The document summarizes key events and trends during the 1920s in the United States. The decade saw a return to "normalcy" through isolationism, nativism, and political conservatism under President Harding. However, scandals damaged his administration. The period was also marked by labor unrest, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, Prohibition, the Scopes Trial, the Harlem Renaissance, and mass media and consumer culture. Ultimately, an economic boom fueled by speculation and easy credit ended with the 1929 stock market crash, plunging the nation into the Great Depression.

1. Harding
 ―Return to Normalcy‖ meant a return to
three political trends:
 Isolationism
 Nativism
 Political
Conservatism
Warren G Harding
29th US President
1865 - 1923

2. Peacetime in America
 War leaves Americans exhausted
 Cost of living doubles; farm, factory
orders down
 soldiers take jobs from
women, minorities
 farmers, factory workers suffer

4. The Red Scare
 Fear of Communism
after the Russian Rev.
 Communism—
economic, political
system, single-party
government
 ruled by dictator
 no private property

5. Fear of Communism
 Vladimir I.
Lenin, Bolsheviks, set up
Communist state in Russia
 U.S. Communist Party forms;
some Industrial Workers of
the World join
 Bombs mailed to
government, businesses;
people fear Red conspiracy
Vladimir Lenin
1870 – 1924

6. The Palmer Raids
 Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer
takes action
 Hunt down
Communists, socialists, anarchists
 Raids trample civil rights, fail to find
evidence of conspiracy

7. Sacco and Vanzetti
 Red Scare feeds fear of foreigners, ruins
reputations, wrecks lives
 Sacco and Vanzetti, Italian
immigrants, anarchists, arrested
 charged with robbery, murder
 trial does not prove guilt
 Jury finds them guilty; widespread
protests in U.S., abroad
 Sacco, Vanzetti executed 1927

8. Sacco & Vanzetti

9. The Klan Rises Again
 Bigots use anti-communism to harass
groups unlike themselves
 KKK opposes
blacks, Catholics, Jews, immigrants, unio
ns, saloons
 1924, 4.5 million members
 Klan controls many states’ politics;
violence leads to less power

11. A Time of Labor Unrest
 Government doesn’t allow strikes in
wartime; 1919 over 3,000 strikes
 Employers against raises, unions;
label strikers as Communists

12. Boston Police Strike
 Boston police strike over
raises, right to unionize
 Calvin Coolidge ends
strike, replaces strikers
with new policemen

13. The Steel Mill Strike
 Steel workers strike; companies use
force, later negotiate
 Talks deadlock; Wilson appeals; strike ends
 report on conditions leads to 8-hour day

14. The Coal Miners’ Strike
 John L. Lewis becomes head
of United Mine Workers of
America
 Leads strike; defies court
order to work; accepts
arbitration
 Miners receive 27%
wage increase; Lewis
becomes national hero
John L.
Lewis

15. Labor Movement Loses Appeal
 Union membership drops from over 5
million to 3.5 million
 Less than 1% of African
Americans, just over 3% whites in
unions

16. The Harding Presidency
 Appeals to America’s desire for calm
and peace after the war, but results in
scandal.
 Hosts Washington Naval Conference;
invites major powers, not Russia
 Secretary of State proposes
disarmament, others agree

17. High Tariffs and Reparations
 Fordney-McCumberTariff raises taxes
on U.S. imports to 60%
 Britain, France cannot repay U.S.
 Germany defaults on reparations
 Dawes Plan—U.S. investors lend
reparations money
 Britain, France repay; resentment
on all sides

18. Limiting Immigration
 Anti-Immigrant Attitudes
 Nativists: goal is to limit immigration
 Think immigrant anarchists and
socialists are Communist

19. The Quota System
 1919 - 1921, number of immigrants grows
almost 600%
 Quota system sets maximum number can
enter U.S. from each country
 sharply reduces European immigration

