Chapter 23: The Twenties (1920-1929)

Radio broadcasting

"radio mania" of the early 20s is a response to the new possibilities offered by broadcasting (westinghouse executive Harry P. Davis) -dominant corporations pay for radio programs -NBC and CBS = powerful radio networks -radio trancended national bounderies and prodcasting had a powerful impact. (american radio influenced canadian and mexican radio)

American communities- The movie audience and Hollywood: mass culture creates a new national community

-"Roxy" (hollywood theater designer) -The Webb-Pomerence Act of 1918 proved a boon for the global expansion of Hollywood films, as it exempted export associations from antitrust laws, allowing them to form cartels, fix prices, and engage in other trade practices that would have been barred at home -During the 1920's, there was a tight connection between celebrity and the rapid growth of new networks of mass culture- movies, radio, advertising, musical recordings, and big time sports. -Hollywood movies became the preeminent version of the American way of life

Welfare Capitalism

-National war labor board (NWLB) -"the American plan" antiunion campaign -the open shp undercut the gains won in a union shop -some workplaces encouraged workers to acquire property through stock-purchase plans (or home-ownership plans), some workers also had group insurance. There were also attemps to improve safety conditions and well being of workers. All these efforts were made so that workers would identify personally with company and not complain.

Post war prosperity and it's price

-Republican Warren G. Harding won the presidency in 1920 promised "return to normalcy" following WWI

Harding and Coolidge

-Warren Harding (machine politics) he surrounded himself by friends "the ohio gang" After hardings death from heart attack a series of congressional investigations revealed a deep pattern of corruption the Teapot Dome scandal- interior secretary Albert Fall received thousands when he secretly leased navy oil reserves in Wyoming and Cali to two private oil developers Andrew Mellon- trimming federal budget and cutting taxes on incomes, corporate profits and inheritances (these would free up capital for new investment and promote general economic growth) -Calvin Coolidge "Silent Cal" he believed in the least amount of government possible. Coolidge won reelection and in his own term he showed interest in reducing federal spending, lowering taxes and blocking congressional initiatives. saw his primary function as clearing the way for American businessmen.

The phonograph and the recording industry

-a popular entertainment medium -different songs were played over the radio as well. country for white southerners and kacc and blues for african americans

Advertising modernity

-advertising reflected and encouraged the growing importance of consumer goods in american life -advertisers began focusing on the needs, desires and anxieties of the consumer rather than on the qualities of the product -new advertising was therapeutical promising the that products would contribute to well being of buyers

Cities and suburbs

-cars promoted urban and suburban growth -1920 census= proportion of population that lived in urban places exceeded the proportion of the population living in rural areas (lead to big cities) -african americans moved to big cities in seach of economic opportunities

Movie-Made America

-large studios (paramount, fox, mgm, universal, warner bros) dominated the business with longer and more expensively produced movies (feature films) -dubbies (voice overs, abroad) to fund this and other things the studios depended on wall street investors and banks working capital -"star system" -Will Hays what could and could not be depicted on screen (ratings?)

The modern corporation

-managerial revolution increasingly sperated ownership of corporate stock from the everyday control of businesses -exploiting overseas markets, especially in Europe, became a key element in corporate strategy (especially for car manufacturers, chemical companies, and businesses engaged in the new world of modern mass media) -during the 1920's most successful corporations were those that led in three key areas: 1. the integration of production and distribution 2. product diversification 3. the expansion of industrial research -by 1929, the 200 largest corporations owned nearly hald the nation's corporate wealth- physical plant, stock, and property- oligopoly (control of the market by few producers) became the norm this meant less locally produced goods and more consumers of the same brands

Herbert Hoover and the "associative state"

-most influential figure of the Republican new era (secretary of commerce) became president in 1929 -faith in old-fashioned individualism -wanted to assist the business community (improve efficiency by reducing competition)

The auto age

-postwar automobile explosion -america made about 85% of all the world's passenger cars. (produced approx 1 for every 5 people in the US) -Henry Ford (the assembly line) in 1913 it took 13 hours to produce one automobile by 1914 it was 90 minutes, by 1925 it was one every few seconds -in 1914 Ford inaugurated a new wage scae $5 and eight hour work day (roughly double the going pay rate and shorter work day) -by 1927 Ford had produced 15 million model T's but there was a new man running GM (Alfred P. Sloan) who had a new marketing technique of making luxury cars and affordable cars (cadillac & chevrolet) -Both Ford and GM also pushed the idea of purchasing cars on credit "installment buying" -Effects of auto market- stimulated the market for steel, rubber, glass and petroleum products. also stimulated public spending for roads and extended the housing boom to new suburbs (made the exploration of world outside community easier and more attractive)

The second industrial revolution

-prosperity of the 1920's was a result of "the second industrial revolution" -technological innovations= increase in industrial output without expanding the labor force -electricity replace steam as the main power source -more efficient and flexible electricity machinery -automatic machinery (could be operated by unskilled workers) boosted efficiency -mass production techniques applied to- automobiles, radios, washing machines, and telephones- permitting firms to make large profits while keeping prices affordable -EFFICIENCY- virtue that progressives had emphasized in their prewar efforts to improve urban life and the mechanics of government

Global commerce and US foreign policy

-secretary of state, charles evan hughes and other republicans, pursued policies designed to expand american economic activity abroad much of this expansion was because of branch plants of american companies overseas the dominance of the US abroad made it hard for some nations to grow economically (south america)

War debts, reparations, keeping the peace

-the US emerged from WWI as the strongest economic power in the world -the europeans owed the US a lot of money germany argues that it was too much money and they could therefore never make enough to repay -the dawes plan- reduced germanys debt, stretched out the repayment period and arranged for american bankers to lend funds to germnay -in 1928 the us and 62 other nations signed the pact of paris (Kellogg-Briand pact) which grandly and naively renounced war in principle

Welfare capitalism (def)

A paternalistic system of labor relations emphasizing management responsibility for employee well-being

Open shop (def)

Factory or business employing workers whether or not they are union members; in practice, such as a business usually refuses to hire union members and follows antiunion policies

A new morality?

movie stars, radio personalities, sports heroes and popular musicians became the elite figures in a new culture of cebirty defined by the mass media (model for achievement in the new age) "the flapper" not entirely true sexuality became positive, birth control homosexual subcultures result of new permissive atmosphere

The new mass culture

new communication media reshaped american culture "roaring twenties" captures the explosion of image and sound making machinery that came out during this time

The state, the economy, and business

republican party dominated national politics bc it ushered a "new era" in american life (closer relationship between fed gov and business)

Sports and celebrity

spectator sports had a great growth in popularity and profitability the image of a modern athelete major league baseball had more fans than any other sport (babe ruth) baseball had racial exclusion but african americans created their own leagues college football

weakened agriculture, ailing industries

the south took a hit after the war many of the staple crops were in surplus modern conveniences were beyond reach of southern farmers and there was widespread rural poverty fewer and fewer farmers owned land and more were turning to working in factories