Unit 8: 1920s, Great Depression, New Deal & WWII Flashcards
Red Summer
bloody period in 1919 where white hysteria over Black success led to 25 race riots + 80 lynchings
led to African American agitation (turned towards insistence for change)
Chicago Race Riot
late July 1919 5 day riot that killed almost 40
tensions arose bc Great Migration → lots of Black ppl hired as strikebreakers (white resentment)
First Red Scare
people were scared that 1900s strikes/riots were caused by Communists and anarchists (despite them being 2 totally different groups),, exacerbated by reports of mail bombs [First Red Scare]
brought huge violations of civil liberties as USFG induced paranoia == vigilantism for stupid shit
subsided by summer 1920, but strengthened conservative ideals of nativism and 100% patriotism
A. Mitchell Palmer
one of the mail bombs initiated by violent militants hit US Attorney General Palmer, who then became devoted to fighting the “Red Menace”
Palmer Raids
During the First Red Scare, US Attorney General Palmer established organizational network to gather info on + arrest and deport alleged radicals (often foreign born bc nativism)
Consumer Culture of the 1920s
radioes, mass ads, etc == American becoming leading consumer society
traditional values (austerity) XX, rise of urban middle class bent on mass consumption + carefree spending
econ growth + indus innovation fueled explosion of consumer goods → “mass culture” b/c Americans viewed + bought the same stuff
Advertising and Buying on Installments in the 1920s
reckless spending necessitated biz kept people spending – “Buy Now Pay Later” financed purchases in installments
advertisement turned into a huge enterprise => appealed to middle class housewives, promised + defined people’s pursuit of happiness
Growth of Movies and Radios in the 1920s
radios also appealed to middle class housewives, as they purchased ⅔ of consumer goods
radio ads/ programs sponsored by big companies targeted women
movies also expanded consumer culture by setting arbitrary standards for its characters
Jazz Age
1920s period of social/cultural rebellion among youth in the form of jazz, a partially improvised and spontaneous genre of music (living in moment music)
African American musicians pioneered: Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington
critics found the music and provocative dances base and annoying
Henry Ford and the Automobile
The automobile becomes widespread due to lower prices as a result of efficient mass production. The automobile industry also catalyzes the development of other industries such as the oil, rubber, glass industries.
Margaret Sanger
NY nurse and midwife who advocated for birth control bc of witnessing unwanted pregnancies and crude abortions
organized American Birth Control League in 1921 (present-day Planned Parenthood) – distributed info abt contraception – laid foundation for legal prescription of contraceptives in 1936
good for that stuff BUT promoted sterilization of “mentally incompetent” ppl + BC as a means of eugenics
The New Morality and the Flapper
flapper = small pop of young women who wore short skirts and defied traditional gender norms by cutting hair, driving cars, lots of makeup, shooting the shit with guys, lots of partying
their “carefree feminism” was self-indulgent, independent, and seductive – most women did not subscribe (cult of domesticity bc of conservative post-war pressures)
interracial marriage frowned upon + punished (societally and “legally”)
The Great Migration
the movement of 400,000 southern Black (mostly farming) people to northern cities like Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis – tripled Black pop in the North (“land of promise” for Black ppl due to less blatant racism, though white resentment»_space;>, especially by white immigrants who feared job loss)
The New Negro and the Harlem Renaissance
the convergence of Black people in NYC that inspired common iden among “culture capital” of African-American life – led to lots of art + literature in 1930s
gave rise to the “New Negro”: one who wasn’t subservient to white culture (as previous circumstances had often necessitated them to be)
celebrated “Aframerican” cultural contributors,, communities that resisted white violence + bigotry
Langston Hughes
Black artist who wrote about and supported the Harlem Renaissance and described the beauty of the African American community.
Marcus Garvey
fostered idea of Black nationalism + racial separatism (solidarity + power in their iden)
founded Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) – hq in Harlem
NAACP members opposed Garveyism – Du Bois said “lunatic”
1st mov collapsed when he was convicted for fraud + deported in 1923
Sinclair Lewis
part of the Lost Generation: people who had lost faith in Western institutions and with materialism of postwar Roaring 20s, mostly by ppl who had fought in WWI.
Lewis’ literature criticized small town insular mindsets of small towns in America (e.g. rejection of science)
F Scott Fitzgerald
part of the Lost Generation: people who had lost faith in Western institutions and with materialism of postwar Roaring 20s, mostly by ppl who had fought in WWI.
