SSUSH16 – Investigate how political, economic, and cultural developments after WWI led to a shared national identity.
Following World War I, the United States began to form an even stronger national identity. The effects of communism's rise led to strong efforts to defend the United States from its spread. The regional divide that characterized much of the nineteenth century gave way to a more national approach to politics, economics, and culture. Additionally, the dramatic influence of mass media led to nationwide advertising campaigns that targeted consumers in all parts of the United States- not just in one area. Out of these conditions in the 1920s came a more solidified national identity, in which the United States defended democracy and capitalism and mass consumerism influenced culture across the nation. Even though there was much prosperity and unity in the United States after World War I, there were also significant identity and equality struggles still challenging women and Blacks. These groups emerged from the 1920s with greater political and cultural significance.
SSUSH16 – Investigate how political, economic, and cultural developments after WWI led to a shared national identity.
a. Explain how fears of rising communism and socialism in the United States led to the Red Scare and immigrant restriction.
The German philosopher Karl Marx developed a new theory in the mid-nineteenth century that combined history and economics. Marx held that history was composed of a series of revolutions in which those who were oppressed overthrew their oppressors and established new political and economic forms. Marx also said that those in power, who ultimately became oppressors themselves, gradually corrupted these new systems. He held that the final revolution would be between the capitalists and the workers. According to Marx, the workers would eventually tire of being oppressed through low wages and poor working conditions and violently overthrow the capitalist economic system. This workers' revolution, he believed, would usher in a new time period. Out of the revolution would come the creation of a dictatorship in which workers would share the means of production and distribution. Marx's theory became known as a more extreme form of socialism, which is known as communism.
The idea of a worker controlled economic system appealed to industrial workers worldwide. In 1901, the Socialist Party of America was created. Elements of socialist theory also infiltrated American labor unions, especially the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W). With the exception of the elections of 1912 and 1920, the Socialist Party in the United States was a weak third party. In 1917, communist revolutionaries known as Bolsheviks overthrew the czar in Russia. The new Bolshevik authority established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and was led by Vladimir Lenin. Lenin called for a worldwide revolution to destroy capitalism. America thus became a pivotal target for communist infiltration.
Unable to engage in direct action during World War I, labor unions began to strike for higher wages after the war. These strikes, thought by many to be led by communists, became increasingly more violent. The fear of the spread of communism in the United States was heightened by Karl Marx's prediction of a worker revolution. Were the labor union strikes part of Lenin's mission in the United States? Many saw capitalism and democracy as being in danger from communist threats. The wave of fear and action to protect the United States from such ideological crisis became known as the Red Scare. For the most part, Americans were unified to protect the nation's identity as a democratic and capitalist country from communism.
The perceived danger was further exacerbated by a series of bombings sponsored by a group of Italian anarchists. The attacks were carried out against public buildings and officials. Terrorists twice attacked United States Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. These incidents, coupled with the violent labor strikes, led the United States Justice Department and the FBI to stage a series of raids against suspected anarchists and communists. Hundreds were arrested across the nation. However, civil libertarians claimed the Palmer Raids lacked legal standing and targeted people's beliefs rather than their actions. Most of those arrested were later released but 556 people were deported as a result of the Palmer Raids. The Red Scare ended when a purported May Day plot to overthrow the government never took place and Palmer's actions were censured for violating civil liberties.
The Red Scare was also a factor that led to new restrictions on immigration. Other factors included two ideas that grew particularly strong during the post-World War I era of the 1920s. One of the ideas was that people born in the United States were superior to immigrants. The other was that America should keep its traditional culture intact. Anti-immigrant, anti-Jewish, and anti-Catholic sentiments contributed to the popularity of a revived Ku Klux Klan, not just in the South but also throughout the nation. By 1924, this conservative reaction against immigrants resulted in the passage of the National Origins Acts. The main provision of the laws was to establish the Quota System, which set limits on the number of immigrants who could enter the United States from each country.
