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CHAPTER 24
The Reactionary Twenties
This chapter covers the defensive mood of the 1920s and the growing conservatism before the onset of
the Great Depression. The Sacco and Vanzetti case, for instance, linked radicalism to immigration from
Eastern Europe and demonstrated the rise of a new nativism. The new Ku Klux Klan represented the most
violent of the reactionary movements of the twenties. Fundamentalism is also discussed in the context of
the Scopes Monkey Trial. The chapter goes on to look at the motivations behind and effectiveness of the
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Reactionary Conservatism and Immigration Restriction
A. Sacco and Vanzetti
B. The New Klan
C. Fundamentalism
i. The Scopes Trial
D. Prohibition
II. A Republican Resurgence
C. Andrew Mellon and the Economy
D. Reduced Regulation
G. Isolationism in Foreign Affairs
i. War Debts and Reparations
ii. Attempts at Disarmament
H. The Harding Scandals
I. Coolidge Conservatism
i. A Do-Nothing President—By Design
ii. Evangelist for Capitalism
iii. The Election of 1924
J. The Rise of Herbert Hoover
III. 1929—A Turning Point
IV. The Onset of the Great Depression
A. The Stock Market
B. The Crash
C. Why the Economy Collapsed
i. Government’s Role
ii. The Impact of Europe
V. The Human Toll of the Depression
A. The Farmers’ Holliday Association
VI. From Hooverism to the New Deal
A. Hoover’s Efforts at Recovery
i. Upbeat Messages
ii. Short-Sighted Tax Increases
iii. Hoover’s Reaction to the social crisis
B. Rising Criticism of Hoover
i. Congressional Initiatives
LECTURE IDEAS
1. To explain the economic boom of the 1920s, focus a lecture on the new mass production techniques,
consumerism, and the rise of big business. One way to show the new rise of business during the 1920s
2. Lectures on Prohibition tend to capture students’ interest. Discuss the Eighteenth Amendment and
what it was supposed to accomplish. Consider its real impact on social reform and the rise of crime
3. A lecture on the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression is a must. Good sources include:
• Robert McElvaine’s The Great Depression (1983)
• David Kennedy’s Freedom of Fear (1999)
It is also instructive to include the international dimensions of the Depression and how it helps set up
for the impact in Europe, with the rise of Hitler and Mussolini. For this see Charles R. Morris’s The
Rabble of Dead Money: The Great Crash and the Global Depression, 1929–1939 (Perseus Books, 2017).
4. Present a lecture dealing with the protest movements of the 1920s, especially during the Hoover
administration. Include in your lecture the demonstration by farmers, communists, and veterans and
5. Consider a lecture that compares the governmental responses to the economic crises of the 1890s,
6. Making sense of the New Deal requires the class to take a deeper look at FDR. You can begin this
process with a comparison between the philosophies of FDR and Hoover. Cover FDR’s early life, his
humbling bout with polio, his life as governor of New York, and his public service to his country. See
the following sources:
• Kenneth Davis’s three-volume collection FDR (1985, 1986, 1993)
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
1. Ask the class to vote on whether they believe the policies of the 1920s were a rejection of progressivism
or, rather, an acknowledgement that they achieved their purpose but had gone far enough. Create groups
2. The 1920s was full of contradiction. There was optimism, prosperity, and the spread of consumerism.
4. Ask the students to create a timeline of the events that led to the stock market crash and the Great
5. An engaging way to cover the Scopes trial is to divide the class in half and debate the merits of the
case. Evolution versus creationism should make for a lively debate, using the Scopes trial to teach the
issues as seen in that day—and increasingly in ours—plus a general lesson on courts and court
procedures. You might even consider conducting a mock trial. References include:
• Edward Larson’s Summer for the Gods (1997)
• Ray Ginger’s Six Days or Forever? (1958)
6. Most students believe the 1920s were a time of unprecedented prosperity. Outside of class, have
students research the nation’s “sick industries” during this era (railroads, steel, textiles, agriculture,
and coal) and analyze why the industries fell into decline. In class, lead the students in a general
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How were the policies of the United States a rejection of progressivism?
2. Discuss the effects of isolationism on American politics between the wars.
3. How did the issue of administrative corruption impact the effectiveness of the Harding
administration?
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
Within the American political system, one of the most important and enduring contests is between the
desires of commercial interests and individual interests. Many politicians find that, in their campaigns,
they have to choose a side in the matter. Being pro-business or anti-business becomes an important
organizing factor and often dictates the source of much of the money spent in their campaign. The 1920s
was a decidedly pro-business era, whereas the depression that followed demanded government
intervention to stabilize the economy. As students of the early twenty-first century, you have a unique