20. National Origins Act
 European arrivals cut to 2% of number
of residents in 1890
 Discriminates against southern, eastern
Europeans
 Prohibits Japanese immigration; causes
ill will between U.S. & Japan
 Does not apply to Western Hemisphere;
many Canadians, Mexicans enter

21. Country of Origin
Year
Total Entering
U.S. Great Britain
Eastern
Europe* Italy
1920 430,001 38,471 3,913 95,145
1921 805,228 51,142 32,793 222,260
1922 309,556 25,153 12,244 40,319
1923 522,919 45,759 16,082 46,674
1924 706,896 59,490 13,173 56,246
1925 294,314 27,172 1,566 6,203
1926 304,488 25,528 1,596 8,253
*Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.

22. Scandal Hits Administration
 Has capable men in cabinet
 Also appoints Ohio gang—corrupt
friends who cause embarrassment
 Harding does not understand all
issues facing nation
 Corrupt friends use their positions to
become wealthy through graft

23. The Teapot Dome Scandal
 Teapot Dome scandal—naval oil
reserves used for personal gain
 Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall leases
land to private companies
 Takes bribes; is first person convicted
of felony while in cabinet

24. The Teapot Dome Scandal

25. Calvin Coolidge
 August 1923, Harding dies
suddenly
 VP Calvin Coolidge assumes
presidency, restores faith in
government
 Consumer goods fuel the business
boom of the 1920s as America’s
standard of living soars
 Average annual income rises
over 35%, from $522 to $705
Calvin Coolidge
30th US President
1872 - 1933

26. Coolidge’s Policies
 Coolidge favors minimal government
interference in business (laissez-faire)
 ―The business of America is business‖
 Kellogg-Briand Pact -- nations
renounce war as national policy

27. Signing the Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928

28. Leisure Time and Spectator
Sports
 Many people have extra
money, leisure time to enjoy it
 Crowds attend sports events; athletes
glorified by mass media
 Boxing: Jack Dempsey
 Baseball: Babe Ruth
 Tennis, Golf: Babe Zaharias
 Football: Red Grange

29. Jack Dempsey
―The Manassas
Mauler‖
Babe Didrickson
Zaharias

30. George Herman
―Babe‖ Ruth
Red Grange
―The Galloping Ghost‖

31. Mass Media
 Mass media shapes mass culture;
takes advantage of greater literacy
 Expanding News Coverage
 Local newspapers replaced by
national chains
 Mass-market magazines thrive;
Reader’s Digest, Time founded

32. Reader’s Digest Cover
November 1929
Time Magazine Cover
November 1931

33. Radio Entertains
 Radio is most powerful communications
medium of 1920s
 Provides shared national experience
 Programming paid for by advertisers
 90% of households have a radio;
families listen together every day
 Dramas, variety shows, soap
operas, children’s shows, immediate
news coverage

34. 1920’s Golden Age of Radio

35. Movies
 Silent movies already a national
pastime
 Silent movies give way to ―talkies‖
 Introduction of sound leads millions
to attend every week
 First ―talking film‖ was the Jazz
Singer

36. Movie Poster
for the first ―talkie‖
The Jazz Singer

37. Jazz
 Jazz born in New Orleans, spreads across
U.S.
 Trumpeter Louis Armstrong - most
influential musician in jazz history
 Edward Kennedy ―Duke‖ Ellington—jazz
pianist, orchestra leader
 one of America’s greatest composers
 Cab Calloway & Armstrong popularize scat
(improvised jazz singing)
 Bessie Smith—blues singer, perhaps best
vocalist of decade

38. Edward Kennedy
―Duke‖ Ellington Cabell ―Cab‖ Calloway
Bessie Smith
Louis Armstrong

39. Lost Generation Writers
 Soured by American culture, society of
greed & corruption, and war
 settle in Europe (esp. Paris)
 Sinclair Lewis --criticizes
conformity, materialism
 F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby)
reveals negative side of era’s
gaiety, freedom
 Ernest Hemingway (The Sun Also Rises)
introduces simple, tough, American style