The Red Scare was perceived by many to be a threat to the foundations of the United States. Although sometimes overstepping individual civil liberties, there were strong efforts after World War I to protect and enhance the national identity of the United States.
SSUSH16 – Investigate how political, economic, and cultural developments after WWI led to a shared national identity.
b. Describe the effects of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments
Social changes during World War I led to two constitutional amendments. An undercurrent related to the growing national identity of the period can be found in the passage of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments. The Eighteenth Amendment's ban on alcohol is related to pronounced anti-German sentiment during World War I. The Nineteenth Amendment's enfranchisement of women brought with it a greater role for women in shaping the nation's identity.
Americans' anti-German efforts during World War I led to a campaign to outlaw beer and other alcoholic beverages. This effort was well suited to the Progressive Era's opposition to saloons. It became patriotic during the war to abstain from alcohol, not only to preserve grain for the troops and our allies but also as a symbol of resistance to beer's German connection. Congress passed the Eighteenth Amendment in 1917 and it was ratified in 1919. The provisions of the amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors.
The effect of the Eighteenth Amendment was not completely positive. Organized crime and smuggling alcohol brought tremendous profits to those willing to break the law for financial gain. Speakeasies and bootleggers profited from the banning of alcohol. In the 1930s the Twenty-First Amendment that made alcohol legal again was ratified. The Twenty-First Amendment repeals, or cancels out, the Eighteenth Amendment. One reason the government was keen on making alcohol legal again was to levy taxes on it during the financial difficulties of the Great Depression.
The Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote. The women's movement had been actively working toward this goal since the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. Ratification of the amendment in 1920 was fueled by the country's gratitude for women's economic contribution during World War I. Women had filled jobs in factories after men volunteered and were drafted into military service. The suffrage movement had worked for decades to petition Congress to pass this legislation. Tactics used by suffragettes included demonstrating in front of the White House and driving cross-country motorcades to promote the cause. Eventually, President Wilson supported the women's right to vote, expecting that in return they would support his League of Nations.
The effect of the Nineteenth Amendment was greater equality and independence for women. Gender roles began to change during the 1920s after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. While the amendment itself, is not solely responsible for the cultural changes, the greater political autonomy of women certainly emboldened their social autonomy. Women began to challenge the moral taboos of the Victorian era through their dress, activities, and attitudes.
The effect of the Nineteenth Amendment was greater equality and independence for women. Gender roles began to change during the 1920s after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. While the amendment itself, is not solely responsible for the cultural changes, the greater political autonomy of women certainly emboldened their social autonomy. Women began to challenge the moral taboos of the Victorian era through their dress, activities, and attitudes.
SSUSH16 – Investigate how political, economic, and cultural developments after WWI led to a shared national identity.
c. Examine how mass production and advertising led to increasing consumerism, including Henry Ford and the automobile.
The 1920s was a time of increased consumer buying. People were purchasing new automobiles and household appliances through various means of financing. The new mode of individual transportation changed society by making the population more mobile and able to live greater distances from their jobs. Advertising of cars and new household appliances was largely through nationwide campaigns on the radio, in magazines, and at the movies. People began to see themselves as "needing" certain items of convenience rather than simply "wanting" them.
Henry Ford was the developer of the first mass produced automobile - the Model T. While the idea of mass production was not new, Ford used an improved continuous assembly line to quickly build automobiles. Ford constructed his manufacturing facilities so that all the elements of production (foundries, machine shops, assembly lines) were all in one location. He was also able to speed up production and drive down costs of automobiles by standardizing parts, focusing on specialization of labor, and through careful management. At its introduction in the market, Ford's Model T cost $950. Within ten years, the same model cost $280 due to improved production methods.
The automobile led to huge social changes in America. People began moving to the suburbs because of their widespread ownership of cars. There was also a new need for improved roads and highways. Travel was more independent and vacations for pleasure became popular. As a result new businesses were needed such as gas stations, motels, and roadside restaurants.
