Chapter 25

Postwar Society and Culture

Closing the Gates to New Immigrants

• World War I caused immigration to dramatically increase

• Congress passed a quota system that closed the gates to Southern Europeans and Jews

• The National Origins Act caused foreign-born percentage of population to fall

• Jews subjected to increasing anti-Semitism

New Urban Social Patterns

• By 1920, more Americans lived in urban areas rather than rural ones

• Urban environment changed family patterns- marriage a partnership where women were equal

• Emergence of child experts- ranged from rigid training to permissiveness

• Urbanization loosened constraints on sexuality

The Younger Generation

• Disillusionment over the Great War and prudery of elders caused to more liberal expression

• Advent of dating versus courting

• Relations between the sexes becoming more relaxed / uninhibited

• Fashion and public behavior impacted

The New Woman

• After 1920 – more openness about sex but contraception concern of married women

• Margaret Sanger – Bohemian – leader of birth control movement

• Birth control not constitutionally protected until 1960s

• More women worked outside the home but most work menial – disparity in wages

• The passage of the 19th Amendment caused rift in women’s movement as some saw more work needed while others saw the job as done

Popular Culture: Movies and Radio

• The film industry became the 4th largest in capital investment

• Films became new art: lighting, camera angles, new methods of narrative

• New celebrities – American royalty?• Impact of radio on common population

Immediate communicationAdvertising

• 1934- FCC established to revoke licenses that failed to operate in the public interest

The Golden Age of Sports

• People had more money to spend and more time to fill

• Sports superstars and the rise of professional sports

• Rise of school team sports

Jim Thorp

Urban-Rural Conflicts

• Changes mostly in urban areas

• Changes resented by rural areas – seen as sinful, overly materialistic, and unhealthy

• Radio and movies caused rural areas to want new ways at same time they spoke out against new ways

• Manifested in resurgence of religious fundamentalism - conservatism

Urban-Rural Conflicts

• Conflict illustrated by Scopes “Monkey” Trial Darwin’s theories banned William Jennings Bryan

versus Clarence Darrow Biology teacher – John

Scopes – Dayton Test case for ACLU Conviction

Prohibition

• Rural versus urban conflict – alcohol

• 18th Amendment – Prohibition

• Alcohol related crimes dropped

• Total abstinence caused many to violate law Smuggling Bootleggers Speakeasies Bathtub gin Alcohol “prescriptions” Hypocrisy of officials Gangsterism

The Ku Klux Klan

• Revival in 1920’s• New Klan founded in 1915 by

William J. Simmons• Targeted Blacks, Catholics,

and Jews• Very little appeal in NE and

cities – most popular in mid-west and west

• Success caused factionalism and squabbling over power and money

• Conviction of leader, David Stephenson, for rape and death of young woman caused dramatic decline

Sacco and Vanzetti

• Crime: 1921 robbery and murder of shoe factory paymaster and guard

• Accused: Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti – Italian immigrants and anarchists

• Convicted & sentenced to death

• Cause celebre• Executed 1927 –

disillusioned intellectuals

The New Negro

• Disappointment after WWI gains Segregation Labor issues

• Marcus Garvey Separatism Back to Africa

• The Ghetto Concentrated political power Built self-confidence & brought

opportunity

• Culture Jazz Harlem Renaissance

Marcus Garvey

Economic Expansion

• Little government interference

• Federal Reserve kept interest rates low

• Post-war demand for products

• Increased mechanization• Increased use of

electricity• Assembly line• “Taylorism”

Age of the Consumer

• Rise of advertising• The installment plan• The automobile

Million+ cars produced per year – cars cheaper

New industries to supply parts for cars

New road building Changes in family life and

recreational patterns Sense of freedom

The Airplane

• Internal combustion engine made airplane possible

• Wright Brothers• Most planes built before

1920 intended for military use

• Charles Lindbergh – solo flight across Atlantic