Post WWI Flashcards
Prohibition
Led by the Women’s Temperance Union
Illegal to manufacture, buy, or sell alcohol
Volstead Act - closed all taverns, bars, and saloons in the USA
Gangsters - (Bootleggers) - ran illegal alcohol businesses/bought “booze” from Canada
Gangsters like Al Capone - Chicago
Crime greatly increased in America
“Speakeasies” - underground alcohol/dance clubs
Cops were paid off
Famers - “Moonshiners” - rural areas made homemade recipes (Whiskey)
Origin of NASCAR - running from the law
Main Reason it ended - alcohol was a huge revenue for local, state, and federal governments
Consumerism
The acquisition of material goods beyond what is necessary
The perceived wealth of the 20’s created a “consumer society” for the 1st time - things purchased on Credit*(everyone acted like they had money)
There were new modern inventions that made life easier! (Automobiles, radios, and household appliances, etc.) - all purchased on credit!
Women and Reform
Married women only did housework and child care in the 19th century
One in ten women worked outside the home for half a man’s wages
They gave all their rights to their husbands
Early Leaders were Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucrecia Mott.
1848 - Seneca Falls Convention - first women’s rights convention (official beginning)
Composed a statement of grievances modeled after the Dec of Ind. Resolved that women is men’s equal
One major demand was the right to vote (suffrage)
“Suffragettes” - women activists
Alice Paul and Lucy Burns were leaders of the American Feminist Movement - non-violent protests
Finally came to an end with the 19th amendment
Sexual Revolution - “New Woman”
Women gained a new sense of freedom and independence
Began to work outside the home for the first time
Birth Control Movement
Margret Sanger - founder of Planned Parenthood
Motto: Less Children = More Freedom
Set up to rid the society of too many poor black and immigrant children! RACIST!
“Flappers” - the unconventional new women who:
Hair Short
Make-Up
Short Skirts
Smoked and Drank
Cigarettes - “freedom torches”
How was religion challenged in the 20s?
Charles Darwin - “The Origin of Species”
Theory of Evolution
Challenged God and Creation
Scopes Monkey Trial: God vs Evolution taught in the schools?
New forms of Entertainment/Inventions
Music: Jazz and the Blues - Harlem NYC
1. George Gershwin - Jazz Composer
2. Louis Armstrong - Jazz Trumpeter
3. Cotton Club - Most famous jazz club in Harlem
Dance Craze:
The “Charleston”
The “Shimmy”
“The Flea Hop”
Most famous Dance steps
Phonograph/Victrola
Created in 1877
Over 100 million “phonograph records” were sold in 1927
The Radio
New source of communication
Greatest invention of the period!
Unified the Nation
Brought entertainment, news, weather, sports, etc. right into the home
WKDKA - Pittsburg - First radio station in America
By 1929 - 500 stations - Radios in over 12 million homes!
Electricity
By 1925 - 50% of homes had lights
Spectator Sports - 1st time
Baseball was king! “National Pastime”
Babe Ruth - “The Babe” made more money than the President of the USA
Boxing - Jack Dempsey (Heavyweight champion)
Football, Tennis Golf
Motion Picture - Hollywood
Silent Films - at first
“talkies” 1st with words
News Reels
Jazz singer - 1st “talkie” film
Greta Garbo and Mark Pickford - Actress
Charlie Chaplin, Rudolf Valentino, and Gary Cooper - Actors
The Automobile
Gave Americans a sense of Freedom and Independence
People went on vacation for the first time
Henry Ford - with his Model T made autos affordable! Created the “assembly line” faster
Detroit: Auto Capital of the world
1 in 5 Americans owned an automobile
Created industries like motels, gas stations, road constructions and resorts
Harlem Renaissance - “New Negro Movement”
A celebration of African American culture
Harlem - “capital” of black America (NYC)
They began to create their own music, literature and art.
Langston Hughes - Poet
Duke Ellington - Musician
Louis Armstrong - Musician
Ku Klux Klan - “Invisible Empire”
Supreme Grand Wizard
A violent Anti-Black, Jewish, Catholic and immigrant organization.
Goal was to purify America
Flaming Cross
Peaked at 3-4 million members
Age of Aviation
Ushered by Charles Lindberg
1st solo transatlantic airplane flight - NYC to Paris
1927 - “Lucky Lindy” - National hero! *He and Babe Ruth were the most well-known celebrities in America.