41. Transportation
 Airplane industry starts as mail service
for U.S. Post Office
 Weather forecasting begins; planes
carry radios, navigation tools
 Charles A. Lindbergh makes first solo
nonstop flight across Atlantic
 Amelia Earhart – disappeared trying to
fly around the world

42. Charles A. Lindbergh
Amelia Earhart

43. The Impact of the
Automobile
 Cars change life—create new jobs and
new industries: paved roads, gas
stations, motels, shopping centers, etc.
 Give mobility to rural
families, women, young people
 Workers live far from jobs, leads to
urban sprawl (spread of cities)
 By late 1920s, 1 car for every 5
Americans

44. 1928
Model A
Ford
1920’s
Gas
Station

45. Electricity
 Factories use electricity to run machines
 Development of alternating current gives
electricity to suburbs
 More homes begin to have electrical
appliances
 Appliances make housework easier, free
women for other activities
 Appliances coincide with trend of
women working outside home

46. 1920’s Electric Stove

47. Rural and Urban
Differences
 In 1920s, people caught between
rural, urban cultures
 close ties, hard work, strict morals
of small towns
 anonymous
crowds, moneymaking, pleasure
seeking of cities

48. The Harlem Renaissance
 The New Negro -- express pride in African-
American experience
 Rebirth of African-American
art, literature, and music
 Claude McKay’s poems urge blacks to
resist prejudice, discrimination
 Langston Hughes’s poems describe difficult
lives of working class
 Zora Neale Hurston shows
folkways, values of poor, Southern blacks

49. Claude McKay Langston
Hughes
Zora Neale Hurston

50. Harlem’s Cotton Club 1927

51. Prohibition
 18th Amendment launches Prohibition
era
 Prohibition—
production, sale, transportation of
alcohol illegal
 Volstead Act – law to enforce
Prohibition.
 Government does not budget enough
money to enforce the law

54. Organized Crime
 Prohibition contributes to organized crime
in major cities
 Rise in violence and corruption
 Al Capone – Chicago (most violent city)
 18th Amendment -- repealed by 21st
Amendment in 1933

56. Speakeasies and
Bootleggers
 Speakeasies - hidden
saloons, nightclubs
 People distill liquor, buy prescription
alcohol, sacramental wine
 Bootleggers smuggle alcohol from
surrounding countries

57. 1920’s
Speakeasies

58. 1920’s
Bootleggers
&
Stills

59. Flappers
 American women
pursue new lifestyles
and assume new jobs
and different roles in
society during the
1920s.
 Flapper—emancipated
young woman, adopts
new fashions, attitudes

60. The Double Standard
 Elders disapprove new behavior and
its promotion by periodicals, ads
 Casual dating begins to replace
formal courtship
 Women subject to double standard
(less sexual freedom than men)

61. New Work Opportunities
 After war, employers replace female
workers with men
 Female college graduates become
teachers, nurses, librarians
 Many women become clerical workers as
demand rises
 Some become sales clerks, factory
workers
 Few become managers; always paid less
than men

62. The Changing Family
 Birthrate drops partly due to
more birth-control information
(Margaret Sanger)
 Manufactured products, public
services give homemakers
freedom
 Working-class, college-educated
women juggle family, work
Margaret Sanger

63. Science and Religion Clash
 Fundamentalism—movement based
on literal interpretation of Bible
 reject theory of evolution
 believe all important knowledge can
be found in Bible
 Fundamentalist preachers -- Billy
Sunday and Aimee Semple
McPherson

64. Evangelist
Aimee Semple McPherson
Billy Sunday
In 1922 Photograph

65. The Scopes Trial
 Against the law to teach evolution in Tenn.
 Biology teacher, John T.
Scopes, challenges law
 Clarence Darrow defends Scopes
 Fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan is
special prosecutor
 Scopes trial—debates evolution, role of
science, religion in school
 Scopes found guilty, given a fine – later
overturned

