20s_overview (1)

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Murray State University *

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Oct 30, 2023

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American Life in the “Roaring Twenties,” 1919–1929 Theme: A disillusioned America turned away from idealism and reform after World War I and toward isolationism in foreign affairs, domestic social conservatism and the pleasures of prosperity. Theme: New technologies, mass-marketing techniques, and new forms of entertainment fostered rapid cultural change along with a focus on consumer goods. But the accompanying changes in moral values and uncertainty about the future produced cultural anxiety as well as sharp intellectual critiques of American life. After the crusading idealism of World War I, America turned inward and became hostile to anything foreign or different. Radicals were targeted in the red scare and the Sacco-Vanzetti case, while the resurgent Ku Klux Klan joined other forces in bringing about pronounced restrictions on further immigration. Sharp cultural conflicts occurred over the prohibition experiment and evolution. A new mass-consumption economy fueled the spectacular prosperity of the 1920s. The automobile industry, led by Henry Ford, transformed the economy and altered American lifestyles. The pervasive media of radio and film altered popular culture and values. Birth control and Freudian psychology overturned traditional sexual standards, especially for women. Young literary rebels, many originally from the Midwest, scorned genteel New England and small-town culture and searched for new values as far away as Europe. The stock-market boom symbolized the free-wheeling spirit of the decade. HISTORIC NOTES: Concerned about the success of the Bolshevik Revolution, The US, Britain, and other nations send troops to participate in the Russian Civil War in the hope of toppling Lenin’s communist government. Domestically, a systematic effort to suppress Bolsheviks, or reds, is launched. Intolerance grows in the nations after WWI. A new and more virulent strain emerges in the reborn KKK, which has expanded it influence across the nation. to shrink immigration from certain areas of the world, a quota system is put in place. That and the Immigration Act of 1924 dramatically reduce eastern and southern European immigration. To control social and moral behavior, the prohibition movement addresses alcohol consumption. In 1919 the 18 th Amendment is ratified, eliminating “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors.” Automotive production becomes an integral part of the economy as it stimulates demand in other businesses, among them the gas and oil industry, and gives Americans relatively easy access to shopping (which itself is transformed by the auto), schools, and the workplace. The decade known as the roaring twenties witnesses cultural, social, and economic challenges to Victorian values. Women begin to defy gender stereotypes through, for example, fashion, smoking cigarettes in public, and jazz dancing. Henry Ford paid his workers handsomely (about $5/day) and shortened their workday, but he expected their loyalty and established a paternalistic relationship with them that went even beyond the workplace – their personal lives were monitored by the company. Other companies followed suit, hoping to prevent labor strikes and other interferences in the production process. Charles Lindberg, known as “Lucky Lindy” because of his unprecedented feat of flying nonstop from NYC to Paris, initiated a new age of air travel. The airplane fundamentally changed the nation and the world, allowing personal air travel and revolutionizing the military.

The Politics of Boom and Bust, 1920–1932 Theme: The Republican administrations of the prosperous 1920s pursued conservative, pro-business policies at home and economic unilateralism abroad. Theme: The great crash of 1929 led to a severe, prolonged depression that devastated the American economy and spirit, and resisted Hoover’s limited efforts to correct it. The Republican governments of the 1920s carried out active, pro-business policies while undermining much of the progressive legacy by neglect. The Washington Naval Conference indicated America’s desire to withdraw from international involvements. Sky-high tariffs protected America’s booming industry but caused severe economic troubles elsewhere in the world. As the Harding scandals broke, the puritanical Calvin Coolidge replaced his morally easygoing predecessor. Feuding Democrats and La Follette progressives fell easy victims to Republican prosperity. American demands for strict repayment of war debts created international economic difficulties. The Dawes plan provided temporary relief, but the Hawley-Smoot Tariff proved devastating to international trade. The stock-market crash of 1929 brought a sudden end to prosperity and plunged America into a horrible depression. Herbert Hoover’s reputation collapsed as he failed to relieve national suffering, although he did make unprecedented but limited efforts to revive the economy through federal assistance. HISTORIC NOTES: Harding is incorruptible, but some friends and appointees lack his honesty and tarnish Harding’s administration. Shocked by the enormous devastation that the war brought to Europe, the victorious world powers hold disarmament talks (Washington Naval conference) and agree to reduce the size of their navies. As part of the government, Japan is not permitted to have a higher tonnage amount than Britain and the US but is granted hegemonic power in the Far East. Congress raises the protective tariff to augment the already big profits businesses are amassing. European countries retaliate with their own high tariffs, which stymie int4ernational trade and debilitate Germany, already financially pressed by its obligation to pay for war reparations. Determined to be repaid its war loans, the US create s the Dawes Plan, a complicated method of financial payments that fails to get repayment but places considerable strain on European finances. The stock-market collapse starts a deep depression from which the nation will not fully recover until WWII. The rest of the world shares in this calamity. Near the end of Hoover’s term in office the Japanese invade China. The US response is tepid and does little to deter the Japanese from taking future aggressive action. Farmers who purchase labor-saving technology such as mechanical harvesters and reapers dramatically increased production but at a considerable cost: the price of their crops plummeted. Aggravating the problem of under-consumption was the Mellon tax plan, which had lowered taxes on the rich, thereby concentrating even more wealth in a small percentage of the population.

Hoover’s solution to the economic collapse reflected his faith in the resiliency of American capitalism. While he adopted drastic measures inconsistent with his own monetary philosophy, he still relied on volunteerism, local-government assistance to the unemployed, and rugged individualism to see the nation through, methods that were inadequate for the depression.

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