Transcript Roaring Twenties - Miss Hanrahan's History Hub

Finding a new meaning of
life in postwar America
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"Bohemian" is
applied to people
who live
unconventional,
usually artistic, lives.
Congregated in
Greenwich Village,
on the lower west
side of NYC.
Sought to break
social barriers,
refuting traditional
gender norms and
sexual stereotypes.
Coined by poet
Gertrude Stein
 Mostly writers,
musicians, and
painters who
questioned
accepted ideas
about reason,
progress, religion,
anxieties about the
future, and fear of
the future
 Often settled in Paris,
but often moved
from city to city trying
to find the meaning
of life

There is no universal understanding or
meaning to life. Each person creates his or
her own meaning in life through actions
and choices taken.
Tender Buttons: objects, food, rooms
“A CARAFE, THAT IS A BLIND
GLASS.
A kind in glass and a cousin, a
spectacle and nothing strange a
single hurt color and an
arrangement in a system to
pointing. All this and not ordinary,
not unordered in not resembling.
The difference is spreading.
GLAZED GLITTER.
Nickel, what is nickel, it is
originally rid of a cover.”
Ernest Hemmingway –
known for stoic male
characters and
disillusionment with youth
and heroism; The Sun Also
Rises and A Farewell to Arms
 William Faulkner –
popularized the “stream of
consciousness” style and
focused on the Southern
experience; The Sound and
the Fury and As I Lay Dying
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e.e. cummings – experimented with typeset,
diction, and punctuation in his poetry
Buffalo Bill 's defunct
who used
to
ride a watersmoothsilver
stallion and
break onetwothreefourfive
pigeonsjustlikethat
Jesus he was a handsome
man
and what i want to
know is how do you like your blueeyed boy
Mister Death

The epitome of the
age itself, coined the
term the “Jazz Age”
and glamorized the
youth and
excitement of the
times in The Great
Gatsby
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More than any other invention of the age, the
radio changed the very nature of how
Americans communicated
It created a homogeneous American culture:
› Sports
› Entertainment
› News
› Advertising
› Standardized speech patterns
Babe Ruth
 Jack Dempsey
 NFL

1920s architecture is one of the most
enduring physical legacies of the
era
 Art Deco became the prevailing
style for everything from buildings
(the Chrysler Building) to jewelry
 It emphasized geometric shapes,
pattern of color, and symmetry

 What
are some things you do that
your parents don’t approve
of/drives them nuts?
America’s Social Revolution

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WWI had allowed
women more
independence
(broke away from
traditional roles),
and their work in the
war effort increased
their belief in their
intellect and
importance in
society as a whole.
Women began
breaking from
traditional clothing
styles and
expectations of
women.
America is mesmerized
by the silver screen
Much had changed since
Thomas Edison’s “moving
pictures” – Hollywood was
now a bustling metropolis
filled with actors hoping to
“make it big”
The story begins with
young Jakie Rabinowitz
defying the traditions of
his devout Jewish family
by singing popular tunes
in a beer hall. Punished
by his father, a cantor,
Jakie runs away from
home. Some years later,
now calling himself Jack
Robin, he has become a
talented jazz singer. He
attempts to build a
career as an entertainer,
but his professional
ambitions ultimately
come into conflict with
the demands of his
home and heritage.
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In 1919, the 18th
Amendment was
passed, outlawing
the manufacture,
sale, distribution, and
consumption of
alcohol illegal in the
United States
Congress passed the
Volstead Act a year
later, which gave the
federal government
the ability to enforce
the amendment.
 With
alcohol still being a desired
product, many turned to illegal
methods of obtaining it
› Moonshining
› Bootlegging
› Speakeasies
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Prohibition did not
decrease the
demand for alcohol,
and thus a cutthroat
black market trade
emerged.
Bootleggers began
using intimidation and
violence to guard
their “territory”
Organized crime
families got into the
business as well,
setting an example
for how bootleggers
could manage their
“employees”
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Chicago was a central location
for alcohol-related crime
Many gangsters with colorful
names began making headlines:
“Baby Face” Nelson, Lucky
Luciano, “Pretty Boy” Floyd, Jack
“Legs” Diamond, “Bugs” Moran,
“Bugsy” Siegel, John Dillinger
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Al Capone was the most
influential and dangerous
gangster
Suspected for his involvement
with the St. Valentine’s Day
Massacre (among other
crimes), Capone was unable
to be pinned down, since
most of the actual violence
was committed through his
associates.
Was eventually sentenced for
tax evasion, sent to Alcatraz,
and died at home from the
effects of pneumonia, a
stroke, and syphilis
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A long-standing conflict
between two powerful gangs
in Chicago: the South Side
Italian gang led by Al
Capone and the North Side
Irish gang led by Bugs Moran
Resulted in the murder of 7
mob associates
Bringing African American
culture into the forefront
African American Politics
WWI left African Americans with a new
sense of pride, having shown bravery
and dedication during the war.
 W.E.B. Du Bois was very outspoken in his
aim to increase the status of blacks in
America.
 NAACP battled valiantly to eliminate
segregation and make lynching a
federal offense

Marcus Garvey
A dynamic leader
from Jamaica, he
promoted “Negro
Nationalism,” which
glorified black
culture and the
traditions of the past
 Back to Africa
Movement

Literature of the Harlem
Renaissance reflected
the struggles and
contributions of African
Americans.
 Zora Neale Hurston –
Their Eyes Were
Watching God
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› Relates the story of fiercely
independent Janie
Crawford, and her
evolving selfhood through
three marriages and a life
marked by poverty, trials,
and purpose.
Langston Hughes
What happens to a dream
deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-And then run?
Does it stink like rotten
meat?
Or crust and sugar over-like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Bessie Smith – Empty Bed Blues
I woke up this morning with a
awful aching head
I woke up this morning with a
awful aching head
My new man had left me, just
a room and a empty bed
Bought me a coffee grinder
that's the best one I could find
Bought me a coffee grinder
that's the best one I could find
Oh, he could grind my coffee,
'cause he had a brand new
grind
Jazz jumpstarts
Classical