The Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties Chapter 25, Section 3 What fads and fashions became popular during the 1920s? How did a new group of writers and the new jazz music affect American culture? What was the Harlem Renaissance? What heroes were celebrated during the 1920s?

During the 1920s, fads caught on, then quickly disappeared During the 1920s, fads caught on, then quickly disappeared. A fad is an activity or fashion that is taken up with great passion for a short time. Flagpole sitting—young people would perch on top of flagpoles for hours, or even days. Marathon dances—couples danced for hundreds of hours at a time to see who could last the longest. Crossword puzzles and mah-jongg became popular. Dance crazes—the most popular new dance was probably the Charleston, originating among African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina.

Flappers were young women who rebelled against traditional ways Flappers were young women who rebelled against traditional ways. They wore their hair bobbed or cut short. They shocked people with their short dresses and bright red lipstick. To many Americans, the way flappers behaved was even more shocking than how they looked. They smoked cigarettes in public, drank bootleg alcohol, and drove fast cars. Only a few young women were flappers. Still, older women began to cut their hair and wear makeup and shorter skirts, too. Flappers symbolized a new sense of freedom.

Born in New Orleans, jazz combined West African rhythms, African American work songs and spirituals, and European harmonies. It also had roots in ragtime. Louis Armstrong was one of the musicians who helped create jazz. Others included “Jelly Roll” Morton and singer Bessie Smith. Jazz spread from New Orleans to Chicago, Kansas City, and the African American section of New York—Harlem. White musicians, such as Bix Beiderbecke, also began to play jazz. Today, jazz is recognized as an original art form developed by African Americans. It is considered one of the most important cultural contributions of the United States.

wrote A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises. Many writers were horrified by their experiences in World War I. They criticized Americans for caring too much about money and fun. Some were so unhappy with life in the United States, they moved to Paris, France. They lived as expatriates, people who leave their own country to live in a foreign land. Ernest Hemingway wrote A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises. one of the most popular writers of the 1920s F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby. examined the lives of wealthy young people who attended endless parties but could not find happiness Sinclair Lewis wrote Babbitt and Main Street. presented small-town Americans as dull and narrow-minded. His attitude reflected that of many city dwellers

Edna St. Vincent Millay popular poet. expressed the frantic pace of the 1920s in her verse Eugene O’Neill revolutionized the American theater with his powerful, realistic dramas. used experimental methods to expose the inner thoughts of tortured young people

In the 1920s, large numbers of African American musicians, artists, and writers settled in Harlem, in New York City. This gathering led to the Harlem Renaissance, a rebirth of African American culture. Young black writers celebrated their heritage and protested prejudice and racism. Langston Hughes published his first poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” soon after graduating from high school. became the best-known poet of the Harlem Renaissance. encouraged African Americans to be proud of their heritage. He protested racism and violence against African Americans. wrote poems, plays, short stories, and essays