1. The 1920s
Interwar Period

2. Main Idea
The Post War Period was one of loss and uncertainty but also one of invention, creativity, and new ideas
What contributed to “loss” and “uncertainty”??

3. League of Nations International cooperative organization
Established to prevent future wars
United States not a member
Failure of League because it did not have power to enforce its decisions

4. League of nations Created the Mandate System:
Mandates were territories given to the victors of World War I (France & Britain) so they could govern former German and Ottoman territories
The ultimate goal was development of each mandate toward eventual independence
Controversial because they held on to land longer than expected

5. Changes in Science
Albert Einstein a German born physicist comes up with theory of relativity
Sigmund Freud an Austrian physician constructs a theory of the human mind believing much of the human action is irrational and driven by pleasure-seeking drives

6. Changes in Literature
Brutality of war causes philosophers and writers to question reason and progress
Many write about uncertainty
Philosophy of existentialism (people give meaning to their lives through their thoughts and actions) emerges
Friedrich Nietzsche believes Western ideas such as reason, democracy, and progress have stifled creativity

7. Changes in Art
Rebel against earlier realistic styles of painting. Show inner world of emotion and imagination
Cubism- transforms natural shapes into geometric
Surrealism- art movement sought to link the world of dreams with real life
The Persistence of Memory 1931, Salvador Dali

8. Changes in Music Jazz emerges in the United States
Developed by African Americans in New Orleans, Memphis, and Chicago

9. Change In Women’s Role
Women abandon restrictive clothing and hairstyles
Cut hair short (bobbed) and wore shorter, looser garments
Some sought new careers
Women fight for suffrage in America

10. Changes in Technology
New technology made automobiles affordable for middle class
Airplanes are available for travel (for rich only at first)
Charles Lindbergh- American pilot who made 33-hr solo flight from NYC to Paris (1927)
Increase in media such as radio and movies
Charlie Chaplin, English Born Actor