Theme 3

Women replaced men in factories and offices and on the land
Their contribution to the war and demand for political equality was strong
January 1918 - 19th Amendment to the constitution gave women suffrage

Got the right to vote in time for the 1920 presidential election
Generally voted similarly to the men in their reigon
Slightly less likely to vote than men
2 women served as state govenors

25% of women worked
Average pay for women was $525, men was $1027
40% of black womenworked but at even lower wages
Traditional women’s work recovered the quickest after the depressopn
Use of machinery meant that more unskilled workers could work but were seen as inferior to men
the American Federation of Labour refused to let married women work. Eleanor Roosevelt spoke against it

ND offered little to women
National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 set up codes for minimum wages etc. About a quarter of the codes actually requires women to be payed less than men
Only about 8000 women were employed by the Civillian Conservation Corps outof the 2.75 million involved in the scheme

National Women Suffrage Association soared fom 17,000 in 1905 to 2 million in 1917
1917 - NY first east coast state to enfranchise women
Got the vote for 1920 election
2 women in House of Representitives and 2 US state governments

Showed that they could do the same jobs as men
1940 Selective Training and Service Act prepared to draft men into the molitary and train women to replace them
Married women in work rose from 15% to 23%
Worker shortages meant that black women could train for jobs
Black women in nursing rose from 1100 in 1939 to 2600 in 1945, but some employers refused to hire them still

Some men returnd to work and about half the married women left
After the initial dip, female employment rose again
Percentage of married women rose from 1-% in 1940 to 22% in 1950
In 1936, 82% of men thought that married women shouldn't work. 78% in 1938, 13% in 1942

Allowed middle class Americans to own a home but were divided by race
In 1960, 19 million more people lived in the suburbs than 1950
Many had schools and leisure facilities. The husband worked and th wife provided childcare
Women with too much time on their hands were portrayed as what to aspire to
Inner cites were a downward spiral as people who could afford the suburbs moved out
They had little impact on people living in rural communities

Before WW1 - open door policy. No restriction
170,000 immigrants a year until 1882
1882 - 650,000 immigrants (13% from South and East Europe)
1907 - 1.2 million (81% South and East Europe)
Most went to live in industrial cities

Post-war isolationism
The Dillingham Report - "immigration was a threat", distinguished old and new immigrants
The Red Scare
WASPS thought Catholics and Jewish immigrants threatened Christian values
Economic depression
US gov needed to be seen as taking action

More hostiliy
People thought they were creating competition
1920s legislation focused more on Europe and Asia, not South America
During the depression, many Mexicans were deported
Many cities had higher immigrant percentages as they often fravitated there and stuck together (eg. Little Italy and Chinatown
Feared immigrants would bring un-American ideals
No limitation on Mexan immigrants as Californian farmers wanted cheap labour

1920 - 1/3 people in NY was born in different countries. 5.6 million total people
2.7 million in Chicago. 30% foreign born
Philadelphia, 1.8 million. 22% foreign born
24% Russian, 19% Italian, 10% Irish
70% of Ford’s workers were foreign born

Declared people from Germany, Italy and Japan as "enemy aliens"
120,000 placed in war relocation camps
Leas to increased numbers of immigrants

Opposed to quota system
Worked on a law that Johnson finished in 1965
Very liberal compared to before
Lead to 15.5 million new people. More from Latim America and the Middle East

Cold War - welcoming people who fled communism (1948 Displaced Persons Act)
4x increase in Asians from 1965 - 1970. 130,000 Vietnamese immigrants

immigration and naturalisation service began to deport immigrants (Operation Wetback) but immigration continued to grow by 1980
83% of Hispanics lived in the cities
Lack of control caused major change
1976 act set a limit of 20,000

Control and restrict
Immigrants destroy American culture

more accepting and willing

1917 - movies were the biggest entertainment media
1927 - the first talkie
War movies were most popular in WW1
1941 - 10,000,000 movie seats in america. One for every 12.5 people
Genre movies developed

1930-40 - 90% of films worldwide were made in Hollywood
A-movies cost $200,000 - $500,000
B-movies cost $50,000 - $100,000

They were expected to behave in a certain way
Not all of them were well behaved and were reported in gossip magazines
1930s - Shirley Temple earned $5000 a week. Average wage was $2000 a year
Sponsors began. MGM made $500,0000

Not everyone saw movies’ impact on society as positive
They said women were too scantily dressed and they drank and smoked too much
They also said that gangsta movies made violence and crime look attractive
They Hays Code had to be used from 1930 - 1966 and studios had to build a “morality clause into their contracts”

