THEME 1: c & d - changes in society & cultural changes Flashcards
How & why did the population grow in the early 20th c?
1900: 76 mil
1920: 106.5 mil
1030: 123 mil
- firstly due to the birth rate - but also immigration
What were American attitudes towards immigration?
- Many believed white Americans were superior despite the country being built by slavery - often anti-immigration * welcomed immigration from northern Europe but not from ‘undesirable’ areas (east Europe & Asia)
- worried it would destroy white American traditions, culture & beliefs
- these ideas were tied up with eugenics
How did the federal government address the concerns on immigration?
- 1921 The Emergency Immigration law
* 1924 The Johnson-Reed Immigration act
What did the (1921) Emergency Immigration law do?
- placed an annual ceiling on immigration from any European country
- only 3% of the number of nationals from that country living in the US allowed in
- favoured white protestants - their descendants were more likely to have moved to the US
What did the (1924) Johnson-Reed Immigration act do?
- banned any immigration from Japan (other Asian countries were banned earlier)
- set an absolute ceiling on immigration at 150,000 per year
- ceiling did not apply to Mexicans (provided cheap labour for Californian farmers at harvest)
What was the Red Scare?
- high inflation led to industrial unrest (1919, 4 mil strikes)
- people believed that these were led by communists who desire a revolution
- fears grew as a general strike brought Seattle to a halt
- Eastern European immigrants particularly targeted
- people feared communism was leaking into American society
What was a consequence of the Red Scare?
The Palmer Raids
- Plamer was popular for exposing ‘communist activities’
- arrested 6,000 in 1920 on suspicion of communism
- made arrests with close to no hard evidence - those detained had to be released after a few days
- Plamer claimed there was to be a huge communist demonstration in NY (1920) - when this didn’t happen he looked ridiculous & the red scare died away
What was the Sacco & Vanzetti case?
- Italian immigrants were arrested & accused of armed robbery in Boston 1920
- they were found to be carrying guns & despite little concrete evidence, they were found guilty and executed in 1927 after years of legal appeals
- in cities there were widespread protests by many in rural areas supported the execution - happy to see cities as filled with ‘foreigners’ refusing to adopt American life
Who and how many supported the KKK?
- 1921, 100,000 members - at its height 4 mil
- gained considerable support in Mid-West & South
- mostly farmers, artisans & shopkeepers
What were the KKK’s beliefs?
- opposed to Jews, Catholics, Black Americans & foreigners
- White supremacy
- opposed borrowing from any non-‘Anglo Saxon’ culture e.g the popularity of Jazz music
Why was the KKK appealing to Americans?
- It met their needs - gave them a sense of importance, belonging & power
- gave the dull lives of farmers etc a purpose with its secretive language & robes
- appealed to the bullying instincts many people had
What would the KKK do to its victims?
- tarred & feathered
- branded
- killed
Why did the KKK collapse as an organisation?
- by late 20s members realised they were being exploited for money - requirements to buy merchandise
(robes cost $3.28 to make but sold for $6.50) - profits fuelled extravagantly lifestyles for leaders
- Leader in Indiana had a sudden downfall following the suicide of a woman he raped - convicted of 2nd-degree murder. Led to considerable support being lost
- revelations of financial mismanagement in Pennsylvania led to membership falling
- by 1929, membership had fallen to 200,000
What concerns about immorality existed during the 20s?
- widespread distrust in of cinema, jazz & it’s associated dances
- ‘flapper girls’ suggests women were becoming more promiscuous/shameless (smoking, drinking, short skirts)
- high profile scandals - ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle accused of sexual attacks & murder
- concern with the growth of crime & fear that it will spread to rural areas
What legislation brought prohibition?
1918: 18th Amendment banned the sale, transportation and manufacture of intoxicating liquor within the USA
(but crucially not drinking)
What were the reasons for prohibition?
Support form a variety of groups
- women’s group saw alcohol as a means for oppression
- religious groups saw it as the work of the devil & sinful
- big businesses saw it as leading to a lazy workforce
Impact of WW1
* grain needed for food - patriotic to go without alcohol
(1917 Lever Act)
* Many of the largest brewers were of German origin
* many saw restrained behaviour as part of the ‘brave new world’
Disorganisation of the opposition
- forces against the measure did little to show this
- a march & rally in NY, parade in Baltimore
- not much more protests than this
Why did Prohibition fail?
bullet points
- geographical difficulties
- Bootleggers
- Industrial Alcohol
- Problems for Treasury Agents
- Divisions among supporters
- Role of gov
- Popularity of ‘speakeasies’
Why did geographical difficulties lead to the failure of prohibition?
- USA had 18,700 miles of coastline
- allowed smuggling to be successful as it couldn’t all be regulated
- 1925 estimated agents only intercepted 5% of illegal smuggling of alcohol
- water’s outside of national limits known as ‘rum row’
What were bootleggers & how did they contribute to the failure of prohibition?
- ‘bootleggers’ went into business as producers & distributors of illegal alcohol
- manufactured medicinal alcohol
- George Remus was the ‘king of bootleggers’ and made $5 mil selling medicinal alcohol
- a way for people to continue buying alcohol
What was moonshine & how did it contribute to the failure of prohibition?
- illegal alcohol often known as ‘moonshine’ - often made from industrial alcohol in remote areas at night
- no quality control meant it was dangerous - poisoning from wood alcohol common
- many would make exotic cocktails to get rid of the horrible taste
What issues did the Treasury agents experience which led to the failure of prohibition?
