The 1920s: A New Culture

A New Culture 1920 Census: more than half of the American population lived in urban areas Culture of cities based on popular tastes, morals, and habits increasingly at odds with strict religious and moral codes of rural America

The Jazz Age Youth expressed their rebellion by listening and dancing to jazz music Jazz became a symbol of the “new” and “modern” culture of the cities The advent of phonographs and the radio made this new style of music available to everyone

The Radio The popularity of jazz was due in large part to the radio First commercial station went on air in 1920 By 1930, 800 stations broadcasted to over 10 million radios The creation of CBS and NBC provided networks of stations that allowed people from coast to coast to listen to the same programs

The Movie Industry The movie industry became big business in the 1920s Instead of politicians, the popular heroes and role models of the decade became movie stars and celebrities The introduction of pictures with sounds (“talkies”) took the movie industry to new heights By 1929, over 80 million tickets were sold each week

Popular Heroes In this era, Americans looked up more to movie stars and sports celebrities than political leaders Jack Dempsey, Babe Ruth, Jim Thorpe The most celebrated person of the decade was Charles Lindbergh Famous for flying nonstop across the Atlantic from Long Island to Paris Lindbergh’s return home was larger than the welcome given to returning WWI soldiers

Gender Roles & The Family Passage of the 19th Amendment did not change women’s status or U.S. politics as much as had been anticipated Women who did vote just followed the voting patterns of their husbands or fathers Most women were still expected to spend their lives as homemakers and women New labor-saving appliances like the vacuum and electric washer only reinforced this concept Employed women were still limited to certain categories of jobs (clerks, teachers, nurses, domestic work) and received lower wages than men

A Revolution in Morals Most significant change among American youths was their revolt against sexual taboos Premarital sex was seen as one of the inventions of the modern era Movies, novels, automobiles, and new dances all encouraged greater promiscuity Advocates of birth control gained greater acceptance in the 1920s

A Revolution in Morals A special fashion called the flapper look set young women apart from the older generation Young women shocked their elders by wearing dresses hemmed at the knee, wearing bobbed haircuts, smoking cigarettes, and driving cars Many young women began focusing more on their careers before getting married

A Revolution in Morals The 19th Amendment gave women more of a voice to demand changes in divorce laws Made it easier to escape abusive or incompatible husbands Liberalized divorce laws resulted in one in six marriages ending in divorce by 1930 Up from one in eight in 1920

Literature of the 1920s Two major themes in 1920s literature: Scorning religion as hypocritical Condemning sacrifices of WWI as a fraud perpetrated by money interests Writers and poets expressed disillusionment with ideals of earlier time and the materialism of the consumer culture in the 1920s These writers were known as the “lost generation”

Art and Architecture Fusion of art and technology created a new style of architecture Art Deco style captured modernist simplification of forms while using machine age materials Painters imitated architectural styles Explored the loneliness and isolation of urban life; celebrated the rural people and scenes of the heartland On the stage, Jewish immigrants played a major role in the development of some of the greatest American musicals

The Harlem Renaissance By 1930: 20% of African Americans lived in the North The largest African American community developed in Harlem, New York Approximately 200,000 people by 1930 Harlem became famous in the 1920s for its concentration of talented actors, artists, musicians, and writers Their artistic achievements during this period became known as the “Harlem Renaissance”

The Harlem Renaissance- Poets & Musicians Leading poets included Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay Most Renaissance poets commented on African American heritage Renaissance poetry expressed a wide range of emotions Bitterness and resentment to joy and hope

The Harlem Renaissance- Poets & Musicians Jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong were so popular that the 1920s was often referred to as the Jazz Age Blues signer Bessie Smith and multitalented actor and singer Paul Robeson were other important figures Most Renaissance artists often found themselves playing to segregated audiences

Marcus Garvey & The UNIA Garvey was a charismatic immigrant from Jamaica Adopted ideas of black pride and nationalism Established an organization for black separatism, self- sufficiency, and a back-to-Africa movement Garvey’s investment practices got him convicted of fraud, jailed, and eventually deported from the U.S. Civil rights leaders mostly disagreed with Garvey’s back-to-Africa idea but endorsed his emphasis on racial pride and nationalism