Tradition and Modernity in the 1920s

7 Tradition and Modernity in the 1920s
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Modern culture brought new fashions, dances, and freedom to the American middle class.
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American Lives: Mary Pickford
Pre-Test
1. Though the 1920s was a boom time economically, the American people were cautious about making purchases on credit. T/F
2. Entertainment was a central part of the 1920s experience, and popular pastimes included amusements at Coney Island and jazz music from New Orleans. T/F
3. Most Americans were comfortable with the new morality, sexual promiscuity, and intellectual movements of the 1920s. T/F
4. Harlem artists known as the New Negroes demanded respect from those who continued to harbor racist ideas; their efforts became known as the Harlem Renaissance. T/F
5. The Great Depression originated within the United States, and the rest of the world was largely unaffected. T/F
Answers can be found at the end of the chapter.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
Understand the conservative economic shift the policies of Warren G. Harding brought to the United States.
Explore the ways in which the consumer economy changed the lives of Americans. Discuss the importance and relevance of leisure pursuits. Explain the significance and impact of the Harlem Renaissance. Discuss how fundamentalism and conservatism impacted different elements of society. Discuss the weaknesses in the U.S. economy during the 1920s.
American Lives: Mary Pickford
An early film actress known affectionately as Americas Sweetheart, Mary Pickford became famous in the early era before movies included sound, when actors had to dramatically express meaning without the benefit of dialog. But Pickford was more than a silent-film movie star. Her work bridged the silent and talking film eras in the late 1920s, and her sense of artistry and financial acumen marked her career as a New Woman.
Like other career-oriented women of the 1920s, she pushed the boundaries of male-dominated society, exercising social and economic control of her life. A levelheaded businesswoman, Pick- fords approach to the motion picture industry established the star system that persists well into the 21st century. She leveraged her stardom to negotiate unprecedented budgetary and creative control over her work, and she regularly received 50% of a films profits, often guaranteed to be more than $1 million.
Pickford was born Gladys Louise Smith in Toronto, Ontario, in 1892, and in their youth she and her siblings performed on the Canadian stage. As a young woman she moved to New York to further her stage career, and in 1908 she was cast in a 2-year run of the Broadway production
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The Warrens of Virginia. When the play ended, the performer who was by then known as Mary Pickford tried her hand at acting in a number of short films in the new and growing movie indus- try, starring in more than 50 short films in 1 year alone. By 1911 she was established as one of the nations leading actresses, having appeared in 20 films, including many produced by D. W. Griffith, the filmmaker responsible for the controversial blockbuster The Birth of a Nation. She often played a youthful girl or adolescent, even well into her 20s.
Pickford became one of the first women to control the creative side of her career and the production of the films in which she appeared. In 1919 she joined with other top creative talents, including Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, and her soon-to-be husband Douglas Fairbanks, to form the United Artists film studio, a filmmaking and distribution corporation that gave them creative and financial control of the projects on which they worked.
Pickfords star quality made the venture a success. Pollyanna, the first film Pickford starred in under United Artists, put the studio on firm financial foot- ing, though many of those that followed were less successful. Bridging the transition in filmmaking, in 1929 Pickford starred in Coquette, her first talking film, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress (Garraty & Carnes, 1999).
Pickfords business sense and involvement behind the scenes of movie production earned her great wealth but less public acclaim and recognition than her acting did, and her glamorous appearances on the big screen have overshadowed her importance to the overall success of the movie industry (Whit- field, 2007). She ended her acting career in the early 1930s, but she remained active in the business opera- tions of United Artists. She spent her later years living
in seclusion and turned to writing, penning two books and an autobiography. She died in Hol- lywood in 1979.
Pickfords contributions to the early motion picture industry were influenced by the time in which she lived. The 1920s culture of opportunities made it possible for women to make impor- tant strides in business, education, and other parts of society once restricted to men. Although her achievements were not typical, Mary Pickford represented the possibilities opening to Amer- ican women during the modern age.
For further thought: 1. How did Mary Pickfords life reflect the New Woman in the 1920s? 2. How did Pickfords career and the growth of the film industry represent a turn
toward modernity?
Album/SuperStock
Considered Americas Sweetheart, actress Mary Pickford was also a sharp businesswoman. She was among the founders of United Artists film studio and helped make the movie industry a force in the U.S. economy.
American Lives: Mary Pickford
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Section 7.1A Return to Normalcy
7.1A Return to Normalcy
Some elements of prewar society persisted into the 1920s, including concerns over private economic power and government responsibility for social problems. Racial and ethnic divi- sions and tensions that had grown in earlier decades endured and even intensified. Overall, though, the decade following World War I represented a shift in temperament and culture for the United States. The idealism and reform impulse of the Progressive era were replaced by conservatism, materialism, and a rising consumer culture. Americans turned away from imperialism and involvement in foreign affairs and back toward isolationism. Among the most striking changes of the 1920s was the state of American politics (Cooper, 1990).
Harding and Coolidge With his health failing at the end of his second term and struggles over the League of Nations continuing, Woodrow Wilson had ceased to be a viable leader for the Democratic Party by 1920. In the election that year, the Democrats nominated Ohio governor James M. Cox for president, with Franklin D. Roosevelt for vice president. The other commanding national political presence, former president Theodore Roosevelt, had died in his sleep on January 5, 1919. On the 10th ballot held at the convention, the Republicans nominated conservative Ohio senator Warren G. Harding. Hardings running mate, Calvin Coolidge, had most recently served as the governor of Massachusetts.
Newly enfranchised female voters swelled the electorate, so that 8 million more people voted in the 1920 election than had in 1916. They cast their ballots for Harding by a large margin because he was seen as sympathetic to their concerns. During the campaign he sent a per- sonal letter to Carrie Chapman Catt endorsing suffrage, and he sent a campaign staffer to be on hand for the Tennessee legislature vote that ratified the 19th Amendment. The elec- tion was a landslide, with Harding earning 16 million votes to Coxs 9 million. Campaigning from federal prison, Socialist Eugene V. Debs claimed just over 3% of the vote, demonstrating that more than a million American voters did not find representation of their interests in the dominant parties.
Hardings administration represented a turn away from reform and toward conservative policies. He argued that the nation needed not heroism but healing, not nostrums but normalcy, not revolution but restoration, by which he meant an emphasis on eco- nomic growth that would result in community and harmony. He offered America a normalcy that represented an end to reform and war and aimed to substitute them with small-town sim- plicity full of nostalgia and tradition (Payne, 2009).
Bettmann/Corbis
Running one of the first modern presidential campaigns, in 1920 Warren G. Harding recorded campaign speeches on a phonograph and distributed the records among supporters.
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Section 7.1A Return to Normalcy
In international affairs, Harding opposed Wilsons advocacy for membership in the League of Nations, but also Theodore Roosevelts arguments about military leadership, pacts, and alli- ances, even within the Western Hemisphere. Harding largely avoided discussing the growing global interconnections between nations and economies, although the president well knew that it was impossible to insulate the United States from the world economy and global poli- tics. Instead, he dealt with international issues quietly while he publicly advocated a return to an unconcern over foreign affairs and gave Americans the impression that they could accept or reject involvement in world concerns when and where they pleased.
On the domestic front, Harding supported the efforts of conservative Republicans to court big business and subvert the gains made by labor during the war. Hardings probusiness orienta- tion faced some challenges at the state level when Progressive Republican governors were elected in Wisconsin and Montana. For the most part, however, conservative Republican lead- ers surged forward with their agenda (Cooper, 1990).
A series of scandals also characterized Hardings presidency. He appointed his close friends and allies to important political positions, and several members of the so-called Ohio Gang took advantage of their place in the Harding administration to advance their own agendas. It is unclear if Harding was fully aware of the actions of his appointees, since many of the scan- dals came to light only after his death.
The Teapot Dome affair, involving the lease of navy petroleum reserves in Wyoming and California to private companies without public bidding, was the subject of a congressional investigation. The scandal resulted in the bribery conviction of Hardings secretary of the interior, Albert B. Fall, who had negotiated the leases. Other Harding administration scan- dals involved corruption in the Justice Department, perpetrated by his attorney general and former campaign manager Harry M. Daugherty, and in the Veterans Bureau, where director Charles R. Forbes was accused of putting his own economic gains ahead of the needs of return- ing veterans.
A New Economic Vision In 1921 the nations economy was in a severe slump. Demobilization resulted in high unem- ployment, and investments fell below the rate of inflation, leaving all Americans with less buying power. The end of wartime production resulted in thousands of layoffs, and the nation entered a period of economic adjustment that required intervention. Even Americans still employed found that their incomes did not stretch far enough to cover household needs, and the purchase of extra consumer goods was out of the question for most households.
To deal with the economic concerns, Harding called a Presidents Conference on Unemploy- ment. Its participants recommended a controversial public works expansion and a bonus bill to reward veterans for their service, but both failed in Congress. Instead, the administration cut taxes and created a budget bureau to oversee and limit the spending of government funds. Once the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates, investment recovered, and by 1923 many industries actually faced a labor shortage (Perrett, 1982).
Hardings approach to the presidency was in many ways the opposite of his Progressive pre- decessor (McGerr, 2005). He supported more individual freedom and greater limitations on government activism, and he was far more favorable to and tolerant of big business. He
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Section 7.1A Return to Normalcy
demonstrated his convictions by appointing officials to the Interstate Commerce Commis- sion and the Federal Reserve Board that he believed would change those agencies policies to make them much more supportive of business.
He also strove to enact legislation that gave corporations more power. He signed legislation to restore a higher tariff that supported American production, and he encouraged federal agen- cies such as the Federal Trade Commission and Interstate Commerce Commission to cooper- ate with businesses rather than merely regulate them. Harding also supported business by taking a more hands-on approach to breaking labor strikes.
Challenges for Labor Using both the carrot and the stick, business in the 1920s sought to erode worker protec- tions and union membership. The stick, or punitive tactics, some employers used included forcing newly hired workers to sign so-called yellow dog contracts in which they agreed not to join unions; if they did, they would be fired.
