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February 27th Update

I'm sorry this is getting out later than normal, but hopefully, you all wrote down your assignment before you left class. This last week, we reviewed the Reactionary Twenties. This is the time period where immigration is the largest of anywhere in the world, but most folks aren't too happy about it. In response, the KKK grows to 4 million members, including senators, policemen, teachers, doctors, and farmers. 500,000 are women. It wasn't until a scandal involving the "Grand Dragon" in 1925, that caused many members to leave. By 1930, numbers dropped to 100,000 and laws were implemented to ban some of the terror tactics used by the KKK.

Fundamentalism continued to grow in response to Darwinism and one of the most infamous court cases arrives: The Scopes Trial. John T. Scopes was a substitute science teacher who taught the theory of evolution in a Dayton, Tennessee classroom, leading to his arrest. The trial ensued, causing a great uproar over states rights and who should be in charge of education. While he was found guilty,  his fine was dropped, causing both sides to claim victory. The yellow journalism of the South, though, led to unfavorable stereotypes of southerners still portrayed today.

The Great Depression lurked in towards the end of 1928, but the Stock Market Crash on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, dropped the bottom out of the whole system. The Jazz Age ended with a booming crash and fear and uncertainty spread like a virus across the nation and the world. So what caused this crash?


  • The economy was falling months before the crash.
  • Overproduction and underconsumption.
  • Too many business owners had taken large profits while denying wage increases to employees.
  • 2/3 of the population only earned $2000/yr. This bare-bones budget left little room for extras. 
  • GDP dropped about 27 percent.
  • High tariffs hurt foreign trade.
  • The Fed produced less money to prevent inflation.
  • A terrible drought settled over much of the farmland in the Great Plains. 

We discussed the Unreliable narrator, in which you each wrote a short diary entry for your villain. Your homework this week is to read up to at least page 80 in TKAM, write a one-page summary of The New Deal (what is it? what's it cover? what's the deal?). You are also assigned a larger essay on TKAM that should be between 3-5 pages, due the week after spring break. 

This next week, we will have a lesson on the TSI (or really, any on-the-spot essay assignment) to help prepare some of you for the exam to get into college. For others, it's good practice in thinking on your feet and writing a coherent essay with little prep and no Google. See you Tuesday!


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