66. 1925 NY Times Cartoon ―Evolution
Trial‖
Clarence Darrow &
William Jennings Bryan

67. Marcus Garvey and the
UNIA
 Marcus Garvey founds
Universal Negro
Improvement Association
(UNIA)
 believes African Americans
should build separate society
 Garvey promotes black
pride, black businesses,
return to Africa
Marcus Garvey
1887 - 1940

68. NAACP
 Important Founder: W.E.B. DuBois
 Protests racial violence
 NAACP leader James Weldon
Johnson fights for civil rights
legislation
 NAACP anti-lynching campaign leads
to drop in number of lynchings

69. W.E.B Du Bois
1868 - 1963
James Weldon Johnson
1871 - 1938

72. Modern Advertising
 Tells us what to buy and why we should buy
it.
 Makes brand names familiar nationwide;
pushes luxuries as necessities

73. Consumer Spending
 Buying Goods on Credit
 Installment plan—pay for goods over
extended period with interest
 Banks provide money at low interest
rates
 Problems: Debt -- don’t really own
items, layoffs, pay cuts, etc. affect ability
to pay debts

74. A Superficial Prosperity
 Producing Great Quantities of Goods
 Most Americans believe prosperity will
last forever
 Productivity increasing, businesses
expanding
 Chain stores develop; national banks
allowed to create branches
 Income gap between
workers, managers grows

75. Image from 1920’s
Woolworth’s Store
1920’s Prosperity

76. Difficulties of Farmers
 Demand for U.S. grain declines after
war
 prices drop
 Farmers boost production to sell more
 prices drop further
 Farm income declines; farmers default
on loans; rural banks fail
 Farms lost through foreclosure
 many become tenant farmers

77. Farm Foreclosure
Sale
1930

78. The Dust Bowl
 Farmers in Great Plains exhaust land
through overproduction
 1930s, drought, windstorms hit; soil
scattered for hundreds of miles
 Many farm families migrate to Pacific
Coast states

81. Causes of Stock Market and
Depression
 Dow Jones Industrial Average tracks
state of stock market
 1920s, stock prices rise steadily; people
rush to buy stocks, bonds
 Speculation, buy on chance of a quick
profit
 Buying on margin—pay small percent of
price, borrow rest

82. Causes (cont.)
 Overproduction – both consumer and
agricultural
 Living on Credit:
 buy now, pay later
 Businesses give easy credit;
consumers pile up large debts
 Consumers have trouble paying off
debt, cut back on spending

83. Causes (cont.)
 Uneven Distribution of Income
 rich get richer, poor get poorer
 Unfavorable Balance of Trade
 Weak Banking System

85. The Stock Market Crashes
 September 1929 stock prices peak, then
fall; investors begin selling
 October 29 or Black
Tuesday, market, nation’s confidence
plummet
 Shareholders sell frantically; millions of
shares have no buyers
 People who bought on credit left with
huge debts
 Others lose most of their savings

87. Depression Hits
 Bank and Business Failures
 Unemployment skyrockets -- 25% of
workers jobless; those with jobs get
cuts in hours, pay
 After crash, people panic, withdraw
money from banks
 Banks that invested in stocks fail;
people lose their money

89. Depression (cont.)
 Homelessness
 Hoovervilles
 Shantytowns, consisting of
shacks, arise in cities
 Hunger
 Soup kitchens offer free or low-cost
food
 Bread lines—people line up for food
from charities, public agencies

92. Worldwide Shock Waves
 Great Depression limits U.S. ability to
import European goods
 Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act sets highest
protective tariff ever in U.S.
 Other countries cannot earn American
currency to buy U.S. goods
 International trade drops; unemployment
soars around world

93. Social and Psychological
Effects
 Suicide rate rises
 People give up health care, college, put off
marriage, children
 Stigma of poverty doesn’t disappear;
financial security becomes goal
 Develop habit of saving and thriftiness