More employers engaged in an open shop movement, arguing that they wanted to give their employees the ability to decide on their own whether to join a union. Mobilizing under what they called the American Plan, these employers declared that the open shop was consis- tent with American values, freedom, and patriotism. By contrast, they charged unions with limiting freedom by creating closed shop workplaces, where only union members could be employed. They argued that unions restricted production, made unreasonable wage demands, and kept capable workers from reaching their full earning potential. In reality, employers promoted the American Plan to rid their industries of union organization and were successful in holding back the number of workers who could enjoy the benefits of col- lective bargaining (Goldberg, 1999).
To further discourage unionization, industrialists devised as a carrot the system of welfare capitalism. Designed to instill worker loyalty and encourage efficiency, welfare capitalism was practiced by the largest employers, including Goodyear, International Harvester, and General Electric. The programs included company unions that could bargain for limited work- place improvements but not for wage increases. Some created grievance committees to hear worker complaints. Other features could include profit sharing, life insurance, and company baseball teams.
Labor journalist Louis Francis Budenz, a reporter for Labor Age, railed against the practices of company unions, considering them the gravest threat to workers. In one case, he reported a construction job purporting to have a company union that ingenuously promised, but failed to pay, trained carpenters $12 a day, nearly double the wage union carpenters earned. Budenz asserted that company unions were disingenuous organizations that aimed to draw in unsus- pecting workers (Grant, 2006). By the mid-1920s a mere 4 million worked for a firm that practiced welfare capitalism, but the concept grew throughout the decade (Dumenil, 1995).
Both the American Plan and welfare capitalism accelerated during the postwar recession and caused considerable strife between labor and employers. Although the decade saw many strikes across multiple industries, the probusiness climate assured that organized labor made few gains.
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Section 7.1A Return to Normalcy
The Triumph of Big Business The U.S. economy rebounded from the postwar recession by 1922, thanks largely to a con- sumer revolution and growth in industries that manufactured automobiles and other durable goods like refrigerators and radios. Following Hardings sudden death in 1923, Calvin Coolidge succeeded to the presidency. A Republican attorney from Vermont, Coolidge began his political career in Massachusetts, first in the state legislature and then as the com- monwealths governor. He gained a national reputation as an opponent of organized labor after he fired the striking Boston police force in 1919.
Coolidge was elected in his own right in 1924 and extended a series of policies favorable to business expansion. He appointed probusiness men to the Federal Trade Commission and the Interstate Commerce Commission and supported a move to raise tariffs to offer more protec- tion for business. Under his watch, Congress also passed three revenue acts, greatly reducing income taxes for most Americans.
In contrast to the Progressive eras push to regulate large corporations and make them more responsive to environmental and societal problems, the 1920s political climate supported business mergers and did little to restrict or influence business practices. The U.S. Supreme Court and Justice Department protected businesses from organized labor through a series of injunctions and limitations on union organization and strike activity.
The economy grew considerably for the remainder of the decade. Industrial output rose 64%, and the production of automobiles grew from 1.5 million in 1919 to 4.8 million in 1929. Industries incorporated new technologies, including mechanization, assembly lines, and elec- tricity to boost production. Worker productivity grew 43%, and overall output grew 70% (Murphy, 2012).
Henry Fords motor company stands as a clear example of the business ethos of the 1920s. Initially operating one plant outside Detroit, Michigan, Ford introduced the moving assembly line and applied Frederick Winslow Taylors scientific management to the manufacture of his Model T automobiles. The process reduced the time and cost to produce a car but also created a monotonous and challenging work environment that initially led to massive turnover.
Ford countered by paying workers $5 per day (roughly $15 an hour in todays money) and reducing the workday to 8 hours. Soon workers were lined up for jobs at the Ford plants. The Ford Motor Company was also one of the first to apply the principles of welfare capi- talism, offering workers profit sharing to discourage unionization. Ford also implemented a so-called sociology department to ensure worker loyalty, patriotism, and moral values (Drowne & Huber, 2004).
Fords sociology department, also known as the education department, aimed to guide his workers in living moral and upright lives and to embrace a new identity as a Ford Man. Ford expected his workers to refrain from using tobacco and alcohol and to avoid interaction with unions, political radicals, and socialists. Immigrant workers received instruction in English and endured a plan of Americanization as a condition of continued employment. Those who demonstrated clean and wholesome habits were likely to see a wage increase. Those who did not want their employer intruding in their personal lives were invited to look elsewhere for a job (Hooker, 1997).
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Section 7.1A Return to Normalcy
Sick Industries Although some workers such as those at Ford plants made wage gains in the 1920s, most corporate profits were not passed along to employees. Nor did all segments of the econ- omy benefit from the governments new probusiness orientation. Although most of the economy recovered from the postwar recession fairly quickly, railroads, coal, textiles, and agriculture continued to struggle. Workers in those industries experienced stagnant wages (Murphy, 2012). Employees at a Gastonia, North Carolina, textile mill, for instance, averaged 70 hours per week. Despite the long hours, mens wages were a mere $18 per week, and women earned a paltry $9 per week (St. Germain, 1990). Many workers also faced unemploy- ment or underemployment.
The coal industry was another sick industry struggling to recover in the postwar decade. Coal was once the main fuel for American factories and mills, but competition from cleaner and abundant oil and hydroelectric power contributed to falling coal prices. The price of coal fell from a high of $3.74 a ton in 1920 to a mere $1.78 in 1929. Mines reduced production or shut down altogether, leaving remote communities unable to participate in the growing con- sumer economy.
Farmers likewise struggled to find prosperity. Mechanization in the form of tractors, com- bines, and disc plows increased production capabilities but reduced the prices of staple crops like wheat and corn. Coolidge vetoed congressional proposals to aid the farm crisis, arguing that the government had no constitutional power to intervene in private business (St. Germain, 1990). The agricultural sector continued to limp along well into the 1930s, when the Great Depression reversed attitudes toward government interference in the economy.
Economic Growth and Foreign Policy Americas emergence as the worlds dominant economic power drew the nation into a host of international affairs during the 1920s. The nation officially sought a foreign policy that aimed to reduce the risk of international conflict and ensure the safety of trade and investment. In practice, however, U.S. foreign interactions often undermined those very goals.
U.S. investment overseas made America the worlds leading creditor nation, and its contin- ued economic success depended on the ability of other nations, especially those in Europe, to repay their war debts of approximately $10 billion. However, Harding and the Congress, focused on nurturing U.S. business development, enacted a series of policies that showed little concern for European recovery following the wars devastation. Higher tariff rates made it difficult for Britain and France to profit from exports. At the same time, the United States flooded European markets with American manufactured goods. Instead of providing relief and encouraging the commerce needed to reduce the debt, the United States continued on a path that produced further restrictions.
In this climate the United States hosted the first conference aimed at world disarmament. Held in Washington, D.C., from November 1921 through February 1922, leaders from nine nations met to consider interests in the Pacific Ocean and east Asia. Among those attending were representatives from China, Japan, Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal. Neither Germany nor the new Soviet Union was invited. Supported by peace advocates in America and abroad, the conference resulted in the Washington Naval Treaty, in which each nation
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Section 7.2The Culture of Modernity
agreed to reduce the size of its naval fleet and limit production of new warships (Goldstein & Maurer, 2012).
The Harding and Coolidge administrations also sought to retreat from involvement in Latin American affairs unless economic ties there forced the United States to intervene. American business interests sought investment in the rich oil fields in South America and encouraged a foreign policy favorable to their plans. The Senate ratified a treaty apologizing to Colombia for American intervention in Panama in 1903 and offered a payment of $25 million in amends. This paved the way for U.S. investment in Colombian and eventually Venezuelan oil fields.
To further cement relations in Latin America, Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes used the centennial of the Monroe Doctrine in 1923 to assure the nations of the region that the United States intended to be a good neighbor, although at that moment the United States still occupied and controlled the governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic (see Chapter 6) (Goldberg, 1999).
7.2The Culture of Modernity
Modernity, or the bureaucratic, industrial, and consumer-oriented society of early 20th- century America, was characterized by an evolving and distinct culture. Following the post- war recession, the nation saw unprecedented prosperity and industrial productivity. The United States stood as the worlds dominant economic power, and at home most Americans enjoyed a higher standard of living and more leisure time. Although some segments of society, such as farmers, coal miners, and African Americans, did not experience as much prosperity, all participated in an emerging culture of modernity.
The Boom of the Consumer Culture and the Consumer Economy Beginning with the growth of American capitalism and industrialization in the 19th century, a new consumerism began to emerge. Linked to the expanding market economy, consumer culture celebrated the worth of goods and services in terms of their financial value. A signifi- cant part of modernity in the 1920s was the expansion of a consumer-oriented culture that prioritized acquisition and consumption. It associated happiness with accumulating material goods and made monetary value the most important measure of worth. Consumption rather than hard work came to measure an individuals worth in society (Leach, 1994).
Drawing more Americans into the consumer culture was key to maintaining the nations economic prosperity. Goods produced required a market, and many looked to the American consumer as an important outlet for manufactured products. Businesses soon realized that consumers simply did not have enough money in their pockets to afford everything that they wanted to buy. Therefore, they devised a way for them to enjoy the products immediately but pay for them later. This technique for immediate gratification became known as buying on credit, and it was very much opposite to the Victorian ethos of the 19th century, which held that upstanding citizens did not incur debts.
Turning this idea on its head, in the 1920s purchasing on credit meant that you were a strong consumer, and many aspired to purchase modern conveniences to demonstrate their rising
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Section 7.2The Culture of Modernity
economic status. The trend began with more expensive items like automobiles, and it soon extended to other durable goods such as refrigerators and washing machines and even to small consumer goods.
Edward Filene, owner of an upscale Boston department store, recalled handing a doll to a little girl with whom he had been speaking in the toy department of his store. As Filene looked for the girls reaction, her mother prompted her: What are you going to say to the gentleman? The girl looked Filene in the eye and said, Charge it! (as cited in Benson, 1988, p. 100). Soon more and more people began filling their homes with the latest devices, even as they owned fewer and fewer of them outright.
Those with charge accounts were likely to spend more than customers paying cash, especially at department stores such as Filenes. The U.S. Department of Commerce surveyed the use of store charge accounts in 1928 and found that although charges accounted for a small percent- age of total transactions, they often represented as much as 20% of overall sales. Managers treated charge customers well and courted their repeat business (Benson, 1988).
