The+United+States+10+years+post-WWI

**Table of Contents**
1. **Social Effects of WWI**

I- //Creativity in the Arts// II- //Shifts in Cultural Paradigms// 2. **Economic Effects of WWI**
 * The birth of jazz
 * the popularization of dance
 * advancements in cinema
 * Woman Suffrage
 * Reinvigorated Racism
 * The Red Scare
 * Prohibition

I- //Fluctuating Economy//
 * Boom in Auto-making Industry
 * Golden Age in Radio
 * Infrastructure expansion
 * Urbanization

__Social Effects of WWI:__
The twenties marked a new era of creativity in the arts...
 * ** **The birth of Jazz**- Historians attributed the formation of jazz music to the artistically encouraging atmosphere of the 1920's3. After the short economic depression was solved in the Harding Administration, inflation decreased and normally expensive items only available to the upper-class were produced on a mass-scale and available to the middle-class7. This included musical instruments as they were expensive pieces of equipment, but now in the affordable range of mid-priced individuals. Jazz originated from blues which took its roots in the oppressed African-American culture. The rise of this popular music was proportional to the rapid urbanization taking place throughout the country. As more citizens migrated to densely populated areas, more entertainment businesses (clubs, bars, auditoriums, etc..) opened to compensate the ever-growing nightlife industry3. Jazz became popular through the young generation, embodying a carefree attitude with a danceable beat. This music also popularized the notorious night and dance clubs of the twenties.**


 * **The popularization of dance**- With the swift urbanization of post-war America, large populations desired social outlets for entertainment. This contributed to the formation of dance-clubs, which became largely popularized in the twenties7. As an increasing amount of young returning soldiers traveled into cities the nightclub industry boomed, instigating the formation of a new dance culture. Dances such as the American Tango, the foxtrot, and the waltz all became extremely popular during this era6. This new subculture dominated the entertainment industry and led to new styles of music based around dancing.

Picture: Magazine cover showcasing the new dance moves performed by a couple in the 20's9.


 * **Cinema Advancement**- The first colored film (Toll of the Sea) was released in 1922 which caused sweeping changes in the movie business6. In 1927 the first 'talkies' (movies with audio), were produced and broadcast in theaters6. These movies were largely popular and generated significant revenue.

The twenties also changed many cultural paradigms such as...
 * **Woman Suffrage**- This was achieved in the 1920 elections as the 19th amendment was passed, allowing women the right to vote. The right to vote was a major success in the woman suffrage movement, but it still did not alter the role of women in society. Their purpose was to watch over the household and the children while cooking and cleaning for the husband. This paradigm changed however throughout the 1920's as women became more independent and more active with the new-found right to vote6. World War One had allowed women to enter the industrial field of work, in order to help meet the quota of arm manufactures and food production5. Many of these females chose to keep their job positions and progress to even higher paying careers.

Picture: 1918 comic showing the momentum of the woman suffrage movement.9 Picture: A major Suffragist protest on the street of Washington.9


 * **Reinvigorated race war**- By 1920, the KKK had gained over 4 million members4. The idea behind the KKK movement was the defense of white-American culture through violence directed against foreigners. Usually the Ku Klux Klan was populated by white religious males, dead set on the preservation of the American race. Xenophobia was spread further amongst the U.S. citizens with the harsh Congressional immigration bill in 19214. The act required an immigration quota for each nationality entering the United States restricting the amount of incoming foreigners4.

Pictures: The Ku Klux Klan performing a protest in Washington and burning a cross in Alabama.9


 * **Red Scare (the threat of a Bolshevik American revolution)**- The red scare came about in 1917 with the swift onset of socialism in Russia. The startling speed of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution was frightening for U.S. government which discouraged the idea of socialism5. The American public grew nervous as Bolshevik agents began a mail bombing campaign against top government officials and labor unions throughout the U.S. began to strike for better wages and benefits. To the government it appeared as though a Communist uprising was imminent, spurring the harsh illegal search and seizures along with the deportation of hundreds of suspect immigrants5. This fear of Communism was grossly abused, as individuals who challenged social norms openly were accused of Bolshevism and incarcerated.

