There is a description of a dance being held after the burning in source C: “A big dance was held in a barn nearby that evening.” However there is no mention of a dance in source B. Another difference is that source C appears to be more of a Ku Klux Klan event: “500 people in Ku Klux Klan dress had placed a pine knot around a stump” compared to source B, where there is no indication of the event being a Ku Klux Klan one.
Although there are an equal number of similarities and differences, the two sources disagree on very minor things, like the type of celebration after the event. It seems that sources B and C agree on the major issues and my conclusion therefore, is that they are very similar in their description of the lynching of the Negroes.
3. This source is taken from “Leest Storm” which was a well known Nazi newspaper during world war two. It is supposedly depicting America in the 1920’s however, as it was published in the 1940’s, it is not as useful. Source D was printed to make America look as repulsive as possible to the Dutch to ensure that America would not have their support. It is a biased Nazi propaganda poster; however some of the things it portrays were true.
The figure in the middle of the poster is shown with a head of a Ku Klux Klan member. This was not an accurate representation of America in the 1920’s, as the Ku Klux Klan was only operating in the South. The Nazis were also being hypocritical, as they were also against blacks, as shown in the poster. The left arm of the figure is black and is holding a record. Here, the Nazis were showing that they thought jazz, which was popular at the time, was black music and therefore bad music. Hanging off this arm is a rope, symbolising the lynching of the blacks. This was an accurate view of America in the 1920’s, as we have already seen in sources B and C.
The lower left arm is dressed in a prisoner’s uniform and has a gun in its hand and a handcuff round its wrist. Here, the poster is talking about the gangsters like Al Capone, who was the leader of the most powerful gang in Chicago. He was able to get away with criminal activities because he was bribing most of the police force and many politicians. The Nazis are trying to show that America was corrupt and this was a true representation. We also know this is true from the Ku Klux Klan. Many of their members were policemen and it became impossible to report any Klan activities.
However, in the right arm, there is bag of money, which links with the Star of David further down. The Nazis believed that America was becoming dominated by Jews. This was in line with their beliefs that the treaty of Versailles was signed by Jews and that Jewish businessmen were trying to take over Germany. This was not true and was just Nazi propaganda trying to make America look bad.
Despite the fact that this poster was not published in the 1920’s and is also Nazi propaganda, it still gives a mostly accurate view of America in the 1920’s and is useful in understanding the problems in America.
4. Source E shows us that people were opposed to Sacco and Vanzetti being executed. This is shown in the source by the banners being held up, for example “The I.W.W protest against the murder of Sacco and Vanzetti.” We know that it was probably from the 1920’s, as the cars in the background are the Model T Fords of that era. We can tell that the people protesting are working class as one banner reads “The General Strike is the only dependable weapon to free Sacco and Vanzetti”. Many people in this source are wearing straw hats, typically made in Italy. This shows us that the majority of the people there wee probably Italian. We know from other sources that the Italians felt they were being unfairly targeted because they were Italian. This is backed up in this source. The demonstration was probably real, as it would have been too large to stage. We know from other sources that large crowds turned out, which makes source E more reliable.
However, this source does not clearly state whether or not Sacco and Vanzetti were innocent, it just implies that people thought they were. Source E provides some helpful evidence about what people though of the case of Sacco and Vanzetti, but it does not provide helpful evidence about what actually happened or whether Sacco and Vanzetti were actually guilty.
5. In source G, Hoover was speaking during the Presidential election campaign. This meant that what he was saying was not necessarily true, as his main aim was to obtain more votes. The farmers would not have supported what Hoover said, as life was getting worse for them. They were becoming more impoverished as the second part of source H shows. Farmers in South Carolina were earning $129 per month. When compared to the value of radios sold in the same year which was $824 500 000, we can see that the farmers were not “nearer to the final victory over poverty” as Hoover said America was. We also know that many other Americans were not sharing in this prosperity, such as Italians, anarchists, blacks and other marginalised people and 42% of people were under the poverty line.
In source I, Thomas Adams highlights the fact that America was prosperous, but it was a false prosperity. “I think the country was in greater danger during the twenties that at any other time in my life.” He highlights this fact, because he knew that it looked like the economy was doing well, but the Wall Street Crash and the depression were looming. As in source A, America looked prosperous on the surface, but there were many problems underneath which would eventually cause the Wall Street Crash and therefore the depression. Hoover’s comments in source G were valid on the surface, but when you look at finer details, like the farmers’ wages, you can see that America were nowhere near overcoming poverty, as has also been shown in many other sources, depicting a materialistic America always intent on making more money.