Crimes couldn’t be shown in enough detail to be copied
Drug trafficking should never be shown, nor methods of smuggling
The white slave trade could never be shown
Family life should be portrayed as a good thing. Adultery had to be shown as a bad thing
Lustful kissing should be kept to a minimum. Seduction, rae and sex missed between mixed rae couples couldn’t be shown
No swearing
No nudity

Some people still listened to music that was popular before the war but many people listened to jazz
Not liked by many older and conservative peopleas dances such as the Charleston and the black bottom were sexually suggestive
By 1929 almost 50% of homes had a gramaphone and $75 million worth of records were sold that year By 1935, sales dropped alarmingly as radios played popular music for free By the Great Drepression

First radio station KDKA began to broadcastin on 2nd November 1920. It was presidential election day and the radio could broadcast the results before the newspapers could print them
By 1935 there was 600 radio stations
At first they were independent but they needed money so started advertising
In 1926, NBC broadcasted an American football game
1926 - government had to pass the Radio Act of 1927 to set up federal radio liscening and share out the airwaves and share out the airwaves
Politicians and religious speakers used radio to get a message out
Father Coughlin was a priest who criticised the KKK on radio. By 1930, he had about 40 million listenerd. During the Depression, he had about 40 million listeners. He criticised bankers and Roosevelt. He was very influencial
Radio ownership rose faster than newspaper sales and mass producion and hire purchace made them more affordable
On the radio, everyne heard the same thing at the same time - lead to a mass culture

1939 World’s Fair - RCA demonstrated the first commercial tv
The Federal Communications Commission regulated tv and radio
It allowed unliscenced development 1948-50

Advertising was a big part of tv right from the start
early tv and adverts showed very few black peole
TV adverts often targeted children
Political parties quickly saw that they could use air time for their campaigns
Eisenhower used it in 1952 and Kennedy consciously exploited it
It worked well or Kennedy but less for Nixon as he was uncomfortable on tv and showed it. It became important for candidates to be good on tv

Recording techniques and special effects improved rapidly - made it seem more real
Broadcasts aired for longer and there were more channels and shows
This meant there were more people who could watch tv and many were pre-recordedd. This mean that messages could be shaped and shows could be rerun
In 1953, 80% of tv was live, by 1960 it was 36%
TV was criticised for glamouriing crime and the way that programmes were manipulated
The public wanted the programmers to be straight with them

1967 Public Broadcasting Act set up gov-funded Cooperation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) which set up PBS
It was free from the influence of sponsors but had their own messages
They had a liberal agenda and intended to educate, entertain and “restore standards”
They made Sesame Street and taught about racial tolerance, sharin, counting and reading
More serious documentaries were made in 1960s. This informed people who didn’t want to buy newspapers and kept people updated about presidential updates
1970s - M*A*S*H considered issues that were relevant to the Vietnam war. It contributed to populat feeling against the war
Some series reflected black family life but were often comedies and less realistic
Political satire became more common and people began to view politicians in a different light
News shows got more prime-time broadcasting and lasted longer. They did more in-depth analysis. People who watched them became more politically aware

Broadcast news quicker and better way of getting news out to people
A voice was more authoritive than text and made a deeper impression
Newspapers fought against radio by providing pictures
Radios played and important role in the Depression as they reported the stock market and casued people to panic
Ed Murrow - co-producer of CBS news seires See It Now in the 50s. Reported on the Red Scare and helped make a public shift away from McCarthy
1960s - live coverage of Cuban missile crisis and the moon landing
People preferred tv news because it had pictures and voice. People generally believed the tv

Broadcast news began to give its own opinions on what happened
News presenters began to be seen as teacher figures
Walter Cronkite’s documentary showed the government were making a war the public didn’t want
Coverage of the Vietnam war was critical as people were against it
Many people were unaware of the extent that the news was giving an interpretation

The media’s relationship with him shows how much influence they had - at first they reflected him well but then they began to withdraw support
The media reported about scandals that Carter’s brother did and decreased supports
Shared stories such as the water rabbit or collapsing in a marathon
Carter’s inabiliy to deal with this cotrbuted to him not getting reelected
Novemver 1979 - US diplomats were held ostage in US embassy in Tehran. Carter couldnt deal wuth it but Regan released them minutes after his presidential oath.

1950 - 9% of homes had a TV
1960 - 85% of homes had a TV

Advertising - standardisation of conumerism culture
Merchandise - 1955, Davy Crocker made $300 million

Live TV shocket viewers
Coverage of Vietnam and civil rights often affected public opinion
Vietnam and Watergate inspired investigative journalism in 1970s
New show began to get longer and prime tieme slots