The Roaring Twenties
The 1920s brought many changes for women. First, Congress ratified the 19th Amendment. The 19th Amendment now guaranteed women in all states the right to vote. Women also ran for political offices. The number of women working outside of the home grew. Sometimes, women would even have professional careers. In the 1920s, the symbol for “liberated” woman was the flapper. A flapper is a carefree young woman with short bobbed hair, heavy makeup, and short skirts. The flapper became a cultural icon for a woman of the 1920s, an image we still remember today.
In the 1920s, cultural changes spread quickly with the help of mass media. Laborsaving devices gave more leisure time to enjoy the radio, magazines, and phonograph records. Additionally, the motion picture became very popular in Hollywood. In the late 1920s, they even added sound to the movies. The radio brought even more entertainment. On radio networks they would have concerts, news, sporting events, and comedy. Since radio networks had a huge audience, businesses brought in advertisement. Radio stations now could sell spot advertisement or commercials like we have today. Radio added to the popularity of sports. The sports stars became heroes, while football and baseball became even more popular. During this time people did more activities such as board games and crossword puzzles. A new kind of music was introduced called Jazz. Jazz captured the spirit of the era, which is sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age. Jazz was rooted in the African American culture and had a lot of improvisational and dynamic rhythms. Jazz inspired the culture of the city of Harlem, an African American section of New York City.
During the 1920s, cities and industries grew. Many Americans felt that the America they knew and loved was under attack. There was disagreement with the people who wanted to keep tradition and people who welcomed the new. One major issue that divided America was the use of alcoholic beverages. The 18th amendment, which made the consumption of alcoholic beverages illegal was also called Prohibition. The amendment was ratified and went strong in the south and mid-west. In the cities, however, Prohibition had very little support. Since there were only 1,500 agents enforcing the law, it was not very effective. In the east, they just stopped trying to enforce it entirely. Prohibition contributed to the rise of crime in the 1920s. Gangsters, such as Al Capone, made money by illegally making and selling alcohol. In 1933, the government passed the 21st Amendment. The 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition.
Many native born Americans feared the changes in society. Their concerns led to the rising of nativism, the belief that native-born Americans are superior to foreigners, and eventually the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK used scare tactics such as whipping and lynching and sometimes would burn property. During the 1920s, however, they grew even bigger. Nativism arose because people thought the natives would take their jobs. In 1921 they passed the Emergency Quota Act. It placed a limit on the number of immigrants from each country. In this case, the limit was 3%. In 1924, Congress revised the law and created the National Origins Act, which decreased the limit to 2% instead of 3%. They completely excluded the Chinese and Japanese. In 1925, there was another national culture clash having to do with religion. Tennessee made it illegal to believe in evolution. John Scopes, a young high school teacher, resisted the law with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union. The trial was national and had many reporters. Scopes was fined $100 but it was overturned and he won the case.
In 1927, President Coolidge decided not to run for his second term. This was a shock, but Hubert Hoover runs for republicans. Hoover won respect by giving food during World War I. Hoover also worked hard to promote cooperation and was in favor of prohibition. On the other hand, Democrats chose Alfred E. Smith. He didn’t like Prohibition and rewarded the hard working and helped the poor. Since he was Catholic it did not help him win more votes, since most people during this time were Protestant. When the election came around, Hoover won because of Republican prosperity and his religion. This reflected the tensions in America.
In the 1920s, cultural changes spread quickly with the help of mass media. Laborsaving devices gave more leisure time to enjoy the radio, magazines, and phonograph records. Additionally, the motion picture became very popular in Hollywood. In the late 1920s, they even added sound to the movies. The radio brought even more entertainment. On radio networks they would have concerts, news, sporting events, and comedy. Since radio networks had a huge audience, businesses brought in advertisement. Radio stations now could sell spot advertisement or commercials like we have today. Radio added to the popularity of sports. The sports stars became heroes, while football and baseball became even more popular. During this time people did more activities such as board games and crossword puzzles. A new kind of music was introduced called Jazz. Jazz captured the spirit of the era, which is sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age. Jazz was rooted in the African American culture and had a lot of improvisational and dynamic rhythms. Jazz inspired the culture of the city of Harlem, an African American section of New York City.
During the 1920s, cities and industries grew. Many Americans felt that the America they knew and loved was under attack. There was disagreement with the people who wanted to keep tradition and people who welcomed the new. One major issue that divided America was the use of alcoholic beverages. The 18th amendment, which made the consumption of alcoholic beverages illegal was also called Prohibition. The amendment was ratified and went strong in the south and mid-west. In the cities, however, Prohibition had very little support. Since there were only 1,500 agents enforcing the law, it was not very effective. In the east, they just stopped trying to enforce it entirely. Prohibition contributed to the rise of crime in the 1920s. Gangsters, such as Al Capone, made money by illegally making and selling alcohol. In 1933, the government passed the 21st Amendment. The 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition.
Many native born Americans feared the changes in society. Their concerns led to the rising of nativism, the belief that native-born Americans are superior to foreigners, and eventually the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK used scare tactics such as whipping and lynching and sometimes would burn property. During the 1920s, however, they grew even bigger. Nativism arose because people thought the natives would take their jobs. In 1921 they passed the Emergency Quota Act. It placed a limit on the number of immigrants from each country. In this case, the limit was 3%. In 1924, Congress revised the law and created the National Origins Act, which decreased the limit to 2% instead of 3%. They completely excluded the Chinese and Japanese. In 1925, there was another national culture clash having to do with religion. Tennessee made it illegal to believe in evolution. John Scopes, a young high school teacher, resisted the law with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union. The trial was national and had many reporters. Scopes was fined $100 but it was overturned and he won the case.
In 1927, President Coolidge decided not to run for his second term. This was a shock, but Hubert Hoover runs for republicans. Hoover won respect by giving food during World War I. Hoover also worked hard to promote cooperation and was in favor of prohibition. On the other hand, Democrats chose Alfred E. Smith. He didn’t like Prohibition and rewarded the hard working and helped the poor. Since he was Catholic it did not help him win more votes, since most people during this time were Protestant. When the election came around, Hoover won because of Republican prosperity and his religion. This reflected the tensions in America.