The Roaring 20s

1. The Roaring 20s A decade of radical and rapid cultural change. Americans began living new modern lifestyles.

2. Women in the 1920s • The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. • This newfound freedom encouraged women to take on new opportunities such as education and employment

3. Women in the 1920s • Began to challenge traditional roles • Flappers- rebellious young girls- wore shorter dresses, bob haircut, dancing, smoking. • Mostly urban and wealthy young girls, but rural girls read about them in magazines

4. Prohibition

6. Prohibition • 18th Amendment- prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol • Had the opposite effect- Americans began to enjoy the excitement of getting around the law- speakeasies, bootlegging, etc. • Speakeasy: illegal bar • Bootlegging: smuggling alcohol • Led to increase in crime  Mafia – smuggled the alcohol & paid off law enforcement • Volstead Act- enforcement of the amendment • Hard to enforce, because drinking was not illegal • Struggle between the morals of Americans and the progress they wanted to experience

7. The Great Migration • Southern life was difficult for African Americans, many of whom worked as sharecroppers or in other low-paying jobs and often faced racial violence. • Many African Americans looked to the North to find freedom and economic opportunities, and during World War I the demand for equipment and supplies offered African Americans factory jobs

9. The Harlem Renaissance • African Americans streamed into cities In the North, such as Chicago and Detroit. • The major relocation North is called the Great Migration • Harlem, NY became the cultural center of Northern African Americans. • Harlem Renaissance: a rebirth of African American culture- music (jazz), art, literature. • Langston Hughes, Josephine Baker, etc.

10. African American Activism • Many African Americans did not experience the opportunities they had hoped for and still faced discrimination. • Led to race riots • Two major political activists • W.E.B DuBois • Founded NAACP • Fight for less discrimination • Marcus Garvey • Universal Negro Improvement Association • Self pride and reliance- make ourselves better • Back to Africa campaign

11. Entertainment • Radios become cheaper and are found in every home • Radio spreads information and creates a common culture • As Americans have more free time and more $, they go to the movies and sporting events – these stars become celebrities • Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Charlie Chaplin

12. Consumerism • Incomes rise, people can spend more on wants rather than needs • American consumer goods became cheaper • Advertising also spurred Americans to wants goods they didn’t need “Make the public want what you have to sell” • Toasters, Radio, Washing Machines, etc. • Some used installment plans (buying on credit)

13. American Values • Life in America is more conservative and wants to return to American values • Fundamentalism- idea that religious texts and beliefs should be taken literally and treated as the authority on appropriate behavior • Scopes Trial- Tennessee teacher broke the law and taught evolution to his students • Urban America is experiencing cultural reform and filled with more modernists