Pop CultureDecade: 1920s

Prosperity and Its Demise

Politics 1920

◦ Census indicates US population over 100 million.

◦ League of Nations established with Treaty of Versailles of 1919. US Senate refuses to join the League.

◦ 19th Amendment (Susan B. Anthony amendment) grants women the right to vote.

◦ Warren G. Harding wins the Presidential election by a landslide. This is the first election in which women had the right to vote.

Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.

- Susan B. Anthony

1921◦ Emergency Quota Act

passed, curbing legal immigration into the US.

1922◦ Teapot Dome scandal begins.

Also known as the Oil Reserves Scandal or Elk Hills Scandal

1923◦ Calvin Coolidge becomes

president when Harding dies in office.

1924◦ Indian Citizenship Act is

passed, granting citizenship to all Native Americans that had been born within the territory of the United States.

1925◦ Nellie Tayloe Ross is

inaugurated as the first woman governor in the United States in Wyoming. Two weeks later Miriam Ferguson is installed as the second in Texas.

◦ The Scopes Trial (Monkey Trial) begins. John T. Scopes was convicted of teaching Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory at a Dayton, TN high school, which violated TN law.

Ross

Ferguson

1926◦ Air Commerce Act is

passed, providing aid and assistance to the airline industry.

1928◦ Herbert Hoover is

elected President of the United States.

1929◦ Teapot Dome scandal

comes to a close. Albert Fall was found

guilty of accepting bribes and was imprisoned.

31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover

Fashion Fashion entered the

modern era beginning in the 1920s.◦ Women

Corsets became a thing of the past

Began to wear more comfortable clothing such as short skirts and trousers “Flapper” look

◦ Men Menswear also became

less formal with men wearing sweaters and knickers (short trousers).

Wider trousers became popular, still ending at the ankle.

Athletic attire is worn for the first time.

Arts & Entertainment 1920

◦ Harlem Renaissance begins 1921

◦ The Kid – Chaplin’s 1st feature length film

◦ Rudolph Valentino’s The Sheik

1923◦ The first sound on film

motion picture is shown in the Rivoli Theatre in New York City.

◦ Charleston dance becomes popular

◦ 1st dance marathon◦ Time magazine founded◦ Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten

Commandments

The first issue of Time (March 3, 1923), featuring Speaker Joseph G. Cannon. Time magazine was created in 1923 by Briton Hadden and Henry Luce, making it the first weekly news magazine in the United States.

1924◦ Flagpole sitting

becomes a fad 1925

◦ The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

1926◦ A.A.Milne publishes

Winnie the Pooh◦ NBC Radio Network is

formed, opening with 24 stations.

◦ Harry Houdini dies after being punched

◦ Rudolph Valentino dies

Rudolph Valentino

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Interesting Facts:

Winnie-the-Pooh was inspired by two animals: 1. Winnie, a bear cub

in the London Zoo visited by Christopher Robin

2. Pooh, a swan which Christopher Robin fed every morning

Tigger was not introduced until the second book, The House at Pooh Corner, published in 1928.

Winnie-the-Pooh books have been published in over 50 languages, including Latin. The Latin translation, Winnie Ille Pu, made the New York Times bestseller list in 1960 (the first foreign-language book to do so) and stayed there for 20 weeks.

Original stuffed animal toys of Christopher Robin Milnewhich inspired the famous Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

1927◦ The Jazz Singer – first talking

movie◦ Duke Ellington performs at the

Cotton Club 1928

◦ First appearance of Mickey and Minnie Mouse on film occurs with the release of the animated short film, Plane Crazy. Steamboat Willie is the first Mickey film with sound.

1929◦ First Academy Awards◦ Yo-yo becomes an American

fad◦ Popeye appears in a daily

comic strip◦ Amos ‘n’ Andy premieres on

NBC radio

Sports 1920◦ American

Professional Football League is formed with 11 teams. (It would change its name to the National Football League in 1922.)

1922◦ Construction begins

on Yankee Stadium in New York City. It is often dubbed the House that Ruth Built.)

1924◦ The first Winter Olympic

Games are held in the French Alps. 16 nations sent athletes to participate, including the United States.

1927◦ Babe Ruth sets home run

recordNorway – 17 medalsFinland – 11 medalsUnited States – 4 medals

Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of the season on Sept 30, 1927.

Inventions, Innovations, and Technology 1920

◦ First commercial radio broadcast

◦ Tommy gun patented by John T. Thompson

◦ Band-aid by Earle Dickson◦ Baby Ruth candy bar

1921◦ Eskimo Pie

1922◦ Insulin discovered◦ Chanel No. 5 perfume◦ 1st radios on sale◦ 1st A&W Root Beer stand◦ Klondike bar

1923◦ Milky Way candy bar◦ Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups◦ 16mm camera◦ Cathode-ray-tube – Vladimir

Zworykin◦ Frozen food – Clarence

Birdseye 1925

◦ 1st Goodyear blimp◦ Radiovision is born. This

invention by Charles Francis Jenkins is the precursor to television.

1926◦ Butterfinger◦ First liquid fueled rockets are

fired by Robert H. Goddard in Auburn, MA. It flew over 84 feet in 2.5 seconds.

1927◦ First non-stop transatlantic

flight conducted from New York to Paris by Charles Lindbergh.◦ It took him 33 hours and 30

minutes to make the 3,600 mile flight.

1928◦ Amelia Earhart

becomes the first woman to fly over the Atlantic Ocean.

◦ Construction of the Hoover Dam begins. (Originally called Boulder Dam.)

Events 1920

◦ Prohibition begins. 1921

◦ First Miss American pageant is held in Atlantic City, NJ.

1922◦ Lincoln Memorial is dedicated

in Washington, D.C. 1923

◦ Warner Brothers Pictures is incorporated.

The IBM corporation is founded.

1924◦ Macy’s 1st Thanksgiving

Day parade 1925

◦ The Grand Ole Opry transmits its first radio broadcast.

1927◦ The Great

Mississippi Flood occurs, affecting over 700,000.

◦ Work on Mount Rushmore begins. The giant sculpture of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt was created by Gutzon Borglum. It took 14 years to complete.

◦ Sacco and Vanzetti executed

1928◦ 1st bubble gum – Dubble

Bubble◦ Kraft Velveeta

1929◦ Gangsters working for Al

Capone kill seven rivals and citizens in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago.

◦ Stock Market crashes and begins the worst American depression in America’s history.

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in 1930 and lasted until the late 1930s or middle 1940s.

Ace: one dollar bill Applesauce: nonsense Beef: to complain or complaint Bee’s knees: something excellent; outstanding Boocoo: much; a lot Bootleg: illegal; smuggled Caper: a crime Dive: a cheap bar Giggle-water: liquor or other alcoholic beverage Grand: a thousand dollars

Slang

Heat: a gun Horse feathers: nonsense Jack: money John: toilet Level: honest, truthful Off the deep end: go crazy Palooka: a strong man Pushover: someone easily convinced Rube: unsophisticated person from the

country Shiv: a knife

Speakeasy: an illicit bar selling bootleg liquor

The real McCoy: something genuine Torpedo: hired killer Washed up: finished, done in Yahoo: a clumsy, unsophisticated person