More civil liberty sadness

Before the U.S. declared war on Germany in April 1917, many German-Americans — especially those that had been born in Germany — openly supported the Germans in the war against Britain, France, and Russia. Once the U.S. entered the war, though, the vast majority of German-Americans supported the American war effort.

Every war the U.S. has fought has been vocally opposed by a minority of Americans, and World War I was no different. But it was quickly assumed by many Americans that all German-Americans were loyal to the Kaiser. People with German-sounding last names were persecuted. German-owned businesses faced boycotts. In towns founded by German immigrants, German street names were changed. A Minnesota man was tarred and feathered when he was heard praying in German with a dying woman. At least one man was hanged merely because he was believed to be of German descent. High schools dropped German classes, and schools in majority-German areas were required to teach only in English. In Iowa, a 1918 law prohibited speaking any language other than English in public.

Woodrow Wilson’s administration was directly responsible for this anti-German-American hysteria. The government’s propaganda posters portrayed Germans as brutes and barbarians, encouraging Americans to dehumanize the enemy — to think of Germans as less than human.

In November 1917, former U.S. ambassador to Germany James W. Gerard made a speech in which he openly questioned the loyalty of German-Americans. Speaking to the Ladies Aid Society of St. Mary’s Hospital in New York, he demanded the complete devotion of all Americans to the war effort and threatened to hang German-American spies from lamp-posts. Twenty years earlier, Gerard’s speech would likely have been forgotten. But by 1917, the speech could be recorded, pressed onto records, and distributed. Gerard’s references to lynching were heard across the country.

Civil Liberties during War Time

Remember how we talked about how when Woodrow Wilson campaigned for the presidency, he ran on the platform that the United States would stay out of the affairs of Europe. In particular, the United States would not get involved with The Great War which would later become commonly known as World War I?

So, when Wilson did find it necessary in his second term to enter the war, there were large segments of the population that do not support the war effort. In some cases, the government felt many of these groups were taking steps to undermine the war effort. To help facilitate the winning of the war, Congress passed the Espionage Act of 1917 and extended by the Sedition Act on  May 16, 1918.

Public criticism of the war was definitely a major concern of the government. Since a significant number of troops would be needed to carry out the war effort, a draft was imposed. Among the concerns the government had was the notion that constant criticism would make recruitment and even conscription difficult.

The purpose of these Acts was to prohibit interference with military operations, to ban support of U.S. enemies during wartime or to promote insubordination in the military.

The Espionage Act gave US postal officials the authority to prohibit the mailing of  newspapers and magazines. The law also threatened individuals convicted of interfering with or refusing the draft  with $10,000 fines and 20 years in jail.

The U.S. Congress amended the Espionage law with the Sedition Act of 1918. Its purpose was to make it illegal to write or speak anything critical of American involvement in the war.

The Sedition Act of 1918 made it a federal offense to use "disloyal or abusive language" about the Constitution, the government, the American uniform, or the US flag.

Watch this five minute video and then comment on the blog. Do you feel like these Acts were unconstitutional or do you feel like they were the right thing to do under the circumstances?  Why do you feel this way?  

1920's Harlem Renaissance and the Jazz Age

The Harlem Renaissance was a period during the 1920's 

when African-American achievements in art, literature and music flourished. A period of great diversity and experimentation. The WW1 Great Migration saw the movement of thousands of African Americans from the farmlands in the south to the cities in  the north in order to find new opportunities and build better lives. Many made their way to the New York city neighborhood of Harlem in Manhattan, New York City which became the home of the movement.

The Harlem Renaissance coincided with the Jazz Age, a time of innovative ideas and modernism with rapid cultural and social changes. Harlem became a cultural center buzzing with new ideas and attracting African American scholars, writers, poets, artists, actors, musicians and singers. The Cotton Club was the most famous Harlem night spot where musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington played Dixie, the blues and developed the improvisational style of music called Jazz.

The Harlem Renaissance was important because it inspired an explosion of cultural pride and was perceived as a new beginning for African Americans. Black Americans were inspired to create works rooted in their own culture instead of imitating the styles of white Americans. African Americans were encouraged to celebrate their heritage.

