Chapter 24 Responses

1. After the First World War America experienced a period of prosperity in the 1920's. Prosperity played a key role is changing American lifestyle in the 1920's. Before the war America goods were mostly capital goods such as factory machinery and railroad tracks which of little benefit for household lifestyle. Postwar economic growth mainly rested on consumer goods such as washing machines, refrigerators, radios and vacuum cleaners. These new innovations made household chores much easier. The life during the 1920's was much less structured and work oriented. It was instead more about leisurely activities. With the invention of the Model-T and asphalts roads, Urban Americans now had access to rural areas for day-long jaunts. Also as mobility increased families were able to go to movies, amusement parks, and sporting event at any time and more teenagers started to move away from their families more. In order to attract American the new products professional advertising firms developed. The advertisements of the 1920's were mostly aimed at the new rising middle class. Even though these new innovations made American lifestyle easier, a big percentage of working-class families couldn't buy these products. To make it possible for working-class families to partake in new American market place consumer credits were introduced. Consumer credit allowed consumer to purchase any expensive items by making down payment and paying the rest in installments.

2. Women were seeking to establish a new identity for themselves in the 1920's and break the informal rules that ruled woman's lives. They started to wear shorter skirts, wear red lipstick and be more self reliant. Women in the workforce were segregated. Women received much lower wages than men for the same job. Women were also confined to only lower level ranks of jobs. Women of the 1920's were uninterested in political reform. Many women gave up on political reformed and focused on gaining equality and freedom just in society.

3. American Business and Government were more closely related in the 1920's than ever before. The president of the time were very probusiness. American businessmen regained their status as leaders which they had before the Progressived Era. The Republican presidents of the 1920's commited to minimal goverment and probusiness economics. Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge's campaign of back to "normalcy," which had little interest in regulation gained great support from the American public.

4. Calvin Coolidge believed in laissez-faire bussiness while Hoover believed in associationalism. Laissez-Faire is a bussiness philosophy which states that the government should not control trade or any business affairs. Laissez-faire stated that the only way the economy would prosper is if the Government did not involve. During his presidency, Coolidge put great focus on reducing the Government control on the economy. Coolidge passed the Revenuc Act of 1926, which greatly reduced the high income and estate taxes that were passed during the first World War 1. He also reduced the power of the Federal Trade Commission to regulate businesses. On the other hand, Herbert Hoover, the Secretary of Commerce during Coolidge's president believed that instead of controlling the enconomy, the government should help businesses form coroporations. Hoover believed that both the bussiness owners and the workers should form a trade association where they could discuss the problem of production and distribution, and then find ways to increase efficiency and profit. These ideas of Laissez-Faire and associationalism took over the debate on Foreign policy.

5.During the 1920's, America's economic rested more on metropolis than on rural farmers. Also, the 1920's census showed that more American lived in Urban areas than in rural areas. This change to a more urban life raised fear in the rural white Americans. They feared that the urban lifestyle of amusement parks, departmental stores, movies, cabarets, flashy fashion and open sexuality would destroy what a "true" American really was. The rural white American's tried to protect their way of life by supporting Prohibition, the KKK, immigration restrictions, and religious fundamentalism.
The prohibition movement resulted in the 18th amendment which prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcohol but the 18th amendment did not prevent the consumption of alcohol, instead it encourage law-breaking and illegal consumption of alcohol. Transporting and selling alcohol became a underground profitable business and mobsters such as Al Capone became rich by liquor trafficking. This rebellion even more encouraged Protestants to rid the country of Alcohol and they saw Catholic and Jew as the reason for the rebellion.
The Ku Klux Klan was reestablished in 1915 by William Simmons and the KKK’s hatred against foreign races expanded to include Jew and Catholics. The KKK believed that Jews and Catholics should be completely removed from the American population and restore purity to "Anglo-Saxon" race. The Klan's nativist ideas attracted many people. By 1924 almost 4 million American were part of the Klan.The nativist ideas of the Klan led to Johnson-Reed Restriction Act of 1924 , limiting the entry. In the 1920’s American’s didn’t see the need of allowing more immigrants into America. Unskilled workers were not needed to work in factories anymore and American felt that is was hard to Americanize the new immigrants. Although Americans did not exclude all immigrants. American considered the British, German, and Scandinavians racially superior. Therefore the Johnson-Reed Act denied entrance to Italians, Greeks, Poles, Slavs, Japanese, Chinese and eastern European Jews but allowed the superior races. Lastly, Protestant Fudamentalists were the most enduring in protesting the urban lifestyle.

6. Even though America was experiencing a period of prosperity there was a revival of a more stronger racist feelings towards Catholics, Jews and still African Americans. Catholic, Jews and African American were the target of the Klans hatred. Many Protestant Americans believed that Catholics and Jews were destroying the pure "Anglo-Saxon" race. In addition, to the revival of racism Fundamentalists started to favor religious bigotry. Fundamentalists believed that the Bible was the " fundamental truth" and should be followed word for word. They rejected the scientific theories of evolution which disapproved the Bible's theory on evolution.

7. Of the many ethnic groups present in the United states during the 1920's, the African American population was still the minority that was the least accepted was the Black population. During the 1920's millions of blacks moved to north. As the black population in the North increased, small black communities and cities formed but even with these communities African Americans had to face racial discrimination. African Americans could only find work which were least desired and the lowest-paying. They also only could find houses in poor conditions with very high rents. Although there were still racial division in the work place, during the 1920's the Black culture was vigorous,productive. African Americans brought their distinct musical, artistic, and literary talent to the north. Mexican American immigrants became the source of cheap labor in the United States during the 1920's. Mostly Mexican American worked on railroads, agriculture, and manufacturing but some also worked in steel, auto, and meatpacking industries. Like African Americans worked long hours for little wages. Unlike African Americans, the Mexican Immigrants did not settle in one place and create communities. Mostly, Mexican farmers only worked for several days at a farm and depended on the farm owner for shelter.