The use and availability of charge accounts continued to increase. Although installment buying (consumer credit), or individual borrowing for consumable goods or services, was evident before World War I, in the 1920s household debt nearly doubled. Due to manufactur- ing techniques, the prices for appliances, automobiles, and other household products gener- ally declined across the decade. At the same time a relaxation on the qualifications for credit saw the amount of goods purchased on time increase enormously (Olney, 1991).
The World of George Babbitt
One of the best ways to understand the consumer environment of the 1920s is by examin- ing Sinclair Lewiss novel Babbitt. The first seven chapters explore just 1 day in George Babbitts life. The high point of Babbitts day was driving to work and filling his car with gas. This became something of a religious rite for him. At the gas station, he admired all the gadgets and auto accessories on sale, such as spark plugs with immaculate porcelain jackets (Lewis, 1922, p. 28). The gas pump itself was a technological marvel, with red iron accents and an ingenuous automatic dial whose clicking gave Babbitt a sense of power.
The gas station was also where Babbitt found wisdom, such as in the sign that said, A fill in time saves getting stuckgas to-day 31 cents (Lewis, 1922, p. 28). The books central message was clear. Modern life revolved to a fault around business and consumerism, which in turn rendered life meaningless because consumers placed too much emphasis on new technologies such as automobiles, car cigarette lighters, and alarm clocks.
The novel was an example of literary realism, using fictional characters to paint an accu- rate portrait of modern society. George Babbitt resonated with such deep archetypal significance that the term Babbitt entered the English language, referring to any middle- class American who is so attached to business that he or she becomes a model of narrow- mindedness, self-satisfaction, and conformity.
For further reading, see: Lewis, S. (1922). Babbitt. New York: Harcourt Brace.
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Section 7.2The Culture of Modernity
Modern Advertising New approaches to advertising fueled the consumer economy. The volume of advertising increased tremendously, with popular magazines being the most common marketing medium. Later in the decade, radio joined magazines as an important venue for ads. Moving beyond the utilitarian display of products that previously characterized product marketing, modern advertising firms created colorful ads showing individuals enjoying products.
The ads glorified consumption and leisure, such as in a car manufacturers depiction of a lush country- side and the slogan You find a Road to Happiness the day you buy a Buick (as cited in Dumenil, 1995, p. 89). A growing number of advertising agencies associated their clients products with the modern era, fashion, and progress. They pushed the neces- sity of owning new household products, including refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, toasters, and radios (Olney, 1991).
The new advertising also played on consumers fears and anxieties, brought on by the changes in modern society. Capitalizing on the stress of mod- ern life, Post Bran Flakes promoted a cure for those Too Busy to Keep Well (as cited in Dumenil, 1995, p, 89). The makers of Listerine, formerly used only as an antiseptic, advertised its ability to cure halito- sis, more commonly known as bad breath. Another technique aimed for a personal approach by includ- ing the word you in the text of an advertisement.
Ads connected to other elements of popular cul- ture through celebrity endorsements, linking movie stars and sports figures to products. Finally, the introduction of company spokespersons such as Betty Crocker helped humanize corporations and their products (Dumenil, 1995).
The Automobile in 1920s Culture The automobile was the most expensive and most desirable durable good of the era, and it became increasingly available to average Americans. Fords Model T, or Tin Lizzy, remained the best-selling and most inexpensive car. Aiming to make his vehicles affordable for the com- panys assembly line workers, Henry Ford pushed an efficiency that allowed him to continu- ously reduce prices. First costing $850 in 1909, in the 1920s a Tin Lizzy could be purchased for $260 (Flink, 1998).
Along with other consumer products, the automobile was an important factor in the postre- cession boom. By the 1920s multiple manufacturers produced thousands of cars each year using the assembly line and other efficiency techniques first used at the Ford Motor Company.
Bettmann/Corbis
This 1928 ad for Listerine warned that going out without using mouthwash could result in negative social interactions. This form of advertising played on consumers fears and anxieties brought on by changes in modern society.
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Section 7.2The Culture of Modernity
By the end of the 1920s, more than half of American families owned a car, making a whole new culture possible. Like George Babbitt, Americans were fascinated with automobile-related gadgets and other developments of the car culture. Gas stations, motels, diners, and other businesses sprang up to serve car-owning individuals and families.
The automobile became the ultimate symbol of leisure, promising owners freedom and mobility. Many passed on more traditional pastimes such as Sunday church services to take a drive in the country. In rural areas especially, having a car opened new options for shopping and leisure (Goldberg, 1999).
Morals, Movies, and Amusement Motion pictures and other forms of mass media transformed American culture in the 1920s. Movies created and spread a set of common American val- ues, attitudes, and experiences. Beginning around the turn of the 20th century, theaters known as nickelodeons offered one-reel silent films to mostly working-class audiences. By the 1920s the movie industry, located in and near Hollywood, California, expanded to include elaborate multireel feature films. Cities constructed ornate movie theaters or palaces, and films began attracting a middle-class audience.
Movie actors such as Mary Pickford, her husband Douglas Fairbanks, Buster Keaton, and Charlie Chap- lin became national stars, setting trends for dress and style. One film star in particular, Clara Bow, popular- ized the flapper image of the so-called Roaring Twen- ties. Starring in multiple silent movies, including It (1927)from which she became known as the It GirlBow was the sex symbol of the age. Copying the stars style, young women bobbed their hair, wore short skirts, smoked, and listened to jazz music. The modern, emancipated young women of the 1920s
drew the ire of more conservative Americans, who believed that their behavior challenged womens traditional roles in society (Stenn, 2000).
Working-Class Leisure and Culture The freedom of middle-class culture did not extend to the nations working class. Blue-col- lar workers, who toiled in skilled or unskilled manual work in manufacturing, mining, or other heavy industries, enjoyed less time for leisure activities. Although the working class earned less money and worked more hours, they did participate in a variety of pastimes. The
Courtesy Everett Collection
Actress Clara Bow became the It Girl of the 1920s. Her bobbed hair, short skirts, and flirtatious behavior personified the flapper image that many women emulated.
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Section 7.2The Culture of Modernity
expanding commercialization of leisure saw many participate in more sedentary activities. Instead of playing sports, they were more likely to attend a semiprofessional baseball game or listen to a band or music on the radio. Amusement parks, nickel theaters, and 10-cent museums catered to men and women and may have created a more homogeneous and less ethnically divided working class.
At the same time, various elements of different ethnic cultures spread among the work- ing class. Whereas some leisure activities divided along racial and ethnic lines, others were adopted more fluidly. White musicians adopted African American music and musical instru- ments such as the banjo and then fused them into mainstream culture. Jews made up a dis- proportionate number of entertainers, many of whom were among the most important pio- neers in the film industry but worked closely with non-Jewish actors.
Other forms of entertainment reinforced ethnic identities. Films aimed at particular ethnic groups were shown at race theaters in African American or Mexican neighborhoods. The growing music recording industry similarly emerged to serve particular audiences. Race records were sold at stores in cities with large African American populations such as Chicago, where one owner reported lines forming around the block to purchase the latest release. Hillbilly music similarly aimed for an audience of rural southern Whites (Dumenil, 1995).
The Jazz Age Music was a central part of the 1920s, and jazz was the soundtrack of the decade. It combined traditional African American styles such as the deep soulful feeling of blues with the rhythmic beats of ragtime and, in the process, became a unique American musical form (Burns & Ward, 2000). The improvisational aspect of jazz let musicians spontaneously explore new sonic boundaries, and audiences listening on the radio or dancing in front of big bands experienced the newness and sexual openness of the Jazz Age.
Jazz started in New Orleans but soon spread to Chicago and New York (Martin & Waters, 2006). However, it did not go mainstream until the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, which was an all-White group that was clearly not the original jazz band, became popular. This was one of the many examples in the 20th century of White Americans capitalizing on and mass marketing African American culture. The mass marketing of African American culture did, however, also pave the way for African American jazz musicians like Joe King Olivers Creole Jazz Band and many others to tour the United States.
Jazz became a central unifying cultural phenomenon among the youth of the 1920s. Featur- ing improvisation over structure jazz broke musical rules, and the way it made racial min- gling seem normal challenged the dividing line between Whites and African Americans. From its big-city origins, jazz soon spread and was played in dance halls, roadhouses, and illegal speakeasies across the nation. Radio and phonograph records helped spread the jazz craze to even the most remote towns and farms. It was the music of a younger generation coming of age in modern America, and it sparked a backlash among traditionalists who called it the devils music and worried that youth would lose their appreciation for classical music.
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Section 7.2The Culture of Modernity
American Experience: Pushing the Boundaries at Coney Island
Another key means of entertain- ment and leisure in the 1920s was the amusement park, best exempli- fied by New Yorks Coney Island. Amusement parks appeared across the nation, but Coney Island was the largest and most famous. Located in Brooklyn, it was a picnic destina- tion in the late 19th century. By the early 20th century, public trans- portation made the journey from the city much easier. When picnics failed to draw enough people, entre- preneurs began building popular amusements such as mechanical rides, penny arcades, and concert halls. Three distinct amusement parks, each with a different theme and audience, attracted thousands of working-class and middle-class men, women, and families. These parks provided a mini-vacation for the urban working classes, and their numbers grew dramatically in the 1920s.
Coney Island was a place where men and women found themselves in close quarters, unsu- pervised, and anxious to test the boundaries of new social mores. The amusement rides helped them do this. There was a machine at Luna Park at Coney Island that could suppos- edly measure the passion of a couples kiss. These parks also featured rides such as the Tunnel of Love, with long dark passageways where men and women could suddenly find themselves alone, and the Wedding Ring, which twirled around and caused strangers to fall into each others embraces. Finally, there was the Dew Drop ride, which was designed to raise women skirts, to the delight of onlookers.
Historian Kathy Peiss, who has studied the history of leisure and working-class women extensively, notes that Steeplechase Park at Coney Island was deliberately constructed with sexuality in mind in terms of titillation, voyeurism, exhibitionism, and a stress on couples and romance (Peiss, 1986, p. 136). The amusement park provided young men and women with a place to escape their work responsibilities and the watchful eyes of their parents. There park goers could explore and experiment with the developing mores of modern society, pushing the boundaries of cultural propriety in an environment designed to both amuse and entertain.
