Lesson 1: The 1920s

Lesson Learning Targets:

I can explain the causes and effects of changes in SC and the nation in the 1920s?

Notes

Lesson 1:Impact of economic changes in the 1920s on the nation and state

-loss of agricultural revenue as a result of overproduction, loss of oversea markets, and the devastating effects of the boll weevil

In the United States and in South Carolina, the 1920s seemed to be a prosperous time. Economic change resulted from the prosperity brought by the war years. During the war, farmers’ economic conditions improved because of increased demand for their products. This had a ripple effect on the rest of the agriculturally based South Carolina economy. Bankers and merchants as well as landowners, sharecroppers, and tenant farmers shared in the good times and went on a spending spree. Prosperity did not last and soon cotton and tobacco prices fell as a result of overproduction and the loss of overseas markets.

-growth and lasting impact of tourism in South Carolina

In response to the decline of the agricultural and industrial sectors of the economy (8-6.3), South Carolinians attempted to boost tourism by opening hotels in Charleston, promoting development along the coast and beginning the national historic preservation movement. The increased number of automobiles made travel possible and visitors from the North were attracted to the climate and culture of the Old South, preserved in the stately homes and buildings of a bygone era.

-impact of social and cultural changes in the nation and the state

In the 1920s, some social change came as the result of improvements in urban life because of new technologies. However, there was little change for South Carolina’s farmers.

-effects of the spread of new technologies such as electricity, automobiles, and household appliances.

In the 1920s, some social change came as the result of improvements in urban life because of new technologies. However, there was little change for South Carolina’s farmers. Water and sanitation systems were built in towns and cities of South Carolina. Because of trolley systems and the automobile, some people moved to suburbs on the outskirts of cities such as Columbia. Electricity became more available to people in towns and cities as the result of the harnessing of water power through the building of dams along South Carolina’s rivers, including the dam that formed Lake Murray, but electricity did not reach rural areas. Improvements in daily life were the result of greater availability of electricity and the new appliances that used it. Some South Carolinians bought automobiles, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines on the installment plan, just as people did throughout the United States. Although, appliances eased the workload of housewives, few South Carolina women joined the ranks of the flappers. South Carolina society continued to be stratified, sexist and segregated.

-the creation of Blue Laws, and an increase in illegal "bootlegging" and "moonshining" as a result of Prohibition

Prohibition was a failure in South Carolina, just as it was in the rest of the country, but it created a social phenomenon. It led to an increase in crime and corruption as ‘bootleggers’ and ‘moonshiners’ violated the law. This prompted a backlash of conservatives who abhorred the moral decline that such flagrant violation of the law exemplified. Blue laws were strictly enforced and the Ku Klux Klan found a new target in the immoral bootleggers and immigrant groups who continued to drink.

-impact of the growth of mass media and its cultural effects both nationally and in the state

Mass media had a significant impact on South Carolina as it did on the rest of the country. In 1930, the first radio station in South Carolina went on the air in Charleston and provided entertainment and news to those who could afford it. South Carolinians listened to their radios and went to the movies with a resulting nationalization of culture. South Carolinians learned about flappers and the latest music and dance crazes. Night spots, such as the Big Apple, named after the African-American nightclub where the steps originated opened.

-lasting effects of the Southern Literary Renaissance and the Poetry Society of South Carolina in promoting the works of DuBose Heyward and Julia Peterkin

Responding to criticisms of South Carolina as a cultural wasteland, the Southern Literary Renaissance furthered the celebration of South Carolina’s heritage. The Poetry Society of South Carolina led this revival and contributors included Julia Peterkin, who won a Pulitzer Prize for Literature, and DuBose Heyward, who wrote Porgy, which later became the opera Porgy and Bess.

-lasting effects of the promotion and spread of unique African American art forms through the Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance exalted the unique culture of African Americans and brought recognition and pride to black artists in a variety of genres, particularly musicians. The radio helped to spread appreciation for new trends in music such as jazz to white audiences and promoted a shared national culture. Writers of the Harlem Renaissance such as James Weldon Johnson and Langston Hughes, celebrated ties to African cultural traditions and black pride and questioned the position of African Americans in American life. Visual artists, such as William H. Johnson of Florence, South Carolina, splashed their canvases with vibrant color that captured the dance halls, jazz bands, and the emotion of the era. Johnson traveled to Paris in 1926, where he settled, painted, and studied the works of modern European masters. The Harlem Renaissance further pointed out the second class citizenship of African Americans.

