1. THE ROARING TWENTIES The period of the 20s was a period of great contradiction : one the one hand, a decade* of economic prosperity (just after WWI) : Ford model T, $5 work day, progress (electricity, telephone)- first transatlantic flight (Charles Lindbergh), social opportunities, emancipation of women, inventions (In 1928, bacteriologist Alexander Fleming found a powerful antibiotic, penicillin), interest for arts : paintings, jazz music, movies, the Harlem Renaissance, literature ….. On the other hand, it was also a period of intolerance and isolation – red scare, Ku Klux Klan, restricted immigration, prohibition. For all these reasons, I have chosen to arouse* your curiosity about this period click here to watch a documentclick here to watch a document (clic droit, puis ouvrir le lien hypertexte) HELPANGLAIS SPECIALS EDITORIAL I 1920-1929

2. economy The Roaring Twenties developed the well-being *of American middle class. In the 1920's business was an obsession, and new technologies helped factories to produce always more and faster. Economic expansion created booming*profits that raised the standard of living of a lot of people, together with the development of credit. Thanks to this new prosperity, many families could afford to buy equipment such as refrigerators, washing machines, and radios. A lot of them were also able to buy the first cheap, mass- produced Ford Model T car ( 15 million cars sold by 1927!) SOCIETY II 1920-1929 After WWI, women gained the right to be recognized like men, thanks to the role they had played in the industry during the war. In 1920, they got the right to vote. Some improvements made their life easier (take-away shops, canned food*, ready-to-wear clothes …) as well as increased salaries gave them more time to enjoy life. A new kind of woman was born : she was called flapper* : she claimed her right to smoke in public, wear shorter dresses, cut her hair, go out alone …. In fact, be independent. It put an end -(but temporarily)- to decades of Puritanism. women A period of prosperity click here to watch the flappers (clic droit, puis ouvrir le lien hypertexte) Ford Model T Flappers

3. WRITERS Some of the greatest American authors of the 20s were Ernest Hemingway, Francis Scott Fitzgerald and John Dos Passos. In their books, they both illustrate what was called the lost generation – the generation of the roaring twenties Francis Scott Fitzgerald was really the embodiment *of the jazz age -term that he created- and of the lost generation. He led a hectic *life, was extremely attractive, had a very romantic and turbulent love story with his wife Zelda, was addicted to alcohol, and died at the age of 40.He is now considered – not only by me!- one of the best authors of the XXth century. One Fitzgerald's books : The Great Gatsby (in French : Gatsby le Magnifique) is a great book turned into a movie : a real must! CULTURE III 1920-1929 Documentation : A movie by Francis Ford Coppola, starring : Robert Redford, Mia Farrow the Great Gatsby –Ed. Penguin Also by Francis Scott Fitzgerald: tender is the night, This side of paradise,The diamond as big as the Ritzand lots of other short stories (Editions Penguin) watch an excerpt of "The Great gatsby" herewatch an excerpt of "The Great gatsby" here (clic droit, puis ouvrir le lien hypertexte) LITERATURE IN THE JAZZ AGE Francis Scott fitzgerald Ernest Hemingway Robert Redford and Mia Farrow in « The Great Gatsby »

4. Painters CULTURE IV 1920-1929 Music Jazz became popular like it had not been before The Charleston, a dance with origins in South Carolina and African American styles, became very popular too. One of the most famous jazz musicians of those days was Louis Armstrong also nicknamed Satchmo (1901 - 1971) trumpeter and singer Other great artists of that time also included Duke Ellington,Benny Goodman, BillieHolliday…Composers were also inspired by the jazz age, such as George Gershwin. Two of his best known orchestral works are "Rhapsody in Blue," and "An American in Paris ARTS IN THE JAZZ AGE Denis Hopper Norman Rockwell Louis Armstrong Duke Ellington

5. Art Deco was expressed in design, interior decoration, and architecture in the 1920s and '30s in Europe and the U.S. The name comesfrom the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris in 1925. The intention was to create an non traditional and elegant style that symbolized prosperity sophistication. With geometric shapes, expensive materials, it was influenced by various styles : Bauhaus in architecture, mythology, Cubist paintings…It affected all types of decorative arts : design, furniture, jewels … enjoy the pictures as much as I do … STYLE V 1920-1929 Architecture The Chrysler building and the Empire State building The City Hall of Buffalo (New York State) ART DECO

6. Following World War I, around 500,000 African Americans in search of better employment opportunities moved to the northern part of the United States. With them, they brought their culture and in New York, the Harlem Renaissance movement started The Harlem Renaissance It is a cultural movement born in Harlem in the 20s. It was a period when Black literature and arts flourished. African-American intellectuals and artists wanted to express their own identity. It led to the recognition *of a Black culture in the US and spread far beyond *the limits of the ghetto. Harlem was then considered the capital of Black culture. AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURE VI 1920-1929 Black writers African-American writers participated in the movement and started to impose a Black literature in the US. Some of the most famous were : Langston Hughes (poet and novelist) : the ways of white folfs – Dorothy West (the living is easy), Zora Neale Hurston, and richard Wright (Black boy) Black painters Among the most famous painters of the Harlem Renaissance were Maxfield Parrish, C. Coles Phillips, Aaron Douglas and Palmer Hayden. See a few paintings on the left THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE Maxfield Parrish Palmer Hayden Aaron Douglas C. Coles Phillips

