1. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
THE ROARING TWENTIES

2. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
The 1920s, also called the “Roaring 20s” or the “Jazz Age,” saw important changes:
The 18th Amendment, along with the Volstead Act (1920), created Prohibition.
The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote.
Advancing technology and increasing industrialization created a strong economy.

3. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
PROHIBITION

4. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
On January 16, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, prohibiting “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes...”

5. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby

6. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
Bootleggers produced illegal liquor and sold it to bars, clubs, and private citizens. Rumrunners smuggled illegal spirits into the United States. Both practices allowed organized crime to flourish.

7. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
The Prohibition laws were universally unpopular and widely disregarded. Private citizens made their own “bathtub gin” by mixing cheap grain alcohol with water and flavorings like juniper berry juice.

8. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
The Twenty-first Amendment was fully ratified on December 5, It stated, “The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use there in of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited…”

9. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE

10. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
Women were given the right to vote in 1920 with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

11. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
A rising spirit of female Independence was created by the suffragettes’ struggle to gain the right to vote

12. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
As you read, consider that Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson received the right to vote only two years before this story takes place. Gender equality between men and women is beginning to become more common.

13. INCREASING INDUSTRIALIZATION AND GROWING WEALTH
Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
INCREASING INDUSTRIALIZATION AND GROWING WEALTH

14. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
An increase in industrial output and the growth of middle-class wealth led to a period of high optimism and brought about a new fun-seeking attitude in the United States.

15. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
Mass production drove down prices and encouraged consumers to spend. A Model-T Ford made in 1908 sold for about $900, but by 1925 because of mass production, the price fell to $280.

16. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
Consider the impact of technology—the automobile, telephone, electric lights, radio, moving pictures—on events in The Great Gatsby.

17. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
THE JAZZ AGE

18. The failure of Prohibition
Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
The confluence of:
The failure of Prohibition

19. A rising spirit of independence for women
Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
A rising spirit of independence for women

20. Increased wealth brought about by breakthroughs in technology
Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
Increased wealth brought about by breakthroughs in technology

21. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
The great popularity of jazz music and dance that contributed to a relaxed moral code

22. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
Were all instrumental in the Jazz Age, a period marked by optimism and the feeling of a never-ending party.

23. Lead-Ins to Literature: The Great Gatsby
As you read, pay close attention to Nick’s descriptions of Gatsby’s parties.