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experiment was repealed by the 21 st amendment 12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?
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