TRANSIT

ION T

O

MODERN AMERIC

A

THE ROARING TWENTIES

THE SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION U.S. develops the highest standard of

living in the world The Twenties brought a second

revolutionElectricity replaces steam Modern assembly introduced

Productivity rose to meet consumer demand

THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

Auto makers stimulate sales through model changes, advertising

Auto industry fosters other businessessteel, rubber, glass, paint, petroleum

Autos encourage suburban sprawl

PATTERNS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

Structural changeProfessional managers replace individual entrepreneurs

Corporations become the dominant business form

Big business weakens regionalism, brings uniformity to America

Retailers emphasize marketing and design, buying on credit

ECONOMIC WEAKNESSES

Railroads poorly managed, trucking creates competition

Coal displaced by petroleum Farmers face decline in exports, prices Growing disparity between income of

laborers, middle-class managers Middle class speculates with idle money

CITY LIFE IN THE JAZZ AGE

Rapid increase in urban population

Skyscrapers symbolize the new mass culture

Communities of home, church, and school are absent in the cities

WOMEN AND THE FAMILY

Ongoing crusade for equal rights

“Flappers” seek individual freedomDivorce rates doubleSmoke and drink in publicBirth rates decline“Women’s professions” grow

Discovery of adolescenceTeenagers no longer need to work, attend high school

PROHIBITION

19th Amendment led to “speakeasies” & “bootleggers”

Resulted in the emergence of organized crime

Repealed in 1933

HERO WORSHIP

Attendance at sporting events skyrocketed as mass media glorified sports heroes

Charles Lindbergh made the 1st nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic and became the most beloved hero of the time

MASS CULTURE

Increased literacy created a wider audience

Newspapers & mass circulation magazines flourished

Motion pictures became a national pastime in the ’20s

Radios reached mass audiences as well

THE FLOWERING OF THE ARTS

Lost Generation: "Exiled" American writers put U.S. in forefront of world literature

Alienation from 20s’ mass cultureT.S. Eliot: emptiness of the modern manErnest Hemingway: sought violence and adventure

F. Scott Fitzgerald: emptiness of wealth

RACE RELATIONS IN THE ’20S

25 race riots erupted in 1919 and the KKK regained power

NAACP moved its headquarters to Harlem, sought anti-lynching legislation

Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), Black Star Cruise Line

JAZZ & THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE “Jazz Age” – most popular music

of the time

In the 1920s, Harlem was the world’s largest black urban community

Harlem became the origin of a number of creative works celebrating African American culture

Jazz became a driving force in spreading the Renaissance to the white population

THE RURAL COUNTERATTACK Rural Americans identify urban

culture with Communism, crime, immorality – resulting in an upsurge of bigotry and rise of repression

“Red Scare” led to Palmer RaidsImmigrant “radicals” arrested and forcibly deported

1927-- Sacco and Vanzetti executed

New restrictions on immigration

THE FUNDAMENTALIST CHALLENGE Fundamentalists stress

traditional Protestant orthodoxy, biblical literalism

Fundamentalists strengthen grassroots appeal in new churches

Clash between fundamentalism & evolution theory led to Scopes “monkey trial” in 1925

WARREN G. HARDING (1921-1923)

Ushered in a “Republican Era” of presidents

Won popularity by promising a “return to normalcy” after the war

Advocated isolationism and international disarmament, but promoted the expansion of U.S. trade

Administration plagued by scandals, most notably Teapot Dome – Harding’s Secretary of the Interior gave oil drilling rights on govt. lands in exchange for illegal payments

CALVIN COOLIDGE (1923-1929)

“The business of America is business” – Laissez faire policies helped fuel the economic boom of the 1920s

Signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact – more than 60 nations agreed not to threaten each other with war

REPUBLICAN POLICIES

Blocked Congressional aid to farmers as unwarranted interference

Government-business cooperation Tariffs raised (Fordney-McCumber Tariff

Act) Corporate, income taxes cut Spending cut

THE DIVIDED DEMOCRATS

The urban-rural split weakened Democrats

1924 Election saw a major shift in political loyalties

Democrats gain more Congressional seats than Republicans after 1922

THE ELECTION OF 1928

Democrat Al Smith carried urban voteRoman Catholic governor of New York

Republican Herbert Hoover won the raceProtestant, conservativeForesaw an end to poverty in America

Religion and traditional values were the campaign’s decisive issues

“HEALTHY” ECONOMY?

High confidence in the economy encouraged risky investments.

No one heeded the economic danger signs:Uneven prosperityPersonal debtStock market manipulationOverproductionTroubled farmers & workers