Bitesize and Sounds revision podcasts | Overview
Looking for ways to revise GCSE History? Try listening to these revision podcasts from Bitesize and BBC Sounds.
BBC Sounds is where you can catch the latest music tracks, discover binge-worthy podcasts or listen to live radio stations, all in one place.
Episodes are roughly ten minutes long and there are nine episodes in the series. You can listen on the go on the BBC Sounds app or listen at home as part of your GCSE revision.
In this series, podcast presenters Datshiane Navanayagam and Katie Charlwood guide you through the USA in the 20th century.
Check out more podcasts for GCSE History.
Making notes as you listen to the podcast can help you remember the key points before the exam.
Episode 1 - The establishment of the United States of America
In the first episode in this series, Datshiane Navanayagam and Katie Charlwood look at the establishment of the United States of America and its political structure.
Announcer: BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
Datshiane: I'm Datshiane Navanayagam, a history graduate and BBC presenter.
Katie: And I'm Katie Charlwood, a history podcaster.
Datshiane: Welcome to Bitesize GCSE history.
Katie: This series is all about American politics in society in the twentieth century. And in this episode, we get to grips with the origins of America and its diverse society.
Datshiane: Our period starts in the roaring twenties. I thought I'd get a source in early because that was how the America writer F. Scott Fitzgerald described the decade.
Katie: And that's impressive, but wait 'til you see my dance moves in the craze of age, the Charleston. Songs and score sheets can also be sources.
Datshiane: But you won't have to listen to us sing, but we will be sharing revision tips and hints along the way. Plus, at the end of each episode, we'll have a happy snappy summary to give those key facts extra sticking power.
Datshiane: Before we get started, a quick heads-up of the recurring themes in this series, which include capitalism and the economy, politics, segregation, migration and culture.
Katie: And as always, these themes will often be interlinked, so it might be handy to have a pen and paper, or laptop and keyboard, to make revision notes. And don't forget, there's more to help you get top marks on the Bitesize website.
Datshiane: Katie, don't you think we should start with a bit of a backstory though first?
Katie: The first American colony was established in 1607 and grew to thirteen colonies with a population of approximately two million people, by 1774. Grievances against the government in London led to the colonies declaring independence from Britain on the fourth of July 1776, to become an independent republic. The American Revolutionary War ended in 1783.
Datshiane: And the United States of America, or the USA, has commemorated Independence Day on that date ever since.
Katie: The new leaders of the USA wanted to create a more democratic political system, which they hoped would help prevent abuse of power.
Datshiane: That sounds all very democratic, but remember that at this time slavery was widespread, so there's a huge contradiction there.
Katie: Absolutely.
Katie: So, time to get writing some notes as we consider this new democratic system of government, or in this case, let's draw a tree.
Datshiane: Yes, think of the American political structure like a tree, with three branches of government. The first branch is the United States Congress. That's the legislative branch that makes the laws, it has two chambers, or its own smaller branches, and these are the House of Representatives and the Senate. And from early in the twentieth century, all senators, and all members of the House of Representatives, have been elected. Senators serve six-year terms, while members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms.
Katie: But why two chambers you might ask? See, James Madison, one of the founding fathers, wrote in the Federalist papers, ‘Ambition must be made to counteract ambition,’ emphasising that the separation of powers is essential to balance interests.
Datshiane: But are you ready for your next branch, Katie?
Katie: I'm all ears… or branches.
Datshiane: Okay, well next there's the executive, who is the president. Then the vice president and their cabinet – their job is to carry out the laws passed by Congress.
Katie: And the president is elected every four years.
Datshiane: Finally, the judicial branch interprets the law in court. That includes the highest court in the country, the Supreme Court, and below that, the Federal Courts.
Katie: And then, each individual state also has its own local form of government that governs citizens within its borders.
Datshiane: So there's lots of branches of government there, and if you need some more detail to really twig on.
Katie: That was very nice.
Datshiane: Thank you. Go and check out the Bitesize website. But the most important thing to take from this, is that the system was designed so that there were checks and balances, so that no one person, or house, had all the power. Now we're getting into the swing of it, I bet you're hungry for more.
Katie: Or at least a wee bit peckish? Okay, so if this is a meal, then the opening course is the independence for the colonies, with the Declaration of Independence and new form of government.
Datshiane: And then the tasty main course is the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Katie: And the American constitution is the oldest one in the world still in use.
Datshiane: This constitution is a document outlining the rules by which a country is run, and there's been twenty-seven amendments to the Constitution.
Katie: The first ten amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. They protect all the basic freedoms of American people. Again, check out the Bitesize website for more details on these.
Datshiane: Okay, hungry for more? We have political parties for pudding.
Katie: There's always room for pudding.
Datshiane: Well, here we have two main parties that dominated politics in the United States throughout the twentieth century – the Democratic and Republican parties. They have adjusted their priorities over time, but let's just sum them up first.
Katie: So, Republicans adopted a laissez-faire attitude. For the Republicans, this means liberty or freedom to live your life and run your business with minimal government interference, which to them is one of the most important political beliefs.
Datshiane: So they prefer to leave businesses to push economic growth with only limited government intervention, and low taxes for businesses and the public. The party is also known as the GOP.
Katie: Or the Grand Old Party.
Datshiane: And they have a perspective that was typically conservative.
Katie: Which means, preferring to keep to old ways and only reluctantly allowing changes in traditional beliefs and practices.
Datshiane: Right, now the other big party is the Democratic Party, which also had a very different outlook on how to govern. They believe that government should intervene in the economy and society when necessary.
Katie: Like creating policies to protect vulnerable members of society.
Datshiane: The Democrats political perspective is broadly liberal; liberals are open to new ideas and tend to support policies that reflect the way society changes over time. The party adopted liberal policies after 1945.
Katie: And it's also important to remember that during the American Civil War in the 1860s, the Democrats had defended slavery. The Republicans were against the expansion of slavery and Lincoln, the Republican president, abolished slavery. But, throughout the twentieth century, more and more African Americans supported the Democratic Party, as it became more socially progressive.
Datshiane: These two parties are a whopping big part of the 'who' in American politics.
Datshiane: Okay, so now we know about the American form of government, what about Americans themselves?
Katie: We'll go into more detail in Episode 3, but it might help to paint a quick sketch of who they were.
Datshiane: So let's start with Native Americans, the original inhabitants of the North American continent.
Katie: Then there were the descendants of European colonisers who would come in in the seventeenth century and took land from the indigenous population.
Datshiane: From the nineteenth century, European colonisers, and their descendants, began moving westwards. In 1830, as a result of the Indian Removal Act, Native Americans were pushed eastwards resulting in conflict between the Native Americans and the European colonisers.
Katie: From 1860, there were a number of Indian wars, and between 1867 and 1875, they were forced into reservations with incredibly poor living conditions, forced adoption of Native American children and sterilisation.
Datshiane: And by 1885, the American government made all Native American territory available to white settlers. As a result, by the turn of the twentieth century, the Native American population fell dramatically.
Katie: Then there were African Americans, whose ancestors had been forced to come in their millions as people who had been enslaved.
Datshiane: And there was a new wave of immigrants from the mid-nineteenth century into the 1920s. These migrant communities included Irish people, many of whom were Catholics, but there were also Irish Protestants who migrated too; also people from Italy, China and millions of Jewish people fleeing violent persecution in eastern Europe. We'll look more at immigration in Episode 3.
Katie: So migration into the USA is very important, and this naturally has had a profound effect on culture, which developed in the USA, which we'll explore in later episodes. Time for a quick fire test to help you cement your facts. Three questions, five seconds to write it down. Let's go!
Datshiane: I’ll go first. Why is the fourth of July an important day in the USA, Katie?
Katie: Well, it marks the date in 1776 that the colonies declared independence from Britain and the USA became an independent nation.
Datshiane: Very good. What functions did the three wings of the government have and who did they apply to?
Katie: That would be the legislator, Congress, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate who drafted laws; the Executive, top down from the president - enacted those laws; the judiciary, headed by the Supreme court - interpreted laws. Federal laws applied to all Americans and each state could pass its own laws too.
Datshiane: And finally, who were the main political parties?
Katie: There are two. The Republican Party. It believed in limited state intervention in the economy and people's lives, and held traditional views. And then, the Democratic Party. It thought it was right for government to intervene to support the economy and to protect vulnerable people in society.
Datshiane: I think it's time for a well-earned recap.
Katie: Alrighty. Thirteen colonies declared independence from Great Britain in 1776, although the war went on until the British surrendered to George Washington in Yorktown, Virginia, in October 1781.
Datshiane: The government of that new republic, the USA, has three branches: legislative, executive and judicial - to make, enact and interpret laws.
Katie: The founders produced a constitution to determine how the new state would be governed. Then a Bill of Rights, which made twelve amendments to it.
Datshiane: These federal laws apply to everyone in the country, but each state also had a local government for citizens within its borders.
Katie: There are two main parties, the Democratic Party…
Datshiane: And the Republican Party.
Katie: There's tips, ideas and lots more to help you with your twentieth-century American revision on the BBC Bitesize website. And in other episodes in this podcast series.
Datshiane: In the next episode, we'll look at how growing consumerism, the economy, mass production and the motor industry brought the boom years, but also inequalities. And we'll also look at what the government did about it all. Thanks for listening.
Katie: Bye!
Quiz
Try the quiz below to test your knowledge of the American political structure from Episode 1.
Listen on BBC Sounds.
Episode 2 - The United States and the economic boom
In this episode, Datshiane and Katie look into the development of consumerism, mass production and the economic boom in America.
Announcer: BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
Katie: I'm Katie Charlwood.
Datshiane: And I'm Datshiane Navanayagam. Welcome to Bitesize GCSE History.
Katie: This series is on American politics and society in the 20th century.
Datshiane: And this is the second episode in a nine-part series. Today we're talking about the development of consumerism and mass production. And government policies that contributed to a time of economic boom for the United States in the 1920s.
Katie: I think it might help, Datshiane, if we define 'boom'.
Datshiane: Well, why did the economist refuse to go on a rollercoaster?
Katie: Because he didn't want to experience any ups or downs.
Datshiane: Boom, boom.
Katie: Not that sort of boom. But ups just about captures it. Boom is when the economy is on the up.
Datshiane: It's a period of time when the vast majority of businesses are doing well.
Katie: Sales are high, people's wages increase and unemployment is low.
Datshiane: But it also co-existed in a time of huge inequalities in society.
Katie: We'll be sending our time-travelling Bitesize reporter back to the 1920s to find out more.
Datshiane: And along the way we'll share revision tips. Remember if you think it's useful make notes. Please do. And feel free to press pause and rewind whenever you need to.
Katie: Two of the themes threading through this series will feature strongly in this episode - capitalism and economy.
Datshiane: But first, let's separate out what factors contributed to the economic boom time of the 1920s.
Katie: The First World War had ended a few years earlier in 1918.
Datshiane: Exactly, Katie. The war was a factor. Remember the letter C for key concepts such as causes, consequences, change and continuity? Well, one of the consequences of the First World War was that Britain and its allies had to borrow money from American banks. The USA stayed out of the war for more than half of it so it could afford these loans. And this created enormous wealth for America.
Katie: The policy after the war was called 'isolationism.'
Datshiane: Yes, so that policy meant that the USA was the only major nation without huge wartime debts when the war ended in November 1918. Other countries however, like Britain, France, Russia and Germany, were hugely economically damaged.
Katie: Useful to have wider context. Another one for our C list. Kerching!
Katie: Okay so let's get another factor for our boom.
Datshiane: So, the Republican Government of the time took a laissez-faire approach to the economy. Remember that term from the last episode? It means leaving business to create wealth without government intervention.
Katie: Yes so that meant cutting taxes for the rich and their companies allowed business owners to invest more of their wealth in expanding their businesses. Taxes were low in general so ordinary people had more to spend.
