7-4: Modern Era of the 1920s · Women did not vote as a bloc ... materialism and conformity Harlem...
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7-4: Modern Era of the 1920s
Transcript of 7-4: Modern Era of the 1920s · Women did not vote as a bloc ... materialism and conformity Harlem...
7-4: Modern Era of
the 1920s
Capitalist Logic
All people are motivated BY
ECONOMIC SELF-INTEREST (Profit)
Income can only be obtained by
providing a product or service to society
You can only benefit if other
people want to buy your product
Prices determined by what people
are willing to pay/what generates
the most profit
Capitalist Logic
Growing the business to make
more money strengthens all
parties
Owners gain more profit
New workers hired
Government receives more tax
revenue
More risk occurs when more
money is tied up in stocks and
bonds
Effect of capitalism on the world
Pre-industrialization (up to 1820)
Avg. wealth (individual) grew by 50%
Capitalist Countries (1820-2016)
Avg. wealth (Individual) grew by 900%
OECD by 1,900%
Non-Capitalist Countries (1820-2016)
Avg. wealth (individual) grew by 500%
Effect of capitalism on the world
Chinese Gross domestic product
1952—Communism in place
$68 billion
1978—beginning of econ. Reforms
$200 billion (26 years, +294%)
2004—in world trade org.
$2 Trillion (26 years, +1,000%)
2018—second only to USA
$12 Trillion (14 years, +600%)
While imperfect, capitalism has lifted more people out of poverty than any other economic system
How much capitalism is best?
The real question today is not
“Should we practice capitalism
vs. socialism?
We should really look at how
closely it should be regulated
Welfare Capitalism
Combination of free-market and
social welfare policies
In the 1920s, it took the form of
benefits from your company, not
government
Health insurance
Retirement plans
Break rooms, cafeterias, sports teams
Designed to increase loyalty and
protect against economic instability
Welfare Capitalism
Effects on 1920s labor
Wage incentives increased
production
White-collar workers generally
benefitted more
System undermined by frequent
layoffs as the economy
expanded and contracted
Republican Control
Return to Normalcy
Election of 1920
Republican victory
(Harding)
Rejection of progressivism
and idealism
League of Nations
controversy
WWI civil liberties abuses
1919 labor strikes
Republican Control
Business Creed
Gilded Age—laissez-faire
Progressivism—regulation
1920s—hands on in favor
of business
Scandals
Teapot Dome
Veteran’s Bureau
Bribes from bootleggers
Mixed Economic Development
Continuing Urbanization
Causes of Business Prosperity
Increased productivity
Over 50% living in cities
Industrial efficiency
Lower prices
Automobile (assembly line)
Government Policy
Tax cuts for wealthy
Cooperation with business
Corporate Consolidation
Mixed Economic Development
Consumer Economy
Improved standard of living
More mobility
Better communications systems
Buying spurred by advertising
Farm Problems
Falling prices
Higher expenses
Chemical fertilizers
Sophisticated machinery
Mixed Economic Development
Labor Problems
Union membership dropped
Violent confrontations
United Mine Workers
Battle of Blair Mountain
Looming Problems
Easy credit for “big ticket”
purchases
Businesses put more money
into stocks
A New Culture
Entertainment
Factors that shaped pop
culture
Newspapers and magazines
Radio and movies
Jazz
Sports (baseball)
A New Culture
Gender Roles
Women in the Labor Force
Declined from WWI to 1930
Wage inequality
Revolution in Morals
Flappers
Decline of Feminism
Role of 19th Amendment
Women did not vote as a bloc
Decline of progressivism
A New Culture
Literature of Alienation
“Lost Generation”
Criticized middle-class
materialism and conformity
Harlem Renaissance
Black musical, artistic and
literary creativity
Black Nationalism
Marcus Garvey—black pride
Back to Africa movement
Values in Conflict
Modernism
Cultural debates over
gender, science, religion,
race, and immigration
Religion
Fundamentalism
Anti-liberal, anti-secular
Bible as literal truth
Scopes Trial
Evolution vs. Creationism
Values in Conflict
Prohibition
Defying the law
Bootlegging
Speakeasies
Difficult to enforce
Political Discord and repeal
Rise in organized crime
21st Amendment
Sexual Revolution
Views on premarital sex questioned
Interpretations of Freud
Values in Conflict
Birth Control
Margaret Sanger—Planned
Parenthood
Nativism
Quota Laws
Sacco and Vanzetti
