The Roaring Twenties
Black Fords, easy credit and the era of wonderful nonsense
The war led to a suspension of moral code (more free and individual morality)
Less influence by religion- less parental authority. Additional changes brought by the war: Blacks had more dignity and women had more independence. The totally “American” ideology or the desire to get rid of immigrants due to government suppression of freedom of speech during the war there was rise in mistrust and mistreatment of political radicals.
COMPETING CURRENTS
Change vs. Resistance to Change
Harlem Renaissance vs. The KKK
New ideas about women vs. Scopes Trial
Prohibition vs. Red Scare
Provincialvs. cosmopolitan
Reaction vs. Rebellion
Culture of the 1920s
A “shared” American identity?
Movies, radio, phonograph, professional sports, national news magazines promote a shared common culture. Hollywood will become the movie capital of the world
Charles A. Lindberg became the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. His flight energized and gave a strong boost to the new aviation industry.
The Golden Age of Sportsvery beginning of the decade extraordinary athlete-heroes emerged in virtually every sport—baseball, football, tennis, golf, polo, and the Olympic sports. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Red Grange, Knute Rockne, Hagen, Jack Dempsey, established records and, in the process, became legends
Expression / Meaning / Expression / MeaningAll wet / Wrong, mistaken / Hotsy-totsy / Pleasing
Banana oil / Nonsense, insincere flattery / Jake / Okay, as in “everything’s jake”
Bee’s knees / An excellent person or thing / Jalopy / Old, run-down car
Belly laugh / A loud, deep laugh / Keen / Appealing, attractive
Blind date / A date between two people who do not know each other, usually arranged by a mutual friend / Kiddo / Familiar form of address, meaning “pal”
Big cheese / An important person / Kisser / The mouth
Bull session / An informal group discussion / Line / Insincere talk or flattery
Bump off / To murder / Lounge lizard / A pleasure-seeking man who hangs out in nightclubs where rich people gather
Cake-eater / A ladies’ man / Lousy / Terrible
Cat’s meow / Something admirable or wonderful / Main drag / A city or town’s main street
Cheaters / Eyeglasses / Neck / To kiss and touch intimately
Copacetic / First-rate, excellent / Ossified / Drunk
Darb / An excellent person or thing / Pet / To kiss and touch intimately
Dogs / Human feet / Pinch / To arrest
Drugstore cowboy / A fashionable man who spends his time in public places trying to pick up women / Pushover / Someone easy to overcome to take advantage of, something easily done
Dumb dora / An unintelligent female / Raspberry / A loud noise to indicate contempt
Fall guy / Someone who takes the blame for the crimes of others, a scapegoat / Ritzy / Elegant
Flapper / A fashionable young woman of the 1920s, typically with short, bobbed hair, a short skirt, and stockings rolled to her knees / Scram / To leave in a hurry
Flat tire / A boring person / Sex appeal / Physical attractiveness
Frame / To make someone appear guilty of a crime by giving false evidence or testimony / Sheba / A young woman with sex appeal
Gam / A women’s leg / Sheik / A loud, deep laugh
Gatecrasher / An uninvited guest, a person who attends an event without paying admission / Smeller / The nose
Giggle water / An alcoholic drink / Speak-easy / A bar or club that sells illegal liquor
Gold digger / A woman who seduces a man for money or gifts / Spiffy / Elegant, fashionable
Goofy / Silly / Spifficated / Drunk
Hard-boiled / Tough, unfeeling / Struggle buggy / A car, as a place in which boys try to seduce girls
Heebie-jeebies / Nervous jitters / Stuck on / Infatuated with, have a crush on
Hep / Wise / Swanky / Elegant
High-hat / To coldly ignore, to snub / Swell / Excellent, great
Hooch / Illegal, usually low-quality liquor / Torpedo / A hired gunman
Hoofer / Illegal, usually low-quality liquor / Up-chuck / To vomit
Horsefeathers / Nonsense / Whoopee / Noisy, unrestrained fun
Geography
Migration and Movement
1920 Census – 51% of Americans lived in urban centers of 2,500 people or more
The Great Migrationwas the movement of 4.1 millionAfrican Americansout of theSouthern United Statesto theNorth,MidwestandWestfrom 1910 to 1930.Precise estimates of the number of migrants depend on the time frame. African Americans migrated to escaperacismand seekemploymentopportunities in industrial cities.
African American Culture
Renaissance and Revival
Some 100,000 African-American residents in the1920s, was one of the largest black communities inthe world. Harlem sustained a vibrant, creative culture that nourished poets like Langston Hughes,whose first volume of verses, The Weary Blues,appeared in 1926
Harlem Renaissance was floweringofAfrican Americanintellectual life during the 1920s and 1930s. It was also known as the "New Negro Movement"
Jazzartists of the 1920s: Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, and Louis Armstrong. African American authors of the 1920’sLangston Hughes,Zora Neale Hurston, and Clause McKay
Racial pride blossomed in the northern black communities.Marcus Garveyfounded the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) to promote the resettlement of blacks in Africa. In the United States, the UNIA also sponsored stores and other businesses to keep blacks' dollars in black pockets.