7. One of the greatest problems that followed WWI was the Red Scare *which was seen as an international communist conspiracy : it was said to be the cause of strikes, protest movements and union*activities. Many Americas also worried about the activities of the Klu Klux Klan who were terrorizing foreigners, blacks, Jews and Catholics. After the 1917 Russian revolution, democracies in the world became anxious about communism. This anxiousness gave way to fear, and soon "The Red Scare" spread across the United States. Socialist s and labor unions were particularly suspect, and conflict soon erupted, causing violence against demonstrators THE RED SCARE VII 1920-1929 I n 1919 President Woodrow Wilson appointed *A. Mitchell Palmer as his attorney general.* Palmer recruited John Edgar Hoover as his special assistant and together they launched* a campaign against radicals and left-wing* organizations. Palmer became convinced that Communist agents were planning to overthrow* the American government.. The FBI was looking for un- American activities everywhere. During what was called the Palmer raids, suspected communists and anarchists were arrested. Some were released and others deported to Russia THE DARK SIDE OF THE 1920s After a « Palmer raid »

8. Communism was not the only fear in the 1920s. During that era, Americans developed a fear of immigrants as well. But the two issues were related. The Sacco and Vanzetti case* is an illustration of anti-immigrant feeling in the 1920s, as well as an example of intense political repression THE FACTS : On April 15,1920, two employees were carrying the money of a factory through the main street of South Braintree, Massachusetts, a town south of Boston. Suddenly, 2 other men shot at them and took the money THE ARREST : Three weeks later, two Italians, Nicolas Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, were arrested by the police as suspects in the Braintree crime. Sacco and Vanzetti were known to be Italian anarchists, involved* in labor strikes, political agitation, and antiwar propaganda, but there was absolutely no evidence* that that they had committed the crime. This miscarriage* of justice triggered off* lots of demonstrations all over the world. JUSTICE VIII 1920-1929 THE VERDICT : After a long trial*, Sacco and Vanzetti were executed on the electric chair on August 23, 1927 THE SCOPES TRIAL (or Monkey trial) In 1925 John Scopes, a biology teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, was arrested for violating an act of the state legislature which prohibited the teaching of evolution in schools. The trial revealed the huge clash that existed in American society between modernist and traditionalist values, between the Darwin theory of evolution and a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible. Before that period, it was forbidden to teach Evolution, as American society was based on Puritan and deeply Christian ideals. The jury found John Thomas Scopes guilty and the judge fined *him $100, but the publicity made around the case changed the minds of lots of people SACCO AND VANZETTI Scopes trial : Pro and Anti Evolution movements For sacco and Vanzetti : worldwide demonstrations Sacco and Vanzetti Watch the document (clic droit, puis ouvrir le lien hypertexte) listen to the movies song here (Joan Baez) (clic droit, puis ouvrir le lien hypertexte)

9. Prohibition was a period of nearly fourteen years of U.S. history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol was declared illegal, according to the 18 th Amendment to the Constitution and the Volestead Act. Of course, people still wanted to drink, and the Prohibition enabled *gangsters to make profits.. It became a great period fororganized crime (the Mafia) These gangsters used to smuggle* alcohol from Canada, or created illicit laboratories. Then they opened clandestine bars (calledspeakeasies). The people who carried illegal alcohol were calledbootleggers (the bottles were hidden in their boots!). One of the most famous gangster then was Al Capone. During this period, Prohibition agents had to arrest gangsters and close the speakeasies, but most of the were underpaid, so easily corrupt*. THE NOBLE EXPERIMENT IX 1920-1933 This is how a special brigade of honest detectives was created, and were called The Untouchables, led by Elliot Ness Al Capone had never been arrested for his crimes. He was finally convicted* by the government for not paying his income tax*! With the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929, the government needed money and people needed jobs. Making alcohol legal again would create many new jobs and taxes for the government. In 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified. It repealed the 18th Amendment, making alcohol legal again. This was the first and only time in U.S. history that an Amendment had been repealed*. Movies : the untouchables 1987: based on Eliot Ness's biography directed by Brian de Palma, starring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery and Robert De Niro Al Capone by Richard Wilson- starring Rod Steiger THE PROHIBITION click here to watch a document about the Prohibitionabout the Prohibition (clic droit, puis ouvrir le lien hypertexte) Al Capone The « Untouchables » A « speakeasy », clandestine bar during the Prohibition a bootlegger

10. Thanks to a good economy, the Americans were carefree and optimistic. They invested in the Stock Exchange*, and the price of stocks* rose gradually in the early 20's, but skyrocketed* in 1927, and 1928. The stock prices tripled from 1925 to 1929. After a movement of panic at the Stock Exchange, a lot of investors began to sell. On October 24, 1929 Wall street collapsed* The "Great Depression" put a tragic end to the "Roaring twenties" THE END X 1929 Vocabulary : page 1 :decade : décennie-arouse:éveiller p.2: well-being : bien êtrebooming: en expansion-canned food: conserves-flapper : femme délurée p.3: embodiment: incarnation- hectic:mouvementé- p.6: recognition : reconnaissance- beyond: au delà de- p.7: red scare : péril rouge- union: syndicat-appoint : nommer- attorney general :procureur général- launch: lancer- left-wing : de gauche-overthrow : renverser – p.8 :case : affaire- involved in: impliqué dans- evidence:preuves – miscarriage of justice : erreur judiciaire – trigger off: déclencher - trial : procès- fine: donner une amende p.9 : enable : permettre de- smuggle : passer en contrebande- corrupt : corrompu – convicted:inculpé- income tax : impôt sur le revenu – repeal : abroger p.10: stock exchange : bourse – stock : action (en bourse) – skyrocket : monter en flèche – collapse : seffondrer THE ROARING TWENTIES ARE OVER