Unit 5: The Roaring Twenties (2023)

Unit 5: The Roaring Twenties

Unit overview
This unit groups together student expectations that focus on the political, economic, social, and cultural changes that occur during the1920, sometimes referred to asthe roaring twenties🇧🇷 This unit is primarily a study of contrasts in society. following the end ofFirst World War, Americans overcame a temporary economic depression by switching from a war economy to a peace economy between 1919 and 1921. The remainder of the decade was characterized byunprecedented economic prosperity, supported bypro-business policiesof three presidential terms. This prosperity addedisolationist foreign policy, and the fears of communists, immigrants and anarchists that manifested themselves in the rise ofnativism🇧🇷 The time period was also characterized by changing societal values ​​that threatened traditional values, as evidenced bythe prohibition and judgment of the scopes🇧🇷 During the 1920s, African Americans immigrated in large numbers to northern cities as the flowering of African American culture peaked with theHarlem Renaissance🇧🇷 The stock market crash of 1929 ended the decade's economic prosperity, but the legacy of cultural change continued.

unit vocabulary

Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th October

Major Eras in US History from 1877 to the Present

The 1920s (often called thethe roaring twenties) was an era in U.S. history characterized byisolationismin reaction to participation in World War I, along with fears of the spread of communism or ared with fearynativist sentiments🇧🇷 economically the nation prospered asmass productionymass consumerismfueled an economic boom that finally ended with thestock market crash🇧🇷 Socially, the period was characterized bydrastic social changesAs women fought for more rights and African-American culture experienced a renaissance with theera do jazz;prohibitionresulted in the time period being one of the most violent and criminal in United States history.

Impact of Progressive Era Reforms

Eighteenth Amendment– effectively prohibited the manufacture, sale and/or distribution of alcohol; led to the creation of a vast black market in alcohol; resulted in the emergence of organized crime groups set up to supply alcohol illegally; Speakeasy taverns/bars known as speakeasies were established; federal agents worked intensely to combat organized crime associated with the prohibited distribution of alcohol; crime rates have increased; was finally repealed with the Twenty-first Amendment

Nineteenth Amendment– banned discrimination in voting based on gender, thus granting women the right to vote

Causes and effects of significant events and social problems in the 1920s

Immigration- during the 1920s, immigrants came to the United States in search of a better life, as a large number came from Eastern and Southern Europe; immigrants moved into cities creating overcrowded conditions; immigrants provide labor for factories in cities; Congress responded to growing concerns about immigration by passing theImmigration Act of 1924, which instituted a quota system to regulate immigration; the law primarily targeted immigration from eastern and southern European nations, banned Arab and Asian immigration, and severely restricted immigration from Africasocial darwinism- the belief that Darwin's principles of natural selection could be applied to the development of individuals and groups of people as a justification for the fact that some have more power than others; the idea was based on the desire of some to maintain the economic and social divisions of society, as well as to justify nativist and racist policies; provided a rationale for the eugenics movementrange test– sometimes referred to as theScopes Monkey Testwas held in 1925. Substitute teacher John Scopes was tried for violating aTennessee law banning the teaching of evolution in public schools🇧🇷 The trial featured Clarence Darrow as defense counsel and William Jennings Bryan as prosecutor. Scopes was found guilty, but the conviction was later overturned on a technicality. The debate surrounding the trial illustrated the growing cultural conflict in the United States in the early 20th century between those who supported more traditionalist values ​​and those who supported modernism.Eugenia– study of human improvement by genetic means, which advocates increasing the reproduction of those considered to have strong genetic traits and reducing the reproduction of those considered to have undesirable genetic traits; veiled racism as an attempt to improve society and the human race; resulted in discrimination and persecution against target groups and individuals, such as Hitler's actions in the Holocaustrace relations- between 1910 and 1920, many African Americans migrated to the industrial cities of the north to get jobs due to the shortage of labor that occurred because of the First World War; African Americans in northern cities still faced discrimination and segregation, however, many African American men found fewer barriers to voting in the North, and as the population of African Americans in the North increased, they became influential in elections. ;the harlem renaissancealong with the “New Negro” idea, it gave African Americans a sense of optimism that the American system would eventually work for them; These social changes, along with immigration, resulted in a backlash from some Americans that was evidenced in the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, the rise of nativist sentiments, the institution ofLei Jim Crows, the creation of immigration quotas and the increase in the number of lynchingsnativism– the fear that immigrants would take jobs away from soldiers returning from World War I, coupled with the influx of immigrants before World War I, mainly from Eastern and Southern Europe rather than Western Europe as in the past, resulted in sentiment anti-immigrant rooted in nativism, discrimination, rising racial tensions, and the rejuvenation of the Ku Klux Klanred with fear- a reaction not only to the communist revolution in Russia, but also to the influx of immigrants to the United States before World War I and the fear of labor unrest; After a conspiracy to send bombs to prominent political leaders and businesspeople was uncovered, US Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer ordered what would become known as"Palmer Raids"🇧🇷 raids aimed at finding left-wing anarchist agitators for deportation; the Red Terror culminated in the deportation of hundreds of people suspected of having communist and socialist sympathiesProhibition– rooted in the belief that alcohol was leading to the decline of society, alcohol was blamed for many of society's ills, including serious health problems, homelessness and crime; Largely led by women, the temperance movement finally got the 18th Amendment ratified in 1920; the prohibition of the sale of alcohol gave rise to the formation of a large network of organized crime that supplied the demand for alcohol; crime rates in the country skyrocketed