Captured society of jazz age, including the disparities between the excessive wealth and extreme poverty
National Origins Act
1921 act that limited immig for fear of foreign radicals (bc influx of southern/Eastern Europeans) through % and total caps
Main purpose = favor nw immig + exclude se bc of US prejudice — unintentionally ignored Western Hemisphere (Latin Americans became fastest growing ethnic minority)
Sacco and Vanzetti Case
1920 arrest of Italian immig anarchists who allegedly stole $ and killed guards
Happened during height of Italian immig — mass hysteria contributed to their sentencing + death
Strengthened nativism (connected se immig and political radical violence)
The New KKK
recreated in 1915 NATIONWIDE by biz-minded ppl (created dues) — promoted 100% Americanism (White Protestants born US) and white supremacy
militant patriotism/Protestant morality —> floggings, tarrings, harassment, and other domestic terrorism
came to elect local/state officials, exerting some pol influence BUT anti-Klan mov ended it when “kluxing” leader arrested for kidnapping + rape
Fundamentalism
an ideology hostile towards liberal ideas + Darwinism (Bible = literally true) adopted by conserv Protestants
Scopes Trial
Highly publicized trial of tennessee schoolteacher arrested for teaching evolution
Clarence Darrow: famous Chicagoan defense attorney who argued that trial was about intelligence triumphing over ignorance
William Jennings Bryan: former Congressman who argued that the trial was about states’ discretion over edu (“evolution vs Christianity”)
ended in “draw” bc no one disputed that teacher was TEACHING evolution, BUT Tennessee SC waived fine on tech
Effects of Prohibition: Organized Crime
connected trad rural religious community + progressive reformers around prohibition and prejudice (“foreigners drink too much”)
compelled millions towards bootlegging instead of disuading alcohol consumption — law was too sweeping to enforce
led to job loss + revenue loss
econ boost to organized crime — Al Capone = biggest G (arrested for tax evasion in 1929)
“Return to Normalcy”
landslide election of Warren G Harding in 1920 due to post-WWI decline of progresssivism (post-New Freedom)
vanilla promise of dispassionate isolationism and a prez who was unexceptional and practical
Signified dominance of Republicans again in white house + congress + courts — blocked many progressive laws
Andrew Mellon Economic Policy
econ plan created to address ballooning post-WWI debt + high unemployment
Sec of Treasury advocated for < USFG spending, < taxes for super rich+poor, high tariffs on ag + manu products
1921 created Bureau of Budget to outline Congress-approved annual federal budget
Super successful — Mellon = “modern Hamilton”
The role of unions and farmers in 1920s
Organized labor took a hit bc Republican Congress…
post WWI transition from war to peace = open shops: employers could hire anyone not just union members
anti union low wages mov —> purchasing power crisis: factories churning out products with few ppl with enough money to buy them
Causes of the Great Depression: Buying stock on margin / stock speculation
Practice of making down payment on a stock and borrowing rest from stockbroker, paying it off if price rose and selling it for cheap if “margin call” not reached
Too much speculation = stock market crash. Revealed shaky econ foundations prior to GD.
Causes of the Great Depression: Overproduction (biz/farm)
Manufacturing grew by 43% in the 1920s, but consumers lacked purchasing power
Biz to blame for purch crisis — investcest instead of increasing wages
Farm took out mortgages during WWI bc high demand… but post war crop prices «<, tumbling them into debt
Causes of the Great Depression: Protective Tariffs / War Debt
Hawley Smoot Tariffs instituted during Hoover admin added hundreds of new items to the list
raised prices for raw mats, consumer products. Made it harder for foreign powers to pay off debts. Other countries passed their own tariffs in response, making US exports plummet
Hoover’s Belief in the Economy
Initial reaction = denial; insisted biz keep jobs + services going so that working ppl could afford to boost the econ
wanted to raise taxes and cut budgets to balance USFG budget (wrong - led to less consumer spending)
commitment to rugged individualism and feared more gov help —-> socialism
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Dems exploited bad Hoover rep to get Congressional majority and force him to do stuff
1932 corporation gave emergency loans to banks and RRs
Hoover signed Emergency Relief Act that allowed RFC to do construction loans, but criticized
Bonus March
WWI veterans fought for cash bonuses owed to them in spring 1932 - camped by the Capitol
Hoover tried to remove via paying for trains home but some remained - sec of war’s dispatch burned the unarmed camp and arrested unarmed vets
cemented Hoover’s rep as cold prez in denial
