The 1920s

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The 1920s

• The Roaring Twenties

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Life in the Jazz Age
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The Roaring Twenties
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Rural VS. Urban Society

• Rural
• Agricultural
• Small towns and farms
• Conservative Values
• Strong links to family and church
• Church set moral standards
• Farmers suffer financially Why?

• Urban
• People begin to move into cities in the 1920s
• N.Y. 5.6 million
• Chicago 3 million
• Why did cities grow so quickly?
• Freedom from families and church leads to what?

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The Harlem Renaissance and the Jazz Age

• Where had African Americans moved during and
  after WWI? Why?
• Harlem
• 1920s Population grows from 152,000 to 330,000
• Overcrowding, unemployment, and poverty are
  eclipsed by the rich cultural movement known as
  the Harlem Renaissance.

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Louis Armstrong
Langston Hughes

• Harlem Renaissance is above all a literary
  movement
• Writers express pride in their African American
  culture and heritage
• Langston Hughes is the movements best known poet
• His poems often move to the tempo of jazz or the
  blues.

• Jazz is born in the early 20th century in New
  Orleans
• Joe Oliver and his Creole Jazz band move north
  and bring jazz with them
• Trumpet player Louis Armstrong is part of the
  band and will become the most important and
  influential musician in the history of jazz.

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I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes

• I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother.
  They send me to eat in the kitchen When company
  comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow
  strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When
  company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat
  in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see
  how beautiful I am And be ashamed-- I, too, am
  America.

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Women in the 1920s

• In the rebellious, pleasure loving air of the
  1920s, many women begin to assert their
  independence.
• What rights do women have before the 1920s?

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A New Life for Women

• The flapper emancipated woman who embraced
  new fashions and urban attitudes
• Women get new job opportunities
• Society begins to view marriage as more of
  an equal partnership
• The 19th Amendment is ratified in 1920

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Flappers
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American Society

• Schools
• From 1914 to 1926 Enrollment goes from 1 million
  to 4 million
• Began to focus on college prep
• Had to meet needs of growing immigrant students
• Expanding news coverage
• Literacy is increased by widespread education
• Radio comes of age

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New Heroes

• More money and leisure time need for
  entertainment
• Sports
• Babe Ruth becomes known as the Sultan of Swat
• Jack Dempsey reigns supreme in the boxing ring
• Red Grange (a.k.a. The Galloping Ghost) and Knute
  Rocknes Fighting Irish make college football
  popular
• Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim
  across the English Channel

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Americas Most Beloved Hero

• Charles Lindbergh is Americas Golden Boy

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Movies, Theater and More

• Films By 1925, movies are Americas 4th largest
  industry
• Charlie Chaplin, Clara Bow, and Rudolph Valentino
  rise to stardom in silent movies
• 1927 The Jazz Singer- Americas first film with
  sound
• 1928 Steamboat Willie

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Steamboat Willie
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• George Gershwin establishes himself as Americas
  foremost modern composer
• Painter Georgia OKeefe begins her career
• F. Scott Fitzgerald writes about the life of the
  wealthy, while Ernest Hemingway condemns the
  glorification of war.

17
The Charleston