Changing the role of women– during the 1920s, some women began to exercise a sense of independence after having worked outside the home during World War I and gained the right to vote, but most women still exercised very traditional roles; working in the workforce and having political rights raised expectations for some women, resulting in a small increase in the number of women attending college; These social changes were incorporated into thefinsof the 1920s who adhered to the exuberant spirit of the time and challenged traditional ideas by cutting their hair, wearing short skirts and wearing makeup, and drinking and smoking in public, much to the disapproval of many more conservative women. 🇧🇷 changes in women's fashion reflected a rejection of the restrained styles of the Victorian era

Impact of significant people

Henry Ford– founder of Ford Motors, innovated the automotive industry with the assembly line and invented affordable Model T and Model A carsmarcus garvey– editor, journalist and black nationalist; founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the League of African Communitiescharles lindbergh– first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean

Wednesday, October 28th

Causes and effects of changing demographic patterns resulting from migration within the United States

ogreat migrationof African Americans to the North (approximately 1910-1930)
Why: escape racism; Abandoned sharecropping and rent farming in the South to economic opportunities in the industrial centers of the Northeast and Midwest
It is made: Huge increases in the African-American population of cities such as Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and New YorkCiudad

Foreign Policies Affected Economic Issues

immigration quotas– Immigration concerns increased in the 1880s and continued with the influx of immigrants from Europe during and after World War I. Immigration restrictions began in early 1917 based on national security concerns. Congress implemented a literacy test to limit immigration in 1917. By 1920, many veterans were entering the civilian workforce at the same time that factories were being renovated after the end of war production. Unemployment, along with the recession, has led to increased public concern about immigration. What further exacerbated the recession of the 1920s were the low prices of agricultural products in the United States, as well as those imported from Europe. The recession ended in July 1921, but high unemployment generated support to limit immigration. Congress passed the Emergency Quotas Act in 1921. This Act set the quota for legal immigrants at 3% of their current ethnic makeup in the United States. That quota was changed three years later by the National Origins Act of 1924, which lowered the percentage to 2% and effectively banned immigration from Asian countries.

Thursday, October 29th or Friday, October 30th

November 2nd or November 3rd
Causes of economic growth and prosperity in the 1920s

Investing in stocks made especially bybuying on the margincreated quick wealtho Warren Harding"Back to Normal", referring to life before the First World War became synonymous with a return tobusiness-friendly and laissez-faire economic policies, includedincrease protective tariffs and reduce taxes

Taxes were cut for all Americans, significantly reducing taxes paid by wealthy Americans; taxes on luxury items were eliminated; taxes on many food products and consumer goods have been reduced or eliminated; the elimination of taxes on freight and transport added to corporate profitsCreatedassembly line production efficienciesand the standardization of product sizes, weights and packaging units has increased efficiency and therefore the production of goods to meet growing consumer demand; avid consumers began to useinstallment plansto buy goods

November 4th

Until November 4th, read pages 174-178 of the book online; then go to the Schoology page and take the multiple choice quiz for that day.

Thursday, November 5th or Friday, November 6th

For November 5th or 6th, read pages 180-190in the online textbook; then go to the Schoology page and take the multiple choice quiz for that day.