For further reading, see: Peiss, K. (1986). Cheap amusements: Working women and leisure in turn-of-the-century New York. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Immerso, M. (2002). Coney Island: The peoples playground. Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Lake County Museum/Corbis
Steeplechase Park at Coney Island provided amusement and leisure activities for New Yorkers seeking time away from their work.
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Section 7.2The Culture of Modernity
The African American Experience in the 1920s The racial tensions and conflict that characterized the immediate postwar months in 1919 seemed to ease as the nation moved into the 1920s. At the same time, migration during the war and the military experiences of many served to create a more militant spirit among Afri- can Americans. Popularly known as the New Negro, in the 1920s many African Americans expressed an outspoken advocacy of their rights and dignity and a refusal to submit to segre- gation or second-class citizenship.
The movement had multiple expressions. One was a cultural and artistic movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, which celebrated the African American experience through music, art, poetry, and literature. Another component was seen in the Black Nationalism Marcus Garvey advocated through his Universal Negro Improvement Association. The movement was empowering for African Americans but created unease among some Whites who preferred the former repressive racial situation (Dumenil, 1995).
Tulsa Race Riot One major exception to the calmer racial climate was the Tulsa, Oklahoma, race riot of 1921. Tulsa was home to a booming oil economy and had attracted many African American migrants, many of whom operated successful businesses and were economically prosperous. The vio- lence that erupted in late May 1921 began when a group of armed African American men tried to prevent a lynching. A White female elevator operator had claimed that an African American man attacked her. Police arrested Dick Rowland, and a White mob gathered outside the jail demanding the man be released to them.
In the prewar racial structure, Rowland might have been released to the mob and lynched. Instead, the Whites faced a group of armed African Americans, many of them veterans, who arrived to protect the detainee. Indeed, a by- product of African Americans experi- ences in the armed forces during the war was a new determination to fight back against injustice at home.
Tensions escalated and shots were fired, sparking a full-fledged riot. Hundreds of Whites mobilized, invad- ing African American neighborhoods. They destroyed African American owned homes and businesses and killed at least 35 African Americans. Although some fought back, most of Tulsas African American residents fled the city. A grand jury investigation refused to indict any of the White riot-
ers, blaming the events on the presence of armed negroes and agitation among the negroes for social equality (Goldberg, 1999, p. 96).
Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis
During the Tulsa race riot in 1921, 35 African Americans were killed and dozens of African Americanowned businesses and homes were destroyed. Here victims receive medical attention and a police escort.
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Section 7.2The Culture of Modernity
Garveyism and Africa for the Africans The assertive attitude of many urban African Americans was one expression of the rising expectations that characterized the New Negro movement. Another was Marcus Garveys Pan-Africanism, in which he argued that African Americans should celebrate their African heritage and even consider emigrating to Africa. More than any other leader, Jamaican-born Garvey personified the rising expectations of many African Americans in the postwar era. His charismatic and bold personality appealed to many who were disappointed at the lack of positive change. He also divided the African American community and faced opposition from many established African American leaders (Goldberg, 1999).
Born in Jamaica in 1887, Garveys search for gainful employment as a young man led him to the United States in 1916, where he settled in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. As the citys dominant African American neighborhood and home to the largest concentration of African Americans outside the South, Harlem offered a perfect venue for his radical message. Often literally mounting a soap box on a street corner, Garvey outlined his principle themes. He argued African Americans should take pride in being Black and avoid race mixing to pre- serve racial purity. He criticized the African American community for disproportionally defer- ring leadership to a light-skinned elite.
Garvey also rejected the integrated approach of the NAACP, sparking the anger of W. E. B. Du Bois. Through his organization, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, Garvey pro- moted African American businesses and argued in favor of creating a strong and independent African nation where African Americans could excel.
Between 1919 and 1923, Garvey sponsored international conventions, endorsed politicians, encouraged African American businesses, and sparked an interest in African American his- tory and culture. His influence was curtailed in 1923 when he was accused of committing mail fraud. He was sentenced to prison in 1925. President Coolidge commuted his sentence in 1927, and because he was not a U.S. citizen, he was deported to Jamaica (Goldberg, 1999).
Though scholars today disagree on his overall influence, there is little doubt that he left a strong legacy of pride and assertiveness in the African American community. Garveyism, according to one reporter after his death, set in motion what was to become the most com- pelling force in Negro liferace and color consciousness (Gordon, 2006, p. 165).
The Harlem Renaissance Harlem was also host to an African American literary and cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, which produced a vibrant body of art, music, and literature during the 1920s. The movement is often described as a state of mind or attitude shared among writers and intellectuals who lived and worked in Harlem. The participants, both men and women, shared an awareness that they were taking part in a new awakening of African American cul- ture anddespite their diverse perspectives, experiences, and literary traditionsa sense of community and understanding that they were all part of a common movement (Wintz, 1988).
Among the most prominent voices of the Harlem Renaissance were poets Langston Hughes, novelist Zora Neale Hurston, and artists Aaron Douglas and Augusta Savage. Many of their
Art Heirs of Aaron Douglas/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. Schomburg Center, NYPL/Art Resource, NY
Artist Aaron Douglass art was featured on the June 1926 cover of Opportunity magazine.
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Section 7.2The Culture of Modernity
works emphasize modern concerns, as well as mat- ters of racial identity and community.
Whites associated with the movement by arranging publication and giving financial gifts to allow writ- ers and artists to focus on their work. For White patrons, supporting the artists and writers was part of a trendy fascination with African American cul- ture, but the aid they provided was real and critical to the movements success (Dumenil, 1995). Promi- nent African Americans, including W. E. B. Du Bois, also helped draw attention to the movement. The NAACPs publication the Crisis often published the poetry and fiction of African American writers of the era.
Latinos in the West World War I saw the beginning of another major North American migration as nearly a half million Mexicans moved north, in part to escape the disor- der of the Mexican Revolution (19101920). During the 1920s Mexican migrants toiled in agricultural fields, in Chicago meatpacking plants, on automo- bile assembly lines in Detroit, and as laborers on all the major railroads. Cast as racially distinct from recent European immigrants and African Americans, Mexicans faced opposition from White nativists concerned with protecting the racial superiority of Americas AngloSaxon heritage (Reisler, 1996). In some cities Latinos faced segregated neighborhoods, lack of access to pub- lic accommodations, and especially school segregation.
Just as African Americans concentrated in New York, Mexican migrants created their own cul- tural milieu in Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles area became home to more Mexican nationals than all but a small handful of Mexicos largest cities. During the 1920s the Mexi- can population of Los Angeles tripled from 33,644 to 97,116, with more than 167,000 in the greater Los Angeles County. Social and religious institutions emerged to serve the growing Mexican American population, which concentrated in ethnic neighborhoods. The Brownson Settlement House offered English classes and services to women and children, and Roman Catholic churches relocated to Latino neighborhoods (Romo, 1983).
Mexican Americans retained their traditions while also creating a new urban culture. Many patronized Mexican restaurants, joined community associations, and preserved their Spanish language. At the same time, like many European immigrants, they adapted to American culture by taking up sports like baseball and basketball and learning to appreciate both Mexican and American culture. Mexicans blended their own traditions, foods, and cultural practices with those of mainstream American culture and created a uniquely Mexican American identity.
Garveyism and Africa for the Africans The assertive attitude of many urban African Americans was one expression of the rising expectations that characterized the New Negro movement. Another was Marcus Garveys Pan-Africanism, in which he argued that African Americans should celebrate their African heritage and even consider emigrating to Africa. More than any other leader, Jamaican-born Garvey personified the rising expectations of many African Americans in the postwar era. His charismatic and bold personality appealed to many who were disappointed at the lack of positive change. He also divided the African American community and faced opposition from many established African American leaders (Goldberg, 1999).
Born in Jamaica in 1887, Garveys search for gainful employment as a young man led him to the United States in 1916, where he settled in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. As the citys dominant African American neighborhood and home to the largest concentration of African Americans outside the South, Harlem offered a perfect venue for his radical message. Often literally mounting a soap box on a street corner, Garvey outlined his principle themes. He argued African Americans should take pride in being Black and avoid race mixing to pre- serve racial purity. He criticized the African American community for disproportionally defer- ring leadership to a light-skinned elite.
Garvey also rejected the integrated approach of the NAACP, sparking the anger of W. E. B. Du Bois. Through his organization, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, Garvey pro- moted African American businesses and argued in favor of creating a strong and independent African nation where African Americans could excel.
Between 1919 and 1923, Garvey sponsored international conventions, endorsed politicians, encouraged African American businesses, and sparked an interest in African American his- tory and culture. His influence was curtailed in 1923 when he was accused of committing mail fraud. He was sentenced to prison in 1925. President Coolidge commuted his sentence in 1927, and because he was not a U.S. citizen, he was deported to Jamaica (Goldberg, 1999).
Though scholars today disagree on his overall influence, there is little doubt that he left a strong legacy of pride and assertiveness in the African American community. Garveyism, according to one reporter after his death, set in motion what was to become the most com- pelling force in Negro liferace and color consciousness (Gordon, 2006, p. 165).
The Harlem Renaissance Harlem was also host to an African American literary and cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, which produced a vibrant body of art, music, and literature during the 1920s. The movement is often described as a state of mind or attitude shared among writers and intellectuals who lived and worked in Harlem. The participants, both men and women, shared an awareness that they were taking part in a new awakening of African American cul- ture anddespite their diverse perspectives, experiences, and literary traditionsa sense of community and understanding that they were all part of a common movement (Wintz, 1988).
Among the most prominent voices of the Harlem Renaissance were poets Langston Hughes, novelist Zora Neale Hurston, and artists Aaron Douglas and Augusta Savage. Many of their
Art Heirs of Aaron Douglas/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. Schomburg Center, NYPL/Art Resource, NY
Artist Aaron Douglass art was featured on the June 1926 cover of Opportunity magazine.
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Section 7.3Traditionalisms Challenge to the New Order
Those Latino migrants who remained in close proximity to the border and concentrated in ethnic neighborhoods were better able to maintain Mexican culture than many European immigrant groups. The large neighborhoods, or barrios, eased the transition of newly arriv- ing immigrants, allowing them to acculturate to American life at their own pace rather than submit to the accelerated pace of Americanization programs (Romo, 1983). Even those Mexi- cans who ended up in midwestern cities such as Chicago retained much of their traditional culture. Although they did not always live in residentially segregated neighborhoods, Latinos were drawn together to worship, organize neighborhood baseball teams, and celebrate tra- ditional holidays.
