1920s Society Mr. Turner - PowerPoint Presentation

1920s Society Mr. Turner American History II Unit 4: 20s- New Deal

Traditionalism vs Modernism In 1920- more Americans lived in urban areas than rural areas Divisions began to grow between rural and urban folks Rural People Urban People Traditional views on science, religion, and culture Believed in social change, science, and more secular principles (modernism) Three R’s “reading, writing, and arithmetic” Focused on high school graduation and mental intelligence Fundamentalism – emphasis upon Protestant teachings, and seeing the Bible as literal truth Were more secular. Saw the Bible as a metaphor rather than truth

Scopes Trial Nicknamed the Monkey Trial Fundamentalism and modernism came to a head in the 1925 Scopes Trial John T Scopes, high school bio teacher, taught evolution in the classroom in TN - which was against the law Clarence Darrow and the ACLU defended Scopes William Jennings Bryan worked for the prosecution Scopes was found guilty

Immigration in the 20s Nativist still wanted to get rid of immigrants WWI, the Red Scare, and the Bolshevik Revolution all worked in favor of Nativists Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the National Origin Act of 1924 set up a quota system for immigrants in the US National Origins Act - the number of immigrants could not be more than 2 percent of the population in 1890

The New KKK In Georgia in 1915 a group of men revived the Ku Klux Klan Targeted African-Americans, Jews, Catholics, and Immigrants Groups like the NAACP and the Jewish Anti-Defamation League fought the Klan Corruptness led to the fall of the Klan; though it stayed around

Prohibition 1919- States ratified the 18th amendment - banned the manufacture distribution, and sale of alcohol Congress passed the Volstead act - law that officially enforced the amendment “Wets” argued that it did not stop people from drinking and led to organized crime “Drys” argued that improved society and people in general

Prohibition leads to crime It did not stop people from drinking - only purchasing alcohol legally Moonshiners and bootleggers - people who sold illegal moonshine became really popular Revenuers worked endlessly to catch moonshiners It was almost impossible to stop because the demand was so greatLed to organized crime because gangsters like Al Capone could make so much money from bootlegging

Prohibition People created speakeasies - illegal bars that served alcohol in backrooms, basements, etc Led to the creation of NASCAR Ended in 1933 when the 21st amendment was passed - only amendment to repeal a previous one

New Trends in Popular Culture Americans began to work 45 hours a week/ 5 days a week - had more time for leisure Movies became a huge industry Charlie Chaplin was the biggest silent movie star In 1927 the first “talkie” was introduced - the Jazz Singer Radios and Phonographs became really popular - connected Americans from Coast to Coast

An Age of Heroes Americans began to follow sports nationally and idolize sports heroes Babe Ruth- baseball player Jack Dempsey-boxer Red Grange- football player Bill Tilden- golfer Helen Wills - tennis playerGertrude Ederle- first woman to swim the English Channel

Age of Heroes Charles Lindbergh- first person to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic It took 33 hours in his plane The Spirit of St. Louis Women took on new roles as well Women became flappers - short skirts, makeup, drank, smoked in public Women married later, had less children, and entered the workforce

Art and Literature changed Painters started using abstract style rather than realistic “Lost Generation” of writers - people who came home from war and lost faith in humanity Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, T.S. Eliot

Harlem Renaissance Literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that shaped a new black identity and culture Harlem became a haven for black artists who wanted to change the way African-Americans were perceived Marcus Garvey called for black nationalism, racial pride, and a “back to Africa” movement He also founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association

The Jazz Age African-Americans created jazz and the 20s became known as the Jazz Age because it was so popular Louis Armstrong -trumpet player became a leader of Jazz Bessie Smith was known as the empress of Jazz Duke Ellington Became a part and symbol of black culture

Literature of the Harlem Renaissance Poets, essayists, short story writers, and journalists wrote about struggles faced by black people in America They wrote about daily struggles and discrimination Langston Hughes- celebrated black culture, wrote many poems, one of the most influential leaders of HR Zora Neal Hurston- traveled back roads of Florida and collected folk tales and wrote books about them Harlem Renaissance altered the way many white people viewed black people and created an African-American Solidarity