life in the 1920’s “though the jazz age continued it became less and less an affair of youth....
TRANSCRIPT
Life in the 1920’s
“Though the Jazz Age continued it became less and less an affair of youth. The sequel was like a
children’s party, take over by the elders” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Rural to Urban…
America became a more urban nation!2 million people leaving farms and towns to go to cities!
“Cities were the place to be, not to get away from”
Life became more fast paced in the cities
“The city demands endurance”
Prohibition
18th Amendment: Prohibited the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CE4u6jI_rc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csLbNO5cYSM
SpeakeasiesHidden saloons and nightclubs – “Speakeasies”
Underground!
Liquor sold illegally!
Had to use a password to get in like “joe sent me” or present a special card.
Bootleggers People bought liquor from bootleggers
Would bribe the police and judges to let them operate freely.
“Americans bought liquor and hid it cleverly, in false books, in hot-water bottles, in high boots, in containers strapped to their legs”.
Organized Crime
Underworld gangs seized the opportunity to make and sell liquor!
Al Capone – notorious gangster whose bootlegging empire netted over 60 million a year.
Capone killed off his competition.
522 bloody gang killings!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzfWQ7TRF8w
Other Mobsters
Charles “Lukcy” Luciano
George “Machine Gun” Kelly
Women The Flapper – Young woman with new fashions and urban attitudes!
An image of rebellious youth
Here come close-fitting hats felt hats, bright waist-less dresses an INCH above the knees, skin-toned stockings, sleek pumps ,strings of beads and bracelets
News!Newspapers
Magazines
Radio
New Heroes & Old Dreams
Babe Ruth – Baseball “Sultan of Swat”
Red Grange – Football “Galloping Ghost”
Jack Dempsey – Boxer “Manassa Mauler”
Charles A. Lindbergh – Nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic.
Movies!
Theater, Music, Art and Writing
George Gershwin – Composer: Combined American jazz with traditional music form.
Georgia O’Keefe – Painter: Captured the grandeur of New York.
Sinclair Lewis – Writer: Won a Nobel Prize in literature. Criticized America for its conformity and materialism.
F. Scott Fitzgerald – Writer: Coined the term “Jazz Age”. Wrote The Great Gatsby
Ernest Hemingway – Writer: Fought in WWI and writes about it. Criticized the glorification of war.
“Intellectually I know that America is no better than ay other country; emotionally I know she is better than every other country”
“Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless”
-Sinclair Lewis
“Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy”
“Gatsby looked at Daisy in a way that every young girl wanted to be looked at”
“Things are sweeter when they’re lost. I know because once I wanted something and got it, it was the only thing I ever wanted badly. And when I got it, it turned to dust in in my hands.”
-F. Scott Fitzgerald
“I love sleep. My life has a tendency to fall apart when ‘m awake, you know?”
“All things truly wicked start from innocence”
“They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason”
-Ernest Hemingway
Harlem Renaissance
A literary and artistic movement celebrating African-American Culture!
During the Great Migration – many African American’ moved north to Harlem.
152,000 to 300,000 people
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3ozfYC9CZE