7.3Traditionalisms Challenge to the New Order
A large segment of American citizens pushed back against the march of cultural modernity and sought a more conservative vision for the nation. During their presidencies, Harding and Coolidge presided over a return to economic and political conservatism. A movement to regu- late morality accompanied these values.
Although the impulse to dictate moral values was not new to Americans, the Progressive era had strengthened the belief in societys right to regulate personal behavior (McGirr, 2001). The conservative movement of the 1920s banned alcohol sales and production and fed the rise of militant and fundamental Christianity. The 1920s also saw a rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan and a virulent anti-immigrant movement. All of these groups participated in a struggle that pitted a preservationist-oriented Protestantism on one side against modernism, secularism, immigration, and urbanization on the other (McGirr, 2001).
Prohibition The American tradition of efforts to restrict alcohol consumption stretches back into the 19th century. Temperance activists from groups such as the Anti-Saloon League and the Womans Christian Temperance Union had long argued that stopping liquor sales and consumption would make America a well-ordered and industrious society. They also claimed it would reduce domestic violence and increase worker productivity. During the Progressive era, the Prohibition movement to end liquor trafficking gained considerable ground as many locali- ties, counties, and cities voted to go dry.
With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Prohibitionists gained more ground as anti- German hysteria made the dominant German-owned breweries suspect. In 1916 lawmak- ers in Congress took up the Anti-Saloon Leagues call for a constitutional amendment ban- ning liquor traffic, finally passing the 18th Amendment in December 1917. By that time 19 states had already outlawed alcohol. The states ratified the amendment, and it went into effect January 17, 1920. It banned the production, sale, and transportation of intoxi- cating liquors (Okrent, 2010).
Representing a triumph for conservative values, the amendment was almost impossible to enforce. A follow-up law, the Volstead Act, provided for enforcement and defined intoxicating liquor as any beverage containing more than 0.5% alcohol, prohibiting beer and wine from being consumed, along with rum, whiskey, and other hard liquor. Congress was unable to
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Section 7.3Traditionalisms Challenge to the New Order
appropriate the funds necessary to enforce the law, and many distilleries simply moved their operations across the Canadian or Mexican borders and continued production. The youth and even middle-class men and women skirted the law, taking pleasure in frequenting illegal saloons known as speakeasies. Illicit drinking became fashionable, representing a modern form of leisure and entertainment (Goldberg, 1999).
Wets, who supported responsible alcohol consumption, advocated the controversial amendments repeal. In 1923 the New York state legislature repealed that states enforcement law. Even where enforcement was funded and supported, it became evident that it was impossible to fully eliminate liquor trafficking. The Prohibition era gave rise to organized crime syndi- cates that illegally manufactured and sold liquor on a wide scale. This crimi- nal element gained notoriety for vio- lence and frequently made headlines for their grisly activities.
Clearly, Prohibition was not work- ing. The opposition movement grew throughout the decade, and in 1933 the states ratified the 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th. It is the only constitutional amendment approved specifically to repeal another one.
Fundamentalism and the Scopes Trial American religious life altered significantly as modernity advanced in the early 20th century. Some sects, including some Presbyterians and the Roman Catholics, moved toward a more scientific interpretation of the Christian Bible that incorporated and accepted such concep- tions as evolution and natural selection. Other Protestants insisted on a literal, or fundamen- tal, interpretation of the events depicted in the Bible as historical fact.
The strongest reaction against the new morality of the 1920s also came from these conserva- tive religious groups. They worried that religious modernists would continue to push cultural changes like the acceptance of evolution and biblical criticism. They were also concerned with social changes in American society, including the recent influx of immigrants and what they perceived as the loose morals of many Americans. The term fundamentalism was thus coined to describe a movement to restore traditional values in the face of modern indulgences and relaxed morals.
Leaders of many Protestant denominations grew gravely concerned that the churches themselves stood in danger of being altered by modernists. A series of articles published under the title The Fundamentals outlined the fears of leading Protestant theologians
Bettmann/Corbis
Illicit drinking was made possible by bootleggers who smuggled alcohol to speakeasies. One bootlegger made this truck appear as if it was carrying lumber, but a false panel on the back allowed alcohol to be covertly transported.
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Section 7.3Traditionalisms Challenge to the New Order
that their principles were threatened by unorthodoxy (Dumenil, 1995). The fundamental- ist movement aimed to bring lapsed Christians back into the fold and to promote and pro- tect a conservative dogma.
In California, Minister Aimee Semple McPherson used modern technology to achieve conser- vative ends. She combined fundamentalist ideas with charismatic radio broadcasts, becoming a model for later televised evangelists. McPherson and others, like former professional base- ball player and Christian evangelist Billy Sunday, spread their conservative Christian message to millions.
Supporting a literal reading of the Bibleespecially Genesis, which says that God created the heavens and the earth in 6 literal daysfundamentalists began to argue that evolution (which is measured in the billions of years) should not be taught in public schools. The mod- ern and growing acceptance of Darwinian principles such as evolution and natural selection represented a real and viable threat to conservative Protestant beliefs.
The conflict between fundamentalism and modernity came to a head in 1925 in the so-called Scopes Monkey Trial. John T. Scopes, a Tennessee high school science teacher, had taught the- ories of evolution to his students despite the fact that the Tennessee legislature had passed a law forbidding it. Scopes had volunteered to violate the law to test the states willingness to enforce the ban, and the city officials of Dayton, Tennessee, supported his actions because they hoped that it would bring national attention to their small town. The American Civil Liberties Union had agreed to defend anyone willing to violate the law so that the principles could be tested in a public court.
In his trial Scopes was represented by prominent attorney Clarence Darrow, a staunch advo- cate for civil liberties. Darrow was pitted against famous orator and politician William Jen- nings Bryan, an outspoken supporter of fundamentalism. Once Bryan was brought in, the trial became a national spectacle, sparking heated debate about science, religion, and the place of humans in the world. The proceedings were reported daily in the national press, and it was the first trial broadcast on radio.
On the seventh day of the trial, Darrow famously called Bryan himself to the stand as an expert on the Bible. Questioning Bryan on the historical accuracy of biblical events, including whether Bryan believed that Eve was actually created from Adams rib, Darrow aimed to use scientific evidence to prove that many biblical stores were metaphorical. Bryan accused Dar- row of casting ridicule on Christians.
The end result was more anticlimactic than the media-frenzied buildup. The jury found Scopes guilty of teaching evolution, and he had to pay a $100 fine. But the trial initiated the rift between religious fundamentalists and scientific modernists that continues to this day (Larson, 2006).
Immigration Restriction Other cultural conflicts of the 1920s were cast in ethnic terms. The flood of eastern and southern European immigrants that began arriving in the 1880s made the nations industrial growth possible but also sparked recurring patterns of nativism, or anti-immigrant senti- ment. Nativism was particularly strong during economic downturns, such as the postWorld War I recession.
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Section 7.3Traditionalisms Challenge to the New Order
Some came to apply the term melting pot to the diverse groups of ethnicities and nationalities among the immigrant communities. Rather than blending diverse people into a new type of American, however, the expectation was that immigrants should conform to dominant White Protestant culture. Intense Americanization campaigns that included English education and discouraged the persistence of ethnic culture sought to mold White ethnics into proper citi- zens, but African Americans and other non-Whites were not deemed capable of assimilation (Dumenil, 1995).
The fact that many of the recent arrivals were Catholic, Jewish, or of some other non-Protestant religion also inflamed both mainstream and fundamentalist Christians, who assumed that to be fully American, one must be Protestant. A movement to restrict and qualify the numbers and types of immigrants began in the Gilded Age with the exclusion of Chinese immigrants. A number of groups favored other restrictions such as literacy tests but generally lost ground to strong business interests, which wanted to keep the door as open as possible to fill their labor needs.
The tide turned to favor immigration restriction during World War I and strengthened after- ward. Many questioned the loyalty of German Americans and other Europeans thought to be radical Socialists, Communists, or anarchists. Although the tide of immigrants receded during the war, European refugees began to flood into the United States in the spring of 1920, with as many as 5,000 arriving each day (Dumenil, 1995).
Nativists urged Congress to act immediately, and in 1921 a temporary law placed a quota on the number of immigrants to be admitted from each nation. Under the measure only a maxi- mum of 357,803 European immigrants could enter the United States each year. Each nation was given a quota of 3% based on its count in the 1910 census. The law favored immigrants from western Europe and severely limited the numbers of new arrivals from southern or eastern Europe. It was designed to last for a single year but was not replaced until 1924.
Nativists feared that a reopening of immigration would erode American culture and society, and so they fought to make the restriction both permanent and more exclusive. One fear was that the dominant culture based on Protestant values might be replaced or challenged due to the large numbers of Roman Catholics and Jews among the new immigrants. Another strain of nativist thought argued that the inclusion of southern and eastern Europeans, many of whom had a dark complexion, would lead to race mixing and the mongrelization of the American people.
Proponents of eugenics, a pseudoscientific movement, defined immigrants, African Ameri- cans, and those with disabilities as physically inferior. Eugenicists argued immigration restric- tion was necessary to protect the White race in America from being polluted through mixing with inferior peoples.
In 1924 Congress responded to all these voices with the National Origins Act, which set per- manent national quotas using the 1890 census and cut the overall number of foreign nation- als allowed to enter the United States in any year to 167,667 and eventually to 150,000. Asian immigrants were denied entry altogether. The law did not apply to countries in the Western Hemisphere, so Canadians and Latin American citizens remained free to emigrate without restriction. Although some nativists expressed a desire to include Mexico in the quota system, agricultural interests reliant on inexpensive immigrant labor lobbied against the measure (Goldberg, 1999).
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Section 7.3Traditionalisms Challenge to the New Order
With just a few revisions, the National Origins Act remained the nations primary immigration law until 1965, when it sparked backlash and indignation from ethnic organizations in the United States and was formally protested by foreign governments.
A Second Ku Klux Klan During the 1920s a revival of the Ku Klux Klan gained strength by appealing to anti- immigrant and especially anti-Catholic White Protestants, as well as to those who wanted stronger enforcement of Prohibition. In the Reconstruction era the Klan had been a southern- based terrorist group that suppressed African American civil and political rights. Wearing long white gowns and hoods, the late 19th-century Klan was a secretive organization that performed its work under cover of darkness using illegal methods.