Datshiane: Meanwhile, the Fordney-McCumber Tariff put high taxes on imports making them more expensive. So, customers ended up buying more American goods which was cheaper, creating more jobs for Americans.
Katie: And the number of homes with electricity played a role. Just 15% had electricity in 1916. But eleven years later it was a whopping near-70%. And everyone wanted the shiny new gadgets for sale.
Datshiane: Oh, you mean like the latest smartphone?
Katie: Well, not quite. The 1920s equivalent. People wanted the latest telephones, radios, refrigerators, washing machines and gramophones to play their new jazz music on.
Datshiane: Technology and invention. That was another factor driving the boom. Like that other little luxury - the vacuum cleaner. This is an advert from the Good Housekeeping Magazine in February 1920. 'Free afternoons for you. Let the Torrington Electric Vacuum Cleaner give you easy mornings and free afternoons. It costs less for electric power to run a Torrington for a year than for a cleaning woman for half a day's work.'
Katie: A couple of interesting things about that advert. Firstly, the assumption that only women would be doing the housework. But also, that modern technology such as this gave people more leisure time.
Datshiane: That's exactly it. And also, this advertising was driving and encouraging demand for consumer goods.
Katie: And this created more jobs in the factories.
Datshiane: Which meant more jobs and more money in the pockets of the workers who could afford to buy new electrical items.
Katie: And so on and so forth.
Datshiane: That Good Housekeeping advert for that must-have vacuum cleaner is really timely for us, Katie.
Katie: Yes indeed, because the next factor in this boom is advertising.
Datshiane: Colourful billboards, newspapers and magazines urging people to keep up with the neighbours and driving sales up.
Katie: Catalogues made buying super easy with hire purchase payments and with delivery to your door.
Datshiane: Honestly, that sounds exactly like how it is right now.
Katie: And there were schemes to boost sales, giving customers more credit like 'buy now pay later,' letting people buy as investments. Six out of ten cars were bought like that.
Datshiane: You can see that advertisers are starting to use their powers of persuasion. Pick any 1920s poster selling a car as a source to show off your knowledge of how the economic boom was being driven - no pun intended.
Katie: Like this one, advertising Ford's Model T Touring Car.
Datshiane: ‘Buy it because it's a better car. A snip at six hundred and fifty dollars.’
Katie: Cars were a big part of mass production. Mass production was another key factor in the 1920s boom.
Datshiane: Because cars used large amounts of American steel, leather, rubber and glass. And so, there were more jobs in these industries too.
Katie: And producing goods got quicker. So, the goods got cheaper.
Datshiane: It wasn't only cars though in this consumer society. Many American businesses used similar mass production methods. From ready-to-wear clothing and processed foods to household appliances.
Katie: Like our lovely Torrington vacuum cleaner.
Datshiane: Exactly. More money, more buyers, more goods, more quickly.
Katie: Did you know, there were only sixty thousand radio sets bought in the USA in 1919. Ten years later, ten million.
Datshiane: That is a snappy little statistic. By the end of the decade nearly half the world's consumer goods were made in the USA .
Katie: Wow! These facts and source quotes are all good supporting evidence for a question that might ask you about why the American economy boomed in the 1920s. Have a go at that after the podcast or go to BBC Bitesize for more.
Datshiane: Okay. So, this might be a good moment to share a new word. Well, it's a made-up word. But it will help us remember the causes and consequences of the American boom in the 1920s.
Katie: Alright, Datshiane, what have you got for us?
Datshiane: ASHAME. Sounds a bit strange but hear me out. A is for afford. S is for spend. H is for hire purchase. A is for advertising. M is for mass production. And E is for employment.
Katie: ASHAME!
Datshiane: Are you happy?
Katie: Happy but ashame-d. Americans could A - afford more because unemployment and taxes were low. A consequence of this was that they could S- spend more. H for higher purchase and credit helped. A - advertising on posters and billboards and in mass media like papers and magazines persuaded people to buy. M - mass production of cars and the latest technological gizmos like electrical kitchen appliances played a big part. High E - employment - helped to make more goods for people to buy.
Datshiane: All fuelling the boom. Ashame!
Katie: So Datshiane, remember my Ford motor car advert for the Model T.
Datshiane: I do, Katie.
Katie: So, by 1926, there were nearly twenty million cars on America's roads. And half of them were Fords.
Datshiane: Yes. So, Henry Ford opened his first factory in 1903 in Detroit, Michigan. Within ten years he introduced the assembly line using an electric conveyor belt at which workers repeatedly assembled parts like wheels.
Katie: Including those Model Ts in the ad you used as a source.
Datshiane: Yes. So, the motor industry played a big part in this boom. Let's check in with our time-travelling reporter in 1925, Kitty.
Kitty: I'm standing outside the iconic Ford Motors factory in Detroit. The smell of the air is a mix of oil, metal and sweat as workers pour in and out; a testament to the booming American economy. The assembly lines here at Ford turn out Model Ts like clockwork. One car every ten seconds. It's the roaring twenties and it feels like the future is arriving at full speed. President Calvin Coolidge's words still echo: 'The chief business of the American people is business.' You can see it here. Ford's success symbolises America's hands off approach. In other words, minimal government interference, low taxes and innovation are all leading the charge. Talking of which, electricity is making its way into homes, and new products like radios and refrigerators are in high demand. One worker here told me, ‘This job, this car. It's not just metal and wheels. It's the American dream.’ With wages rising and consumerism souring it seems like anything is possible in this new age of prosperity. America is speeding towards the future in their new Model Ts. And there's no looking back. This is Kitty reporting from Detroit 1925. Back to the studio.
Katie: Thanks, Kitty. For every person working in a car factory there were ten more making parts for cars. See how it affects employment. And so, there were many other jobs like building roads, garages, and restaurants, and oil refineries to supply the fuel.
Datshiane: With all this there's one last but very important factor in driving the boom. The stock market.
Katie: Oh yeah that's a biggie.
Datshiane: So, during the 1920s, millions of ordinary Americans, as well as wealthier people, played the stock market. So, buying shares in companies and selling them for more in this time of plenty.
Katie: Yeah. But there's just one snag. If you invested in a company the shares you bought could drop in value if the company was doing badly. It could even end up worthless.
Datshiane: And more of that in Episode 6 when we grapple with the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression.
Katie: So, it sounds like people were benefiting from the American boom in the 1920s. But some were left out. Particularly in the rural areas or workers in traditional industries.
Datshiane: Exactly, like those in cotton and wool factories. New nylon fibres made natural materials less popular. Prices fell and many factories shut down. Coal miners also suffered since oil, gas and electricity were more in demand.
Katie: This led to sharp inequality. By 1927 there were thousands of millionaires. But seventy million Americans lived below the poverty line. So, they didn't have enough to buy decent food or housing.
Datshiane: Yeah so wealth was spread very unequally. Listen to this. The richest 5% earned a third of all the money.
Katie: And some large industrial companies kept their profits high by paying low wages to unskilled workers.
Datshiane: Farming was badly hit. By the early 30s farmers were earning just one third of their income in 1920. It's incredible. But why? What were the causes, Katie?
Katie: There's always pros and cons to policies. Remember the USA was taxing imports? Well, some countries taxed American products. So, American grain was more expensive. And technologically advanced farming machinery was producing more food, so prices fell and farmers got poorer.
Datshiane: So, some farmers had borrowed money from the banks to buy that new equipment. But, when they couldn't repay it they were forced to sell their homes or were evicted. Farm labourers lost their jobs too.
Katie: African American workers were among those not to benefit. Not only was racial discrimination a central cause of inequality but many black Americans were farm workers. And we've seen that farming was badly hit.
Datshiane: And life was extremely tough for the Native American population. Much of their land had been confiscated. Many had to move to reservations where the soil was often too poor to farm properly. And most lived in poverty. With poor social services like education and health care and the lowest life expectancy of any other ethnic group in American society.
Katie: And there's more on the Bitesize website on this.
Datshiane: Okay. So, a lot there. Let's take a breath and do a recap.
Katie: The 1920s saw an economic boom in the USA for a number of reasons.
Datshiane: An isolationist policy by the USA after the First World War, low taxes and high employment helped rich people to invest money in businesses and others to buy goods.
Katie: The Fordney-McCumber Tariff taxed imports making home-produced goods more attractive.
Datshiane: In this consumer society, people wanted new goods. New mass production techniques helped make more faster bringing down prices.
Katie: Henry Ford and the motor industry were in the thick of these new practices.
Datshiane: And the stock market was one of the biggest success stories of the 1920s.
Katie: But life was not booming for everyone in 1920s USA.
Datshiane: Remember, people working in traditional industries like cotton factories, farmers and farm labourers suffered.
Katie: African American workers were generally shut out of the boom. Life was also hard for the Native American population in 1920s America.
Datshiane: In the next episode, we'll look at immigration in 1920s America.
Katie: Thanks for listening.
Question
What approach did the post World War One Republican government take towards the economy?
The Republican government of the time took a laissé-faire approach to the economy. Remember the term from the last episode–leaving business to create wealth without government intervention.
Cutting tax for the rich and their companies allowed business owners to invest more of their wealth expanding their businesses. Taxes were low in general so ordinary people had more to spend.
Listen on BBC Sounds.
Episode 3 - The United States and immigration in the 1920s
Join Datshiane and Katie as they look at immigration in the 1920s, focusing on immigrant experiences, xenophobia and intolerance as well as the Red Scare and the Sacco and Vanzetti trial.
Announcer: BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
Datshiane: I'm Datshiane Navanayagam. History graduate and BBC presenter.
Katie: And I'm history podcaster Katie Charlwood.
Datshiane: And this is Bitesize History.
Katie: This is the third episode in a nine-part series on 20th-century USA.
Datshiane: Throughout this series we'll be focussing in on key themes in American history and how they all mesh together to make the country what it is: its politics, society and culture.
Katie: This episode is all about immigration in the 1920s. We'll focus on immigrant experiences, xenophobia and intolerance, the Red Scare, and an infamous trial that sent two Italians to their deaths.
Datshiane: And we'll be sharing our revision hints on how to remember those key facts. There'll also be exam and essay-writing advice. So, keep a pen and paper or your laptop to hand to make any notes you want. And feel free to press pause whenever you need to.
Katie: And we'll be sending our friendly time-travelling reporter back to the last century to report from the scene.
Datshiane: In this episode, we'll be focussing in on prejudice which links to other broader themes in a series of migration and culture.
Katie: See, America originally had what is called an 'open door immigration policy'. This meant that immigration was positively encouraged. And this policy enabled the USA to develop and prosper.
Datshiane: So, let's look at the causes of migration to the USA before the First World War. Then, we'll examine the consequences it had.
Katie: That's those causes and consequences again. Being able to identify and examine their significance will really help you with your exam preparation.
Datshiane: And we're going to use sources as evidence to reinforce our argument. Remember that too?
Katie: So, Datshiane, have a look at this census map showing immigrant populations in the USA in the 1900s. It tells us nearly 14% of the population, which is around ten and half million people, were born outside of the USA . And between 1850 and the First World War in 1914 forty million people came from Europe to America.
Datshiane: Let's go through the causes using our Ws.
Katie: That's the who, where and why. They're going to be important.
Datshiane: So, Christian and Jewish people fled religious persecution. Some migrants fled because of their political beliefs.
Katie: The Bill of Rights is a good source to explain why persecuted people migrated to the USA. It guaranteed freedom to practice your chosen religion. And the Declaration of Independence that we also looked at, stated: 'All men are created equal.'
Datshiane: Okay. But what about women?
Katie: It did apply to them too. And we look specifically at the experience of women in Episode 8.
Datshiane: Another cause of migration was that many European towns and cities were overcrowded. Land was in short supply, so it was expensive.
Katie: Much of European society was still divided by class. And it was very difficult for working class people to improve their lives.
