18.2: Good times for many

18.2: GOOD TIMES FOR MANY

Terms

• Jazz: a kind of music created by African Americans in the South in the early 1900s

• Renaissance: a time of new interest and activity in the arts

Prosperity:

• 1920s:– Time of prosperity / change for many people

– More people had wealth / luxury

– High hopes for the future

• Should sports stars / celebrities be role models?

Popular Entertainment

• 1920s was a time to enjoy life– Carefree times = “Roaring Twenties”• Also known as the Jazz Age

• Music– Jazz gained popularity• Drums, piano, banjo, horns – all used• Went from New Orleans to Chicago / New York • Louis Armstrong• Jelly Roll Morton• Bessie Smith

– Music was popular with African Americans and whites


• Radio– KDKA – 1st radio station

• Pittsburgh, PA– 1922: +500 radio stations

• 1st – mostly music– News reports– Sports reports– Children’s stories

• Movies– California’s climate was ideal

for movies– Hollywood became movie

capital of the world

– People went once a week to the movies• Westerns• Romances• Adventures• Comedies

– 1st – No sound• Background music• Lyrics were written on cards /

shown on screen

– 1927: 1st talkie• “The Jazz Singer”


• Books and Magazines– Many writers were horrified by WWI– Criticized Americans for caring too much about

money and fun• Some even moved out of the US• Became expatriates

– F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby• Characters were always looking for wealth and success

– Ernest Hemmingway, The Sun also Rises• Wartime experiences, sports, travel


• Books and Magazines– Many magazines were 1st published in the 1920s• Time – read for news• Saturday Evening Post – read for stories


• Sports– Boxing = Jack Dempsey– Swimming = Gertrude Ederle– College Football = Red Grange– Baseball = Babe Ruth

• Greatest hero of the decade:– May 1927 – Charles Lindbergh (Lucky Lindy)• Flew alone across the Atlantic Ocean

– New York to Paris with no map, parachute, or radio– Opened the door to new flying possibilities

The Harlem Renaissance

• African Americans moved North in the 1920s– Often came to Harlem (in NYC)– Were free to express themselves

• Harlem Renaissance– Used literature and art to show racial pride– Spoke out against racial discrimination


• Countee Cullen– Won prizes for his poetry• Experiences of African Americans

– Taught in a Harlem high school


• Langston Hughes– “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” – published after

high school– Best known poet of the Renaissance• Encouraged African Americans to be proud of their

heritage• Protested racism and violence against African

Americans• Wrote poems, plays, short stories, essays


• Claude McKay– From Jamaica– Condemned lynchings

and mob violence after WWI

• Zora Neale Hurston– Novels, essays, short

stories• Tried to preserve folklore

– Traveled to collect folk takes, songs, prayers

– Mules and Men

The Mass Culture of the 1920s

Women in the 1920s

• New freedoms– Turned away from traditional roles• Cut hair short• Wore short dresses• Began smoking / drinking in public

Women in the 1920s

• Why these changes?– 19th Amendment – women had the right to vote in

all elections– Women could hold public offices• Nellie Tayloe Ross (WY governor)• Miriam A. Ferguson (TX governor)

– Women kept working outside of the house– New appliances made lives easier• Books / music / art helped them to think differently

– More decided to go to college

Women in the 1920s

• Women were still not treated the same as men– Employed?• General belief – would work until married

– Women were not trained for some jobs– Were paid less than men

– Women still became doctors / lawyers• Hospitals and law offices refused to hire women

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

• Alice Paul:• Noted women still lacked many legal rights (earning

control)• Proposed the ERA• Complete equality of rights across the United States

– Some thought the ERA would cause women to lose some legal protections• Amendment passed, never ratified

To Do

• Pg. 342 (1-2)

• Pg. 343 (1-3)

• Exercise 76

• Bonus points (complete sentences): When was the first radio broadcast? What was announced?

18.2: Good times for many

Documents

Transcript of 18.2: Good times for many