The successor organization embraced 100% Americanism, the notion that dominant White culture and Protestant traditions formed the only acceptable American values, and styled itself as a fraternal organization on the order of the Elks, the Masons, or the Odd Fellows. In addition to the South, it also had prominent chapters in the North and particularly the Mid- west (Chalmers, 1965).
The Klan of the 1920s gained inspiration from D. W. Griffiths 1915 film, The Birth of a Nation, which depicted the triumph of the White supremacist organization over the forced imposi- tion of racial equality during Reconstruction. Capitalizing on the films popularity, Methodist minister William J. Simmons, known as Colonel Simmons, and several other men created the organization that they proclaimed to be the successor to the original Klan. Membership was limited to White Protestants and remained small until wartime nationalism launched a back- lash against immigrants, Catholics, and radicals.
The Klan represented the decades strongest pushback against the changes of modern Ameri- can society. In the South, where it still proclaimed to be primarily a White supremacist orga- nization, members whipped African Americans for voting, refusing to ride in segregated rail cars, or seeking a wage increase. In many cases they burned a fiery cross in the yard of offenders. In California the group targeted the Jewish influence in the growing motion picture industry. In northern cities, the Klan attacked Catholics and ethnic immigrants for clinging to their native culture. The group also railed against the slack morals of the younger generation and women who wore short skirts, bobbed hair, and engaged in public smoking or drinking (Goldberg, 1999).
The Klans membership swelled after Simmons contracted with publicists Edward Clarke and Elizabeth Tyler, who promoted the organization using modern subscription, or membership, techniques and clever advertising. Recruiters received a hefty percentage of every subscrip- tion fee they sold. New chapters and even womens and childrens auxiliary groups spread widely. The organization portrayed itself as the defender of pure womanhood and touted its opposition to strong drink, wife beaters, and adulterers, in addition to its promotion of Amer- ican values. In late 1922 a Dallas dentist named Hiram Wesley Evans ousted Simmons and the publicists, and the organization continued to grow (Goldberg, 1999).
Corbis
Counting millions of members during the early 1920s, this image depicts a Ku Klux Klan march on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Note the U.S. Capitol building in the background.
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Section 7.4The Crash
With just a few revisions, the National Origins Act remained the nations primary immigration law until 1965, when it sparked backlash and indignation from ethnic organizations in the United States and was formally protested by foreign governments.
A Second Ku Klux Klan During the 1920s a revival of the Ku Klux Klan gained strength by appealing to anti- immigrant and especially anti-Catholic White Protestants, as well as to those who wanted stronger enforcement of Prohibition. In the Reconstruction era the Klan had been a southern- based terrorist group that suppressed African American civil and political rights. Wearing long white gowns and hoods, the late 19th-century Klan was a secretive organization that performed its work under cover of darkness using illegal methods.
The successor organization embraced 100% Americanism, the notion that dominant White culture and Protestant traditions formed the only acceptable American values, and styled itself as a fraternal organization on the order of the Elks, the Masons, or the Odd Fellows. In addition to the South, it also had prominent chapters in the North and particularly the Mid- west (Chalmers, 1965).
The Klan of the 1920s gained inspiration from D. W. Griffiths 1915 film, The Birth of a Nation, which depicted the triumph of the White supremacist organization over the forced imposi- tion of racial equality during Reconstruction. Capitalizing on the films popularity, Methodist minister William J. Simmons, known as Colonel Simmons, and several other men created the organization that they proclaimed to be the successor to the original Klan. Membership was limited to White Protestants and remained small until wartime nationalism launched a back- lash against immigrants, Catholics, and radicals.
The Klan represented the decades strongest pushback against the changes of modern Ameri- can society. In the South, where it still proclaimed to be primarily a White supremacist orga- nization, members whipped African Americans for voting, refusing to ride in segregated rail cars, or seeking a wage increase. In many cases they burned a fiery cross in the yard of offenders. In California the group targeted the Jewish influence in the growing motion picture industry. In northern cities, the Klan attacked Catholics and ethnic immigrants for clinging to their native culture. The group also railed against the slack morals of the younger generation and women who wore short skirts, bobbed hair, and engaged in public smoking or drinking (Goldberg, 1999).
The Klans membership swelled after Simmons contracted with publicists Edward Clarke and Elizabeth Tyler, who promoted the organization using modern subscription, or membership, techniques and clever advertising. Recruiters received a hefty percentage of every subscrip- tion fee they sold. New chapters and even womens and childrens auxiliary groups spread widely. The organization portrayed itself as the defender of pure womanhood and touted its opposition to strong drink, wife beaters, and adulterers, in addition to its promotion of Amer- ican values. In late 1922 a Dallas dentist named Hiram Wesley Evans ousted Simmons and the publicists, and the organization continued to grow (Goldberg, 1999).
Corbis
Counting millions of members during the early 1920s, this image depicts a Ku Klux Klan march on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Note the U.S. Capitol building in the background.
Klan member lists were rarely made public, but scholars estimate that the organization had more than 5 million members between 1920 and 1925 (Dumenil, 1995). The Klans fraternal- ism offered support for local businesses and openly endorsed candidates for office. Many retail outlets advertised their connection by displaying signs that proclaimed Trade with Klan, whereas Jewish and Catholic businesses were often subjected to boycotts. The Klan also offered a platform for newly enfranchised women, who could com- bine nativist political views with sup- port for Prohibition and womens rights (Dumenil, 1995).
The Klan declined after 1925. The passage of the National Origins Act eliminated many supporters fears of a mongrelized America. In 1924 a sex scandal involving a prominent Indiana Klan leader led to a public trial and helped dis- credit the organization. The same year at a rally in Niles, Ohio, organized Irish and Italian immigrants clashed physically with Klan members, earning the organization more negative national press.
A public parade of Klansmen and women down Washington, D.C.s Pennsylvania Avenue in August 1925 marked the fraternal organizations last major public appearance. Although the Klan persisted with a much-reduced membership, its national influence waned by 1926 (Goldberg, 1999).
7.4The Crash
Between 1925 and 1929, many Americans enjoyed the fruits of capitalism. Industrial growth meant record profits for corporations, and an increasing number of Americans invested in the soaring stock market. Steel production, retail sales, and auto manufacture led to a dramatic increase in stock profits, a scenario known as a bull market. The investing boom began in the mid-1920s and seemed to have no end. Rising almost 40% in the first half of 1929, stock profits netted fortunes for many.
But many industries that suffered from the postwar economic downturn, including farm- ing and coal mining, did not experience a rebound. Wheat crops and coal lay in stockpiles as prices continued to spiral downward. Farmers experienced the economic downturn long before the rest of the nation and had little opportunity to participate in the consumer culture that swept other segments of the nation. When the stock market began a rapid decline in late 1929, those sick industries and the rest of the economy came crashing down.
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Section 7.4The Crash
Buying on the Margin The rising prosperity of the 1920s had seemed to lift almost all boats. Although there were certainly numerous poor people throughout the country, never before had there been so many who were either wealthy or living much better than they imagined they ever would. Existing businesses were turning profits, and new businesses opened every day. The automo- bile industry exemplified this growth. In 1926 it produced 4.3 million cars, and just 3 years later, production increased to 5.3 million. It seemed that the only outlook for the future was an optimistic one, but the system contained some inherent flaws (Galbraith, 2009).
One of these flaws was the way in which many people purchased stocks and invested in the economy. In order to buy more stocks, people began purchasing on margin. They paid only a small portion of the stocks actual cost, borrowing the rest from their broker or bank. After selling the shares at a higher price, investors repaid the loan and pocketed the remaining profit. Stock prices rose nearly every day, and there was a surplus of buyers, which drove up the price even more. Everyone had a tip on the next hot stock, and often they were right, which fueled the speculative frenzy. Between May and September 1929 the average stock value increased by 40%. Although relatively few Americans owned stock in the 1920s, many more paid close attention to the markets movements.
The problem was what happened if the stocks decreased in value. If a stock decreased, it became very difficult for an investor to repay a margin loan. With the market booming, few people imagined this scenario could happen, however, and brokerage firms encouraged everyone to enter the stock market on margin. With their very low interest rates, many inves- tors took the brokers advice and borrowed money to invest. So long as the market remained strong, there was much money to be made.
Herbert Hoover and the End of the Boom Right in the midst of this boom, Calvin Coolidge, often known as Silent Cal, quietly announced his intention not to seek reelection by handing a note to that effect to a reporter in 1927. The 1928 election pitted Republican Herbert Hoover against Democratic New York governor Alfred E. Smith, the first Catholic nominated by a major party.
Trained as an engineer, Hoover appeared well qualified to meet the nations challenges, even though he had never held elective office. An advocate of economic modernization, during World War I he headed a food relief effort in Europe, and then served as secretary of com- merce under Harding and Coolidge. He believed strongly in the tenets of voluntarism, the idea that the voluntary actions of individuals and capitalists, but not government intervention, would create a socially responsible economic order.
Smiths Catholicism became a major issue during the election, and although he won majorities in the major cities, thanks largely to the ethnic vote, Hoover claimed 58% of the overall popu- lar vote. Hoover benefited from the fact that the Republicans were strongly associated with the nations economic prosperity. Soon after his inauguration in 1929, however, the booming economy of the 1920s came crashing down (Klein, 2001).
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Section 7.4The Crash
October 1929 The 1920s stock market hit its highest point on September 3, 1929. In the days immediately after, it began to erratically drift lower, but few people expressed concern. In mid-October Irving Fischer, a well-respected economics professor from Yale University, optimistically pre- dicted that stocks would maintain their high plateau. Everything changed on Tuesday, Octo- ber 29, 1929. Within hours, panic streamed across all media outlets. Boys selling the morning newspapers shouted the dire warnings. Radio announcers speculated about a problem. In
New Yorks financial district, the con- cern was evident on everyones faces (Smith, 2003).
A massive stock sell-off unlike any in history began with major banks and rapidly spread to all investors. It hap- pened so rapidly that the stock ticker, the Teletype device that conveyed the status of the market to brokerage houses, could not keep up with the news, and many people were unaware of the situations gravity. Officials at the New York Stock Exchange ushered people away from the viewing win- dows. Police arrived on the scene. By 11:30 a.m. it was clear that the market was disintegrating. Observing the hys- teria on Wall Street, one reporter from
the Saturday Evening Post said that the Wall Street traders looked like dying men counting their own last pulse beats (as cited in Thomas & Morgan, 1979, p. 348).