Datshiane: And it is true that at this time the standard of living was higher. Many workers were paid more in America. There were jobs in industries like steel, coal and textile production. And don't forget the motor car, electrical and chemical industries.
Katie: The American dream appealed to these people. The phrase was coined in a bestselling book that came out in 1931 called Epic of America by James Truslow Adams. It was the idea that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed. And this was helped by vast areas of American land that was cheap and fertile with a wealth of natural resources like cotton, oil and timber.
Datshiane: So, it's no wonder that so many people came to America looking for greater prosperity.
Katie: Okay, so if those were the causes let's look at consequences of immigration in the USA.
Datshiane: Like, did everyone achieve their American dream.
Katie: Now of course some achieved great success. They opened thriving businesses with a good standard of living. Others found working and living conditions difficult. Cheap labour was in high demand in America's growing industrialised cities. Employers often paid new immigrants lower wages.
Datshiane: As a result, some Americans thought that immigrants were out to steal jobs.
Katie: This says a lot about some attitudes in society. Intolerance and xenophobia, or the dislike of people from other countries, were part of that.
Datshiane: More immigrants had come from the late 1800s from southern and eastern Europe. In some cities, concentrated areas of ethnic communities had taken shape; such as Little Italy in New York.
Katie: And immigrants were often resented if they were poor or couldn't speak English or had different traditions or religious practices.
Datshiane: We can add two other main causes for the negative attitudes to immigrants that some Americans had. One, the First World War had stoked a mistrust of foreigners generally.
Katie: And the Russian Revolution of 1917 saw citizens rise up to overthrow the government which was replaced by a communist one.
Datshiane: So, many Americans feared communism which they saw as a threat to capitalism and the American dream. And they wanted to make sure that it didn't take over in the USA.
Katie: And there was another group that Americans feared in the 1920s. Anarchists. People who were against all forms of government or authority.
Datshiane: An anarchist had shot dead the American president William McKinley in 1901. The assassin, Leon F Czolgosz, had been born in the United States and he was the son of immigrants.
Katie: Czolgosz's motive for killing the President was to draw attention to social inequalities and express his disillusionment with the government and capitalism.
Datshiane: So, there was a prevailing fear of anarchists and communists or 'reds' as they were called.
Katie: This view was heightened as just two years after the Russian Revolution, a bomb destroyed the house of the Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer who had been in charge of law and police. And guess what, a communist newspaper was found next to the body of the man who planted the bomb.
Datshiane: Hmm. Now this could have been circumstantial or a setup. But it fanned the flames of fear. Palmer swore to get rid of the reds and anarchists from America. Around six thousand suspects, possibly more, were rounded up. Some, just for having a foreign accent. This was known as the Palmer Raids. Which brings us to Sacco and Vanzetti.
Katie: So, how are you at historical detective work?
Datshiane: Well, the case was solved wasn't it? The two men, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were both convicted of murder and executed.
Katie: Right. But… the trial and verdict were controversial. Here's what happened. The pair, both immigrants, Italian-born and anarchists, were charged with murder during an armed robbery on a shoe factory on the 15th of April 1920.
Datshiane: Their initial trial lasted for forty-five days. But the jury found them guilty in just a couple of hours. But, for seven years their execution was put on hold as their lawyers disputed the ruling.
Katie: See, there were doubts about the evidence. The men could not understand English very well but protested their innocence.
Datshiane: And there were also protests around the world. Protestors said the trial was unfair and accused the judge and members of the jury of bias against them because of who they were and not what they had done. Their defence continued to fight for justice for another seven years. Then, in April 1927, they were both finally sentenced to death.
Katie: Let's head back to that moment with our time travelling reporter, Jordan.
Jordan: Today, in this courtroom packed with anxious spectators, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti the two Italian immigrants and known anarchists, were sentenced to death for the 1920 murders of a paymaster and a security guard during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. The sentencing has drawn widespread outrage and sparked international protests, as many believe the two men were victims of prejudice and an unfair trial. The trial, which has lasted seven long years, has been clouded with accusations of bias against the defendants due to their immigrant status and radical political beliefs. Throughout the case, Sacco and Vanzetti maintained their innocence saying they were being persecuted not for the crime but for who they were. In an emotional statement to the court, Bartolomeo Vanzetti declared, ‘I've suffered because I was an Italian. And indeed, I am an Italian.’ Nicola Sacco also spoke passionately saying, ‘I know the sentence will be between two classes. The oppressed and the oppressor.’ His words underscore the sentiment held by many supporters: that the trial was a grave miscarriage of justice influenced by the anti-immigrant and anti-anarchist atmosphere of the 1920s. Back to the Bitesize studio.
Katie: Thanks for that, Jordan. With hostile feeling towards immigrants on the rise before the end of the First World War, the Government began introducing laws preventing some people from entering the USA. Then, it took more drastic action to reduce numbers with quotas. You might want to write these down.
Datshiane: First, the 1917 Literacy Act banned anyone over 16 who could not read a sentence of forty words.
Katie: Next, in 1921, the Immigration Quota Law, set the limit of 350,000 immigrants per year.
Datshiane: And the 1924 National Origins Act reduced that to less than half.
Katie: Well, we've covered a lot in this episode. Let's revisit some key points with a quick test. Usual rules - three questions, five seconds for you to answer. No points, no prizes, just the joy of knowing that those facts have stuck.
Datshiane: Who were Americans afraid of during the Red Scare?
Katie: That would be communists as well as anarchists.
Datshiane: Okay. Now name the two Italians who were sentenced to death in 1927 for a murder that they probably didn't commit.
Katie: Sacco and Vanzetti.
Datshiane: And how did the American government cut immigration?
Katie: With laws and quotas. And extra points if you named them as Literacy Act, Immigration Quota Law and National Origins Act.
Datshiane: Okay. It's summary time. So, between 1850 and 1914 around 40 million people emigrated to America.
Katie: Many were from southern or Eastern Europe fleeing persecution or political repression.
Datshiane: Others from Europe wanted to escape poverty and find a more prosperous life. But unease grew in the established population towards the newcomers whose traditions were often different.
Katie: Fears spread that communists or anarchists would try and overturn order in the USA.
Datshiane: The Palmer Raids were a response to bombings in the period known as the Red Scare.
Katie: The case of Sacco and Vanzetti saw a controversial murder trial end in the execution of the two Italian-born anarchists.
Datshiane: And a series of laws were introduced setting a maximum for the number of immigrants allowed into the USA each year.
Katie: There'll be more on 20th-century American history in our next get-together in Episode 4 where we'll be looking at African American experiences.
Datshiane: Head over to the Bitesize website if you can't wait for that. Thanks for listening.
Question
With hostile feeling towards immigrants on the rise before the end of the First World War, what laws did the American government introduce to prevent some people entering the USA?
The 1917 Literacy Act banned anyone over 16 who could not read a sentence of 40 words.
In 1921, the Immigration Quota Law set a limit of 350,000 immigrants a year.
The 1924 National Origins Act cut the quota of immigrants to two percent of it’s population of the USA in 1890.
Listen on BBC Sounds.
Episode 4 - The experiences of African-Americans in the 1920s
In this episode of the series, Katie and Datshiane explore the experiences of African-Americans in the USA. They'll examine the themes of segregation and the impact of systemic discrimination.
Announcer: BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
Katie: I'm Katie Charlwood, a history podcaster.
Datshiane: And I'm Datshiane Navanayagam, a history graduate and BBC presenter.
Katie: Welcome to Bitesize GCSE History. This is episode 4 in our nine-part series on American history, in which we shine a light on African American experiences in the 20th century. It's a serious subject and there'll be a lot to take in.
Datshiane: Throughout the series, we'll pull out major themes from the period and see how events and developments connect with them.
Katie: Segregation is an important theme, and for this our searchlight will be on the USA's Jim Crow laws.
Datshiane: We'll be exploring difficult topics, including racial tensions, and the impact of systemic discrimination. If at any point you feel overwhelmed please take a break or speak to someone you trust. Remember, it's okay to feel emotional about these events, and it's important to approach this subject with respect and care.
Katie: We'll also look at the juxtaposition of the African American experience of racism and segregation with a time of cultural and intellectual thriving. So, keep your pen and paper handy, or your laptop, as we will share revision tips as we go.
Datshiane: So, let's go over what were known as the Jim Crow laws. These were designed to keep African Americans segregated.
Katie: See, slavery had been abolished in the USA in 1865, but some clung on to racist ideas. Some white politicians were determined to maintain their political and economic power over black people, and they did this by passing the Jim Crow laws.
Datshiane: But, you know, this didn't just happen in the Deep South. Segregation laws were passed in all but nine American states. Check out BBC Bitesize for more on this, as well as the de facto racism encountered all over America.
Katie: Well, that seems to fly in the face of the Declaration of Independence credo, that all people are born equal.
Datshiane: Well, a Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson ruling in 1896, had qualified the original principle, saying people could be ‘separate but equal.’ This stated that segregation was constitutional and legal, as long as the separate facilities provided to black and white people were of equal quality.
Katie: But ‘separate’ did not mean ‘equal’ in reality, as we'll see. And more often than not, African Americans were treated like second-class citizens. They couldn't use the same restaurants, hotels, swimming pools. Even shared cemeteries were out of bounds, as well as libraries, cinemas, transport, waiting rooms, schools and toilets.
Datshiane: Yes, that's right, Katie. So, I've got a picture here from 1939 of an African American man drinking from a very basic segregated water fountain. Now, we can use that photograph as a source to analyse the idea of ‘separate but equal’ and how it played out in reality.
Katie: Segregation was even maintained in the military. And some states banned marriages between black and white people. But some people tried to override these laws; they fell in love and formed relationships and bonds in spite of these laws. Take the case of Andrea Perez, who was white, who applied for a licence to marry Sylvester Davis, who was black, in 1948.
Datshiane: We can use court records as a source to reveal how the couple tried to compel the county clerk of Los Angeles to issue them with the marriage licence and certificate, but their application was turned down.
Katie: Because at the time, African Americans were not treated equally by the justice system. Many judges, sheriffs, and even the police, upheld the Jim Crow laws.
Datshiane: So, the reality didn't resemble the 1896 court ruling of ‘separate but equal,’ did it, Katie?
Katie: Definitely not. In reality, facilities and opportunities were not equal. Schools for black children were crowded and sometimes there was no funding at all. But in our final podcast, Episode 9, we'll go over how the civil rights struggle in which some people took a stand managed to bring about significant changes.
Katie: As this episode centres on racial discrimination intentions, we absolutely need to talk about the Ku Klux Klan, or the KKK. The KKK wanted to keep African Americans – as they said – ‘in their place,’ by which they meant below white people.
Datshiane: The KKK were also hostile to Jewish people and other minority groups, and they used terror and violence to achieve their ends.
Katie: Part of their strategy was to intimidate black people to stop them voting for someone who might stand up for them.
Datshiane: So, the group was first set up in the 1860s, but then it went into decline at the turn of the century. Then, a controversial but highly popular 1915 feature film called ‘The Birth of a Nation’ which glorified Klansmen revived their fortunes and membership shot up to five million.
Katie: Because of their large membership, their actions and influence in the 20th century was huge. The Klan saw itself as a bastion against so-called ‘moral decline.’ As a part of this, they also attacked people who drank alcohol and gambled to clean up society. Their methods were grim and violent, from whipping to lynching.
Datshiane: Listen to this. In his autobiography, the black African civil rights activist Malcolm X wrote, ‘When my mother was pregnant with me, a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home in Omaha, Nebraska one night. Surrounding the house, brandishing their shotguns and rifles, they shouted for my father to come out. Standing where they could see her pregnant condition, she told them that she was alone with her three small children and that my father was away preaching in Milwaukee. The Klansmen shouted threats and warnings at her that we had better get out of town because the good Christian white people were not going to stand for my father spreading trouble.’
