Industrial America

1915 - 1945
What this period is about
 This period is about America after WWI, during the Great
Depression, and WWII
1919
 The United States was in turmoil throughout 1919. After
the war, fear of subversion resumed in the context of the
Red Scare, massive strikes in major industries (steel,
meatpacking) and violent race riots.
 Radicals bombed Wall Street, and workers went on strike
in Seattle in February. During 1919, a series of more than
20 riotous and violent black-white race-related incidents
occurred. These included the Chicago, Omaha, and
Elaine Race Riots.
The Red Scare
 On May 1, 1919, a parade in Cleveland, Ohio, protesting the
imprisonment of the Socialist Party leader, Eugene Debs, erupted
into the violent May Day Riots.
 Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer conducted the Palmer Raids, a
series of raids and arrests of non-citizen socialists, anarchists,
radical unionists, and immigrants. The people who were arrested
got charged and deported back to Europe.
After World War I
 In 1919, Woodrow Wilson campaigned for the U.S. to
join the new League of Nations, which he had been
instrumental in creating, but he rejected the
Republican compromise on the issue
 While on a tour to promote the League, he suffered
strokes and was unable to recover
The Great Depression
 It occurred due to the passing of the Smoot-Hawley
Tariff bill, which taxed more than 20,000 imported
goods
 Many stock prices began to fall quickly and then
finally crashed on October 29, 1929, which is now
known as Black Tuesday
 Unemployment rose to 25% in the U.S., crop prices
fell 60%, and industrial production fell almost 50%
Pearl Harbor Bombing
 The attack on Pearl Harbor influenced many literary
pieces about anger and shock to this incident
 This incident was caused by the Japanese during
WWII in order to cripple America's defenses
 It also caused America to enter the war
Literature
 Literature during this period was modernist
 Stories were thoughtful and self-reflective or had a sense of
alienation as a result of differing ways of processing the changing
times
 They explored gender roles, racial issues and an inclusion of pop
culture
Famous Writers and Their Works
 Ernest Hemingway
 As I lay Dying (1930)
 The Sound and the Fury (1929)
 Go Down Moses (1942)
 John Steinbeck
 Grapes of Wrath (1939)
 Of Mice and Men (1937)
 Tortilla Flat (1935)
Famous Writers and Their Works
 William Faulkner
 The Sun Also Rises (1926)
 A Farewell to Arms (1929)
 For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)
 F. Scott Fitzgerald
 The Great Gatsby (1925)
 This side of Paradise (1920)
 Tender is the Night (1934)
Quiz
 Quiz
1) When did the Great Depression happen?

A) October 29, 1939

B) October 27, 1929
C) October 27, 1939
D) October 29, 1929
 Quiz
2) What was the punishment for getting caught
up in the Palmer Raids?
A) Execution
B) Deportation
C) Jail
D) Enslavement
 Quiz
3) Which one of these literary pieces is a
work of John Steinbeck?

A) Flat Tortilla
B) Of Mice and men
C) Grapes of Wraith
 Quiz
4) President Woodrow Wilson suffered
strokes during a tour of what purpose?
A) to promote himself
B) to promote the U.S.
C) to promote the League
D) to promote products
 Quiz
5) The literature during this period was?

A) Romantic
B) Victorian
C) Modernist
D) Enlightenment
 Quiz
6) Which bill caused the Great Depression?

A) Smooth-Hayley Sheriff Bill

B) Red Bill
C) Electricity Bill
D) Smoot-Hawley Tariff Bill
 Quiz
7) Which of these works aren't Ernest
Hemingway's?
A) Go Down Moses
B) The Sound and The Fury
C) As I Lay Dying
D) The Side of Paradise
 Quiz
8) How did the attack on Pearl Harbor affect
America?
A) It angered them
B) It pleased them
C) It did nothing
D) It made them attack the USSR
 Quiz
9) When did Industrial America begin and end?
A)1919 – 1945
B)1910 – 1955
C)1915 – 1945
D)1924 – 1930
 Quiz
10) Did the Americans like the Socialists?

 Yes
 No
 Quiz
Answers:
1) D 6)
2) B 7)
3) B 8)
4) C 9) C
5) A 10) Yes
 Quiz
Answers:
1) D 6) D
2) B 7) D
3) B 8) A
4) C 9) C
5) A 10) Yes