SC & the 1920’s Boom

8.6-2—Explain the causes and effects of changes in South Carolina and the nation as a whole in the

1920s, including Prohibition, the destruction caused by the boll weevil,

the rise of mass media, improvements in daily life, increases in tourism and recreation, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, and the

contributions of South Carolinians to the Harlem

Renaissance and the Southern Literary

Renaissance.

Rolling in the $

1920’s Boom• Social change in urban life due to new

technology– Water & sanitation systems (towns & cities)– Trolley systems & automobiles allowed for

living outside of the city where you worked– Electricity (harnessed water power using

dams)– New appliances for the home (ex: vacuum

cleaner, washing machine)– Installment plans (credit)– Not many SC flappers b/c SC remained

sexist & segregated

Tourism in Charleston• With agriculture income dwindling in the

Lowcountry, attempts to bring tourist $ led to: – Promotion of coastal development – National historic preservation movement

• Automobiles increased tourism• Northerners were attracted to the climate and

old south culture

Failed Prohibition

• Bootleggers & Moonshiners• Increased crime & corruption• Blue Laws strictly enforced• KKK new targets (immoral bootleggers &

immigrant groups who continued to drink)

Mass Media• 1930, 1st radio station in SC went on the air in

Charleston• People listened to the radio & went to the movies

(resulted in the nationalization of culture)• Big Apple night club

for African Americans• “The Charleston” (2:51)

first originated there • Original “Charleston”(1:50)

The Shadow - Old time radio! (9:38)

Southern Literacy Renaissance

• The Poetry Society of SC led to this revival– Julia Peterkin (Pulitzer Prize

winner for literacy)– DuBose Heyward- author of

Porgy (Opera: Porgy & Bess)

– Writers celebrated ties to African Americans in American life

Harlem Renaissance• Result of the Great Migration • Fostered a black middle class• Exalted the unique culture of

African Americans• Brought recognition & pride to

black artists, particularly musicians

• Radio helped spread appreciation for new music trends to white audiences (jazz)

• Promoted a shared national culture

(4:43)

Visual Art

• Visual artists used bright colors to capture the dance halls, jazz bands, & the emotion of the era– William H. Johnson was an artist from Florence, SC– Traveled to Paris in 1926– He settled & painted there– Studied the works of modern European masters

Resurgence of the KKK

• 1915, full length movie: The Birth of a Nation– “Redeemers of the

Reconstruction Era”• Movie aroused national

racist sentiments against African Americans

• Anti-immigrant sentiments & legislation added radicals, immigrants, & Catholics to the KKK’s target list

• 1920’s- used advertisement & business organizational ties to promote membership & political power across the nation