1. 1920S CULTURE

2. Victorian/Traditional Values
Males – workers, earned the money for the family, involved in politics
Women – childrearing and domestic duties

3. Flappers The liberal young, flirtatious woman
Cut their hair short in a “bob”
Wore short skirts, drank, smoked
Dated several different men
Worked outside the home
Advocate for women’s right to vote

7. Increase in Literacy – Spread of Newspapers
Increase in American education
4 million attended high school by (1 million in 1914)
Leads to increase in literacy rate = increase in shared culture
Mass-circulation of newspapers and magazines
Reader’s Digest (1922)
Time Magazine (1923)

8. Modernization

9. Buying Goods on Credit
Installment plan – allowed people to buy goods over an extended period, without having to put down much money a the time of purchase.
Banks provided loans to people with a low interest rate, encouraging people to borrow money so they could “buy” commodities they otherwise could not afford.

12. Radio Comes of Age Most powerful communication medium in the 1920s
Created a shared national experience
1920s was the first commerical radio station
Listeners tuned in to hear entertainment, news, and advertisments
By the 1930s, about 40% had radios
First radio news show broadcasted from Detroit in 1920
First Rose Bowl broadcasted in 1923

14. Entertainment on the Radio
Baby Snooks and the missing dollar

15. Hollywood 1927 Became the central location for making movies
85% of all movies were made in or around Hollywood
About 800 movies were made a year in the 1920s

16. The Capitol, movie theater in New York

17. Let’s go to the movies! The Sheik clip
Rudolph Valentino
“The Sheik”

18. Charlie Chaplin The Circus
Born in London 1889
Moved to the US in1910 with a vaudeville group
Chaplin was a comedian, author, music composer, film director, and film writer
Died in1977

19. Mickey Mouse hits the screen
Steamboat Willy
Introduced in1928,
Produced by Walt Disney Productions
Fully synchronized sound
Hugely popular; major debut of Mickey and Minnie Mouse

20. JAZZ AGE 1920s was known as the Jazz age
Popular musicians were Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong
New York and Chicago became top jazz cultural centers
Made popular by America’s middle-class youth
Birth of jazz is credited to African-Americans

21. 1920s Literature
Authors rallied against the materialism and superficiality of the 1920s
F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby”), Lewis Sinclair (“Babbit”), Ernest Hemingway (“The Sun Also Rises”)

22. Harlem Renaissance- “Black is Beautiful”
A literary and artistic movement that celebrated African-American culture.
1900s, Harlem became an African-American neighborhood
World’s largest black urban community
Described as the capital of “black America”

23. Langston Hughes
I, Too, Sing America   I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen.
When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.
Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then.
Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed-- I, too, am America.

24. Pre WWI Heroes= Politicians and Military
Post WWI Heroes= Popular culture figures (Lindy was the greatest)

25. Unions Create the Weekend
Radio + Hollywood+ Advertising+Henry Ford +Unions
= A popular shared culture

26. American Heroes
Charles Lindbergh first man to fly a solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic in 1927, landing in Paris, France
Born in Detroit
20 month year old son was kidnapped and murdered in 1932

27. A. Restored old school victorian values.
#1 Hero!
Q.Why?
A. Restored old school victorian values.

28. American Heroes Babe Ruth
60 home runs in one season for New York Yankees
Andrew Rube Foster
Established first Negro baseball league
Gertrude Elderly
First female to swim across the English Channel