By November the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a measure of the top 30 stocks in the coun- try, had declined by half. Brokerage houses began calling back loans from investors who had purchased on margin. Few people had the resources to cover their debts, and many went bankrupt. The market crash punctuated the false sense of security that cast its shadow across the nations economy and was one of several factors that pushed the United States toward a depression greater than any experienced before. The crash combined with the stockpile of agricultural and mining commodities, and in ensuing months companies and banks failed and jobs were lost. By 1931 the downward spiraling economy left few standing in its wake.
Causes of the Great Depression The stock market crash was not the cause but a symptom of the nations larger economic problems. Although it was the first sign of impending economic disaster, several factors con- tributed to the Great Depression. These were all linked to the two overarching problems of overproduction and underconsumption.
One factor in overproduction was a lack of economic diversification. Too much of the nations economy depended on too few industries, including steel production and automobiles. These
Bettmann/Corbis
Panicked stock traders converged on the New York Stock Exchange on October 29, 1929.
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Section 7.4The Crash
industries, as well as agriculture and mining, continued to produce more than the market could absorb. In 1929 these industries lost profitability, and newer industries in areas like plastics and chemicals could not grow as fast as the others declined.
Another cause was weak consumer buying, or underconsumption. Mass consumption was one of the primary stimulants to the American economy in the 1920s, with people taking advantage of higher wages to purchase household goods. However, the lack of infrastructure development contributed greatly to underconsumption in many areas of the nation. Despite the fact that credit had allowed some Americans to increase their purchasing, rural residents still had no access to electricity in their homes and could not take advantage of modern conve- niences such as electric refrigerators, irons, and radios. Immigration restriction also reduced the number of new consumers entering the United States, forcing manufacturers to look else- where to market their products.
As the decade neared an end, business owners began taking more profit for themselves and expanding their production capabilities. As a result, these employers returned fewer profits to workers, diminishing their ability to purchase nonessential goods and services. In eco- nomic terms the supply side increased at the expense of the demand side because owners kept wages as low as possible. With wages not increasing fast enough to keep pace with the credit demands, many people defaulted on loans. Bankers, hoping to recoup their losses, often invested funds in the stock market.
After the market crash the banks were also struggling to stay alive. Between 1930 and 1933, thousands of banks began to fail, essentially crippling the American financial system (Ber- nanke, 2000). Bankers, industrialists, and American consumers were all unprepared for an economic collapse, and all were partly to blame. Each sought to maximize their position in relation to the modernizing economy, and each failed in their own way, leading the nation into economic collapse.
The collapse quickly became a global problem. The United States had the largest economy in the world at the time, and during the 1920s it spent a tremendous amount of money investing in the rebuilding of postwar Europe. But when the economy started to falter, the United States suspended its international investments, which weakened the economies of nations through- out the world. Compounding this issue was the imposition of the HawleySmoot Tariff in 1930, which increased the import tariff with the aim of protecting Americas struggling industries from foreign competition.
This law raised U.S. tariffs on roughly 20,000 imported goods, making it very difficult for man- ufacturers in Europe to sell goods to the United States. As noted historian Richard Hofstadter described it, this legislation was a virtual declaration of economic war on the rest of the world (as cited in Houck, 2001, p. 130). For example, the tariff raised duties on all Japanese imports by 23%, causing hundreds of small businesses in Japan to close (Brendon, 2000).
Furthermore, when Germany could not pay back war debts to France and England in 1928, these nations in turn could not repay their debts to the United States, and a devastating depression swept through these European nations. In Germany a young Adolph Hitler took advantage of the unrest caused by the depression in his country to ascend to power by using his charismatic personality to promise a brighter future (Cravens, 2009).
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Section 7.4The Crash
The Depression Begins President Hoover believed he lacked the authority to prevent banks from failing or to offer a safety net to those who were penniless and without jobs, but he nevertheless attempted to coordinate a federal response to help the nation. He reacted neither quickly nor creatively to the crisis. His first plan was to convene a conference of business leaders in Washington, D.C. There he tried to win their support for a voluntary plan to help the economy and restore con- fidence among Americans. He wanted business executives to retain their employees; at the same time, he tried to convince labor leaders not to strike for higher wages.
By 1931 it was clear that these voluntary measures were not working. Because Hoover refused to use the federal government to press a reform agenda, business leaders simply did whatever they thought would best help their own businesses survive. Other Hoover pro- grams also backfired. He asked Congress for an unprecedented $432 million public works program, but he was so concerned about a federal deficit that he raised taxes in 1932 to pay for it. This was perhaps the worst year of the Depression, and Hoovers taxes made struggling Americans lives even more difficult.
However, Hoover did ultimately make some innovative attempts to combat the Depression. One example was the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which granted federal loans to struggling businesses such as banks, insurance companies, and railroads to save them from collapse. The program had potential, but it was widely regarded as a failure; despite its budget and authority to lend several billion dollars, RFC officials only loaned money to orga- nizations it felt had enough collateral to pay back the loans (Ippolito, 2003). This was too conservative an approach, and the RFC only used 20% of its funds to help businesses in need.
Despite his application of traditional voluntarism and other conservative philosophies to the problems facing the nation, Hoovers attempts failed miserably and did not bode well for his reelection in 1932.
The Bonus Army While Hoover struggled to apply voluntarism to the nations economic situation, ordinary Americans began to demand more action from the federal government. As their economic situations became dire in the spring of 1932, nearly 43,000 veterans and their support- ers marched on Washington to demand a cash payment of bonuses owed them for World War I service.
Among those organizing a group of veterans to travel to Washington was Walter Waters of Portland, Oregon. Enlisting in the Oregon National Guard in 1917, Waters saw action in France as a part of the 41st Infantry Division and did not return to the United States until June 1919. Waters rallied a large contingent from his home state and soon became one of the move- ments leaders as they camped near downtown Washington from May through midsummer. He recalled insisting, We will stay here until 1945 if necessary to get our bonus (as cited in Dickson & Allen, 2004, p. 50).
That was the date the bonus certificates were scheduled to be redeemed, but the Bonus Army demanded that Congress act to pay them immediately. They camped and waited as Congress debated a new bill. The House of Representatives passed a measure to
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Summary and Resources
move forward the date for the bonuses to be paid and sent the measure to the Senate. The Bonus Army marched on the U.S. Capitol on June 17 only to learn that the Senate defeated the Bonus Bill by a vote of 62 to 18. Disappointed, Waters and the rest of the veterans returned to their camps to wait for President Hoover to act, but he refused.
Near the end of July, federal officials ordered police to remove the Bonus Marchers from their encampment, but the angry veterans refused to leave. In the struggle that ensued on July 28, two marchers were shot by police, one fatally.
Hoover reacted by ordering the camps cleared of marchers. Regular army personnel under command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur and six battle tanks under command of Maj. George Patton pushed the veterans out of the city. At first the veterans cheered the army troops, mis- takenly believing they came in support of their cause. But then the veterans heard the order to charge against them. More than 50 veterans were injured and more than 100 arrested. The Bonus Army vacated the capital without winning their bonus, but Hoovers actions were widely criticized and his chances for reelection severely harmed.
Summary and Resources
Chapter Summary
The 1920s were a decade of profound social change and cultural conflict. After more than 5 years of intense focus on international affairs, many Americans welcomed a retreat to domestic concerns, but the United States would never again be fully iso- lated from global concerns.
Following a brief postwar recession, the U.S. economy surged ahead, cementing the nations place as the worlds leading producer of consumer goods. Although some segments of the economy, namely mining and agriculture, lagged behind, the decade was characterized by a general sense of growing prosperity.
The presidencies of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge supported a probusiness environment that encouraged mergers and limited the collective bargaining rights of workers in many industries. At the same time more Americans became consum- ers as readily available credit allowed them to purchase cars, washing machines, and other modern technologies.
Culturally, the decade pitted advancing modernity against conservative tradition. Movies, amusement parks, jazz music, and other forms of leisure engaged a wide number of Americans.
Women and African Americans pushed the boundaries of their conventional roles. New and modern art and literary traditions emerged to challenge traditional Victo- rian conceptions.
Conservative elements within society pushed back against the march of change. Fun- damentalist Christians opposed the lax morals of women and youth. Large segments of society supported immigration restriction, and millions joined the Ku Klux Klan, which claimed to stand for 100% Americanism.
At the decades end the collapse of the financial structure was imminent, punctuated by the stock market crash of October 1929. The twin problems of overproduction and underconsumption brought the Roaring Twenties to a stop as the United States and the world entered an era known as the Great Depression.
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1920: The Harlem Renaissance begins.
August 18,1920: The 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote.
1921: A temporary immigration restriction act is put in place.
1922: The Teapot Dome scandal wracks the Harding administration.
1922: Sinclair Lewis publishes his novel Babbitt criticizing consumer society.
1924: The National Origins Act severely restricts the entrance of immigrants to the United States.
1927: The Jazz Singer, the irst talking motion picture, debuts.
1924: John T. Scopes is convicted for teaching evolution in Tennessee.
1927: African American leader Marcus Garvey is deported to Jamaica.
1923: President Warren G. Harding dies after a short illness.
1932: The Reconstruction Finance Corporation is established to stabilize the banking system.
October 1932: The Bonus Army marches on Washington, D.C., to demand early payment of veterans bonuses.
1 9 1 5
1 9 3 5
Underwood Photo Archives/SuperStock
Associated Press
Underwood Photo Archives/SuperStock
CSU Archives/Everett Collection
Courtesy Everett Collection
Courtesy Everett Collection
Everett Collection/SuperStock
Summary and Resources
Chapter 7 Timeline
1920: The Harlem Renaissance begins.
August 18,1920: The 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote.
1921: A temporary immigration restriction act is put in place.
1922: The Teapot Dome scandal wracks the Harding administration.
1922: Sinclair Lewis publishes his novel Babbitt criticizing consumer society.
1924: The National Origins Act severely restricts the entrance of immigrants to the United States.
1927: The Jazz Singer, the irst talking motion picture, debuts.
