Groups Negatively Affected Upon By The Boom

LESSON ONE RECAP: Groups Negatively Affected Upon By The Boom: Agriculture: • An agricultural depression in early 1920's contributed to this urban migration. • U.S. farmers lost agri. markets in post-war Europe. • At the same time agricultural efficiency increased so more food produced (more food = lower prices) and fewer labourers needed. • Farming was no longer as prosperous, and bankers called in their loans (farms repossessed). • American farmers enter the Depression in advance of the rest of society. Black Americans: • Black Americans in this period continued to live in poverty. • Sharecropping kept them in de facto slavery. • 1915 - boll weevil wiped out the cotton crop. • White landowners went bankrupt & forced blacks off their land. Owners went bankrupt due to the Boll Weevil and subsequently forced blacks off of their land. • Blacks moved North to take advantage of booming wartime industry (The Great Migration) – Black Ghettos began to form like Harlem. • Within the Ghettos that began to form, a distinct Black Culture flourished. • Both Blacks and Whites wanted cultural interchange restricted. • Blacks moved north to take advantage of booming wartime industry (The Great Migration) Black ghettoes began to form, i.e. Harlem. • Within these ghettoes a distinct Black culture flourished. • But both blacks and whites wanted cultural interchange restricted. PRE-READING AND ADDITIONAL KEY POINTS – LESSON TWO: The Roaring Twenties – An Era of Prosperity, Republican Power and Conflict: • The 1920s collectively known as the ‘roaring twenties’ or the ‘jazz age’. • A period of great change in American Society – Modern America is born at this time. • For the first time the census reflected an urban society – people had moved into cities to enjoy a higher standard of living. Age of Prosperity – Key Terms: • Economic Expansion – An economic expansion is an increase in the level of economic activity, and of the goods and services available. It is a period of economic growth as measured by a rise in real GDP. • Mass Production – The production of large quantities of a standardized article by an automated mechanical process. • Assembly Line – A series of workers and machines in a factory by which a succession of identical items is progressively assembled. • Age of Automobile – The twenties is often defined as the ‘Age of Automobile’ due to the introduction of the automobile along with mass production and the assembly line which revolutionised the industry. • Ailing Agriculture – The Agricultural Industry was in decline throughout the boom. • Rugged Individualism – How people achieved the American Dream. Key People: Marcus Garvey: • Marcus Garvey (Jamaican born immigrant) established the Universal Negro Improvement Association. • Believed in Black pride. • Advocated racial segregation b/c of Black superiority. • Garvey believed Blacks should return to Africa. • He purchased a ship to start the Black Star line. • Attracted many investments: government charged him with fraud • He was found guilty and eventually deported to Jamaica, but his organization continued to exist. Republican Power: • President Harding was Elected in 1920. • Harding had a Legacy of Scandals. • “Teapot Dome” • Died whilst still in office. President Coolidge: • Famously said “The business of America is business’’. • Responsible for the Fordney-McCumber Tariff. • Also responsible for the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. • Did not advocate help for farmers. • Introduced Foreign Policy. Consumer Economy: • To what extent did economic prosperity during the 1920s have an impact on popular culture, social and cultural change? • To what extent did the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance affect the culture of the 1920s? • Source Analysis. • Consumerism. • Jazz Age. • Harlem Renaissance. The Focus of this unit is on key economic, social, and cultural changes in the USA in the years of 1920-1955, the often dramatic nature and pace of change, and the effects of these changes on the lives of the American People. You need to appreciate the linkages between these different types of change. For Topic 1 you need to understand the extent of economic prosperity during the 1920s and the impact this had on both social and cultural change. Detailed knowledge of the features of the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance is not required, but you need to understand the extent to which they affected the culture of the 1920s. You need to be aware of the links between growing prosperity in the 1920s and the development of popular culture such as spectator sports, radio, and the cinema. Key Issue – To what extent did Economic Prosperity during the 1920s have an impact on Popular Culture and Social and Cultural Change?: • The Jazz Age. • The Harlem Renaissance. • Growing Popularity of Baseball. • Radio and the Cinema. • American Literature. To what extent did the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance affect the culture of the 1920s?: • The Great Migration of Black Americans from North to South led to a Cultural, Social, and artistic explosion in Harlem, New York. • White musicians also began playing jazz, radio also popularised Jazz. The genre became associated with dancing and singing, a new cultural revolution. New, modern dances like the Charleston and Turkey Trot developed. • Jazz music increased tolerance of Black Americans in Urban Areas, however rural, Southern America was less open to Jazz music – The KKK labelled it ‘music of the devil.’ • Out of Harlem was born the ‘New Negro Movement’ which celebrated black American achievement in literature, art, plays and music. • Singers such as Florence Mills performed in black American theatres and night clubs like the ‘Cotton Club’. Singers like Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday became household name. • Noble Sissle produced an all-Black-American Broadway play – ‘shuffle along’. • National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People produced a magazine called ‘The Crisis’ which talked of black achievements and the struggle for equal rights. ‘The Roaring Twenties’ - A Culture in Conflict: ‘The 1920’s was a decade of transition characterized by rural backlash against the material, superficial values of an increasingly urban culture.’ Changing Ways Of Life: • During the 1920s, urbanization continued to accelerate. • For the first time, more Americans lived in cities than in rural areas. • New York City was home to over 5 million people in 1920. • Chicago had nearly 3 million. Urban vs. Rural: Throughout the 1920s, Americans found themselves • caught between urban and rural cultures. • Urban life was considered a world of anonymous crowds, strangers, money-makers, and pleasure seekers. Rural life was considered to be safe, with close • personal ties, hard work and morals. Leisure Activities during the 1920s: An increase in wealth, variety and free time allows for leisure activities, especially sports and movies to become popular during the 1920's. Sports • Tennis, boxing, college football, and especially baseball, become very popular during the 1920s. • Sports become a part of public education. • Babe Ruth and Lou Gerhig are some of the most popular baseball players ever. • Sport becomes a big Business/Entertainment. • Classed as “Heroes”. • Baseball: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig & Ty Cobb. • College Football. • Boxing: Jack Dempsey. Baseball – America’s national pastime: • In 1929, Americans spent $4.5 billion on entertainment (includes sports). • People crowded into baseball games to see their heroes. • Babe Ruth was a larger than life American hero who played for Yankees – they paid the Boston Red Sox $100,000 for him (equivalent to $1,225,600 today). • He hit 60 homers in 1927. Golf: • Bobby Jones was a famous 1920s golfer. • He dominated golf from 1923-1929 by winning nine major championships. • Started “The Masters” competition that still exists today. It is played at Augusta National and is one of the toughest tournaments in golf. Tennis: • Bill Tilden was a famous tennis player in the twenties. • He is often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. • Tilden was the World No. 1 player for six years from 1920 through 1925. • He won 15 Major singles titles including ten Grand Slam events, one World Hard Court Championships and four professional majors. • He was the first American to win Wimbledon in 1920. • He also won a record seven U.S. Championships titles. College Football: • Also, a very popular leisure activity in the 1920s, some of the stadiums were huge and pulled in masses of people to watch American Football. • In a twelve minute span, at the Michigan/Illinois college football game at Urbana, Illinois, Red Grange scored four touchdowns--95 yards on the opening kick-off and touchdown runs of 66, 55 and 40 yards--and put college football ahead of boxing as the Golden Age picked up momentum. No. 77, "The Galloping Ghost," would go on to play for the Chicago Bears. Swimming: Gertrude Ederle Swam the 22 mile English Channel in 1927 in a time of 14 hours and 31 minutes. Expanding News Coverage: • As literacy increased, newspaper circulation rose, and mass-circulation magazines flourished. • By the end of the 1920s, ten American magazines -- including Reader’s Digest and Time – boasted circulations of over 2 million. Radio: • Although print media was popular, radio was the most powerful communications medium to emerge in the 1920s. • News was delivered faster and to a larger audience. • Americans could hear the voice of the president or listen to the World Series live. The First Radio Station: The first radio station was KDKA Broadcast and it had its first broadcast on November 20, 1920. Importance of Radio: • Radio provided for the whole family. • Genuine ‘mass media’. • Entertainment, sports, and news… all in the comfort of your own home. • Shared listening experience brought Americans together. • Made stars of sportsmen and popular entertainers. New Technology and Consumer