- only 3,000 agents employed to enforce prohibition
- paid an average salary of $2,500 to shut down illegal industry which made $2 mil
- many were corrupt and would accept bribes to turn a blind eye on illegal operations
- one federal agent made $7 mil selling illegal licences & pardons to bootleggers
Why did the government fail to uphold prohibition?
- Congress didn’t want to enforce it in fear of alienating rich & influential voters who enjoyed drinking
- Prohibition took place during a period of little gov intervention meaning enforcement was minimal
- no one in gov wanted to admit it was impossible to enforce because Americans liked to drink
How did prohibition affect crime & gangsterism?
- Many began organised crime to sell alcohol
- Al Capone was a notorious gangster who made huge profits ($70 mil) from speakeasies/ selling alcohol
- Gangs led to increased crime/violence as ‘turf wars’ would take place
What was the ‘St Valentine’s Day Massacre’?
- 1929, 14th Feb
- Capone had 5 of his men dress as policemen
- They arrested 7 of the rival gang
- Shot over 100 bullets in them
An example of the violence that took place
What was the role & status of women during the 1920s?
- contraception mostly not available
- Sanger created the American birth control league
- arrested in 1916 for opening first contraception clinic
- Women either had lots of children or backstreet abortions - responsible for 50,000 deaths per year
- Sheppard-Towner Act 1921: funded healthcare for pregnancy & have women some control over the clinics it set up
- Despite the existence of flappers, attitudes remained traditional: a survey found 89% of girls said they’d like a job but would give it up after marriage
women never voted as a block & movements remained fragmented throughout 20s - progress limited - legislation banning women from nightshift increased unemployment
What were the main areas which experienced cultural change?
- The age of the ‘fads’
- Literature in the 1920s
- The Media & Sport
- The Harlem Renaissance
What was the age of the ‘fads’?
- the 20s was an age of optimism symbolised by the massive growth in entertainment/’fads’
- ‘fads’ = fun activities people would do in leisure time
- Flagpole sitting: craze started by a failed boxer who spent 145 days atop various flagpoles
- Dance marathons: very popular, Chicago marathon lasted 119 days
- Crossword puzzles: competitions became a spectator sport
- Jazz = biggest music craze which had associated dances (Charleston, Black bottom)
What literature was popular in the 1920s & how was it different to previous era’s?
Hemingway: ‘the sun also rises’
- symbolised the emptiness of society
- conveys a sense of unhappiness as ex-soldiers live fruitless lives in Paris
- contradicted the optimistic feel of the time
Sinclar: ‘babbitt’
- the concept of finding life unfulfilling & monotonous returned to
- character looks for more opportunity for fulfilment but is only concerned w/ social status/materialism
Both criticise the consumer boom & materialist age/culture & contradict the optimistic & happy feel many felt
How did radio change during the 1920s?
- first commercial radio station set up in 1920, KDKA, by 1922 there were 500 across the USA (due to popularity)
- some believed invisible energy flying through the air was dangerous & cited dead birds as evidence
- led more people to tune into sporting events: 50 mil listen to Tunny Vs Dempsy in 1927 (boxing)
- created opportunities for advertising & sponsorship
- wide range of programmes: comedies, westerns, detective programmes etc
How did the sales of radio’s change from 1923 - 1929?
1923: $60 mil worth of sales
GREW
1929: $842 mil
Why was cinema so significant across the 1920s?
- contributed to world culture
- Hollywood was the 4th largest in terms of capital investment
- employed more than either Ford or General Motors
- More than escapism - shown in elaborate picture places
E.G The Roxy in NY cost $7-10 mil to build, had 3 organs, a huge chandelier, 118 piece orchestra
What was sport like during the 1920s?
- sport had a huge following - participation & spectating - esp baseball & boxing
- growth radio brought matches into peoples homes & helped foster a sense of national community
- sporting celebs earned lots from sponsorship deals & advertising - Demspy $10 over his career
Why was baseball so popular during the 20s?
- lots of successful - partly due to gifted players e.g Babe Ruth on NY Yankee
- many say Babe Ruth’s charisma transformed the game
- always popular because it was easy to play of wastelands, took off in 20s when huge stadia were built e.g West Side Grounds in Chicago
- intro of the cork-centred ball moved emphasis to hitters
- 1920 saw the formation of the Negro National Baseball League - toured and played games to mixed crowds
- could attract games of 30,000 at peak of the season
What was the Harlem Renaissance?
A resurgence of Black American culture, pride in black life & achievement
- high concentration of Black Americans in Harlem led to a flow of culture
- Alain Locke believe their history of suffering gave them a unique susceptibility to respond to the arts
What are some products of the Harlem Renaissance?
- ‘The Weary Blues’ poem (Alain Locke) captures the voices of the residents of Harlem & their small but sg everyday achievements
- Jazz, Blues & Spirituals music - depth & intensity white Americans couldn’t replicate
How did White American interest in black culture impact the Harlem Renaissance?
- their interest led to a sanitised version of music - swing
- white jazz musicians emerged: Benny Goodman
- White tourism: Harlem because a place for white people to come and explore black culture for the night, through Jazz clubs like ‘the cotton club’ - had high prices
- made Black Americans feel like animals in a zoo
- saw many black Americans because less tolerant of whites
What was ‘the New Negro’?
The exponents of the Harlem Renaissance collectively condensed into an anthology - ‘the New Negro’ - worked & edited by Alain Locke
