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Period: to
Cultural/Social Movements, Trends, Conflicts
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Prohibition
The 18th Amendment was Ratified in 1919, which prohibited the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors (but oddly not the consumption of them). Prohibition was driven by religious groups who considered drunkenness a threat to the nation. This law was difficult to enforce and led to an increase in organized crime, so it was ratified by the 21st Amendment in 1933. -
Red Summer
The "Red Summer" of 1919 began when tensions rose between African Americans and whites after African Americans began moving into the Northern states. Soldiers who returned from WW1 found their jobs taken by blacks. The competition for jobs led to riots, violence, and about 200 deaths. -
Buy Now Pay Later
Starting in the 1920s, it became possible for Americans to buy products on the credit of "buy now, pay later". Department stores offered installment plans for those who could not pay up front for their purchases. As a result consumer debt more than doubled, which was a major cause of the Great Depression. -
Women's Suffrage
19th Amendment to the Constituion was ratified, giving women the right to vote for the first time. Women's strikes, pickets, and work on behalf of the war effort proved they deserved citizenship just as much as men. -
Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the annual number of immigrants who could move to the US to 2% of the number of people who were already living in the US from the immigrant's country. It greatly reduced the number of Europeans immigrating to the US and outright banned Asians and Arabs from immigrating. -
Jazz Age
100 million Jazz records sold in this year alone. The Jazz Age which had begun in 1920 affected many young people's lives. Bands played at dance halls and radio stations broadcasted music to listeners. The music industry also became more risque. -
New Technology
Between 1913 and 1927 15 million Ford Model T cars had been produced. This greatly increased transportation of people, especially among the working class. Many other new technologies were produced in the 1920s including the radio, television, refrigerator, and silent movies. New products caused a ride in consumerism. -
Sound Film
The first film with sound "The Jazz SInger" was released in 1927. By the early 1930s the "talkies" were a national phenomenon and helped secure Hollywood as on of the most powerful commecial cities in America. -
Great Depression Hits
The Great Depression hits many Americans between the stock market crashed in October of 1929 and the decline of industrial productionand prices, and the rise in enemployment to 25%. -
New Deal
Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt won the 1932 election and promised Americans a "New Deal" which consisted of many different efforts to end the Great Depression and reform the American economy, including the Emergency Banking Act, the Glass-Steagull Act, and the Agricultural Adjustment Act. The New Deal helped enhance the power of the federal government as a whole.
