Social change was evident during the period following World War I. The women's temperance movement found success with the passage of the 18th Amendment. The 18th Amendment forbade the sale of alcohol and began the era of prohibition. While the intentions of this amendment may have been good, the results proved ineffective. The technological advances, social changes and illegal trade in alcohol during the 1920s resulted in that decade being known as the Roaring 20s. The women's suffrage movement also was successful with the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The 19th Amendment gave women equal voting rights in all elections. 

Racial tensions escalated immediately following the war. Black servicemen returning from the war hoped for a new found respect for having served their country. Nevertheless, African Americans still suffered from prejudice and discrimination. Many employers were reluctant to hire African Americans. Segregated housing limited the areas where African Americans could live. Segregated schools resulted in a sub par education for African Americans. In 1919, a number of conflicts occurred throughout the country between black and white groups, including the Longview race riot. 

The uneasy social climate increased the activity of racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan�s primary targets were blacks and Hispanics, but the hate group also persecuted Catholics, Jews, political radicals and immigrants. It quickly spread to such cities as Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, El Paso and other parts of East and South Texas. The Klan became influential in state politics and was able to elect a number of local officials and state legislators. The Klan also supported the election of Earl Mayfield to the U. S. Senate. 

Increasingly, the Klan became more and more violent. They whipped some victims. They lynched others. Such action eventually forced many white Texans to oppose the Klan. Sam Ealy Johnson, the father of Lyndon Johnson, was a state legislator. He spoke fervently against the Klan and once faced down Klansmen who had threatened to kill him. In 1924 Miriam "Ma" Ferguson defeated the Klan candidate, Felix D. Robertson, for governor and the Klan�s influence began to decline. Ferguson was the first woman governor in Texas and the second woman governor in the United States history.

Evangelical Protestant religion was also on the rise in the 1920s. Southern Baptists and Methodists became the largest religious denominations in Texas and became highly influential in Texas� local and state politics. Across all the South, including the Lone Star State, Fundamentalist church leaders took on their biggest fight. They opposed the teaching of Darwin�s theory of evolution in the public schools. Texas never passed an anti-evolution law, but the state censored textbooks that taught Darwin�s theory. Meanwhile, the state experienced a political shift.

Although Ma Ferguson had won the governorship in 1926, she was defeated by Dan Moody in 1928. He reformed the prison system and the state highway department. In 1928 Alfred E. Smith was the Democratic candidate for president. Because he was Catholic and against prohibition, a majority of Texans refused to support him. Instead, the majority voted for Herbert Hoover. He was the first Republican candidate for president for whom Texas had ever voted.

By the 1920s, a general economic boom was under way in the United States, especially in Texas. Governors William P. Hobby (1919-1921) and Pat M. Neff (1921-1925) both served during a time of economic prosperity in the state. Following World War I, American businesses shifted from producing tanks, guns and ammunition to making consumer products. These products ranged from automobiles and buses to refrigerators and radios. The most important businesses in Texas, however, remained the oil and oil-related industries. That industry created fortunes for a number of Texans, including Clint Murchison, Sr., C. M. "Dad" Joiner, Sid Richardson, H. L. Hunt and Howard Hughes.

The economic boon in oil and other industries increased the urbanization in the state. People began to move from the rural areas to growing urban centers such as Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and El Paso. They hoped to find better jobs and a higher standard of living in the cities. By 1930, approximately 41 percent of all Texans lived in urban centers.

Though the Texas economy was prosperous in the 1920s, farmers continued to struggle just to make a living. Demand for farm products did not keep pace with the supply from farmers who were using machinery to produce more crops. The surpluses of farm products caused prices paid for those products to fall. Farmers who had borrowed money to buy machinery found themselves unable to pay off the loans. Many found themselves taking on more loans to pay off the original loans or going bankrupt.

Additional Resources

1. What two U.S. Constitutional amendments were passed during this period?(7.7:B)
2. What caused racial tensions during this period?(7.7:B)
3. What influence did the Ku Klux Klan have in Texas during this time?(7.7:B)
4. What impact did fundamentalist Churches have on Texas during this period?(7.7:B)
5. How did the economic boom in industry in the 1920s change the population distribution in Texas?(7.7:A,B,D;7.12:A-C)
6. Why happened to farmers during the 1920s?(7.7:A,B,D;7.12:A-C)