Post WWI

Mass Entertainment People during the 1920s had bigger paychecks, and more leisure time (free time to do whatever they wanted to do). So, people started to fill their time with mass entertainment – like radio. There were 800 radio stations by 1929, reaching over 10 million homes. Radio stations would broadcast church services, news shows, music, and sport events. Jazz music became extremely popular during the 1920s. Also, during his presidency, Franklin Delano Roosevelt hosted Fireside Chats – evening radio shows where the President would share his view on current events, and his hopes for the country.

Mass Entertainment (part 2) Mass Entertainment also led many Americans to become interested in sporting events. Baseball and football became very popular, and the athletes who excelled in these sports, like Babe Ruth, became the nation’s first celebrities. Also, people like Charles Lindbergh (who flew from New York to Paris in 33.5 hours, alone) and Amelia Earhart (the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean) became idols and heroes for the nation’s public. Newspapers and Magazines tracked trends, shaped cultural norms, and sparked new fads. This way, people all over could keep up with what was new and cool.

Prohibition Prohibition began with the 18th amendment. It instituted a ban on alcohol, in an effort to combat crime, family violence and poverty. Prohibition of alcohol led to smuggling of alcohol and to privately, and illegally, making of alcohol, known as bootlegging. Also, it led to the creation of speakeasies, an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages during Prohibition. This illegal activity was regulated by criminal gangs in large cities, who would control liquor sales, and often became very famous, such as Al Capone. This increased gang activity led to gang violence, but also had positive outcomes, like a decrease in alcoholism and alcohol related deaths. Prohibition was repealed by the 21st amendment.

Youth Culture The 1920s led to the era of the “New Woman”. You probably know them as flappers. These women wore short, bobbed hair, drove cars and played sports – all very far from the traditional activities and appearances upheld by women. These women were independent, had their own careers, and were very stylish and focused on fashion, much more than before this time period. Flappers desired social freedom and economic independence. The youth in the 1920s created new leisure fun and fads. They held dance marathons, where youth would get together and dance for hours. One record setting dance marathon lasted for three weeks in 1928. It was during the 1920s when the Miss America pageant was founded.

Religion Many religious leaders were worried about the declining moral standards of Americans during the 1920s, which led to an era of revivalism. Preachers would deliver elaborate church messages, but added some Hollywood flair to attract more listeners. Modernism and Fundamentalism began to clash in the 1920s. Modernism was the growing trend to emphasize science and secular values over traditional ideas about religion. Fundamentalism emphasized Protestant teachings and the belief that every word in the Bible was literal truth. These two religious approaches clashed in the Scopes trial of 1925. At issue was Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. In the case, a teacher from Tennessee was accused of violating a Tennessee law that said it was illegal to teach evolution.

Immigration A policy of open immigration outraged many Americans during the 1920s. Americans argued that the new arrivals took jobs away from native-born workers and threatened American religious, political and cultural traditions. Rural Americans saw the country become increasingly urban and their own position in the nation slipped in relative importance (cities were more important than the country). Many rural Americans lashed out against symbols of change, and some even turned to organizations that supported doctrines of hate and employed violence and terror to achieve their ends. In 1915, a group of angry men in Georgia revived the Ku Klux Klan. It targeted African Americans, as well as Jews, Catholics, and immigrants. At its height, the revived Klan had somewhere between 4 and 5 million people.