenties
• Overview/Preview see movie next slide

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(No Transcript)
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Textbook Overview

• Section 1 The Business of America Harding
  the Return to Normalcy
• Warren G. Harding became President and chose a
  pro-business Cabinet.
• Many (not all) in his cabinet were corrupt and
  there was much scandal
• Harding died suddenly in 1923.

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Textbook Overview

• Section 1 The Business of America Coolidge
  Takes Over
• Coolidge took a hands off appraoch to business.
• He was a believer in less government control on a
  lot of things such as crop prices, taking care of
  the poor, etc.
• This helped lead to business really booming as
  the 1920s continued.

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Textbook Overview

• Section 1 The Business of America Technology
  Changes American Life
• Americans had more to spend, so items like cars
  (when they were invented), vacuums,
  refrigerators, etc. were bought and sold (more )
• The assembly line increased production of many
  products.
• People started borrowing and buying on
  installment plans and paying monthly.
• This did lead to more people in debt (remember
  for 1930s)

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Moving to Section 2

• What other aspects of society (other than
  business and the economy) changed or evolved
  (thats whole other story) during the 1920s?
• Moving to Section 2

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Textbook Overview

• Section 2 Changes in Society Youth in the
  Roaring Twenties
• Younger people started having more fun, going to
  college, etc. since the economy was doing better
• Women wore shorter dresses, shorter hair, and did
  fun stuff like go out on the town, etc. that
  the men got to do before
• The Charleston and other dances and songs went
  big
• The older generation did not like this
  rebellious movement

Zoot Suit
Flapper
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Textbook Overview

• Section 2 Changes in Society New Roles for
  Women
• Women gained the right to vote with the 19th
  amendment in 1920 they went from there
• The strong economy and seeing how women worked
  for the men during WWI led to more job
  opportunities.
• Young women really started stretching their
  roles in society, while the older ones felt they
  werent being ladylike
• (known as flappers)

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Womens Roles Change

• Womens role changed. Youthful flappers were
  much different from the stuffiness of the
  Victorian era.
• This video shows the fun time that many were
  having during these Roaring Twenties
• Youtube clip on Flappers

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Textbook Overview

• Section 2 Changes in Society Prohibition and
  Lawlessness
• In 1920, the 18th amendment was passed, which
  outlawed the sale and manufacture of alcohol in
  the U.S.
• Many felt the government overstepped its bounds
• Most still drank, but either made their own,
  smuggled, or went to speakeasies
• This also led to the rise of organized crime
  (mafia) such as Al Capone, etc.

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Prohibition

• This History Channel clip shows a good summary of
  the Prohibition movement.
• See History Channel Video Speakeasies segment
• Mr. Millers soapbox moment This is not meant
  to glorify the use of alcohol in any way (youre
  way too young)
• See U.S. News article highlights
• Act accordingly

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Textbook Overview

• Section 2 Changes in Society Changes for
  African Americans
• The Great Migration (WWI unit) led to many
  African-Americans moving to the north.
• Unfortunately, this led to a lot of racial
  tension and many riots, etc.
• The NAACP was formed to help protect rights, etc.
  with mixed results.
• Marcus Garvey led a movement by others to go back
  to Africa and leave USA

Marcus Garvey
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Textbook Overview
Charles Darwin

• Section 2 Changes in Society A Divided
  Society
• Race wasnt the only issue - there was a backlash
  against immigrants, urban vs. rural, religion vs.
  science and other issues
• Fundamentalists fought against the teaching of
  evolution in schools and the Scopes trial became
  a huge story.
• The Ku Klux Klan also had a resurgence in power,
  numbers, and influence.
• More on these topics

John Scopes
William Jennings Bryan
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The Scopes Monkey Trial

• Charles Darwins theory of evolution holds that
  inherited characteristics of a population change
  over generations, which sometimes results in the
  rise of a new species.
• According to Darwin, the human species may have
  evolved from an ape-like species that lived long
  ago.
• Fundamentalists think this theory is against the
  biblical account of how God created humans and
  that teaching evolution undermine religious
  faith.
• Fundamentalists worked to pass laws preventing
  evolution being taught in schools, and several
  states did, including Tennessee in 1925.
• One group in Tennessee persuaded a young science
  teacher named John Scopes to violate the law, get
  arrested, and go to trial.