Habits: • People who have wealth are spending their money on many new products. • Many of the first department stores open (e.g. J C Penny's). • People begin instalment buying (buying on credit). • The advertising industry grows. • Popular Items to Buy: Cars, Radios, Washing Machines, Stoves, Vacuum Cleaners. The Movies!: • Films really blossomed in the 1920s, expanding upon the foundations of film from earlier years. Most US film production at the start of the decade occurred in or near Hollywood on the West Coast. • By the mid-20s, movies were big business (with a capital investment totalling over $2 billion). • By the end of the decade, there were 20 Hollywood studios, and the demand for films was greater than ever. • Throughout most of the decade, silent films were the predominant product of the film industry. But the films were becoming bigger, costlier, and more polished. They were being manufactured, assembly-line style, in Hollywood's 'entertainment factories', in which production was broken down and organized into its various components (writing, costuming, makeup, directing, etc.). Famous silent movie stars during the 1920's included Charlie Chaplin, Clara Bow and Rudolph Valentino. The ‘Talkies’: • The Silent Movies of the 1920s gradually shifted to the ‘talkies’. • One of the most famous silent films is ‘The Lion’s Cage’ starring Charlie Chaplin. • The First ‘Talkie was ‘The Jazz Singer’, it showed a prime example of black face, which was typical for the decade. Animation – Mickey Mouse: • Mickey Mouse made his debut in Steamboat Willie produced by Walt Disney. • This was also the first animation to ever feature sound. • It was one of the most popular animations to ever be made. Cinema in the USA: • 1910 - 8000 cinemas. • 1926 - 17,000 cinemas. • 1930 - 303,000 cinemas. • A visit to the cinema had become part of the American way of life. It gave people an escape from their day to day life’s, it was a form of escapism for people who had lived through the World War. It was also a source of joy and entertainment for people, they had never seen anything like it before and would have vastly enjoyed the cinema because of this. Source Work: What can you learn from this source about why the cinema became more popular? – ‘It was really an experience. You would be treated like a king or queen. You were ushered into an enormous lobby of marble or gilt with huge stairways leading up to balconies. All the carpets were at least an inch or two thick. Everything was done in there to make you feel comfortable, to make you feel important.’ Key Points – • Does not actually talk about popularity. • Describes what it is like but not why it was popular. • Explains the experience and why it may be appealing to people. • Explains the American Dream – would appeal to people as it was luxury, increases popularity. • Black People would not access this experience – not all cinemas were like this – more likely discussing white people’s theatres. • Does not mention the films or actors/actresses.- does not say why they were popular but just talks about the appearance of the cinema. Music and Art: • Famed composer George Gershwin merged traditional elements with American Jazz. • Painters like Edward Hopper depicted the loneliness of American life. • Georgia O’ Keeffe captured the grandeur of New York using intensely colored canvases. “Nighthawks” Literature and Arts: The 1920s was one of the greatest literary eras in American history. There were many valued writers that came around and began their works in the twenties with most writing about issues around the era. Many talented artists arose in the era too and expressed their opinions on the situations in the USA. Writers of the 1920s: Sinclair Lewis: • Sinclair Lewis, the first American to win the Nobel Prize in literature, wrote the novel, Babbitt. • In Babbitt, the main character ridicules American conformity and materialism. F. Scott Fitzgerald: • Writer F. Scott Fitzgerald created the phrase “Jazz Age” to describe the 1920s. • Fitzgerald wrote Paradise Lost and The Great Gatsby. • The Great Gatsby reflected the emptiness of New York elite society. Edith Warton: • Edith Warton’s Age of Innocence dramatized the clash between traditional and modern values. • Willa Cather celebrated the simple, dignified lives of immigrant farmers in Nebraska in My Antonia. Ernest Hemingway: • Ernest Hemingway, wounded in World War I, became one of the bestknown authors of the era. His simple, straightforward style of writing set the literary standard. • In his novels, The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms, he criticized the glorification of war. ‘The Lost Generation’: • Some writers such as Hemingway and John Dos Passos were so soured by American culture that they chose to settle in Europe. • In Paris they formed a group that one writer called, “The Lost Generation”. Experience of Black Americans: The Harlem Renaissance: Between 1910 and 1920, the Great Migration saw • hundreds of thousands of African Americans move north to big cities. • By 