94. Psychological Impact
 Family is source of strength for
most Americans
 Some families break apart under
strain of making ends meet

95. • Men in the Streets
• Many men used to working &
supporting families have difficulty
coping
• cannot find jobs
• About 300,000 hoboes wander
country on railroad box cars
• No federal system of direct relief
(cash or food from government)
Psychological Impact
1930’s Hobos

96. Psychological (cont)
 Women Struggle to Survive
 Homemakers budget
carefully, can food, sew
clothes
 Women work outside home;
resented by unemployed
men
 Many women suffer in
silence, ashamed to stand in
bread lines

97. Psychological (cont)
 Children Suffer Hardships
 Poor diets, health care lead to
serious health problems in
children
 Lack of tax revenue leads to
shortened school year, school
closings
 Teenagers leave home, ride
trains in search of
work, adventure

98. Hoover: Rugged
Individualism
 Hoover’s conservative
response to the Depression
draws criticism from many
Americans.
 Tells Americans the economy
is sound
 believes depression is a normal
part of business cycle
 People should take care of
own families, not depend on
government (no direct relief)
Herbert Hoover
31st President of the US
1874 - 1964

99. Hoover (cont)
 Reconstruction Finance Corporation—
emergency funds for businesses
 Hoover’s measures don’t improve economy
before presidential election (too little, too
late)

101. The Bonus Army March
 Veterans go to D.C. to ask
Congress to pay bonus now not
later.
 Hoover opposes bill; Senate
votes it down
 Hoover fears violence, calls on
U.S. Army to disband Bonus
Army
 Infantry tear gas over 1,000
people, including children; many
injured
 Public is stunned, outraged by
government’s actions

105. Roosevelt’s New Deal
 Franklin Delano Roosevelt uses gov’t
programs to combat the Depression.
 ―The only thing we have to fear is fear
itself‖
 New Deal Goals—relief for
unemployed, recovery of the
economy, reform conditions that
caused the Depression

106. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First
Inauguration 1933
―The only thing we have to
fear is fear itself‖

107. The First Hundred Days
 ―Brain Trust‖ -- experts in their
fields, called upon to give advice
 Frances Perkins – 1st female cabinet
member – Sec. of Labor
 Bank Holiday -- Emergency
Banking Relief Act closes banks
until they are inspected
 FDR gives fireside chats—radio
talks explaining New Deal
measures
Frances
Perkins

109. FDR’s Fireside Chats

110. New Deal Programs
 Glass-Steagall Act establishes
Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation
 insures individual bank accounts
 Securities and Exchange Commission
created to regulate stock market
 21st Amendment repeals prohibition
by end of 1933

111. New Deal (cont.)
 Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
 pays farmers not to grow crops
 raises food prices, lowers supply
 Tennessee Valley Authority creates
jobs building dams
 cheap hydro-electric power
 most controversial – seems like socialism to
some critics
 Civilian Conservation Corps
 jobs for young men
 outdoor, conservation, parks,

112. TVA Hydroelectric Dam
under construction
1941

113. CCC Worker
plants trees
US Forestry
Service
Workers
1937

114. Programs (cont.)
 Works Progress Administration—
construction
jobs, roads, bridges, libraries, airport
s, etc.
 NIRA establishes codes of fair
practice for industries
 NRA sets standards, prices, limits
production
 Federal Housing Administration
gives loans for mortgages, repairs
 Federal Emergency Relief
Administration—direct relief to needy

115. Programs (cont.)
 Social Security Act – money for retirees
65 or older, unemployment
compensation, aid to disabled, families
with children
 Is funded from payroll deductions
 Longest-lasting program, has affected most
# of people

116. Programs (cont.)
 National Labor Relations Act (Wagner
Act) – legalizes unions and collective
bargaining
 Fair Labor Standards Act – minimum
wage and maximum hrs.
 Rural Electrification Administration
(REA) – brings electricity to the farms

