1920's Research Project
Mariessa Aleman p.6
1.Red Scare:The Sacco and Vanzetti Case
Communism is a social organization in which the state controls what happens in the country and controls all economics. Americans were afraid of Communism because America has been a democratic country where the people get to decide what happens with the country and also have the power to make their own decisions. They were also afraid of Communism due to the propaganda posters that were distributed which depicted Communism as something more scary than it actually was which in return made Americans fear even greater.
2.Automobile I: The Life and Times of Henry Ford
The impact Ford had on society was that he was able to create a system that allowed for the rapid and mass production of items that the public needed also known as the assembly line. He was also able to, with the assembly line, mass produce the Model T therefore making it sell for a lower price. This resulted in the average man being able to purchase a car rather than only the rich folk being able to purchase them.
3. Automobile II: The new world of Automobility
The automobile changed society because it allowed for people to be able to travel longer distances due to no longer having to use a horse and carriage to get around. Also it allowed for people to live outside of the city they worked in because instead of having to walk to work they could drive there which in return created the suburbs. The automobile cut the time of traveling so people could now visit people out of state which then made it a necessity to build roads so that cars could get around.
4. The Mass Media I: Radio
The new mass culture that was created by the radio was people now having things in common such as a common taste in music, sports and stories. This also allowed for sports to become more popular and known around the states because they were broadcast through the radio to people who could not actually go to the game. People were also now able to share their music and stories with thousands of people rather than just the ones in their town because they were broadcast to everyone so, it gave people stuff to talk about.
5. The Mass Media II: The birth of movies and movie stars
The impact of the birth of movies and movie stars was that people were now able to make a career out of their passions and were able to become known around the world. It also made things that were seen as taboo, such as sex, more common in America because it was shown in movies and sex appeal was becoming a more normalized idea. Movies also demonstrated more racial discrimination because African Americans were not allowed to play the roles they were required in and rather a white man would be painted to represent and African American.
6. Changing roles of Women
The lifestyle of a Flapper was that of a rebellious one because they went against the standards for what a woman was by going to parties, smoking, drinking and going to speakeasies which in that time was not what a woman was supposed to do. The style of a Flapper was a short haircut, a short dress and wearing more makeup which was frowned upon because up until then women were more conservative and wore long dresses with minimal makeup. Women were still struggling for equal rights because they did not receive the same pay as men even though they did the same jobs as them.
7. Evolution and the Scopes Trial
There was a rise in religious fundamentalism because there were so many changes occurring in society that people didn't know how to incorporate religion into them which caused a split between how to handle these new-found changes properly. Fundamentalists were angry with science because they wanted to teach things solely based off of the Bible but science was disproving some of the content within the Bible through their experiments which explained the natural world. This caused a clash between science and religion because when science was taught in schools, children were being told that the Bible and or God was not the reason why a certain thing occurred which enraged parents because it was going against what they taught them. Topics such as the Theory of Evolution was banned from being taught in schools because it disproved that all men were created by God and rather said that we developed form another organism.
8. Fighting Racism
The NAACP was important during this era because they fought against discrimination, which was very common, and also fought for anti-lynching laws to be passed which helped African Americans fight against the oppression they were facing. The UNIA was important because it made African Americans have more racial pride and also encouraged them to be self-sufficient rather than relying on a white man for a job. Marcus Garvey was important because he created the Black Star Line and also the UNIA and encouraged African Americans to love themselves and also move back to Africa so that they could prosper.
9. Jazz Age I
Jazz originated in New Orleans but became very popular during the Harlem Renaissance and is a style of music where an artist follows a planned sheet of music but is also allowed to incorporate their own interpretation within the song and put their own twist on it. Jazz like all other types of music is used to convey an idea or thought between people and relies on an artists improvisation to make sure it gets across. There are several different styles of jazz music such as Chicago style, classic, hot jazz, etc but the most popular during the 1920s was hot jazz which is a collection of improvisations and melodies that lead to an emotional climax in the music.
10. Jazz Age II
Musicians work was important because it helped to influence many others and also influenced things such as fashion and dancing. An artists who was a very heavy influence was Louis Armstrong because he introduced the world to Jazz music. His work was important because with his music he was able to convey a message such as in "What a Wonderful World" where he explains why the world is great and all of its perfections and opens eyes up to what they may have not seen before.
11. Painters of the Harlem Renaissance
Artists contributed to the Harlem Renaissance because they were able to depict the life of African Americans through paintings and were also able to depict life in Harlem. Aaron Douglas created the cover for The Crisis which was a magazine published by the NAACP to help fight against the discrimination faced by African Americans. He also created a painting that depicted the life of of African Americans starting from their freedom in Africa, to being enslaved in America, to being freed again and finishes at the modern life that they now lead. His art best exemplified the 'New Negro' idea that came about during this era.
12. Poets of the Harlem Renaissance
Literature contributed during the Harlem Renaissance because it was able to describe the discrimination that was faced on a daily basis by African Americans due to the white man who constantly put them down. Langston Hughes was one of the most influential writers in the Harlem Renaissance because he wrote about issues that other African Americans could relate to and stated that one day the white man will look back and regret the way they treated African Americans during that time. He also wrote about African American achievements that were believed, by the white man, to be impossible for that race to accomplish because they were viewed as inferior.
13. Heroes of American Aviation
Charles Lindbergh was important to american culture because he was the first person to fly across the Atlantic ocean which showed others that anything was possible. His achievement of flying across the Atlantic inspired others to try to go a farther distance such as Richard Byrd who traveled across Antarctica because he saw the achievement that Lindbergh had. Lindbergh's achievement also led to an advance in aircraft because his was able to travel a far distance without crashing or having problems like so many others had before.
14. American Sports
America loved baseball because it was a game that anybody could play and provided an outlet for people, especially men, to focus their attention on and talk about to other people. America was in love with Babe Ruth also known as the "Great Bambino" because he was one of the greatest players in the MLB and hit the most home runs without any effort to it. He was also loved because he was a down to earth guy who respected his fans and often would often take pictures with them or sign what they wanted.
15. Organized Crime
The crime bosses in Chicago were Al Capone, Dion O’Banion, Bugs Moran, Tony Accardo, John Dillinger most of whom sold bootleg alcohol during prohibition, killed people and often stole. Al Capone, who was one of the most famous crime bosses, was born into poverty but didn't let that hinder him because he later went on to be the protege of Johnny Torrio and then became a gang leader who got his money by selling bootleg alcohol, prostitution and gambling. He also got his gang to become more strong because he killed others to gain more territory. He was later arrested for not paying his taxes but the police could not charge him for anything else because they had no evidence against him.
16. Racism and Nativism in the 20s
The Ku Klux Klan pushed for immigration to be stopped which many people join and also made it their goal to assure that minorities would not get any power or become successful. They were the main basis of discrimination against African Americans because they made laws to ensure that they could not prosper as much as they truly could and also told them that they were inferior to white people. They were also responsible for the lynching of many African Americans and would often threaten people who would help minorities. They prevented minorities from breaking out of society's stereotypical view of them.
17. Immigration Restriction
The philosophy behind Comprehensive Immigration Law of 1924 was that it would prevent immigrants from coming to America and would also get rid of the ones that were already in it. The quotas it established were only 2% immigrants being allowed in America and also pushed back the date to 1890 of when the quota was calculated. It also allowed for more visas to be issued to the British Isles and Western Europe but didn't let any people from Japan enter the US which created tension between the two countries.