The Great Depression In The 1920's

The 1920’s came in with a golden roar and introduced a new look: Bombs on Wall Street, increasing popularity of the Ku Klux Klan, Prohibition, and introduction of new economic resources. Some individuals felt they were losing the good life to new forms of leisure and economics. There was trouble with other organizations, prohibitions, and mass consumption that was making individuals backlash against each other and the government. Many were on top of the world and lavishing in the golden twenties until 1929 when the stock market crashed causing the Great Depression. The 1920’s were a lesson learned on how to go from riches to rags almost overnight.
On September 20, a bomb blast went off outside the J.P. Morgan offices on Wall Street. No

group or individuals took responsibility for the terrorist attack; however, it killed thirty-eight people and wounded hundreds of others. The big red scare helped to break the back of the unions and allowed employers to “open” shops as the new American plan. The laborer’s called for all union shops. This type of anti-redisem and antiforeignism made way for groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and gangster organizations
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) continued to drive a wedge between different groups of individuals in the United States. The KKK was anti-native movement of the 1850’s. This organization displayed the opinion that only white Protestants mattered. The popularity in the KKK spread through the Bible Belt South and had over 5 million dues-paying individuals. This would allow for the continual influence in the government and policy making. In the 1920’s the clan was declining in status Isolationist of the 1920’s grew. Many felt the KKK was nothing more than a gangster organization.
Prohibition laws were made to make the world “a safer place”. Prohibition was one of the last peculiar spasms of the progressive reform movement, but all forgot that federal authorities failed to enforce a law where the majority of the people were hostile to it. There was a ban on saloons and public drunkenness, however, lawmakers could not legislate away “wet” tendencies and in order to enforce this law there would have needed to be a large enforcement army. The law made way for illegal “home brewing” and “speakeasies”. Many people were injured with “rotgut” by causing blindness and death, but prohibition may have kept honest people honest.
Many new economic resources and entertainment was introduced in the 1920’s such as rubber tires, gasoline airplanes, radio and filmmaking.

Prosperity definitely put the “roar” into the 20’s. Detroit was being deemed the motorcar capital of America and Henry Ford applied fully the technique of the moving assembly line known as Fordism. The petroleum business experienced an explosive development and because of it allowed the power that enabled humans to be able to fly an engine powered plane. The radio waves allowed millions of voters rather than thousands to listen to the pleas and promises candidates, while the flickering movies were allowing some actors to earn $100,000. Many actors were more widely know than the nation’s political leaders.
October 1929 a catastrophic stock market crash occurred and just two months afterward the crash stockholders had lost $40 billion. This was more than the cost of World War I. It humbled many investors and caused more than 4 million to be jobless, homeless and hungry. Many were buying luxury items that would need to be liquidated just to supply food for the family. This type of economy proved to continue for several more years after the crash causing many to look for jobs and continue to try to

recover.
1920’s started off with a golden roar of riches and ended with the Black Tuesday of rags. Many learned how easy it was to go to sleep with a full belly and wake up losing everything. Due to the crash this would lead America into the Great Depression and having to start all over. American’s could have not imagined that poverty would occur and they had experienced the good old life without the new resources and riches before the crash. I hope we continue to look at what our ancestors went through and hope we can make changes for future generations. The hopes and dreams of what America was built on and that it is the land of opportunities for all mankind.