Download The United States During the 1920`s Popular Culture reflected the

The United States During the 1920’s
Popular Culture reflected the prosperity of the era. The 1920’s, also called the “Roaring
20’s,” was characterized by economic prosperity and a break from traditional values and new
cultural trends.
Impact of Society in the 1920’s
Prohibition: Prohibition in the United States, also known as The Noble Experiment, was the
period from 1919 to 1933, during which the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol
were banned nationally as mandated in the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution. Pressure from the Temperance Movement led to the passage of the 18th
Amendment (1919). The Volstead Act was passed to help define and carry
out the 18th Amendment. It defined what was to be considered intoxicating as
well as penalties for producing it. Prohibition would lead to organized crime
(Al Capone). Bootlegging (illegal production) and smuggling of alcohol
would occur. People would obtain alcohol at places called speakeasies. Due
to its unpopularity, the 18th Amendment was repealed with the 21st
Amendment in 1933.
Changes in Family Structure: Because of child labor laws, children were no longer seen as
laborers or earners. Children’s’ new role was to attend school and women ran the household.
Darwin’s Theory and the Scopes Trial challenged traditional religion. According to
Darwin’s Theory, all men evolved from a common animal and thus challenged the religious
theory of Creationism. The Scope’s Monkey Trial prevented the teaching of evolution in any
state funded school system.
The 1920s and 1930s were important decades for mass media, American art, literature, and
music. Like today, newspapers and magazines shaped cultural norms and sparked fads. Mass
media began to take off in the 1920’s. With the invention of the motion
picture, the movie industry took off. Media gave rise
to big names such as Charlie Chaplin (pictured).
Sports also became popular, giving rise to names such
as Babe Ruth (pictured).
The Role of Women: Women began to break away from traditional roles
in the 1920’s. Women gained the right to vote in 1920 with the passage of
the 19th Amendment. The term “Flapper” was used to refer to the new,
non traditional women.
The rise of the new Ku Klux Klan (KKK) came about in the
1920’s. They began targeting African Americans, Jews and immigrants and were
representative of what we know of as today’s KKK.
African Americans
Marcus Garvey was a prominent black leader of the day. Garvey was a publisher, journalist,
entrepreneur, Black Nationalist, and orator. His goal (Garveyism) was to empower African
individuals through attaining a sense of self-worth, as well as the
unification of the African people worldwide.
Great Migration North: Jobs for African Americans in the South were
scarce and low paying, they also faced discrimination and violence in the
South. African Americans moved to the Northeast, Midwest, and West in
search of better employment opportunities and to escape the South.
Harlem Renaissance: African American artists, writers, and musicians
based in Harlem revealed the freshness and variety
of African American culture.
Jacob Lawrence: Painter who chronicled the experiences of the Great
Migration north through art.
Langston Hughes (Pictured Left): Poet who combined the experiences of
African and American cultural roots.
Jazz Age: Slang term for the 1920’s because of the
popular form of music.
The Harlem Renaissance gave rise to names such as Duke Ellington and Louis
Armstrong (pictured), Bessie Smith (blues singer) Ella Fitzgerald (Jazz
Singer, pictured) Popularity of these artists spread to the rest of society and
eventually evolved into some of our modern day music.
The Great Depression
The United States emerged from World War I as a global power. The stock market boom
and optimism of the 1920’s were generated by investments made with borrowed money.
When businesses failed, the stocks lost their value, prices fell, production slowed, banks
collapsed, and unemployment became widespread.
Causes of the Stock Market Crash in 1929
1) Businesses were booming, but investments were made
with borrowed money. This is called over speculation.
2) There was an excessive expansion of credit.
3) Business failures led to bankruptcies.
4) Bank deposits were invested in the market
5) When the market collapsed, the banks had no money.
As a consequence, clients panicked, attempting to
withdraw their money from the banks, but there was
nothing to give them. After that, there were no new
investments.
Causes of the Great Depression:
1) Over speculation on stocks using borrowed money that could not be repaid when the
stock market crashed in 1929 and stock prices collapsed. Buying on Margin is when
people purchase stocks or bonds with borrowed money or on credit.
2) The Federal Reserve Act was passed in 1913 that created a national banking system
of twelve Federal Reserve banks. The Federal Reserve’s failure to prevent widespread
collapse of the nation’s banking system in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, leading to
severe contraction of the nations supply of money in circulation.
3) The Dust Bowl (pictured) and drought in the Mid West
made it difficult for farms. Many farmers lost their farms
and moved west, they were often referred to as “Okies.”
4) High protective tariffs in other countries strangling
world trade (Tariff Act of 1930 called the Hawley-Smoot
Act).
I should have
listened to Mr.
Goodson and stayed
in school!
Impacts of the Great Depression:
1) Unemployment and homelessness
2) Collapse of financial system (banks closing)
3) Demand for goods declined.
4) Political unrest (growing militancy of labor unions)
5) Farm foreclosures and migrations
6) Bankruptcy was on the rise, which is to go out of business
because of the lack of financial resources.
A Hooverville was the popular name for shanty towns built by
homeless people during the Great Depression. They were named
after the President of the United States at the time, Herbert
Hoover, because he allegedly let the nation slide
into depression.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was elected in
1932. During the Great Depression, FDR used radio broadcasts called the
Fireside Chats to inform the public about the state of the nation. Roosevelt
rallied a frightened nation on which one in four workers was unemployed.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal Program:
The New Deal permanently altered the role of American government in the economy. It
also fostered changes in people’s attitudes toward government’s responsibilities.
Organized labor acquired new rights, as the New Deal set in place legislation that reshaped
modern American capitalism. The New Deal was designed to create programs for relief,
recovery, and reform during the Great Depression. This program changed the role of the
government to a more active participant on solving problems. The legacy of the New Deal
influenced the public’s belief in the responsibility of government to deliver public
services, to intervene in the economy, and to act in ways that promote the general welfare.
1) Relief measures provided direct payment to people for immediate help (WPA – Works
Progress Administration).
2) Recovery programs were designed to bring the nation out of depression over time
(AAA- Agricultural Adjustment Administration).
3) Reform measures corrected unsound banking and investment practices (FDIC –
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation).
4) Social Security Act was passed in 1935 that created a system to provide old-age
insurance and unemployment compensation, which were safeguards for workers.