Calvin Coolidge

Served as president from 1923-1929
Era: Roaring Twenties
American Identity and Culture
Beginning in the 1920s, the Jazz Age was a period of time where college and high school students showed their rebellious nature and rebelled against the tradition culture of their elders by dancing and listening to jazz music. Jazz music originated from African Americans musicians who moved it north. Jazz soon became to be thought of as the new modern culture of the cities. With new inventions such as radios and phonographs, jazz music was easily spread to the American public.The invention of the radio also gave rise to entertainment programs, like comedy shows, quiz shows, news broadcasts, soap operas, and sporting events. In 1924, the National Broadcasting Company was established and in 1927 the Columbia Broadcasting System formed.
Also during the 1920s, there was a rise in the movie industry giving fame to movie stars like Rudolf Valentino and Greta Garbo. Millions of Americans idolized these celebrities. More movie theaters were built for the public. In 1927, the movie industry reached a new peak with the invention of talking sound pictures causing over 80 million tickets to be sold each weak for the most recent Hollywood movie.
Economic Transformations and Globalization
During the 1920s, there was a boom in business due to factors such as increased productivity, new government policies, and energy technologies. These factors led to a 64 percent increase in manufacturing output.In 1914, Henry Ford (creator of Ford cars) introduced a more efficient method of manufacturing cars known as the assembly line. With this new method, a mass production of cars allowed consumers to buy automobiles at more affordable prices. Throughout the 1920s, many companies began to use the method of the assembly line to increase the output of consumer goods. With cars being more available to the American public, the use of electricity and oil increased dramatically, while coal was used to power railroads.Oil and electricity were used in factories causing oil to produce 23 percent of the electricity that factories use. Also during the 1920s, the government was more in favor of business prosperity instead of relying on agriculture. For this reason, the government instituted business tax cuts and did little to enforce the antitrust laws during the time. In correlation of the boom in business, wages increased for workers during the 1920s. With the increase in wages, members in unions began to decline by 20 percent.
Environment
Based on the Census of 1920, much of the American population settled in urban regions. These urban cities were marked by their popular culture of modern morals, tastes, and mass consumption. With new methods making mass production more efficient, automobiles were made more affordable to the American public. With cars being more affordable, people could just drive their own cars around instead of using public transportation like the railroad. For this reason, the construction of roads was in demand.Despite people being able to drive their own cars whenever they want, the usage of more cars led to traffic jams on the roads, car accidents, and deaths. The use of more cars also led to environmental problems like global warming and pollution.
Politics and Citizenship
President Coolidge was a man who hardly spoke and thus was given the name “Silent Cal.” In Coolidge’s defense, President Coolidge explained that not speaking much in politics is good because no one will ask you to repeat anything if you never said it. President Coolidge’s philosophy for America was that the problems of America only concern America and not any other country.
In 1925, controversy arose when biology teacher John Scopes in Tennessee was put on trial for teaching the ideas of the theory of evolution (formulated by Charles Darwin) to his students. In the state of Tennessee, it was made illegal to spread the ideas of the evolution theory in public schools. As a result, the Scopes trial eventually became a Supreme Court case. With Clarence Darrow as John Scope’s lawyer, they went against William Jennings Bryan, who believed he was an expert on the Bible. In court, lawyer Clarence Darrow constantly questioned Jennings making Jennings seem inadequate for his job. Despite Darrow’s effort to protect Scopes, Scopes was found guilty. However, Scope’s conviction was ultimately overturned.Even though Scopes was able to be freed, the question of teaching religious ideas to public schools still remains a controversial topic even in present day society.
Slavery and its legacies in North America
During the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan reemerged. The Ku Klux Klan which was originally established during the 1860s or 1870s was founded once again in 1915.The Klan had many supporters in the Midwest and the South. Members of the Klan in the North directed their hatred not only to African Americans, but to Jewish, Catholics, suspicious Communists, and even foreigners. By 1925, the newly Ku Klux Klan had reached five million members and supporters. Most of these supporters lived in small towns and cities and were from the lower middle class. During this time period, the Ku Klux Klan dressed in white robes and white hoodies to disguise themselves from being caught in public. The members of the Klan burned crosses, whipped their victimsand even hung some of their targets. As President of the United States, President Coolidge was an avid supporter of civil rights for African Americans and was able to prevent any members of the Ku Klux Klan from entering or gaining any position in the government.
War and Diplomacy
During President Coolidge’s presidency, Europe was facing a lot of post war problems and Russia was facing problems with communism. Because of this, Americans were afraid of entering another war overseas. However, despite all the issues going on, the United States did not return to the practice of isolationism and instead took an active role in foreign policy making to help keep world peace among the various countries. In 1924, Charles Dawes formulated a plan to help Germany pay back the war reparations. The plan, known as the Dawes Plan, stated that the United States would give loans to Germany, so that Germany can pay back Britain, France, and the United States. With the money earned from Germany’s war reparations, Britain and France would be able to pay back the debts they owe to the United States.In 1928, Secretary of State Frank Kellogg signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact with French foreign minister Aristide Briand. The Kellogg-Briand Pact relinquished the hostile use of force to achieve national desires.Unfortunately, this pact proved failure because it still allowed nations to hold defensive wars and it failed to enforce punishment to nations who violated the agreement.