-the push-pull factors that influenced African American emigration during the 1920s

South Carolinians contributed to the arts through the Harlem Renaissance. This cultural renaissance was the result of the Great Migration that brought African Americans to the cities of the Northeast and the Midwest and furthered the development of a growing black middle class. African Americans left the South in response to push factors such as Jim Crow discrimination, violence and poverty, and pull factors such as job opportunities in the Northern cites.

-causes of the national resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan and the effect that they had on societal tensions during the 1920s

Despite the growing popularity of African American music and art, the 1920s also saw a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. In 1915, the movie The Birth of a Nation depicted the origins of the Klan positively as the Redeemers of the Reconstruction era and the saviors of white womanhood, employing traditional racist stereotypes. The movie aroused racist sentiments against African Americans throughout the country. Anti-immigrant sentiments fueled by the Great War and by anti-immigrant legislation in the 1920s, added radicals, immigrants and Catholics to the list of groups targeted by the new Klan. The business climate of the 1920s also contributed to the Klan’s resurgence as they used advertising and business organizations to promote membership and gain political power. In the 1920s, the Klan was a national organization with a strong following in the small towns and cities of the Midwest as well as in the South. Seeing themselves as moral regulators, Klansmen targeted bootleggers and gamblers with cross burnings, public beatings, and lynching.

1. Why did tourism grow, and what were the impacts on South Carolina?

Was a response to the decline in agricultural/industrial sectors, attempted to boost tourism by opening hotels in Charleston, promoting development along the coast, and began the national historic preservation movement.

2. What were the social and cultural changes in the USA and SC?

Some South Carolinians bought automobiles, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines on the installment plan, just as people did throughout the United States. Although, appliances eased the workload of housewives, few South Carolina women joined the ranks of the flappers. South Carolina society continued to be stratified (layers – like economic levels), sexist and segregated.

3. What were the effects of the spread of new technologies such as electricity/autos/household appliances?

Little change for SC’s farmers, water & sanitation systems were built in the cities..trollies and automobile helped build up the suburbs...electricity became more available(hydroelectric)-Lake Murray, South Carolinians bought cars, vacuums and washing machines---bought on installment plans(credit)...eased the workload...society was still segregated

4. Describe what Blue Laws, bootlegging, and moonshining are in relation to Prohibition.

Prohibition was a failure, increased crime and corruption. Bootlegging-make, distribute, or sell (illicit goods, especially liquor, computer software, or recordings) illegally. Moonshining-To distill and sell liquor illegally. Blue Laws-a law prohibiting certain activities, such as shopping, on a Sunday. Blue laws were strictly enforced and the Ku Klux Klan found a new target in the immoral bootleggers and immigrant groups who continued to drink

5. Describe the impact of mass media and its effects.

Significant impact on SC and the USA. 1st radio station went on air in Charleston-provided entertainment and news, South Carolinians went to the movies...learned about the flappers and latest music and dance crazes(The Charleston)...Night clubs like the Big Apple also provided for entertainment.

6. What was the Southern Literary Renaissance?

was the reinvigoration of American Southern literature that began in the 1920s and 1930s, a response to criticism that the South was a wasteland...Poetry Society of SC led the revival..Julia Peterkin and DuBose Heyward(author of Porgy, later it was turned into an opera (Porgy and Bess)

7. What did the Poetry Society of SC do, who were DuBose Heyward and Julia Peterkin?

See #6

8. What was the Harlem Renaissance? What role did SC play in it?

The Great Migration brought African Americans North to the cities...a growing middle class. Created a unique culture of artist, writers(James Weldon Johnson & Langston Hughes and musicians. Radio would help spread the new music(jazz). African American culture would spread to the white populations across the US. Visual artists such as William H Johnson of Florence splashed their art on canvases, he would later study the artists of Europe

9. What were the push-pull factors that influenced African American emigration during the 1920s?

PUSH: Jim Crow Laws, violence, poverty...PULL: Job opportunities and a hope to escape discrimination

10. Why did the Ku Klux Klan come back; what were the effects of it?

The movie “Birth of a Nation” depicted the Klan as a positive, a savior of White Women, racist sentiments grew as did stereotypes. The new targets of the Klan: bootleggers, moonshiners, gamblers, Catholics, and immigrants..mass media allowed the hate message to spread easily across the nation-radio, advertising and business organizations...cross burnings, public beatings, lynching