Katie: This is an example of how the KKK used violence and intimidation against black people, who they felt were trying to resist racism and segregation. Eventually they lost most of their support when a local Klan leader was tried for the brutal kidnapping, rape and murder of a young woman. At his trial he revealed Klan secrets, and within a year membership had plummeted.
Datshiane: Okay, so segregation was widespread, but it was most marked in the southern states. So, it's no wonder, really, that many from the African American communities decided to strike out for a better life away from the south. This became known as the Great Migration.
Katie: Where there was better pay and chances of working in the new industries.
Datshiane: Yes, so African American populations more than doubled in Chicago and New York in the early 1900s.
Katie: Yeah, but there was still racism.
Datshiane: Exactly. Some factories wouldn't hire black workers, or they paid them the lowest wages.
Katie: And sometimes there were riots, like in 1919 when a black teenager accidentally strayed onto a whites-only beach in Chicago.
Datshiane: Despite the racism suffered, African Americans were trailblazers in organising against these injustices. For example, W.E.B. Du Bois, the great-grandson of an African who had been enslaved. He helped set up the NAACP in 1910, which campaigned for voting rights for African Americans, as well as campaigning against racial violence, discrimination in employment, and segregated public facilities.
Katie: In this section there has been some serious history to take in, so pause here if you need to reflect.
Datshiane: So, let's consider how racism impacted the lives of African Americans in the 1920s. This might be the basis of an exam question. Have a go yourself after the podcast. Remember to use your knowledge and always use a primary source if you have one.
Katie: In my answer, I'd write that African Americans continued to face discrimination, especially in the south as a result of the Jim Crow laws and a corrupt legal system, whilst still facing violence and intimidation from the KKK. But I'd also say that there were also new opportunities. With the Great Migration, millions of black Americans headed north to find better pay and work in industry. However, they were still paid less and there were still racial tensions that occasionally erupted into riots. Against that there were also political changes too, and some of these were positives, for example, voting rights led to elected officials who were black.
Datshiane: You're right. So, perhaps add that there were campaigns to improve outcomes after W.E.B. Du Bois set up the NAACP in 1909.
Katie: So, I'd conclude that some African American communities thrived despite the racism in northern cities. Harlem in New York particularly became a hive of creative talent and culture.
Datshiane: And that's what we're going to look at in the next section. When I was at university I loved Bessie Smith's voice. She was an African American blues singer, and her songs were raw and powerful and like nothing I'd heard before. They were just full of emotion, and she had such a strong voice that she often did it without a microphone. She was one of the artists that emerged in the Black Renaissance. African American artists, poets, writers and musicians began to thrive.
Katie: Like Louis Armstrong with his trumpet and his group The Hot Five were another example. Harlem, a neighbourhood in New York City, was slap-bang in the middle of this fabulous activity.
Datshiane: And what's more, white people also joined in to dance and listen to this music. Let's check in with our Bitesize History time-travelling reporter Jordan who's in Harlem in 1925.
Jordan: This is the Savoy Ballroom in the heart of Harlem, which has become the epicentre of a cultural movement, the Harlem Renaissance. Despite the harsh realities of segregation and racism, black culture is thriving here, and jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith are leading the charge. But this thriving scene contrasts with the struggle that African Americans face across the country. Amidst the glamour and excitement in Harlem, I just saw Marcus Garvey, a powerful figure, advocating for African pride and unity. Garvey has inspired many with his message, declaring: ‘The black skin is not a badge of shame but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness.’ Harlem offers a sanctuary for artistic expression and pride. Movements like Garvey's organisation, the UNIA-ACL, as well as other intellectual and cultural hubs, keep the spirit of Renaissance alive. Here in the heart of Harlem a revolution of music, art and pride flourishes against the backdrop of racial inequality. This is Jordan. Back to the studio.
Katie: Thanks, Jordan. Okay, so it is test time. Three questions, five seconds each to write your answers down. Here goes. What is the name of the laws designed to keep African Americans segregated?
Datshiane: The Jim Crow laws.
Katie: And what court ruling by the Supreme Court qualified that this meant people were ‘separate but equal?’
Datshiane: That was the Plessy vs Ferguson ruling in 1896.
Katie: And what was the Harlem Renaissance?
Datshiane: Well, this was a surge in creativity, culture and pride amongst African Americans, especially in Harlem, New York. Okay, Katie, let's do a quick overview of this episode.
Katie: Okay. The Jim Crow laws continued to keep African Americans segregated in the 20th century.
Datshiane: African Americans faced significant barriers to voting, especially in the southern states.
Katie: Economic opportunities were limited, and they faced discrimination in hiring and employment practices.
Datshiane: Don't forget, widespread violence and intimidation were used to maintain racial hierarchies.
Katie: And so many African Americans moved from the rural south to northern cities in the Great Migration.
Datshiane: But despite these hardships, African Americans contributed significantly to American culture, particularly during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.
Katie: Coming up in the next episode we've got prohibition, speakeasies, Mafia and mobs.
Datshiane: Thanks for listening.
Question
What were the aims of the NAACP?
The NAACP was established in 1910 and campaigned for voting rights for African Americans, as well campaigning against racial violence, discrimination in employment and segregated public facilities.
Listen on BBC Sounds.
Episode 5 - Prohibition and organised crime in the 1920s
Datshiane and Katie delve deeper into Prohibition, the Temperance movement and the rise in organised crime in this episode.
Announcer: BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
Datshiane: I'm Datshiane Navanayagam, a history graduate and BBC presenter.
Katie: And I'm Katie Charlwood, a history podcaster.
Datshiane: And welcome to our relaxed but informative Bitesize podcast.
Katie: If our series on 20th-century American history were a voyage to America, we'd be more than halfway now.
Datshiane: So maybe bobbing around somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic Ocean, Katie?
Katie: It could be, because we've reached episode five on Prohibition.
Datshiane: And we promise you, it's a corker.
Katie: Gangster movies were popular in America as organised crime took off.
Datshiane: It was a time of great contrast. You've got Christian morality and patriotic groups calling for alcohol to be banned in what would become known as Prohibition.
Katie: And then you've got millions resisting it when it becomes law. When Prohibition comes in, people take advantage of the new laws and make fabulous fortunes out of offering illegal liquor. More on all this in a mo.
Datshiane: We'll also be suggesting revision tips as we go, so keep your pen and paper or laptop handy.
Katie: And remember, every episode links up with BBC Bitesize to help you learn and succeed with 20th-century American history.
Datshiane: And our time-travelling reporter will join us from a secret location in Chicago in the 1930s.
Katie: Okay, so let's all make sure we'll all on the same page here. Exactly what is Prohibition, Datshiane?
Datshiane: So, Prohibition was the nationwide ban on alcohol in the USA between 1920 and 1933. This covered the production, importing, transportation and sale of alcohol in the years it was banned. The ban was brought in by the federal government.
Katie: Well, that's a pretty drastic step to take, isn't it?
Datshiane: Yeah, it is. Some people thought it was invasive in their lives. But, you know, supporters of Prohibition saw it as a noble cause. Ultimately though, it failed, and the law had to be repealed, but not before there had been unintended consequences in the rocketing of organised crime. Well, more on that a bit later.
Katie: So, what are the main themes for us to consider as we go through our episode on Prohibition?
Datshiane: Well, I would say it's important to look at Prohibition as embodying the divisions in American society in the 20th century. Prohibition was supported by people who were worried about alcohol-fuelled violence and crime, and they were concerned about what they saw as a moral decline in society, more broadly. The social and political campaign to ban alcohol is known as the Temperance Movement.
Katie: Okay, so that's one perspective. What's the other?
Datshiane: Well, the other perspective was that Prohibition was a violation of people's personal liberties.
Katie: However, the policy of Prohibition had a lot of supporters, and a number of key groups or societies supported the movement. You've got the American Temperance Society, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League.
Datshiane: So, these all opposed alcohol for religious and moral reasons, and there were campaigners who were worried about the impact of drunkenness, crime, violence and domestic abuse.
Katie: Added to that, some business leaders who believed alcohol made their workers less efficient.
Datshiane: Some people also thought that beer drinkers were traitors, as beer had been imported from Germany whom America was fighting against in the First World War just a few years earlier.
Katie: And all of these groups put pressure on the American government to ban liquor or alcohol. And in 1920, they succeeded.
Datshiane: So, we can use the front page of a newspaper called The American Issue as a source to show how campaigners in different states thought of this as a victory. The paper's story spoke of states having ‘the honour’ to vote in the policy. This approving headline in 1919 ran: ‘U.S. Is Voted Dry.’
Katie: But it didn't last.
Datshiane: If you are asked to write about the consequences of Prohibition, we can see a number of reasons why it didn't last.
Katie: See, millions of people actually wanted to be able to drink alcohol and they were willing to break the law to carry on doing so.
Datshiane: Yeah, so amongst them was the President of the United States himself, Warren G. Harding. Harding had a fondness for whisky, and he drank in violation of the law anyway.
Katie: Other drinkers resorted to brewing whisky at home from corn. That was called moonshine or rotgut.
Datshiane: The law was also really hard to enforce.
Katie: And around one and a half thousand Prohibition agents were given the task.
Datshiane: But they faced major obstacles.
Katie: Yes, the USA had more than 18,000 miles of coastline and land borders, so it was relatively easy smuggling liquor in by sea or across the border from Mexico to the south or Canada from the north.
Datshiane: Yessiree! Smuggling liquor in was known as bootlegging.
Katie: The Association Against the Prohibition Amendment, the AAPA for short, pulled in thousands of members, and they said Prohibition was making Americans lose respect for the law and they pointed out that legalising liquor would create legal jobs that had been lost.
Datshiane: Businesses whose trade depended on alcohol, like distilleries and saloons, had shut down. People with jobs connected to them, barrel makers to truckers to waiters, they found themselves unemployed, and Prohibition cost the federal government around eleven billion dollars in lost tax revenue, and more than three hundred million dollars just to enforce.
Katie: Because one of the biggest downsides to Prohibition were the criminal gangs who got involved in making and supplying illegal alcohol. The gangs ran illegal bars called speakeasies in cellars and hotel rooms.
Datshiane: Competition for control of this trade led to gang rivalry and violence. The gangsters made so much money they could easily afford to bribe police officers, Prohibition agents, border guards and judges.
Katie: The millions of dollars they were making could have gone into the mainstream economy.
Datshiane: But, in the course of thirteen years, the illicit trade made some gang leaders staggeringly rich, and it gave them power, leverage and influence in society.
Katie: And not surprisingly, no witness was ever keen to testify against them.
Datshiane: You could say their arm had a long reach.
Katie: And they stayed out of jail.
Datshiane: But the end was in sight for Prohibition, and the gangs benefiting from it. In the 1932 presidential election, the Democratic Party candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt promised to make drinking alcohol legal again if he was elected.
Katie: And Roosevelt won! Check out the Bitesize website for more.
Datshiane: Big-name movie stars featured in gangster movies loosely based on the life of the gang leaders. These thrillers were laced with violence. Some of the best-known gangsters were ‘Lucky’ Luciano and Vito ‘Chicken Head’ Gurino.
Katie: But perhaps the most famous was Al Capone, also known as ‘Scarface.’ He is said to have made ten million dollars a year from racketeering alone. Let's make contact with our time-travelling Bitesize reporter Jordan, somewhere in 1930s Chicago.