1920 over 5 million of the nation’s 12 million blacks (over 40%) lived in cities. Pictured is Jacob Lawrence’s ‘Migration of the Negro’ • painting. African American Goals - NAACP: • Founded in 1909, the NAACP urged African Americans to protest racial violence. • W.E.B Dubois, a founding member, led a march of 10,000 black men in NY to protest violence. Marcus Garvey – UNIA: • Marcus Garvey believed that African Americans should build a separate society (Africa). • In 1914, Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association. • Garvey claimed a million members by the mid-1920s. • He left a powerful legacy of black pride, economic independence, and Pan-Africanism. Harlem, New York – The Harlem Renaissance: • Harlem, NY became the largest black urban community. • Harlem suffered from overcrowding, unemployment, and poverty. • However, in the 1920s it was home to a literary and artistic revival known as the Harlem Renaissance. What was the Harlem Renaissance?: • A rebirth in African American culture and pride that began in Harlem, NY. • African Americans express their views. • Poetry and Literature become an important form of expression (Langston Hughes is a famous poet). • Jazz music becomes very popular, (developed from African American spirituals) and the 20's is sometimes called the "Jazz Age". African American Writers: • The Harlem Renaissance was primarily a literary movement. • Led by well-educated blacks with a new sense of pride in the AfricanAmerican experience. • Claude McKay’s poems expressed the pain of life in the ghetto. Langston Hughes: • Missouri-born Langston Hughes was the movement’s best known poet. • Many of his poems described the difficult lives of working-class blacks. • Some of his poems were put to music, especially jazz and blues. Williams H. Johnson: • Johnson painted thousands of pictures, many of which are on display at the Smithsonian Institute. • His famous pieces include “Art Class” and “Booker T. Washington Legend”. Zora Neale Hurston: • Zora Neale Hurston wrote novels, short stories, and poems. • She often wrote about the lives of poor, unschooled Southern blacks. • She focused on the culture of the people– their folkways and values. African American Performers: During the 1920s, black performers won large followings. Paul Robeson: • Paul Robeson, son of a slave, became a major dramatic actor. • His performance in Othello was widely praised. Music – The Jazz Age: • What was the new kind of music and what was different about it? o The Jazz Age. o A faster paced style. o The first original music of the United States. o Started by African-Americans in New Orleans. o Jazz was born in the early 20th century. Famous Individuals: Louis Armstrong – ‘Satchmo’: • In 1922, a young trumpet player named Louis Armstrong joined the Creole Jazz Band. • Later he joined Fletcher Henderson’s band in NYC. • Armstrong is considered the most important and influential musician in the history of jazz. Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington: • In the late 1920s, Duke Ellington, a jazz pianist and composer, led his ten-piece orchestra at the famous Cotton Club. • Ellington was renown as one of America’s greatest composers. Bessie Smith – ‘The Empress’: • Bessie Smith, blues singer, was perhaps the most outstanding vocalist of the decade. • She achieved enormous popularity and by 1927 she became the highest- paid black artist in the world. Dance: • What was the new dance that kept pace with the new music? - The Charleston, A dance that kept pace with the Jazz music. The Charleston: • Charleston dancers resembled something like drunken chickens. • Based apparently on the idea of contorting the body in the most unnatural and uncomfortable positions possible, knock-kneed, pigeon-toed, stooped, arm shaking Charlestoners practiced the most scandalous dance to come along in decades. • It was a rebellious kiss-off to civilized ballroom dancers and waltsers everywhere. • Although it had been around since 1913 the Charleston caught on nationally and internationally after appearing in the 1924 all-black musical revue, Runnin' Wild, with music composed by jazz pianist James P. Johnson. Its heyday was roughly 1924 to 1926 Fads of the 1920s: The 1920s was often regarded as ‘The Wonderful Age of Nonsense’. Fads are an activity or fashion that is very popular for a short time. • Marathon Dancing – These were dance contests that people would attend in couples. The last couple standing won the contest. They could have lasted for days and the couples had to keep moving regardless of what they were doing. • Flagpole Sitting - Shipwreck Kelly held the record for longest flagpole sit in 1924, he sat for almost 13 hours. All people had to do was sit on top of a flagpole for as long as possible. Why was there a conflict in cultural values during the 1920's? • Some people took full advantage of the new music, freedoms, clothing, technology, and beliefs. • Others were upset by the changes in the 1920s and feel that traditional values and beliefs are being threatened.