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The Trial

• Scopes was represented by Clarence Darrow, and
  William Jennings Bryan, three-time candidate for
  president, represented the prosecution.
• John Scopes was obviously guilty, but the trial
  was about larger issues.
• Scopes was convicted and fined 100, but Darrow
  never got a chance to appeal because the
  conviction was overturned due to a technical
  violation by the judge.
• The Tennessee law remained in place until the
  1960s.
• See History Channel video on the trial

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The Ku Klux Klan

• It originally started during the Reconstruction
  era after the Civil War
• It gained momentum during the 1920s
• They had around 5,000,000 members at one point
• They used this influence to intimidate (and much
  worse) African Americans (and Catholics, and
  immigrants, and Jews, and) and try to influence
  politics with violence
• It lost influence later in the 20s
• Youtube clip

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Moving to Section 3

• So there were good and bad things going on in
  America during this time
• What about Americans leisure time? How did they
  fill it?
• Race relations were still bad but a change was
  coming
• What about the lost in between?

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Textbook Overview

• Section 3 The Jazz Age Harlem Renaissance
  More Leisure Time for Americans
• Inventions, shorter working hours, and higher
  wages gave most (not all) Americans more time and
  to spend on leisure
• Movies, museums, sports, driving, etc. were
  popular events to be part of
• Some African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, etc.
  were left out of this prosperity

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Textbook Overview

• Section 3 The Jazz Age Harlem Renaissance
  Mass Media and Popular Culture
• Radio became very popular for the first time,
  connecting many Americans to sports, shows,
  etc. (like we have with TV and now internet
  today)
• Movies and movie stars became very popular as
  well
• Movies were mostly silent in the early 20s, but
  then sound came along as well in The Jazz Singer
• Disney came onto the scene with the first Mickey
  Mouse in Steamboat Willie

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Textbook Overview

• Section 3 The Jazz Age Harlem Renaissance A
  Search for Heroes
• Sports and sports stars became a big deal during
  the 1920s
• Babe Ruth Ty Cobb in baseball
• Negro leagues in baseball started due to racism
  keeping them out of MLB
• Jack Dempsey Gene Tunney in boxing
• Bobby Jones wins the Grand Slam in golf
• Helen Willis and Bill Tilden in tennis
• Other heroes Charles Lindbergh and Amelia
  Earhart for flying across the Atlantic Ocean

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Textbook Overview

• Section 3 The Jazz Age Harlem Renaissance
  The Harlem Renaissance
• Many African Americans moved to New York City
  (and other northern cities) for work, escape,
  etc.
• The Harlem neighborhood of NYC was the worlds
  largest black community
• Jazz musicians, artists, writers, scholars, etc.
  that were African-American flocked to NYC and
  culture flourished there
• The Renaissance offered a new hope to
  African-Americans for their future in America.
• Famous jazz musicians Loius Armstrong and Duke
  Ellington
• Singer Bessie Smith was also popular.

Youtube
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Textbook Overview

• Section 3 The Jazz Age Harlem Renaissance
  The Lost Generation
• Some famous people lost hope for America (or the
  world?) during this time and left America for
  primarily Paris, France
• They became expatriates and chose to live in
  another country
• Writers Ernest Hemingway (A Farewell to Arms), F.
  Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby), and Sinclair
  Lewis (Babbitt) were some famous ones who left
• They wrote about the negatives of the era such as
  Post-WWI despair, wealth gone wild, and material
  possession obsession in the middle class.