HIST 2112 1st edition Lecture 17 Outline of Previous Lecture I A very brief reference to the Great War and a Couple of Key Points II The Antiwar Movement in World War I III The Reaction to Antiwar Activities IV The Red Scare V The 1920s the end of Progressivism and the rise of the consumer society Outline of Current Lecture I The Twenties and the Return to Normalcy II An Economic Snapshot of the 1920s III The End of Progressivism IV The Rise of Consumerism V A Culture of Conformity VI Women and the Consumer Lifestyle VII Backlash against modernism The Rise of Fundamentalism and the KKK Current Lecture I II The Twenties and the Return to Normalcy An era of political conservatism rejecting An age of conflict urban vs rural new vs old modernists vs traditionalists Traditionalists are reacting against the modernist views and activities Labor is defensive Change in gender roles women are stepping out more A lot of people think the changes are disturbing An Economic Snapshot of the 1920s HUGE economic growth overall The economy grows at 7 a year a 60 in manufacturing 21 in per capital income etc Improved standards of living though some get it better than others o Factory workers only went up about 15 but the white collar workers went up 30 o It is still better to be white These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute III IV V o 40 of Americans are living under the poverty line Exception agriculture in trouble o Farmers aren t doing well they were doing good during World War I because the soldiers needed food Stock Market o People started getting involved in crazy get rich schemes o Started investing in the stock market and their collateral is the stocks which can fall at any moment this leads to the great depression The End of Progressivism Warren G Harding and Normalcy o He was an adequate president Calvin Coolidge a Puritan in Babylon o Is all about efficiency in government o Old fashioned for a decade that isn t o Was a business man not a progressive o He clings to a small town world but at the same time he supports and encourages capitalism o Capitalism an advocate for change The Rise of Consumerism Consumerism the majority of things in life are not necessary but you want them badly The Automobile symbol of consumerism o What the car offers and the status is alluring o The assembly line put things together quickly and cheaply so the price of the car went down Advertising o There would be catalogues so people could sit at home and order things Celebrity Culture o First decade of a significant celebrity culture o Celebrity culture was born A Culture of Conformity Consumerism as freedom and assimilating force o Consumerism has released them from the dull things in life o It is alluring because it opens up the ability to travel whenever you want o All races agreed on consumerism some people say it assimilated everyone together Consumerism as shallow materialism o It has conformed people o Sinclair Lewis and Babbitt 1924 VI VII A commentary on America in the 1920s Tells a story about a man who is shallow and materialistic o Loss of community Women and the Consumer Lifestyle Women s work o Pay is low but you can work o Black women have limited work options o There are some professional women but not many Consumerism and the tyranny of housework o Some people argued that if women were given more appliances than they would want to stay home o Now that machines help cleaning things quicker than the women should be able to keep spotless homes o Single women are moving into the workforce in greater numbers o Women gained steady incomes which meant they did not have to get married so then they can do what they want to o Women have a vote The New Woman made possible by the new consumer culture o The Flapper wild free fun Image versus Truth The Flapper as non radicals These women aren t that radical because they do not seem to care about the vote Women who have short hair smoke and drink in public Majority of women at this point in time are not flappers Backlash against modernism The Rise of Fundamentalism and the KKK Fundamentalists don t like modernism they don t like the shallowness of everything Fundamentalism a religious reaction against consumerism and modernism they take the bible literally o Flappers whores harlots flaunting women s proper roles o Babbits unspiritual materialists The new Ku Klux Klan o Old Klan stop black men from voting o New Klan hatred reflects a changed America immigrants Catholics Jews labor unions communists etc o Popular among farmers and small businessmen from small towns those people not sharing in the prosperity of the 1920s and threatened by these new modern ideas and people o The Klan is popular all over the country and not just in the south
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