CHAPTER 13
A PROSPERING
SOCIETY
I. GENERAL INFORMATION
A. The 20’s were a decade of national prosperity
with an emphasis upon youth, fun,
material and possessions
B. The 20’s were bold, brash and lawless
1. Babe Ruth epitomized the era
C. Epicurianism was in vogue - def - eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow you will die
1. People were caught up in living for the moment
D. Conspicuous Consumption was introduced - def - keeping up with the Jones’s
1. Materialism - def - a belief in things of this world as opposed to the spiritual
a. Associated with hedonism - def - belief based upon self gratification with pleasure
E. There was similarly z resurgent fundamentalism which sought a return to a simpler way of life and
to the way things used to be
1. Religion - bible belt
2. Race - Anti immigrant - KKK
3. Society - prohibition
II. CONSUMERISM
AND THE 1920’S
A. The STANDARD OF LIVING of much of the middle class increased because of the increased wages which resulted from the increased productivity of the worker
1. Def - a measure of how a person lives with regard to the amount of goods and services used to satisfy his needs
B. As the Disposable Personal Income of the average worker increased, consumers were capable of purchasing labor-saving devices which reduced the time needed to perform housework thus providing leisure time.
1. As discretionary income rose more money was spent on cars, clothes, movies, sports, fads
a. Cite examples
b. Def - mad money - money left after necessities have been paid for
C. Credit was also widely used to purchase the niceties of life
D. Those who didn’t share in the prosperity of the 20’s
1. Farmers - their success in raising productivity caused their problems because of falling farm prices resulting from a glut of supply
2. Miners - manufacturing turned to the use of electricity instead of coal to power machinery
3. Cotton farmers and Textile Workers - there was a decrease in demand for cotton with the advent of synthetic fabrics
E. BANKERS - CHAIN STORES - CREDIT - ADVERTISING
1. This interrelationship fueled the buying spree of the 20’s
HOW
a. Bankers provided the credit
A. Advantage - raised the standard of living
B. Disadvantages - 1. Burden on future income
2. Adds to the cost of the product
3. Encourages impulsive buying
b. Advertising created consumer discontent and dissatisfaction
A. Advantages
1. Informs consumers of new products
2. Informs the consumers of new uses of existing products
3. Allows the consumer to comparison shop
4. Allows manufactures to sell in large quantities
B. Disadvantages
1. Causes impulsive buying
c. The chain stores provided the merchandise to be bought
A. Examples - J.C. Penny, Sears, A.&P.
B. Advantages over the corner store
1. Lower prices - y - could buy in quantity
2. Greater reliability
3. Better Service
4. More variety and choice
F. The Emphasis on Youth
1. Society became bold, brash and rash
a. Women’s Lib was fashionable - they smoked, drank and even exposed skin in public
b. Raccoon Coats and short skirts were the rage
c. More emphasis was placed upon education
A. Children were no longer needed to supplement household income
B. The future workers of the industrial society had to be trained to man the machines of industry
III. CULTURAL CONFLICT
A. Resurgent fundamentalism in religion
1. Return to the literal interpretation of the bible
2. Scopes Trial - the monkey trial
a. An attempt to bar the teaching of scientific evolution in the public schools
3. In contemporary
4. When the pace of societal change occurs too fast, fundamentalists regress and seek comfort in the ”good old days” – regression
B. Prohibition - 18th amendment
1. A futile attempt to legislate morality - impossible- doomed to failure
2. The widespread flaunting of the law eventually leads to its repeal
a. Bootleggers - Al Capone and organized crime
3. What about students being asked to sign pledges - SADD
4. What about an attempt to outlaw abortion and maybe cigarettes
C. Resurgence of the KKK
- the hotbed was in
1. Targeted not only against the blacks but also against
a. Mexicans in
b. Japanese in
c. Immigrants and Jews in the cities
2. Klan Agenda
a. Nationalism
b. Racial Purity
A. Attacked alien minority groups
c. Return to the past
3. There is a similar resurgence of xenophobic displays in contemporary society
a. The
A. The rise of “white supremacist” groups
1. Aryan Nation
2. The “skinheads” in Shamokin
b. The rise of the “Militia Movement”
A. Caused by what is perceived as an over oppressive government
1.
2. Ruby Ridge incident
3.
c. Cross Burning
4. The Anti-immigrant campaign led to the restructuring of our immigration laws
a. Fueled by bigotry and anti-bolshevism (red scare)
b. Quotas and Literacy tests were established
c. Contemporary Immigration Policy - 1990
A. Quotas have been eliminated
B. Basis for Immigration today
1. Relatives currently living in the
2. A skill in demand
3. A minimum of 1 million dollars and prepared to start a business which employs at least 5 people
4. Political Refugees are accepted but not economic refugees
a. Reason why Cuban and Haitian refugees are not accepted today
C. Cities have and continue to function as a Social Incubator for immigrants
1. They tend to be a transitional area for immigrants
D. Impact of Fundamentalism on the Election of 1928
1. Al Smith Herbert
a. City Boy a. Farm boy
b. Catholic b. WASP
c. Anti-prohibition c. Pro-prohibition
2. Electoral Landslide for
a. People feared that Smith, a catholic would come under the influence of the Papacy and that Smith would be a spokesperson for the immigrants who challenged the American way of life
b.
IV. LEISURE AND ESCAPISM
A. People used their new found discretionary income to escape from their humdrum existence
1. Movies - the heroes and heroines of the silver screen were objects of hero worship
a. Valentino
b. What about contemporary heroes?
2. Sports Stars - Ruth and Dempsey
a. People had a vicarious identification
3. Dancing - the
a. Louis Armstrong
4.
a. The romance novel
b. Magazines - Time, Readers Digest
c. Newspapers
5. Record Breaking & Fads
a. Lindbergh - transatlantic solo flight
b. Eberlie - first
woman to swim the
IV. THE
LOST GENERATION
A. Many artists left the
1. Why ? -
B.
1. Many African American writers began expressing their own identity
and their anger at northern racism
2. Blacks were societally excluded from realizing the American dream as postulated by Lock and Rousseau etc..
3. Blacks would no longer accept 2nd class citizenship
a. During the 1970’s Swahili, dreadlocks and African dress were a way of expressing black identity and pride
4. Booker T. Washington encourages blacks to improve their life by becoming skilled in the trades as an avenue toward economic success
a. Accommodation - work and find success within the existing system
5. W.E.B. Dubois encourages blacks to achieve success by changing the existing system
a. Confrontation - achieve change via the ballot box
b. The black panthers of the 60’s were a radical group who patterned themselves after the tenets of Dubois
VI. THE
20’S IN RETROSPECT
A. Many people readily accepted the change that was occurring with the advent of industrialism while others who felt threatened both socially and economically lashed out and attempted to halt the transformation of American society and culture
B. The fundamentalists were not successful in
halting change but were only successful in postponing the eventual transformation of
a. From a rural to an urban society
b. From an agrarian to an industrial society
c. From a WASP dominated culture to a polyglot multicultural society