Picture: Two comics about potential U.S. issues with Bolshevism.9


 * **Prohibition**- In 1920 the U.S. government passed the 18th amendment which prohibited the selling, purchasing, or consuming of alcoholic beverages. This piece of legislation was highly unpopular among the American population and spurred the creation of organized crime3. Naturally, when a substance in high demand is made illegal, the people who enjoy that product will turn to illegal means to acquire it. Because the alcohol was still in demand, people turned to gangs in order to purchase it. This fueled the organized crime syndicate, which heavily profited from the distillation and distribution of alcoholic beverages. The 18th amendment was nullified in 1930, considered a failure for its indirect involvement in profiting crime organizations3.

Picture: Police during the prohibition era, emptying out illegal kegs of beer.9

__Economic Effects of WWI:__
(1918-1920)- The initial return of American soldiers from Europe resulted in a short but severe decline in the economy called the Post-WWI Recession. This was attributed to the large amount of spending from returning soldiers coupled with the transfer from a wartime to peacetime economy5. However, this small recession only lasted for 7 months (August 1918-March 1919) and did not compare to the 1920 recession, which was so severe many historians refer to it as a depression. After a period of mild growth following the Post-WWI Recession, the economy dropped sharply again. Many attribute this depression to the surge in labor force caused by the returning soldiers, deflation, and a heavy drop in the world economy5. It occurred between January 1920 and July 1921, lasting one year and six months. Throughout the remainder of 1921 the economy regained momentum from the depression, eventually expanding into the booming 'roaring twenties'.

Between 1921 and 1930 the United Economy went through a golden age of expansion and amplification. American industries were booming and trade between other countries was greater than ever before1.


 * This economic era jump-started the auto-making industry1. Before WWI automobiles were considered upper-class luxuries. After the war they were produced on a mass scale, creating thousands of jobs and opening them up to the middle-class. While the Ford Company switched from the production of the Model T to the Model A in 1927 spurring a small economic recession1, the mass production of automobiles had a very positive influence on the U.S. economy. Motels, service-stations, car dealerships, and highway production were all businesses that formed around automobiles2.


 * Known as the 'golden age of radio', the twenties was marked by an unprecedented growth in mass media outlets6. Before this period, news was spread to the public slowly in the form of newspapers and word of mouth. Quick messages were sent by telegraph, however they were not meant for mass public use. Radio was the medium that bridged the US population with instant media coverage, entertainment programs, and music, thus sprouting mass marketing campaigns and government regulation through the Federal Radio Commission.


 * This boom in the economy led to a surplus of capital under the control of the government and in turn, many federally funded projects (mostly dealing with infrastructure) underwent serious work5. With the newly formed automobile industry, the expansion of the road system and the formation of highways became essential. Electric development largely slowed throughout the war, but with the formation of a peacetime economy the electric grid across America was greatly expanded2. Telephone lines were strung throughout the interior, reaching places previously isolated from media outlets.


 * The popular 1920's song "How Ya Gonna Keep em Down on the Farm Once They've Seen Paree" embodied the prospect of urbanization and decreased agricultural population after WWI8. This song refers to the soldiers returning from the European war after seeing grand cities such as Paris (Paree) and London. This song was correct in that rapid urbanization occurred after WWI leading to large metropolitan areas and sparsely populated agricultural areas. While the need for manual labor was replaced by mechanized inventions (the tractor for instance), American agriculture did go through a period of decline and eventual stagnation in the twenties. This contrasted the ever-growing cities, filled with dense populations and expanding businesses2. Industries revolving around insurance and finance grew immensely from this overwhelming population boom.

Picture: The GDP of the U.S. from the twenty years between 1920-1940. Displays a large increase with a very abrupt drop (stock market crash).9


 * __Web Links__**

//U.S. Statistics//

//U.S. Historical Documents//

//U.S. in Encyclopedia Britannica//

[|Outline of U.S. History]