1924: John T. Scopes is convicted for teaching evolution in Tennessee.
1927: African American leader Marcus Garvey is deported to Jamaica.
1923: President Warren G. Harding dies after a short illness.
1932: The Reconstruction Finance Corporation is established to stabilize the banking system.
October 1932: The Bonus Army marches on Washington, D.C., to demand early payment of veterans bonuses.
1 9 1 5
1 9 3 5
Underwood Photo Archives/SuperStock
Associated Press
Underwood Photo Archives/SuperStock
CSU Archives/Everett Collection
Courtesy Everett Collection
Courtesy Everett Collection
Everett Collection/SuperStock
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Summary and Resources
Post-Test
1. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was a period when African Americans: a. migrated in large numbers to Africa, especially Liberia and Sierra Leone. b. migrated northward to find jobs in urban areas. c. produced significant works of art, literature, and music. d. finally managed to overturn Jim Crow segregation laws.
2. Which of the following events demonstrate the rising nativist sentiment in the 1920s? a. an increase in the number of European immigrants arriving in the United States b. an overhaul of the nations laws applying to labor organization c. the growth of consumer borrowing on credit d. the passage of the National Origins Act
3. The trial of John T. Scopes in 1925 reflected the conflict between: a. science and religion. b. isolation and expansion. c. immigration and nativism. d. free enterprise and laissez-faire.
4. The economic boom of the 1920s was partly the result of: a. the economic policies of the League of Nations. b. the HawleySmoot Tariff. c. the expansion of consumer credit allowing more to buy goods. d. the growth of the banking industry.
5. Although most industries recovered from the postwar recessions, the following sick industries continued to lag throughout the decade: a. coal mining and agriculture. b. auto production and mining. c. steel and auto production. d. agriculture and steel.
6. What were the primary reasons why employers adopted a system of welfare capitalism? a. to strengthen workers abilities to bargain collectively with their employers b. to provide workers with unemployment insurance and workers compensation c. to discourage unionization and encourage worker loyalty d. to avoid the practice of yellow dog employment contracts
7. The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s stood for all of the following EXCEPT: a. an expression of antimodern attitudes. b. a fraternity that many joined for its social aspects. c. an organization that stood for traditional values and Americanization. d. strictly antiAfrican American racist ideas in the South.
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Summary and Resources
8. Marcus Garvey advanced the idea that: a. African Americans should celebrate their African heritage and consider emigrat-
ing to Africa. b. African Americans should move to Harlem. c. African Americans should study manual trades and take a wait-and-see attitude
toward civil rights. d. African Americans should avoid business ownership and seek employment in
White-owned firms.
9. Among the artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance were: a. Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Alfred E. Smith. b. Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, and Sherwood Anderson. c. F. Scott Fitzgerald, L. Frank Baum, and Georgia OKeefe. d. Langston Hughes, Augusta Savage, and Zora Neale Hurston.
10. All of the following factors contributed to the onset of the Great Depression EXCEPT: a. weak consumer buying. b. a lack of economic diversification. c. an increase in consumer debt. d. the National Origins Act..
Answers: 1 (c), 2 (d), 3 (a), 4 (c), 5 (a), 6 (c), 7 (d), 8 (a), 9 (d), 10 (d)
Critical Thinking Questions
1. How did the new consumer society benefit Americans? Who suffered in the con- sumer society?
2. How did government promote and support business in the 1920s? 3. What issues and events marked the divide between tradition and modernity? 4. What factors contributed to the Great Depression? 5. What roles did immigrants, women, and minorities hold in the 1920s?
Additional Resources
18th Amendment and Volstead Act
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/volstead-act/#documents This constitutional amendment forbade the sale and manufacture of alcoholic beverages, and the Volstead Act provided for enforcement of the prohibition.
Popular Mechanics Auto Tourists Handbook
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=cool&itemLink=r?ammem/coolbib:@ field(TITLE+@od1(Popular+Mechanics+automobile+tourists+handbook+))&hdl=amrlg: lg54:0001 New automobile owners used books such as this to plan a car trip or vacation.
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Summary and Resources
Eruption of the Tulsa race riot of 1921
http://digitalprairie.ok.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/race-riot/id/1412 One of the most virulent collective attacks against African Americans occurred in this Oklahoma city,
Answers and Rejoinders to Chapter Pre-Test
1. False. With all of these important reasons to buy material goods, businesses soon realized that consumers simply did not have enough money in their pockets to afford everything that they wanted. Therefore they devised a way for consumers to enjoy the products immediately but pay for them later. This technique for immediate gratification became known as buying on credit.
2. True. Amusement parks like Coney Island, whose numbers grew dramatically in the 1920s, provided a mini-vacation for the urban working classes. Music was also a central part of the 1920s, and jazz was the soundtrack of the decade.
3. False. There were many who were uncomfortable with the new morality, sexual promiscuity, and intellectual movements of the 1920s. This included nativists, the Ku Klux Klan, and religious fundamentalists.
4. True. African American intellectuals took inspiration from their African heritage and through their works of artistic creativity provided racial uplift for their own communities.
5. False. The Great Depression was a worldwide problem. The United States had the largest economy in the world at the time and during the 1920s spent a tremendous amount of money investing in rebuilding Europe after World War I. But when the European economy started to falter, the United States suspended its international investments, and this weakened the economies of nations throughout the world.
Rejoinders to Chapter Post-Test
1. This literary and cultural movement began in the 1920s. Centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, African American artists, musicians, and writers produced a volume of works that celebrated African American culture.
2. Fears that the culture of the nation would be fundamentally changed by the influx of millions of immigrants, Congress passed the National Origins Act, which set a quota for each nationality restricting the number of immigrants who could enter the United States each year.
3. Fundamental Protestants tended to discount the scientific theory of evolution. Scopes was arrested, tried, and convicted for teaching the theory of evolution in a Tennessee high school. The trial reflected the rift between religious fundamentalists and proponents of science.
4. The growing consumer marketplace depended on having enough customers to pur- chase the manufactured goods being produced. Extending credit to average consum- ers opened new markets for manufacturers.
5. Coal mining, textiles, railroads, and agriculture continued to struggle during the 1920s. Strongly connected to international markets for energy, raw materials and the advance of mechanization saw these segments of the U.S. economy continue to lag behind across the decade.
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Summary and Resources
American PlanThis plan of industrial employers aimed to stop the unionization of workers in many industries. An open shop movement suggested employees should have a choice about joining a union.
BabbittTaken from the title character in a Sinclair Lewis novel, the term came to repre- sent an individual who became too focused on business dealing at the expense of other aspects of life.
Bonus ArmyAn organization of thousands of World War I veterans who marched on Washington, D.C., to demand early pay- ment of a federal bonus based on their war service.
consumerismA social philosophy gaining popularity in the 1920s that encouraged the purchase of goods and services in ever- greater amounts.
durable goodsConsumer items that do not readily wear out and need replacement. Examples include automobiles, refrigera- tors, and washing machines. Durable goods are usually those considered to last 3 or more years.
18th AmendmentWhen ratified by three fourths of the states, this amendment banned the production, transport, and sale of liquor after January 17, 1920.
eugenicsThe philosophy that suggested that the genetic quality of humanity could be improved through proper breeding and by stopping inferior men and women from procreating.
fundamentalismEventually linked to a brand of conservative Christianity, this term was coined as a movement to restore tra- ditional values in the face of modern indul- gences and relaxed sexual morals.
6. Welfare capitalism, which involved programs such as company-run unions, griev- ance committees, company baseball teams, and profit sharing, aimed to keep work- ers from joining outside unions. Many business owners believed that unions inter- fered with business practices and raised the cost of production.
7. Although the first Klan was centered in the South, the revival group appealed to White Protestants, especially those who opposed immigrants and wanted to enforce Prohibition and preserve traditional values. It was organized as a fraternal society that offered social activities and was particularly strong in the midwestern states.
8. More militant than some other African American leaders, Garvey argued that African Americans should celebrate their African roots, support African Americanowned businesses, and take pride in themselves.
9. Literary intellectuals and artists such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Augusta Savage represented the movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, so named because many of the artists and intellectuals engaged in the movement lived in the New York neighborhood of that name.
10. The onset of the Depression was linked to more than just the stock market crash in October 1929. A general pattern of overproduction and underconsumption resulted from a lack of diversification in manufacturing, weak retail sales, increasing con- sumer debt, and international debt.
Key Terms
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Summary and Resources
Harlem RenaissanceA literary and cul- tural movement among African American artists, writers, and musicians that produced a vibrant body of art, music, and literature during the 1920s.
HawleySmoot TariffSigned into law in June 1930, this bill raised the tariffs on many imported goods to record levels, leading to additional economic problems because it increased economic distress as the Great Depression hit Europe.
installment buying (consumer credit)Buying on credit; becoming more widespread in the 1920s, credit allowed individuals to purchase goods such as auto- mobiles and refrigerators on an installment plan with monthly payments.
modernityThe bureaucratic, industrial, and consumer-oriented society of early 20th-century America.
National Origins ActAn immigration restriction law that set a permanent quota restricting the number of foreign nationals who could enter the United States each year.
New NegroThis term was popularized dur- ing the Harlem Renaissance and referred to African Americans who embraced an out- spoken advocacy of dignity and a refusal to submit to racism and Jim Crow segregation.
normalcyAn idea of conservative 1920 presidential nominee Warren G. Harding that promised the nation a return to a pre World War I mentality that represented an end to reform and aimed to substitute small town simplicity tied to American traditions.
Pan-AfricanismAn ideology and move- ment Marcus Garvey and others supported that celebrated connections between African Americans in America and African heritage.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)This independent agency of the federal government granted loans to busi- nesses, banks, insurance companies, and railroads in an attempt to shore up the econ- omy at the onset of the Great Depression.
sick industriesDue to advances in tech- nology and international market conditions, coal mining, agriculture, textile milling, and railroads did not recover following the postwar recession. These segments of the economy continued to struggle throughout the 1920s.
Volstead ActThis act provided for the enforcement of the 18th Amendment and defined intoxicating liquor as any beverage containing more than 0.5% alcohol.
welfare capitalismEmployer programs that aimed to instill worker loyalty and discourage unionization. Programs included company unions, profit sharing, grievance committees, and company baseball teams.
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