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The Roaring 20s 1

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Students will know how the United States changed from the end of World War I until the Great Depression. Students will begin to understand the emergence of a modern capitalist economy in the 1920s. Students will understand politics and international affairs in the 1920s. 2

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After World War I, the soldiers coming home embraced a new attitude. This attitude believed in Carpe Diem; seize the day. This came from surviving the first World War and seeing death and destruction all around them. It also derived from surviving the Bird Flu or Influenza of 1919. This new attitude impacted the economy, society, and politics. 3

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People began to spend and invest with no caution. Instead of viewing the stock market as an opportunity to invest in companies and foster long-term growth; it became an opportunity to get rich quick. This attitude and subsequent carelessness led to the stock market crash of 1929. 5

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The soldiers coming home from World War I had a new perspective that believed in living every moment to the fullest. Because it seemed they were unreachable with no direction; they were given the nickname- The Lost Generation. Some famous authors and artists were born from The Lost Generation. 8

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Two new amendments drastically changed the way of life for Americans during the 1920s. The first was the 18 th amendment that outlawed the manufacture or distribution of alcohol and the second was the 19 th amendment that gave women the right to vote. 11

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The prohibition of alcohol was intended to stop societal ills such as poverty, domestic violence, and alcoholism. But people still obtained alcohol illegally in speak easys where they consumed moonshine from bootleggers. The illegal distribution of alcohol created a bigger problem called organized crime This great experiment was repealed by the 21 st amendment 12

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After women won the right to vote in 1920; this not only impacted the political scene but society as well. With the new-found political equality, women began to shed some of the constraints put on their gender in society; as well. They dressed differently, behaved differently in public, and enjoyed freedoms that had been seen as unacceptable in the past (such as working outside of the home). 14

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The emergence of greater consumerism and a growing middle class spawned a modern capitalist economy in the 1920s. Remember, that capitalism is an economic system that is based on private ownership of the means of production and the production of goods or services for profit. 16

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Politically speaking, the presidents of the 1920s (Harding, Coolidge, Hoover) were elected on the platform that they did not want to disrupt all the growth of capitalism in America. But in the 1920s; African Americans were living under the oppression of the Jim Crow laws in the south and the re-emergence of the KKK. 18

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Internationally, the United States took an approach of isolationism at the end of the first World War I. This is the belief that political rulers should avoid entangling alliances with other nations and avoid all wars not related to direct territorial differences (self defense). 21

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1. What was the attitude of the soldiers who returned after World War I? 2. What two amendments changed the lives of Americans in the 1920s? How were peoples lives changed? 3. What actions led people of this time to be called The Lost Generation? 4. What led to the Prohibition? What groups profited big during this time? 22