6. Source J was written in 1971, purely for its entertainment value and is not an accurate source. It talks about Glenn Miller who was “a band leader of the 1930’s and 1940’s.” The song is supposed to be talking about America in the 1920’s, so this is not accurate. The song says “those were the days.” As we have already seen in sources A, B, C, F and H, it depended on who you were as to whether the 1920’s were a positive or negative experience. The song continues to say “didn’t need no welfare state.” We know that America did have a problem with poverty, so this is not a reliable impression of America in the 1920’s.
The song then says “Girls were girls”, which is not what was thought in the 1920’s. Flappers were thought to be shocking, with their bobbed hair, short skirts and outlandish public behaviour. The line “people seemed to be content” highlights the problem in America already shown in sources A and I, which was that America seemed to be the best place to be on the surface, but there were actually many unsolved problems being ignored.
The next line: “Mister we could use a man Like Herbert Hoover again” is completely inaccurate, as Hoover was unpopular in the 1920’s, not popular as suggested.
Source K is from a history textbook, which is initially thought of as containing solid, reliable evidence. It contains a very balanced, neutral tone and agrees with everything that we already know. For example: “For vast numbers of Americans, the twenties did not mean the high life and bright lights.” This agrees with our own knowledge that for Americans who were not rich businessmen, the 1920’s were a bad time. We know that 42% of people were below the poverty line, which corresponds with what is said in source K. There is detail: “Muncie, Indiana…two investigators Robert and Helen Lynd…those over 35.” All these things lead us to believing that this source gives a very reliable impression of conditions in America in the 1920’s, unlike source J, which is mostly inaccurate.
However, source K only talks about one area of America, therefore not giving an overall view of America in the 1920’s. This area may have been a farming area, which would make America in the 1920’s look quite bad. There is also some vagueness about the last sentence: “dim prospects for one’s children.” It does not actually say what the “dim prospects” are and does not sound altogether believable.
Nevertheless, I think source K gives a much more reliable impression of conditions in America in the 1920’s compared to source J.
7. When deciding whether or not America in the 1920’s was a “golden age”, there are a number of things to consider, as it depended greatly on who you were.
Black people would not view America in the 1920’s as a golden age. They were constantly terrorised by members of the fast-growing Ku Klux Klan and many were murdered as we have already seen in sources B and C. No help was available from the police or politicians, as many of them were members themselves. However, this only affected black people in the South and many were moving to the North during the 1920’s.
Anarchists were badly treated by many Americans who believed they were ‘foreigners’ and did not think that they had a right to be living in America. This was demonstrated when we looked at the case of Sacco and Vanzetti in sources E and F. Nevertheless, anarchists did not make up the majority of the American population and apart from Sacco and Vanzetti, there were not a great number of anarchist-related problems.
Throughout the 1920’s there was an increase in gangsters. Prohibition gave them an opportunity to earn money illegally by “bootlegging”. They could bribe police, judges and state officials to cooperate with them which meant they would never get sent to prison. The 1920’s was an extremely profitable time for gangsters like Al Capone as shown in source A.
America in the 1920’s was a liberating time for women. They started to break the strict rules applied to previous generations. They cut their hair, wore short skirts and went out in public without chaperones. This was seen as outlandish behaviour by others, but for women it was the first step towards becoming a more important part of society. Therefore, America in the 1920’s would have definitely been viewed as a “golden age” by women.
During the 1920’s, the policy of most governments in America was to not interfere in people’s lives. This allowed businessmen to prosper greatly.
However, other members of society did not. Farmers saw a fall in income during the 1920’s. They suffered from overproduction, resulting in agricultural prices falling. The government did nothing to help, so many farmers became bankrupt.
The stock market rapidly became an easy way out for many. It seemed that anybody could be rich if they bought and sold shares. However, in October 1929 people were hastily selling their shares. Panic spread as share prices began to fall, resulting in the Wall Street Crash. Shareholders lost a total of $8000 million. However, this was nearing the end of the 1920’s and shareholders had already had a prosperous time during the 1920’s.
Generally, I think America in the 1920’s was seen as a golden age for the majority of people. Technology improved greatly, with one in three families owning a car by 1928. Many previously disadvantaged people had chances to become successful businessmen and improve the quality of their lives.