Jordan: I'm inside an illegal speakeasy in Chicago. Prohibition, which has banned alcohol from 1920, has transformed this city into a hub of underground activity. Flappers in beaded dresses swirl on the dance floor, while men in fedoras and double-breasted suits exchange knowing glances over illegal cocktails. Al Capone, Chicago's infamous crime boss, made a fortune smuggling liquor and running underground bars. He has recently said, ‘I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand.’ And the Chicago Daily Tribute has written that, ‘Prohibition has made nothing but trouble.’ This echoes the thought of many here. They see Prohibition as a failed experiment. Yet, Eliot Ness and his special unit of law enforcement agents, known as The Untouchables, are determined to bring down the bootleggers. He has said, ‘You can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.’ For many, these speakeasies represent freedom and excitement in a time of oppression. Prohibition, it seems, is not just about banning alcohol, it's about also personal liberty, and Chicago is right in the middle of it. This is Jordan, reporting for Bitesize. Back to the studio.
Datshiane: Thanks, Jordan. So, let's think about how we might tackle a question that asks us to consider the ways Prohibition changed American society. Katie, why don't you go?
Katie: So, to answer, I would quickly sum up what it was like before Prohibition. Alcohol was widely available in many states. Morality and religious campaigners believed a ban would counter what they saw as ‘declining moral values’ and remedy social ills like addiction and debt.
Datshiane: Now for the consequences or changes as a result of Prohibition. Well, in the thirteen years that it was law, Prohibition drastically changed America. It prompted the emergence of organised crime syndicates, who bribed and corrupted officials, it hammered the economy and hit jobs, and it shaped culture, spawning thrillers and films about gangsters.
Katie: And the real-life gangs made fortunes from running illegal bars called speakeasies. They sold alcohol smuggled into the country. Speakeasies mushroomed, and by the end of the Prohibition era the ones in New York overtook the number of bars that had been there before the policy was introduced. People from all walks of life carried on drinking alcohol, including the American president Warren G. Harding. Some people resorted to homemade moonshine and there was a loss of confidence in law enforcement and the judiciary, with many being paid bribes by the gangs. But the movie industry was galvanised with a new trend of gangster movies showing art imitating life.
Datshiane: Great stuff. Right, test time again. No buzzers to stand by but three questions and five seconds to write down your answer, or feel free to press pause if you need a bit longer. Here we go.
Katie: Okay, so, name some of the main campaign groups in favour of Prohibition.
Datshiane: You can have the American Temperance Society, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League, all of whom supported the overall temperance movement.
Katie: Next, why did Prohibition fail?
Datshiane: Well, it was unpopular. Many people still wanted to consume alcohol. It was almost impossible to enforce, it fuelled organised crime, and it led to the corruption of some police officers and even judges.
Katie: And finally, when did it end?
Datshiane: In 1933, after Franklin Roosevelt was elected president.
Katie: Okay, well done, everyone! I'm sure we all aced it.
Datshiane: Right, time to go over our main points.
Katie: Prohibition was the nationwide ban on the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcohol between 1920 and 1933.
Datshiane: Politicians who supported a ban thought it would make America a better, healthier place, as did many religious organisations and churches.
Katie: But Prohibition was hard to enforce. People brewed their own alcohol, and liquor was smuggled in. Violent criminal gangs made enormous profits. By 1933 there were around 200,000 speakeasies.
Datshiane: And it had cost the country millions in lost revenue, enforcement and jobs.
Katie: And the new president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, axed the policy.
Datshiane: Head over to the Bitesize website for more on this and loads of other GCSE history.
Katie: I feel like we're really starting to get under the skin of America and the Roaring Twenties and beyond.
Datshiane: But, Katie, did the thirties get off to a roaring start with Prohibition over?
Katie: Well, some Americans might have thought so, but it was all about to come tumbling down. And yes, you've got it, the Wall Street Crash.
Datshiane: Hold on tight and we will see you in Episode 6.
Katie: Thanks for listening.
Question
What was prohibition?
Prohibition was the nationwide ban on alcohol in the USA between 1920 and 1933. It covered the production, importing, transportation and sale of alcohol in the years alcohol was banned. The ban was brought in by the federal government.
Listen on BBC Sounds.
Episode 6 - The Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression
In this episode, Katie and Datshiane explore the causes of the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and the consequences leading to the Great Depression.
Announcer: BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
Katie: I'm Katie Charlwood.
Datshiane: And I'm Datshiane Navanayagam.
Katie: And this is Bitesize GCSE History.
Katie: So, Datshiane, if I said to you, "Wall Street lays an egg" would you have the tiniest glimmer of what it means?
Datshiane: Well, less a glimmer and more a ray of sunlight because it's one of the most famous headlines in American history from the Hollywood newspaper Variety. Laying an egg was American showbiz speak for failing badly. And failing badly is what happened when the American stock market crashed in 1929. And in this episode we're looking at the Wall Street Crash and the ensuing havoc it reeked.
Katie: So, keep your notebook or laptop to hand. You can stop and play back as much as you like.
Datshiane: Okay. So, the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression. Let's consider the causes and then we'll move on to the consequences.
Katie: In the 1920s many ordinary Americans played the market buying and selling shares in new successful companies. So, by 1929, almost twenty million Americans owned shares. People sometimes borrowed from the banks to finance these investments.
Datshiane: Now the why. Why did everything go wrong in October 1929? Because it had been working throughout the decade hadn't it?
Katie: Well, yes. But there were stress points and weaknesses in the economy. Inequality of wealth, another theme of this series, was one. Not all Americans could afford the mass-produced consumer goods. Factories were making goods faster than they could sell them.
Datshiane: And profits began to fall.
Katie: Other countries were imposing tariffs on American imports. Remember the USA had been doing the same to encourage people to buy American.
Datshiane: The flip side though meant that American companies were struggling to sell abroad because their products cost more.
Katie: So, when factories couldn't sell all their consumer goods they cut jobs setting in motion a vicious cycle meaning even fewer people had money to buy and factories cut more jobs. Unemployment started to rise.
Datshiane: As demand fell for consumer goods, traditional industries like building ships and railways were stagnant or in decline. Farming was hit by over-production with tariffs on American grain with more job losses. Prohibition made things even worse since grain was no longer needed to distil whisky that was now banned.
Katie: And rising debt was a problem. Credit helped feed the boom, but people couldn't always pay back what they owed.
Datshiane: Another factor was the laissez-faire strategy of the Government under three Republican presidents. Banks were unregulated and reckless with loans.
Katie: So, they did not have the capital to cover a rush for cash.
Datshiane: And borrowers couldn't repay them as the value of their shares plummeted.
Katie: And there were also short-term factors that helped trigger the crash.
Datshiane: So, share prices rose after President Herbert Hoover was elected on his promise to increase tariffs on imports to encourage Americans to buy home-produced goods. This was considered sound economic policy by some. But other economists and manufactures like car magnate Henry Ford disagreed because of retaliatory measures from other countries. After the Senate blocked the increase, share prices fell.
Katie: Worrying about share value prompted people to sell in September 1929.
Datshiane: Soon it was sell, sell, sell.
Katie: And word spread about falling profits in leading companies.
Datshiane: More and more people started to panic sell shares creating a downward spiral in value.
Katie: Then, on 24th October thirteen million shares were sold on the New York Stock Exchange. Some investors called it Black Thursday, while others called it The Crash.
Datshiane: But, it didn't stop there. Five days later on Tuesday 29th October sixteen million shares were sold.
Katie: And the economy collapsed.
Datshiane: People rushed to draw their money out of failing banks before it was too late.
Katie: But it was for many. The boom had bust.
Datshiane: And just like that in the final months of the decade the roaring twenties came to an end with a bang.
Katie: Time to check in with our time travelling Bitesize GCSE History reporter Kitty at the New York Stock Exchange in 1929.
Kitty: Today is a day that will go down in history as Black Thursday. A staggering thirteen million shares have been sold on the New York Stock Exchange and the panic is palpable as investors scramble to salvage their fortunes. ‘I'm not a crook. I'm just trying to keep my business alive!’ exclaimed one desperate trader reflecting the fears gripping Wall Street. The situation has spiralled out of control and now that people are selling out of panic it's triggered a massive crash. Standing outside the exchange the cries of traders echo in the air. And the mood has shifted to despair in a matter of hours. The impact of this crash cannot be underestimated. Hundreds of banks will fail leaving hundreds of thousands of customers without their savings. This calamity is a stark reminder that the glittering facade of prosperity can crumble in an instant. As the Stock Market trembles, the nation braces for what lies ahead. This is Kitty reporting for Bitesize History. Back to the studio.
Datshiane: Thanks, Kitty. Let's consider the consequences of the Wall Street Crash on people's lives.
Katie: Some people tried to repay bank loans by selling off anything of value they owned. People who couldn't pay rent were out on the street. Many who couldn't pay their mortgage were evicted. Some ended up living in dwellings on waste ground made out of boxes, scrap metal and cloth. These makeshift settlements were called Hoovervilles, mockingly named after President Hoover.
Datshiane: We can use newspapers as another source. From the Santa Ana Register to the Milwaukee Leader headlines screamed, ‘Billions lost as stocks crash.’
Katie: Urban and rural Americans were affected. Staff in banks that closed lost their jobs.
Datshiane: Unemployed workers travelled the country looking for work.
Katie: Farmers were hit. They had bought shares or had taken out bank loans to modernise their farms.
Datshiane: Bank closures left some with huge debts. Many went bankrupt and had their farms forfeited when they couldn't repay.
Katie: Only wealthy landowners went mostly unscathed.
Datshiane: America woke up to misery and hardship on a grand scale.
Katie: Letters asking for help are a good source to show how families struggled.
Datshiane: In one, a seventeen-year-old girl from Buffalo wrote to the President's wife saying she had to leave school because she didn't have any clothes to wear. The teenager goes on to say, ‘My father is working and making a little money but we are barely living. I’ve looked for work every day but I don't seem to have any luck. I’m still wearing my summer coat and I have a very bad cold. All I'm asking for is a few dresses and a winter coat.’
Datshiane: President Hoover of the Republican Party thought America would recover through people's own efforts rather than government help.
Katie: He did help businesses and farms but only a few years after the Depression had taken its toll.
Datshiane: Violence and protest erupted.
Katie: Some farmers even saw off government officials with guns and pitch forks when they’d come to evict them.
Datshiane: Unemployed veterans staged a Bonus March in Washington DC to ask for their First World War bonuses early. The army chased them away in tanks.
Katie: And by the end of 1932, the country had a new President. Franklin Delano Roosevelt also known as FDR and a new approach with his New Deal policies.
Datshiane: In this section, press pause if you need to and take notes because there's lots of information coming up. FDR's New Deal was strongly interventionist unlike the Republican president's laissez-faire style of government.
Katie: In the first 100 days of the new FDR Presidency more action was taken to end the Depression than since its onset.
Datshiane: The new programme covered three key methods of responding to the impact of the Depression: relief, recovery and reform. These were designed to help farmers and rural communities, businesses and workers, unemployed people and the homeless.
Katie: New organisations, nicknamed the Alphabet Agencies as they were known by their initials, were set up to work with different sectors.
Datshiane: Credit was extended by the AAA Agency. Farmers were also paid to produce less to inflate prices and earn more.
Katie: The agencies gave loans to people still struggling to pay the mortgage on their homes.
Datshiane: They provided employment to millions in construction work like schools and airports and dams for electric power stations including in the poorest areas like the Tennessee River Valley.
Katie: Another two and a half million conservation jobs for youngsters were created by the CCC Agency. And there was a voluntary scheme to encourage employers to pay fair wages.
Datshiane: 500 million dollars went to help homeless people.
Katie: The ailing banking sector was reformed.
Datshiane: FDR closed banks temporarily and he had them inspected and regulated. Only the well-run ones were allowed to reopen. These banks could in turn lend to businesses to start getting the economy moving again.
Katie: The programme axed Prohibition meaning the Government could start collecting tax from alcohol sales again.
Datshiane: Not every part of the New Deal was welcomed though. Wealthy people resented paying higher taxes to fund it.
Katie: Some business owners rejected new codes for fair conditions between employers and workers leading to strikes.
