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The Roaring
Twenties
The 1920s was a time of change in the United States. People enjoyed
a time of prosperity and leisure activities, from sporting events to
music halls. Fashions, music, heroes, and even laws changed.
Prohibition
Earlier Progressives helped pass blue laws
which limited the sale of alcoholic beverages. They
were concerned that citizens would spend money
on alcohol instead of on their families. Others
believed in temperance, or the use of alcohol in
moderation. Still other reformers supported
Prohibition. Prohibition called for a complete ban
on the manufacturing, sale, and transporting of
alcohol.
Prohibition supporters often
protested against alcohol by
destroying furniture and bottles of
alcohol in bars and saloons. Others
protested peacefully. In 1919, the
Eighteenth Amendment was passed
making the manufacture, sale, and
transportation of alcoholic beverages
illegal in the United States.
During Prohibition, police often held raids where
they destroyed barrels of illegal alcohol.
Problems with Prohibition
While some areas did experience a decline in the abuse of alcohol,
some people were strongly against the law. They did not feel that
government should control how people behaved. Others ignored the
law and found new ways to get alcohol.
Many Americans continued to get alcohol through bootleggers.
These Americans would bring in alcohol from other countries or
simply make their own. This homemade alcohol was sometimes more
dangerous and could cause blindness or death. Bootleggers often
transported illegal alcohol to speakeasies, illegal places where people
would meet to drink.
This photo shows how much
illegal alcohol bootleggers could
hide inside of one car. Many
bootleggers in the South used
their experience fleeing from
police to help form what is today
NASCAR.
Prohibition Ends
Alcohol became a big business during
Prohibition even though it was illegal. Competition
between bootleggers often resulted in violence.
Al Capone, one of America’s most infamous
gangsters, helped contribute to much of this
violence. As the owner of speakeasies in Chicago,
he and his mob committed countless crimes, many
violent, throughout the city.
Organized crime quickly caused
many problems across the country,
especially in the larger cities. There
were so many bootleggers that
police had little success stopping
them and controlling other crimes.
Eventually, people who obeyed the
law were against Prohibition. In
1933, Congress passed the
Twenty-first Amendment, ending
Prohibition in the U.S.
The Jazz Age
Around the same time, radio and movies were helping to bring new
styles of music to Americans. One of the most popular music styles of the
1920s was jazz. This music style was influenced by African American
musical traditions and began in New Orleans, Louisiana.
(Click on each musician’s picture to hear some of their music.)
Louis Armstrong sang, played, and
wrote many types of jazz, from
fast dance jazz to slow blues
music. He was nicknamed
“Satchmo” because of the way his
cheeks puffed out when he played
the trumpet.
Duke Ellington was one of the
best-known jazz composers
and bandleaders. He was often
asked to perform at the allwhite Cotton Club.
Bessie Smith was one of the
most popular blues singers
during the 1920s.
Influences of Jazz
New music led to new kinds of dances. Two of the most popular
dances were the Lindy Hop, or the Jitterbug, and the Charleston. The
Jitterbug was done to a form of jazz music called swing. Swing was
more energetic in beat and rhythm than other jazz. The Charleston
could be done by one person, with a partner, or with a group.
Influences of Jazz
Jazz helped introduce other parts of American
culture, such as theater, dance, and literature, to
many people. The writer F. Scott Fitzgerald
nicknamed the 1920s “The Jazz Age” because of
its influence. His novels and short stories often
had characters that listened to jazz, went to
speakeasies, drank bootleg alcohol, and wore the
fashions of the time.
Jazz also influenced composers of the time.
George Gershwin, who wrote some of the most
popular music at the time, included everyday
sounds of American life like car horns and traffic
into some of his music. He and his brother Ira
wrote music for the play Porgy and Bess. This
opera used jazz-influenced music to tell the story
of an African American community.
The Harlem Renaissance
Harlem
Renaissance
During the time of the Great Migration,
I, Too by Langston Hughes
many African Americans artists moved to
Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City.
They expressed their feelings and ideas about
life through writing, music, and art. So much
of this work was created that the period
became known as the Harlem Renaissance.
Many writers of the time used their work
to call for an end to the discrimination of
African Americans. Writers like Langston
Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston wrote about
the lives of African Americans.
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.
The Harlem Renaissance
One of the most well known artists of the
Harlem Renaissance was Jacob Lawrence.
One series of more than 60 of his paintings
showed African American life and history. His
paintings showed what life was like for many
African Americans before and after the Great
Migration from the south. His paintings show
both the positive and negative of everyday life
for African Americans in the United States.
Athletic Heroes
The popularity of radio and the extra
leisure time enjoyed by Americans led to a
growing interest in sports. Athletes like
Babe Ruth, Jim Thorpe, and Gertrude
Ederle became as well known as movie stars.
Americans would gather around their radio
to hear about these athletes latest
accomplishments.
Athletic Accomplishments of the 1920s:
Babe Ruth (above) – This pitcher is one of baseball’s all-time best
home run hitters. He was the first person to hit 60 HRs in one season.
Jim Thorpe (left) – “The Greatest Athlete of All-Time”
This Olympic champion is a member of the Track & Field, College,
and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
Gertrude Ederle – She was the first woman to swim across the
English Channel, breaking the men’s record by almost two hours!
Aerial Heroes
Historic events in the air also captured the
attention of Americans in the 1920s and 1930s.
The accomplishments of aviators like Amelia
Earhart and Charles Lindbergh encouraged
Americans to try air travel for themselves.
Aerial Accomplishments of the 1920s and 1930s:
Amelia Earhart – Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic
Ocean as a passenger. She would later become the first woman to fly across the
Atlantic Ocean solo (alone) and the first woman to fly solo from Hawaii to
California. (She mysteriously disappeared somewhere near the Bermuda Triangle
in later flights.)
Charles Lindbergh – Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly solo
(alone) across the Atlantic Ocean. He traveled from New York City to Paris, France in
a plane called the Spirit of St. Louis in less than 35 hours. He soon became a
national hero. (Lindbergh also gained fame when his son was kidnapped in 1932.)
(Click for a brief movie to learn more about these heroes.)
Changes for Women
Changing times for Americans also meant
important changes for women. After the first
women voted in Wyoming and the passage of
Nineteenth Amendment, women experienced
new opportunities. Women were allowed to
stop working in the factories and find easier
jobs in offices.
Women also experienced new social
freedoms. Many women took a deep interest in
fashion, wore short haircuts called ‘bobs’, and
frequented nightclubs like the Cotton Club.
These women, called “flappers,” could often be
seen dancing the Charleston in music halls
across America.
America’s time of prosperity would soon end
and hard times would fall on the entire country.