118. Opposition to the New Deal
 Deficit spending—spending more
money than government takes in
 Liberals: New Deal does not do
enough to help poor, fix economy
 Conservatives: New Deal used to
control business, socialize economy

119. Court Packing Scheme
 Supreme Court strikes down some
programs as unconstitutional
 FDR proposes ―Court-packing bill‖
 wants to add judges to Supreme
Court that favor New Deal
 Congress, press protest

122. Demagogues
 Father Charles Coughlin -- wants
guaranteed income, banks
nationalized
 Dr. Francis Townsend devises
pension plan for elderly
 Presidential hopeful, Senator Huey
Long has popular social program –
Share Our Wealth

123. Senator Huey Long of
Louisiana
Father Charles
Coughlin
Dr. Francis
Townsend

124. Reelecting FDR
 1936, Democrats win
presidency, large
majorities in both houses
 First time most African
Americans vote
Democratic
 First time labor unions
support presidential
candidate

125. The New Deal Coalition
 New Deal Coalition - different groups that
support Democratic Party

126. FDR Wins in 1936
 Political organizations in
large Northern cities
support FDR
 Urban, religious, ethnic
groups also support FDR
 FDR appoints officials
of urban-immigrant
background

128. Labor Unions Flourish
 Pro-labor legislation leads unions to
donate money for FDR re-election
 Union membership grows from 3 million
to over 10 million
 American Federation of Labor
traditionally craft unions only
 Congress of Industrial Organizations
(CIO) – organizes industrial unions

130. Labor Disputes
 Sit-down strike important bargaining
tactic of 1930s
 prevents owners from hiring
strikebreakers
 Some labor disputes violent

131. Republic Steel Strike 1937

132. Native Americans
 1924, Native Americans receive full
citizenship
 John Collier, commissioner of Indian
affairs, changes policies
 Indian Reorganization Act favors native
autonomy, mandates changes:
 lands belong to entire tribe; government
can’t sell unclaimed areas
 children can attend schools on reservations
 tribes elect tribal councils to govern
reservations
John
Collier

133. Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes
signs Indian Reorganization Act

134. Motion Pictures and Radio
 About 65% of population goes to movies
once a week
 Films offer escape from reality; show
wealth, romance, fun
 Gone With the Wind—perhaps most
famous film of era
 Musicals—live action or animated—way to
forget problems
 Comedies, realistic gangster movies
especially popular

136. Artists Decorate America
 Federal Art Project pays artists to make
art, teach in schools
 Aim to promote art appreciation, positive image
of America
 Murals typically portray dignity of ordinary
people at work
 Many outstanding works painted by
artists, including Grant Wood
 Federal Theater Project hires actors, artists
 Woody Guthrie Sings of America
 Singer, songwriter Woody Guthrie sings of plight
of poor

137. Woody Guthrie
1912 - 1967

138. Grant Wood
American Gothic
By Grant Wood

139. Diverse Writers Depict
American Life
 Federal Writers’ Project supports many
who become major writers
 Richard Wright, African-American
author, writes Native Son
 John Steinbeck writes The Grapes of
Wrath about Dust Bowl migrants
 Some writers examine difficulty of life in
1930s
 Others show dignity of ordinary
people, values of small-town life

140. Richard Wright

141. John
Steinbeck

142. The New Deal Ends
 By 1937, economic improvement
convinces many Depression is ending
 Congress wants to cut back programs;
by 1939, New Deal over

143. Supporters and Critics
of the New Deal
 Conservatives think FDR made
federal government too large
 stifled free enterprise, individual
initiative
 Liberals: didn’t do enough to socialize
economy, end inequalities
 Supporters: did help country recover
from economic difficulties

146. Expanding Government’s
Role in the Economy
 FDR expands power of federal
government, president
 New Deal does not end Depression;
does reduce suffering, give hope
 Federal government goes deeply into
debt to create jobs, give aid
 Massive spending on
equipment, supplies for WW II end
Depression

148. Child Laborers in Textile
Mills

150. Contour Farming
1930