Datshiane: And the Supreme Court ruled the AAA Agency illegal along with new codes of practice for employers and measures to inflate food prices artificially to boost farmer's income.
Katie: If you want more information on these alphabet agencies you can find out more on the Bitesize website. Many Republicans were appalled by FDR's interventionism.
Datshiane: Other critics proposed going further. Radical politicians like Huey Long and other philanthropists called for the sharing out of wealth or earlier retirement to provide jobs for the young.
Katie: But FDR was re elected for a second term. His Second New Deal provided financial assistance to the most vulnerable, like orphans.
Datshiane: And its Wagner Act allowed workers to join a trade union. There was also help for sharecroppers to buy farmland and more public work schemes to create jobs.
Katie: The New Deal made important achievements. But it did have shortcomings.
Datshiane: Gross National Product, an index of economic health, rose steadily.
Katie: The number of banks failing fell sharply.
Datshiane: There were millions of new jobs but at least one in ten was out of work in the 1930s. And millions still remained in poverty.
Katie: But, the Second World War boosted the economy.
Datshiane: The American Government spent some two hundred and fifty million dollars a day. And the effects filtered down to ordinary people and businesses. There was almost full employment and wages increased.
Katie: The New Deal legacies were seen in future government programmes.
Datshiane: The New Frontier Project followed by the Great Society policies pursued the goal of eliminating poverty and inequality.
Katie: Okay. So, we have three quick questions to refresh the memory for you now and five seconds to write the answers down.
Datshiane: What was the major cause of the Wall Street Crash?
Katie: Over-speculation in the stock market.
Datshiane: Now when did the Wall Street Crash occur?
Katie: That was between the 24th and 29th October 1929.
Datshiane: And finally, what was the New Deal?
Katie: They were President Roosevelt's series of programmes of relief, recovery and reforms to rescue the USA from the Great Depression. Wow. This episode has been a roller coaster.
Datshiane: Okay but let's sum up the developments in brief.
Katie: In October 1929, the American Stock Market crashed.
Datshiane: Longer term factors included over-production of consumer goods and an unregulated banking sector.
Katie: And short term problems like loss of confidence in major companies and panic selling sent shares into a tailspin.
Datshiane: Two key dates saw billions wiped off share prices. Banks failed taking people savings with them. Many Americans also lost their jobs and homes in the Great Depression.
Katie: President Hoover's solution was mainly laissez-faire.
Datshiane: But, his successor Franklin D Roosevelt offered a New Deal covering loans, more jobs and emergency help for the homeless. Not all his measures were successful and some were opposed. Remember, there's more information on the Bitesize website.
Katie: And we're going to rock 'n' roll through our next episode.
Datshiane: On popular culture through the decades.
Katie: Can't wait!
Question
What was the New Deal?
Franklin D Roosevelt introduced The New Deal in response to the economic crises facing America following the Wall Street Crash.
The main aim of the New Deal was to save the American economy.
To do this, President Franklin D Roosevelt created a series of policies that saw the government intervene in the economy more than ever before.
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Episode 7 - Popular culture in the USA, 1920-1960
This episode sees Datshiane and Katie further exploring popular culture in the USA throughout the 20th century. They look into music, cinema, sport and literature.
Announcer: BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
Katie: I'm Katie Charlwood, a history podcaster.
Datshiane: And I'm Datshiane Navanayagam, a history graduate and BBC presenter.
Katie: Welcome to Bitesize GCSE history.
Datshiane: In this series, we're going through key developments and themes in American twentieth-century history. And you're gonna love this seventh episode, because it's on popular culture. So, Katie, tell us why culture's important enough for us to devote a whole episode to it.
Katie: Well, I'd say it's a reflection of society itself. It captures trends, ideas, protests and aspirations.
Datshiane: Agreed, it captures the zeitgeist, or the mood, or spirit of the age, and links to other big themes in this series, like the economy and migration.
Katie: The USA's booming economy in the 1920s meant some people had the money to go to the cinema or to buy a gramophone player to play the latest jazz music on.
Datshiane: The great migration for African Americans took them away from the southern states as they headed north and west.
Katie: It was the catalyst for exciting new cultural hubs in places like Harlem, New York.
Datshiane: Jazz was a mashup of brass band marches, ragtime, blues and gospel. It blended improvisation, fast tempos and lively rhythms. It was so popular, the twenties are sometimes called the Jazz Age.
Katie: When they're not roaring.
Datshiane: In big vibrant cities, like Chicago and New York, black and white people dancing in clubs and dance halls to jazz bands made black musicians like Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith famous.
Katie: Some black musicians, like Fats Waller, managed to make big profits from the sale of recordings and live performances.
Datshiane: But, sandwiched between the gloom of world war and the economic shock of the Wall Street crash, the decade saw some people embracing optimism, partying, enjoying new kinds of music and, for many, throwing caution to the winds.
Katie: Hedonistic?
Datshiane: Got it in one. It was a life devoted to pleasure, and having fun.
Katie: It was a period of great change with new modern dances: out with the waltz, and in with my favourite dance, the Charleston.
Datshiane: But remember not everyone approved; some older people thought the dances were lewd and encouraged immoral behaviour including drunkenness.
Katie: Well, some of the older generations also said that about cinema.
Datshiane: And there was a growing industry in Hollywood, in California, which produced popular movies from comedies to romance for mass audiences.
Katie: And cinema had a major impact on society. Film stars were the influencers of the decade.
Datshiane: You can understand the power picture houses had, because every town had one.
Katie: Weekly cinema audiences in the USA exploded from thirty-five million, in 1919, to one hundred million, in 1930.
Datshiane: That's incredible. The new stars of the silent screen, Rudolph Valentino and Clara Bow, were the crush of the age, promoted through mass medias and radio shows, to magazines and photoshoots.
Katie: Remember in Episode 2, we found the twenties was a time of invention and innovation with new gadgets and technologies? A really good example was 'The Jazz Singer' movie, released in 1927; the first feature length film with sound.
Datshiane: The talkies had arrived.
Katie: The thriving cinema industry provided thousands of jobs as well as entertainment for millions.
Datshiane: But again, not everyone approved.
Katie: Worries for some people that daring content in movies would encourage loose morals, prompted Hollywood to ban nudity in 1934.
Datshiane: As well as stars of the screen, there were stars of the pitch and fairway. Fans of sport like baseball and golf could follow play at one of the new stadiums, on the radio, and in the paper.
Katie: And crossword puzzles and board games took off, as people moved from one craze to the next.
Datshiane: And now we're moving on to the 1930s. But guess what, jazz wasn't a fad, and it was still popular in the 1930s with singers like Billie Holiday.
Katie: She recorded a protest song called, 'Strange Fruit', in 1939. The song used a grim metaphor to evoke the lynch mobs who pursued black Americans and ethnic minorities.
Datshiane: That song is a primary source to demonstrate how culture and politics interacted and connected to each other.
Katie: Culture also reveals society's trends and bold new ideas.
Datshiane: Like the growing appeal of science fiction and comic books, which came on the scene in the early 1930s; we can use an original action comic book as a source of evidence for this.
Katie: Yes, comic strips and comics were bright, cheap and easy to read.
Datshiane: With superheroes like The Phantom and Superman,
Katie: they offered escapism like the pictures, or cinema.
Datshiane: As did upbeat stage musicals like '42nd Street' and feature-length cartoon fairy stories from Walt Disney.
Katie: But some culture drew attention to very real down-to-earth problems in America. John Steinbeck, Tillie Olsen and Erskine Caldwell wrote about the Great Depression, poverty and racism. If we scoot forwards to the 50s, we see a youth culture on the rise. The term teenager became more common, and young people had more free time and money than previous generations.
Datshiane: And a new type of music was taking off, continuing the trend in the previous generation, where white youths partied to the music of black jazz artists, this was the turn of African American stars like Chuck Berry and Little Richard to wow the fans.
Katie: This was rock 'n' roll.
Datshiane: The term was the brainwave of disc jockey, Alan Freed, who wanted to develop this new trend, so he began playing rhythm and blues records, which was traditionally the music of black audiences, but he labelled this music 'rock 'n' roll' to bridge the gap between white and black audiences.
Katie: Offering music with a similar bluesy beat, Elvis Presley released his first hit song 'Heartbreak Hotel', in 1956.
Datshiane: And he became the most popular music artist in American history.
Katie: But not everyone approved. Television helped catapult Presley to fame.
Datshiane: Yup, and more people had them, as the price of your average television set dropped. In fact, by 1960, around eighty-seven per cent of homes had a telly and they were the main mode of home entertainment.
Katie: TV shows like 'I Love Lucy' defined American ideals of family life.
Datshiane: And this helped break down regional differences, as most Americans watched the same TV programmes, contributing to a new national popular culture.
Katie: Yay! Everyone approved! 'I Love Lucy' was huge at the time. The cultural historian, Lynn Spigel, wrote of the series that: "In its earliest manifestations, the family comedy provided television viewers with more than just an idealistic picture of themselves at home. […] The domestic sitcom appealed to viewers' experiences in post-war America and, above all, their fascination with the new television medium."
Datshiane: Nice quote, Katie. By the late 1950s, television shows, even though they were still shown in black and white, were hugely popular. But Hollywood felt threatened and so film makers came up with new experiences to draw in audiences, like widescreen formats and gimmicks like wearing special specs to view in 3D.
Katie: Film stars still had enormous pull with audiences thronging to glamorous leads like Marilyn Monroe and rebellious leading men, like James Dean.
Datshiane: Okay, but again, did everyone approve?
Katie: Again, not everyone did, but Monroe and Dean were huge pop culture icons.
Katie: So, let's consider in what ways American culture changed during this period as a potential exam question. Remember to think about the causes of the changes and the consequences.
Datshiane: Katie, can you give me two similarities and two differences between popular culture in the 1920s and 30s?
Katie: Yes, jazz remained popular through both decades, as did going to the pictures. But in the 1930s, new forms of entertainment gained popularity, like Walt Disney cartoons and musicals like '42nd Street'.
Datshiane: Okay. So now name two ways new technology drove popular culture.
Katie: So new technology in the twenties provide a new way to listen to music on a mass-produced object. Gramophones and the radio, then TV, took that music to millions and popularised it.
Datshiane: And like you said, cinema, or picture houses, had a huge influence on the public, as millions went to the cinema several times a week, and they faithfully followed the fashion trends and habits of their favourite stars.
Katie: Okay, so describe three ways in which politics and popular culture were interconnected in the USA in the 1930s.
Datshiane: Okay. So, firstly, there were protest songs from jazz singers like Billie Holiday. Her song 'Strange Fruit' recalled the lynchings by white supremacists.
Secondly, white and black people thronged to see performers like Billie and Bessie Smith. That opened up black culture to wider society and gained support in the white community for ending Jim Crow laws.
Thirdly, authors like Erskine Caldwell and John Steinbeck wrote books about the Great Depression.
Katie: Okay, so time for a blistering recap.
Datshiane: Popular culture is the ideas, customs and behaviour of a society at a certain point in history; including music, books and mass media.
Katie: The 1920s was a time of great social and cultural change, and for new forms of entertainment.
Datshiane: Jazz was so popular, it gave its name to the decade – the jazz age.
Katie: In the 1930s, over one hundred million people went to the cinema and comic books took off.
Datshiane: Authors in the Great Depression wrote fiction with political themes to call out social problems.
Katie: Then, in the 1950s, teen culture established itself, and the vast majority of homes had TVs, where wholesome family shows created a unifying experience for American viewers.
Datshiane: It's a change of atmosphere though in our next episode, as we look at the lives of women in America.
Katie: From flapper culture to feminism. See you then.
Datshiane: Bye!
Question
Describe the social and cultural developments in 1920s America.
The prosperity of the 1920s enabled new forms of cultural expression and entertainment to flourish. People had more disposable income and more free time to spend their money on entertainment and leisure. There were also changes to the law and social standards.