SSUSH16 – Investigate how political, economic, and cultural developments after WWI led to a shared national identity.
d. Describe the impact of radio and movies as a unifying force in the national culture
The period after World War I marked the beginning of mass media, especially commercial radio and movies. Although hobby radio had existed since the early years of the Twentieth Century, the development of the vacuum tube, a type of amplifier, in the mid-1920s accelerated the development of commercial radio.
The first radio broadcasts were used to relate the election results of the 1920 Presidential Election. By 1925, there were 600 radio stations across the United States. By 1923, nearly three million Americans had radios. Music, stories, sporting events, and news were soon being broadcast nationwide. A stronger national, rather than regional, identity emerged in the United States.
Radio helped to create a common cultural experience for thousands of Americans. Advertisers were quick to realize the marketing potential of radio. They began using radio to mass market the multitude of consumer goods that were developed in the period, such as washing machines, electric toasters, and laundry soap. Products and brands were becoming more widespread due to the vast market radio offered.
Movies had a similar beginning. The first movies were silent films but by the late 1920s, the first movies with sound were available to audiences. During this era, the movies became big business as studios churned out an average of 800 feature films annually. Conservatives of the time often disapproved of what they viewed as movies' immoral influences. However, the popularity of movies was so widespread that the conservative moral opposition was unable to challenge the entertainment's growing influence on American culture. Radio and movies were a unifying force on national culture because the styles actors and actresses wore, activities they were engaged in, and products they were using was all being watched and listened to by Americans from all parts of the country simultaneously.
SSUSH16 – Investigate how political, economic, and cultural developments after WWI led to a shared national identity.
e. Describe the emergence of modern forms of cultural expression including the origins of jazz and the Harlem Renaissance.
The 1920s marked a distinct break from the Victorian culture of the previous century. In the visual arts, the Modernist Movement began during the period. European modern artists, whose work was first exhibited in 1913, influenced American artists. These works were impressionistic, abstract, geometric, and represented a break from the schools of romanticism and realism. The era also marked the beginning of the art deco movement. In this new form, artists began to create artistically styled furnishings using modern materials such as aluminum, plastics, and glass. In architecture, the trend of building skyscrapers accelerated.
Literature in the modern era was noted for its themes of alienation and disillusionment. Writers rebelled against traditional constraints and incorporated themes deemed immoral by the previous generation. Most notable were the writers that came out of the Harlem Renaissance.
The Harlem Renaissance marked the first significant artistic movement coming out of Black culture. Centered in the Harlem borough of New York City, the movement produced notable works of literature, music, dance, and visual art. Writers included W.E.B. DuBois and Langston Hughes. Hughes' poetry used the rhythms of Black music, particularly blues and jazz. This allowed Hughes to experiment with a very rhythmic free verse. Harlem's Cotton Club was an important location, where White audiences were exposed to ideas of the Harlem Renaissance - including Jazz.
Performing arts expanded with the advent of radio and movies. As income rose during the period, families had more money available to spend on entertainment. Radio stations needed to fill airtime by broadcasting the latest music to listeners. Jazz was a genre that benefitted from this demand for music
Although Jazz was not born out of the Harlem Renaissance, it was the first true American music. The musical form was so influential that the era of the 1920s is often referred to as the Jazz Age. Born in the Deep South, Jazz was thought to have originated from the musical traditions brought by slaves from West Africa combined with western musical instruments and techniques. Jazz, as a musical style, is easy to recognize but hard to define. Jazz has elements of different genres of music but is most noted for its improvisations. By the 1920s, there were several different types of Jazz, including Dixieland that originated in New Orleans. Famous Jazz musicians included Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Jazz also influenced composers such as Cole Porter and the Gershwin Brothers who composed Rhapsody in Blue and the Jazz opera Porgy and Bess.