Rise of Black NationalismBlacks faced 2 options at the end of WW I
OPTION #1Booker T Washington (Accomodationism or gradualism)vs.WEB Du Bois (NAACP) (Inter racialism or confrontationalism)
" The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness"
OPTION #2August 1920 – Marcus Garvey Founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) they emphasized separatism; established the Black Star Line a charter back to Africa for those who wanted to leave
The Modern Woman
Suffragettes and FlappersMargaret Sanger
Review Women in History
Republican Motherhood?
Cult of Domesticity?
Role in Abolition, Temperance and
Suffrage movements?
Science and Technology
Invention and Innovation
In the 1920s, the first voice-carrying radio broadcasts reached audiences. While automobiles were luring Americans away from the home, the radio was luring them back. Radio – made American culture more united -90% of Americans had radios
Electricity - 1929 – ½ of the families living in private homes had electricity will result in 75% increase in worker productivity
Labor saving devices, availability of the time saving devices, New methods of food preservation
Henry Ford, father of the assembly line, created the Model T and erected an immense personal empire on the cornerstone of his mechanical genius.
In 1920 American motor vehicle bureaus recorded only one carregistered for every three households; by the end of the decade thecountry had a car for almost every household.
In 1929 there wereabout23million cars for a nation of about123million people: at a cozy fit of six per car, the whole country could have gone on theroad at once.
The automobile industry exploded, creating millions of jobs and supporting industries.
Photo of Front Street, looking towards intersection with Milton Avenue. Ballston Spa.
Sanford Briggs store and Eagle Hotel visible
View of Pleasant Street, Ballston Spa. In center is sidewalk;
unpaved street to right, with horse and wagon in background
ConsumerismAdvertising and Installment Buying
Buying in credit was another new feature of the postwar economy. Prosperity thus accumulated an overhanging cloud of debt, and the economy became increasingly vulnerable to disruptions of the credit structure.
Installment Buying increasedWhat is it?Previously limited to large purchases – land or homes. By the 1920s you buy all kinds of goods “on time”
Impact- The increase in installment buying – we saw the birth of Advertising and the desire to create a demand for products that weren’t well known (cigarettes, bathroom fixtures, central heating, deodorant)
New competition led to changes in the auto industry:Ford= 1 model / 1 color vs.Chevy= different colors
How do print ads from the 1920's compare to print ads today? You be the judge
Literary Developments
Authors and Agitators
The"Lost Generation"was lost in that the values that its members were being taught didn't fit the reality of life after the brutal and horrifying World War I.
The group of writers who moved to Paris believed that America was intolerant, materialistic, and nonspiritual.
Earnest Hemingway was among the writers most affected by the war. He responded to propaganda and the overblown appeal to patriotism. He wrote of disillusioned, spiritually numb American expatriates in Europe inThe Sun Also Rises(1926).
F. Scott Fitzgerald publishedThis Side of Paradisein 1920 andThe Great Gatsbyin 1925.
Sinclair Lewis wroteMain Street(1920) andBabbitt(1922).
They gave American literature new life, imaginativeness, and artistic quality.
Intolerance and Nativism
US vs. THEM…again
Anti-Radicalism
Red Scare - 1917 communist revolution a success in Russia people believed communist would want to settle all over the world including the US law enforcement agencies put on guard for uprising1919 –Attorney General – A Mitchell Palmerauthorized raids on suspected communists - 4000 arrested - 250 sent back to USSR
Anti-Immigration
With the end of WW I – the need for immigrants in America decreased – restrictions began.Literacy Test Act(1917);Emergency Quota Act(1921 limited to 3% of the nationality in the US as of 1910Quota Act of 1924(Further limitations) 2% of the residents – 1890 ; National Origins Plan Set immigration limit at 150,000 per year
Revival of the Ku Klux Klan
KKK began to promote the organization nationally by 1922-25 –6 million members at its peakKKK had several causes: Anti-Black in the south - Anti-Catholic in the Midwest and west - Anti-Semitic in the east
Who Are the KKK?They were anti:
1.Catholic
2.Black
3.Jewish
4.Pacifist
5.Communist
6.Internationalist
7.Evolutionist
8.Bootlegger
9.Gambling
10.Adultery
11.Birth control
Membership in the KKK 1920 to 2008
In March of 1925, over 60,000 thousand Ku Klux Klan members marched in Washington DC to theWhite House and US Capitol to display their ever-increasing numbers across America.
Sacco and Vanzetti(15 April 1920)
A Massachusetts shoe company’s payroll of $15,000 was stolen by 5 guys a guard and a payroll officer were killed and eye witnesses reported that the robbers looked Italian. Law enforcement checked anarchist lists and found two Italians - Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. The “unbiased” judge began the trial - they were found guilty - 23 Aug. 1927 - executed
Scopes Trial – AKA the Monkey Trial
(Dayton, Tenn from July 10-21 in 1925)