Cinema – By 1929, Hollywood’s film studios were making more than 500 films each week. Going to the cinema had become a popular activity and ticket sales increased. By 1925, 50 million people a week went to the movies, this was the equivalent of half the nation’s population.
Jazz - Jazz was largely the creation of black musicians. It began in New Orleans in the American South. Jazz spread to urban cities around the nation as African Americans migrated north. They did this in ever-increasing numbers in what became known as the Great Migration.
New dances such as the Charleston, the tango and the black bottom also added to the excitement of the jazz age.
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Episode 8 - The lives of women in the USA
Katie and Datshiane examine how and why the lives of American women changed in the 20th century.
Announcer: BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
Katie: I'm Katie Charlwood.
Datshiane: And I'm Datshiane Navanayagam.
Katie: And this is Bitesize GCSE History. And in this eighth episode of nine, we're turning our attention to American women whose lives were about to undergo considerable change.
Datshiane: We'll look at how things were before the 1920s and how and why these changed over the following decades.
Katie: So get those writing devices at the ready to make notes. Here goes. Let's start our journey in the 1920s, a time of wealth for many Americans. Fashionable women called flappers wore decorative clothing with bows and fancy fabrics like crepe, georgette, and chiffon and partied through the night. As Kitty, our time-travelling reporter, is about to tell us.
Kitty: I'm all dressed up because I'm going dancing. Today I find myself in the heart of New York City surrounded by the vibrant energy of the 1920s. Flappers are breaking boundaries sporting knee length dresses, bobbed hair and loads of makeup. The novelist and painter Zelda Fitzgerald wrote that, ‘The one thing I love is to be myself and I have never ceased to be myself.’ And that is certainly a sentiment that captures the spirit of young women today as they flock to jazz clubs, smoke in public and dance the night away, often drinking alcohol in speakeasies. While some women enjoy their new freedom, not all women are able to do the same. Many poor women can't afford the fashionable styles. The 1920s is a thrilling time filled with change, excitement and most importantly empowerment. But as ever, it's for some not all. This is Kitty reporting for Bitesize. Back to the studio.
Katie: Thanks Kitty. Remember, if we're asked to write in an essay about how something changed, like the lives of women, we need to see how it was before, then go on to say how it was different, to show the change.
Datshiane: Right, but I think to understand the change, Katie, we need to set out how things were for women in the USA before the First World War.
Katie: Most women led very restricted lives revolving around the home and family. Middle- and upper-class women had an expectation to dress modestly with skirts no more than six inches from the ground.
Datshiane: There were even books offering advice to women on how to be a good wife and mother, and on etiquette and how to behave in the right way. We can use the content of these books as sources for lovely quotes to support our argument in an essay.
Katie: This is from De La Banta's 'Advice to Women Concerning Beauty' in 1878. ‘Women may be well assured that the surest pathway to the highest happiness and honour lies through the peaceful domain of wifehood and motherhood. To the true woman, home is her throne.’
Datshiane: It's not just that. Relationships with men were controlled. So if you went out, you were chaperoned by an older or married woman. And things like playing energetic sport were frowned upon. Also, women didn't have the right to vote. So there was less incentive for politicians to make changes for women.
Katie: Women's work outside the home was in jobs such as a seamstress, nanny or nurse. Working class women did work, but they had to take low paid jobs like factory work, cleaning work and few had opportunities for promotion.
Datshiane: But some of these limitations were done away with by wider political developments.
Katie: Change was on the horizon. Let's look at what these were, when they happened and what caused or contributed to it.
Datshiane: So first up is the First World War.
Katie: Yes, the war brought important change. Women took up the jobs of the men who had gone away to fight, including jobs that required physical resilience - like factory work.
Datshiane: By 1929, around ten and a half million women had jobs. And get this, that's about twenty-five percent more than in 1920. And a lot of these jobs were office jobs, such as typists, telephonists, clerks and secretaries.
Katie: Womens’ lives inside the homes were also improved by the new electrical goods that were becoming cheaper in the mass production era.
Datshiane: You're so right. Women were still expected to do the chores, whether they worked or not. So imagine how helpful a vacuum cleaner or a refrigerator would be if it was the first time you'd ever had one.
Katie: Critically and partly thanks to their war work, after decades of campaigning, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution gave American women the right to vote in 1920, meaning politicians had to listen to them.
Datshiane: And you know what? Earning money gave women a newfound sense of autonomy. They began to acquire a taste for independence outside the home and financially.
Katie: And they were less likely to stay in a marriage if it wasn't working out. The divorce rate increased by a whopping seventy percent between the end of the First World War and the end of the 1920s.
Datshiane: But not everyone approved. This is a recurring theme. The more traditional sections of society were shocked by this liberal attitude. For them, it was permissive or loose behaviour. Some women formed an anti-flirt league to protest the flapper's behaviour, but also to warn against predatory men as society's rules relaxed.
Katie: Their intentions were also to protect young girls. Listen to their advice on the pamphlets they handed out. ‘Don't flirt in haste. Don't accept rides from men who flirt. Don't wink at men. Don't smile at strangers who flirt. Don't fall for men who are slick and dandified.’
Datshiane: Dandified, that means they were over-concerned with how they dressed.
Katie: Also, ‘Don't let elderly men pat you on the shoulder. Don't ignore the man you are sure of while flirting with another.’
Datshiane: You might want to consider what this source reveals about society and the aims of the anti-flirt league.
Katie: Well, it tells us how the perception of women's behaviour was changing and that this was enough to cause alarm in some circles.
Datshiane: The aims of the league suggest a divide was opening up between the conservatives and progressives.
Katie: And not just those who objected to flapper culture, but those who resisted or opposed modernising the role of women to give them more choice in life.
Datshiane: Remember, it was only women from upper and middle-class backgrounds who had more independence. For the rest, life was much the same. But the change was significant enough to warrant pushback by traditionalists.
Katie: The creation of an anti-flirt league also shows that there were fears about the way men and women were socialising and interacting.
Datshiane: Exactly. The league's aims also expressed concerns for women's welfare at the hands of those men who were predatory or abusive. Next, the Second World War.
Katie: From 1939 to 1945.
Datshiane: This also had an impact on women's lives and experiences.
Katie: Like the First World War, the Second World War had the effect of loosening restrictions on women's lives and expanding freedoms even further.
Datshiane: Exactly. The demand for labour meant women were needed in the workforce and this was symbolised in a patriotic poster campaign using the character Rosie the Riveter and the strapline, ‘We can do it.’ She was strong, even muscular, a symbol of female empowerment with a knotted scarf over her hair, and she took on engineering jobs to aid the war effort.
Katie: As millions of men joined up to serve in the forces, women again took their places, but this time in factories, railways and even shipyards.
Datshiane: Women even joined sections of the armed forces.
Katie: African-American women were allowed to become nurses in the military, but only to treat black soldiers. An example of the intersection of race and gender.
Datshiane: So, by the end of the Second World War in 1945, women made up a third of all America's workforce, up from around one in five in 1920.
Katie: During the 1950s, women began to protest about their role in society. Many had lost jobs due to men returning from war, but they began to raise their voices to demand equality of opportunity.
Datshiane: Many American women wanted the right to have a professional career in any sphere. By 1960, nearly forty percent of the USA's workforce was female.
Katie: But women were still discriminated against in the workforce.
Datshiane: Women could be legally dismissed from their job if they got married.
Katie: Ninety-five percent of managers were men, only a small fraction of professionals like doctors and lawyers were women.
Datshiane: But there was some progress. The government passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, requiring women and men to be paid the same for the same job. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 then banned discrimination on the basis of race and sex.
Katie: Campaigners even took companies to court who paid women less than men.
Datshiane: A groundbreaking bestseller by Betty Friedan called 'The Feminine Mystique' describes how well-qualified women felt depressed, undervalued and unfulfilled.
Katie: Friedan's book demanded equality between men and women beyond the economic sphere. Campaigners set up the National Organization for Women, NOW.
Datshiane: NOW demanded greater rights for women in their lives, including making reproductive decisions for themselves.
Katie: The North American Indian Women's Association and the National Black Feminist Organization joined in the cause of women's rights. The umbrella term for protesters campaigning for women's rights was the Feminist Movement.
Datshiane: And they had success in a spate of laws passed. Married couples were allowed to use contraceptives and divorce got easier with the no-fault divorce law. Laws also required girls to be able to study the same subject as boys at school.
Katie: And the Women's Liberation Movement, or Women's Lib for short, protested against the treatment of women through direct action such as by disrupting the 1968 World Beauty Contest because they argued women should not be objectified by such pageants.
Datshiane: In 1973, the feminist campaign won a key battle in the famous Roe vs Wade court case, which led the same year to the Supreme Court ruling that women in all states had the right to safe and legal abortion.
Katie: This overrode the anti-abortion laws of many states at the time.
Datshiane: But in 2022, the Supreme Court overturned this, permitting individual states to ban abortion again.
Katie: There had always been divided views in American society about women and their freedoms, from the time of the Anti-Flirt Manifesto, through to the campaigns of the Feminist Movement in favour of women's rights in the 1960s.
Datshiane: This difference of opinion came to prominence again in 1972, when the Equal Rights Amendment, or ERA, was approved for Congress.
Katie: It stated that the equality of rights under the law shall not be denied by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Datshiane: It was poised to become an amendment to the American Constitution.
Katie: But was derailed by the Stop ERA campaign by the conservative female campaigner, Phyllis Schlafly.
Datshiane: She argued that it would lead to more women in combat, a higher abortion rate, unisex bathrooms, and homosexual marriages.
Katie: Schlafly persuaded enough states not to vote for the amendment.
Datshiane: As a result, equality of rights for women and girls under the law was never enshrined in the American Constitution. Okie dokie, lots of information in this episode, so here's some quick questions to see if you remember, Katie.
Katie: I'm ready, go for it.
Datshiane: What was the name of the woman in the propaganda posters in World War II, which encouraged women to be strong in work and play their part in the war effort?
Katie: That would be Rosie the Riveter.
Datshiane: What was the name of the group who opposed the behaviour and liberal attitudes of some women, especially the Flappers, in the 1920s?
Katie: Oh, that would be the Anti-Flirt League.
Datshiane: When and what was the ruling that stated that women in all states had the right to safe and legal abortion, but was overturned in 2022?
Katie: That was Roe vs Wade in 1973.
Datshiane: So, it's time for a quick summary of this episode. Freedoms for women greatly expanded in the 1920s, partly as a result of their taking on men's work during the First World War.
Katie: More women worked outside the home and had greater financial independence.
Datshiane: But many American women were excluded from these changes, especially in rural areas and black women still faced discrimination.
Katie: Flapper culture was all the rage for young women with money, but conservative society criticised what they saw as loose morals.
Datshiane: And the Second World War brought more change still with women entering the workforce.
Katie: An umbrella group called the Feminist Movement campaigned to improve women's rights with notable achievements.
Datshiane: Girls could study the same subject as boys. All married couples were allowed to use contraceptives. California became the first state to allow divorce by mutual consent.
Katie: Women gained the right to safe and legal abortions in any state, but the law was changed to give states the right to ban abortion in 2022. Head over to the Bitesize website for more GCSE history.
Datshiane: See you in the final episode on the civil rights movement. Bye!
Question
To what extent were the lives of women affected by the First World War?
During the First World War, many women took up the jobs of men who had gone away to fight. By 1929, around ten and a half million women had jobs, that was a 25% increase compared to 1920. However the majority of women worked in lower paid jobs and were often paid less for doing the same job as men.
Socially, women could get divorced more easily than in the previous decade and birth control, a form of contraception, was increasingly used. However birth control was heavily restricted by the Catholic Church and even made illegal in some states.
Politically, in 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. However there were many barriers to voting, for example the literacy tests, which meant that women from disadvantaged groups were unable to vote.
