1920 in the United States

1920 in the United States
Year	1920
President	Woodrow Wilson (until March 4), Warren G. Harding (from March 4)
Vice president	Thomas R. Marshall (until March 4), Calvin Coolidge (from March 4)
Events	19th Amendment ratified, Harding elected, Volstead Act enforced.

1920 in the United States was a pivotal year of transition from the upheaval of World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic to a new era defined by political change, economic transformation, and profound social shifts. The ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution granted women the right to vote, fundamentally altering the political landscape. The year also saw the enforcement of national Prohibition under the Volstead Act, the election of Warren G. Harding on a promise of "normalcy," and the beginning of a decade of significant cultural and economic expansion.

Politics and government

The political landscape was dominated by the aftermath of World War I and the First Red Scare. The United States Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles and American membership in the League of Nations, a major defeat for President Woodrow Wilson. The Palmer Raids, authorized by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer and led by the young J. Edgar Hoover in the Bureau of Investigation, targeted suspected radicals and anarchists. In a landmark victory for suffrage, the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on August 18, prohibiting states from denying the vote based on sex. The 1920 United States presidential election was won in a landslide by Republican Warren G. Harding and his running mate Calvin Coolidge, defeating the Democratic ticket of James M. Cox and Franklin D. Roosevelt. On January 16, the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution went into effect, enforced by the Volstead Act, initiating the era of Prohibition in the United States.

Economy and industry

The economy experienced a sharp but short-lived post-war recession before beginning a robust recovery that would characterize the Roaring Twenties. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates to combat inflation. The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was incorporated, signaling the dawn of the broadcast age, while the Ford Motor Company continued to dominate automobile manufacturing with the Ford Model T. Agricultural prices began a severe decline that would plague farmers throughout the decade. Labor unrest continued from the previous year, including major strikes in the steel and coal mining industries. The first licensed commercial radio station, KDKA in Pittsburgh, began broadcasting, with its first program covering the Harding-Cox election results.

Society and culture

Society was marked by both liberation and tension. The passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution empowered women, with figures like Carrie Chapman Catt and the National American Woman Suffrage Association achieving their goal. The "New Woman" embodied changing social mores, a theme explored in novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise. The Harlem Renaissance began to flourish, with writers like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston emerging. Racial violence was widespread, including the Ocoee massacre in Florida and the Elaine massacre in Arkansas. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was founded. The first Miss America pageant was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Science and technology

Technological innovation progressed rapidly, setting the stage for modern communication and transportation. The aforementioned launch of KDKA marked the beginning of organized radio broadcasting. In aviation, the United States Postal Service began scheduled transcontinental airmail service. Physicist Albert A. Michelson conducted precise measurements of the speed of light. The first domestic radio receivers became available to the public. In medicine, the American Heart Association was founded. Inventor John T. Thompson patented the Thompson submachine gun, later infamous as the "Tommy Gun."

Sports

The sports world celebrated new champions and enduring legends. In baseball, the Cleveland Indians defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1920 World Series, a series overshadowed by the death of Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman after being hit by a pitch from Carl Mays of the New York Yankees. In college football, the California Golden Bears won the Rose Bowl. The National Football League (NFL) was founded in Canton, Ohio, as the American Professional Football Association, with the Decatur Staleys (later the Chicago Bears) and Jim Thorpe among its early participants. Boxer Jack Dempsey successfully defended his world heavyweight title against Billy Miske.

Deaths

* January 2 – Paul Adam, French novelist (in the U.S.) * May 21 – Eleanor H. Porter, author of Pollyanna * August 16 – Ray Chapman, baseball player for the Cleveland Indians * November 2 – John F. Dodge, co-founder of the Dodge Brothers Company * December 22 – Stephen Mosher Wood, former U.S. Representative from Ohio

Category:1920 in the United States Category:1920s in the United States Category:20th century in the United States