The Harlem Renaissance was an era in U.S. History so full of creativity that it was short lived due to the Great Depression in 1929 and the beginnings of World War II.

Read this website and answer the questions on your

 Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance Worksheet

Flapper girls

In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave women the right to vote, and declared that they deserved full citizenship. Finally, the battle was won! 

Watch each of these 2 minute video on suffrage.

A young woman emerged during the 1920’s who was very different from ladies of the past in her appearance, attitude and behavior. She was called a flapper. She had bobbed hair and short skirts. She behaved in ways that many people called unladylike.

Check out the dance styles of the 1920's...

Women's fashion and image changed drastically during the 1920's... 


The 1920's was an era of Consumerism and mass advertising and, although men were reluctant to wear the new fashions, women wanted to see their men in modern, fashionable clothes that reflected their prosperity and position in society.

Fashion for Men wore well-tailored pinstriped suits, tuxedos, silk shirts and handkerchiefs, raccoon fur coats, fedora hats, suspenders, bow ties, black patent leather shoes and spats.

Credit: https://kidskonnect.com/history/roaring-twenties/ 

Comment on the Blog: If YOU lived during the 1920's what would be YOUR preferred outfit? :)

Henry Ford

Henry Ford was an American industrialist who revolutionized factory production with his assembly-line methods during the Roaring Twenties. 

The most important consumer product of the 1920s was the automobile. 

Low prices (the Ford Model T cost just $260 in 1924) and generous credit made cars affordable. 

In 1929, there was one car on the road for every five Americans. Motels and gas stations were created to serve the needs of this new mobile society.

Henry Ford and mass production not only revolutionized the auto industry but changed what life looked like for most Americans. In the 1920's the motorcar came to represent the American dream, by offering independence and adventure.

Watch the following this videos: 

Then comment on the BLOG: What is consumerism??

1920's Consumerism

The rise of prosperity of the United States in 1920 led to the emergence of American Consumerism in the period in history known as the Roaring Twenties. 

Consumerism is the theory that it is economically attractive to encourage the attainment of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. 

American Consumerism increased during the Roaring Twenties due to technical advances and innovative ideas and inventions in the areas of communication, transportation and manufacturing. Americans moved from the traditional avoidance of debt to the concept by buying goods on credit.

Mass advertising and marketing techniques via the 1920's newspapers and the radio saw a massive increase in sales via easy consumer credit.

What does Consumerism mean? 

Consumerism is the theory that an increasing expenditure on goods is economically desirable. American consumerism in the 1920's led to the preoccupation of the purchase of consumer goods

What is an example of Consumerism 1920s America?

An example of American Consumerism 1920s the purchase of automobiles. In the Roaring Twenties over 60% of Americans bought their automobiles on credit. Debt was not a worry - people believed that America, and the Stock Market, were invincible.

Watch this 3 minute video and Comment on the blog one fact that you learned. Try not to repeat a fact that has already been stated. 

Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties is the name given to the era in American history between the end of WW1 in 1918 and the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929. 

The "Roaring Twenties" ushered in the birth of a new, modern national lifestyle, as war-weary Americans wanted to enjoy themselves and began to value convenience and leisure over hard work and self-denial. The period of the Roaring Twenties witnessed many Political, Economic and Social changes. 

What Characterized the Roaring Twenties?

The Roaring Twenties era was characterized by technological advances and prosperity with new labor-saving inventions that led to the large scale use of automobiles, telephones, the radio, motion pictures and electricity. 

People challenged traditional ideas and the new morality glorified personal freedom, nonconformists and youth, personified by the fashions and lifestyles of the "flappers" who danced the Charleston to the new music of the Jazz Age in the city speakeasies.

Read through this website choosing NEXT at the bottom of the page until you get to page three. At the bottom of the page click: QUIZ TIME: 1920s Quiz. 

Comment on the blog how many questions out of ten that you got correct . Tell us one cool thing that you learned about the 1920's.

Credit: http://www.american-historama.org/1913-1928-ww1-prohibition-era/roaring-twenties.htm