Listen on BBC Sounds.
Episode 9 - The civil rights movement
In this final episode of the series, Datshiane and Katie look into the civil rights movement with the themes of racism, discrimination, segregation and instances of violence and injustice.
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Katie: I'm Katie Charlwood.
Datshiane: And I'm Datshiane Navanayagam.
Katie: Welcome to the final episode in this Bitesize GCSE History series on 20th-century America.
Datshiane: We'll be discussing themes related to the civil rights movement, including racism, discrimination, segregation and instances of violence and injustice.
Katie: We encourage you to approach this material with sensitivity, to seek support from a friend, teacher or trusted adult if you find any part of this discussion distressing, or pause and reflect if you need a break.
Datshiane: We'll go through important developments in these key years of protest in the 1940s, '50s and '60s. We'll also choose some choice historical quotes as direct evidence of those events.
Katie: Like the words of celebrated civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. whose famous speech 'I Have a Dream' is considered one of the most influential of all time.
Datshiane: Absolutely.
Katie: The civil rights movement, opposing racial segregation and discrimination, had an impact on other areas such as the economy, education and culture.
Datshiane: We'll be covering the different types of protests that came together in the civil rights movement, including legal challenges and non-violent direct action.
Katie: As well as the Black Power movements and figures such as Malcolm X who advocated black empowerment and others who backed more forceful means to end inequality.
Datshiane: We've previously looked at how discrimination was hardwired into the system through segregation, racial violence and economic exploitation. Listen back to the episode on African American Experiences or check out the Bitesize website for more.
Katie: The civil rights movement was a stand against this. Groups like the Women's Political Council or WCP and the NAACP campaigned for racial equality.
Datshiane: And the pressure they created through their activism and campaigns led to new legislation to reduce inequality. Make a note of these important milestones as we summarise the different campaigns from the 1940s and '50s.
Katie: Ending discrimination in employment was a major goal for campaigners and the path to achieving this was the passing of the Fair Employment Law in 1941.
Datshiane: And then in 1946, the President Committee on Civil Rights proposed measures to strengthen and safeguard civil rights in the USA.
Katie: Another focus after the Second World War was to highlight the hypocrisy of the USA fighting racism and fascism abroad with its allies while maintaining racist practices at home. That campaign led to developments like Executive Order 9981 which desegregated the armed forces in 1948. But Datshiane, these new measures didn't make a big enough impact against the system and principle of segregation.
Datshiane: Unfortunately, you're right, Katie. The Civil Rights Act in 1957 aimed to address racial discrimination in respect to voting rights. It showed the federal government recognised civil rights as an important issue, but little was done to enforce the legislation.
Katie: Campaigners had to look for new ways to win civil rights for all citizens, whatever their race, colour, religious belief or national origin. One of the most important strategies were the legal cases brought by African Americans against segregation in schools. And we'll look at this in the next section.
Datshiane: So, in 1951, a landmark case was brought by the family of the schoolgirl Linda Brown against the local education authority in Topeka, Kansas. Linda's father wanted his daughter to attend the ‘whites only’ school, local to them, and they were supported by the NAACP. The Browns lost the case, but they appealed to the Supreme Court and they won. The court ruled that all education boards across the nation had to desegregate, but some states still resisted.
Katie: And one of those was the state of Arkansas and in 1957, nine African American pupils who had enrolled in the Little Rock Central High School tried to attend. A crisis erupted as angry white protesters refused to accept that the school was being desegregated. Even though the school had pledged to desegregate, the governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, called on the National Guard, armed soldiers, to stop the teenagers entering the school. He said it was to protect them. One of the nine, Elizabeth Eckford, described the moment she was surrounded by the mob.
Datshiane: She said, ‘They moved closer and closer. Somebody started yelling. I tried to see a friendly face somewhere in the crowd, someone who could maybe help. I looked into the face of an old woman and it seemed a kind face, but when I looked at her again, she spat on me.’
Katie: That is a powerful primary source and you really get a sense of Elizabeth's fear as she described those events. Remember to use sources and quotes as evidence to back up your knowledge of events. Datshiane, what happened next?
Datshiane: Well, it was only after President Eisenhower intervened that the children eventually were provided with a safe passage into the school.
Katie: And even so, in 1960, the majority of African American children in Arkansas still went to black-only schools.
Datshiane: Ok, so the Browns family's victory at the Supreme Court and the Little Rock case are examples of how the civil rights organisations used the legal system to challenge segregation. But activists also had a variety of other methods. Two of these were boycotts and direct-action protests, like sit-ins.
Katie: Let's look at the use of a boycott first. The Montgomery Bus Boycott in the southern state of Alabama was an important development as an example of non-violent direct action, which was to become a powerful tool for civil rights activists.
Datshiane: First of December 1955, Rosa Parks, the secretary of the local NAACP, was on her way home from work and she refused to move from the whites-only section of a segregated bus. When she was arrested, the WPC and local NAACP chapter organised a boycott. Martin Luther King Jr. was then asked to lead the community in the boycott of the city buses.
Katie: Which really affected them because seventy-five percent of its customers were African American.
Datshiane: After a year of boycotting Montgomery buses, the Supreme Court ruled that segregated buses, like schools, were illegal.
Katie: Following Parks' example, more activists took similar direct action on segregated transport. Black and white civil rights activists, dubbed 'freedom riders', took to the buses in areas where local authorities were refusing to desegregate. They sat next to each other as they rode the buses.
Datshiane: And similar tactics were adopted in sit-ins. This was where African Americans, sometimes accompanied by white activists, usually students, sat in the whites-only section of cafes and restaurants and they refused to leave. Around seventy thousand campaigners staged sit-ins across the South in 1961 and 1962.
Katie: Let's check in with Jordan, our time-travelling Bitesize reporter who's in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 1st, 1960.
Jordan: I'm standing outside the Woolworth store, where a group of black students have taken a stand against segregation. They're sitting down at the whites-only lunch counter, a powerful act of a non-violent protest. The students, determined and resolute, are demanding to be treated equally and to have the same rights as their white peers. One of the protesters told me, ‘We will not be intimidated and we will not leave until we are served.’ As I observe the scene, I can hear the murmurs of support from onlookers and the tension building from those among those who opposed this brave act. Reports suggest that over 70,000 activists have joined these protests. This moment is not just about a lunch counter. It represents a broader struggle for justice and equality in America. The fight for civil rights is far from over, but today marks a crucial step forward. This is Jordan, reporting for Bitesize. Back to the studio.
Datshiane: Thanks, Jordan. Martin Luther King Jr. organised more non-violent direct action with three marches in Alabama and Washington DC in 1963 and then two years later from Selma to Birmingham, which was also in Alabama. But police violently repressed the Selma to Birmingham protest. That day in March 1965 was dubbed Bloody Sunday.
Katie: News footage on TV of activists remaining peaceful in the face of violence from the local state police put pressure on the government to act.
Datshiane: Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most famous speeches of all time in August 1963, in which he painted a picture of a better society, telling crowds…
Katie: ‘I have a dream.’
Datshiane: It was a phrase he'd used before and King took it up again as the celebrated blues and gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, sitting behind him, shouted out, ‘Tell him about the dream, Martin.’
Katie: King spoke about the failure of American democracy to create racial equality and the urgency of civil rights and the speech reverberated round the world and became a defining moment in the civil rights movement. It put pressure on the government to pass further legislation to end segregation and discrimination.
Datshiane: A new Civil Rights Act in 1964 outlawed racial discrimination in employment and public places and in 1965, combined with the impact of the Selma March that year, the Voting Rights Act protected the rights of African Americans to vote.
Katie: Inter-racial marriages were legalised in 1967.
Datshiane: And the Fair Housing Act in 1968 made discrimination illegal for buying or renting property.
Katie: And Martin Luther King Jr. became the youngest person to receive the prestigious Nobel Prize for Peace in December 1964. But just four years later, he was assassinated.
Datshiane: So, the civil rights movement campaigned for change through non-violence. But several groups favoured other approaches as a response to what they saw as limitations of non-violent civil rights activism.
Katie: The Black Power Movement, or BPM, emerged from the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, SNCC. Their leader, Stokely Carmichael, embraced the concept of black power.
Datshiane: Carmichael emphasized black pride and identity and the development of independent black political, economic and cultural institutions. In his 1968 book, 'Black Power: The Politics of Liberation', he wrote, ‘It is a call for black people in this country to unite, to recognize the heritage, to build a sense of community.’
Katie: And another group, The Nation of Islam, also known as Black Muslims, thought that white society was racist and corrupt. And because of this, they believed black people would be better off developing their own communities rather than relying on integration for equality. This is an idea called separatism.
Datshiane: The Nation of Islam rejected Christianity as a white man's religion, urging African Americans to adopt Islam. And its most famous member was Malcolm X.
Katie: But Malcolm X's views shifted and he left the group to set up a new secular organisation called the Organisation of Afro-American Unity, or OAAU.
Datshiane: They campaigned for political autonomy for African Americans and for the human rights of everyone of African descent.
Katie: But in 1965, whilst giving a lecture, Malcolm X was assassinated by a member of the Nation of Islam, although this has been disputed. In contrast to Martin Luther King Jr.'s non-violent approach and tactics, another group, the Black Panther Party, believed African Americans needed to use self-defence if necessary.
Datshiane: Members dressed in black and carried guns to protect themselves from the police and white racists. They also monitored the police to make sure they were not mistreating black Americans.
Katie: The Black Panther set up community groups, breakfast clubs and protected black neighbourhoods against police brutality.
Datshiane: Ok, let's consider an exam question that asks what methods were used by civil rights and black organisations in their quest to achieve civil rights and racial justice. Have a go at this after the podcast. But Katie, first, any tips?
Katie: As always with any question like this, think about what it's asking. In this case, it's about your knowledge of the methods of the civil rights movement. So, include short paragraphs on legal battles, boycotts, peaceful sit-ins and marches advocated by the civil rights movement.
Datshiane: So, remember who, when, where and what happened.
Katie: Right, as well as ideas of separatism, black empowerment and community organising backed by other organisations such as the Black Power Movement, The Nation of Islam and the Black Panther Party.
Katie: And remember that including a quote from a source to back up your knowledge is always a very, very, very good thing to do.
Katie: So, there's a lot to absorb there, so let's recap the key points. The civil rights movement's objective was to achieve the same civil rights for African Americans as for white Americans.
Datshiane: And the campaign saw a variety of strategies, including peaceful direct action such as boycotts and sit-ins.
Katie: Non-violence was a principle of leading campaigner Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Datshiane: This pressure from the civil rights movement led to new legislation to end racial segregation and discrimination.
Katie: The emphasis of the Black Power Movement was on empowerment and self-determination, fostering a sense of black pride and identity.
Datshiane: However, some of their campaigners, such as the Black Panthers, advocated violence if necessary to gain civil rights.
Katie: The civil rights movement was more effective in achieving legal and political changes while the Black Power Movement's contributions were more cultural.
Datshiane: Thanks for listening to this series. And remember, there's much more revision on the Bitesize website.
Katie: Good luck with your exams. Bye!
Datshiane: Bye!
Question
Name three civil rights laws from the 1960s.
1964 Civil Rights Act - This law outlawed discrimination in public places and employment. It effectively ended Jim Crow segregation. This meant that it was now illegal to operate segregation in public places and facilities. It also banned employment discrimination.
1965 Voting Rights Act - Many states, especially in the South, had prevented African Americans from voting using measures such as literacy tests and intimidation. Such measures were now made illegal. The Voting Rights Act provided federal supervision to protect the right to vote.
1968 Civil Rights Act - Part of this act applied to Native American tribes and guaranteed their civil rights. Another part, known as the Fair Housing Act, banned discrimination in the sale and rental of housing based on 'race, religion or national origin.'
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