The 1920’s and
Changes in
American Culture
UNIT 3 PART 2 PRESENTATION
What conclusions can be drawn
from these images?
Causes of Demographic Changes
 Increased
opportunities in
urban areas caused
widespread internal migration
of African-Americans from the
south to the north.
 European
immigrants, affected
by poor economic conditions
in Europe after WWI, flocked to
U.S. cities, particularly on the
East coast.
Effects of Demographic Changes
Growth of urban
centers and a shift in
America from rural to
urban.
Growing resentment
of immigrant and
migrant groups.
Racism of the 1920s
 As
African Americans began to
fight for more rights and
equality, racist groups like the
KKK emerged as resistance.
 Violence
in the south in
particular caused many
African American to move
north.
 Lynching
became a weapon
of intimidation used by the KKK
and other hate groups.
Marcus Garvey
 Led
a movement known as
Pan-Africanism
 He
promoted Black economic
independence and the
founding of a new
independent African American
nation in Africa.
 Many
other leaders agreed
with his racial pride but
disagreed with the back to
Africa movement.
Great Migration: What is it?
Movement
of
over two million
African
Americans out of
the South to the
“Promised Land”
of the Northeast
and Midwest.
Great Migration: The Causes

African Americans left in search of
jobs in the nation’s growing
industrial cities and to escape
sharecropping, tenant farming, and
the deep racism they faced in the
South.

Northern industrial jobs offered
wages significantly higher than jobs
in the South. Reports from friends
and family that had previously
migrated to the North inspired
increased migration.
Great Migration: The Effects

During the 1910s and 1920s,
Chicago’s African-American
population more than doubled;
Cleveland grew by three times; and
Detroit increased six-fold.

Racism, housing shortages and
crime greeted African Americans in
Northern cities; as a result, they
founded organizations such as the
National Urban League and the
NAACP, which were dedicated to
helping them adjust to their new the
lives.
Emergence of Black Neighborhoods
 Confined
to all-black
neighborhoods, African
Americans created
cities-within cities during
the 1920s. The largest of
these was Harlem, in
upper Manhattan, New
York City, where 200,000
African Americans lived
together.
The Scopes Trial: Battle over Evolution
A
court trial over the teaching
of evolution in public schools.
 Clarence
Darrow defended
the accused teacher and
William Jennings Bryan led the
prosecution. (Freedom of
Expression vs. Religion)
 Bryan
won however newspaper
coverage favored Darrow and
revealed a big cultural divide in
the U.S.
Prohibition: Causes and Effects
 Groups
such as the Woman’s
Christian Temperance Union,
advocated for banning of
alcohol in order to protect
women and restore order to
society.
 Although
the 18th amendment
was passed in 1919, it was hard
to enforce and was repealed
with the 21st Amendment in
1933.
The Changing Role of Women in the 1920s
 Because
of men fighting in
WWI, more women were
required to join the
workplace.
 When the war ended,
many of them kept their
jobs.
 The ability to vote now
gave them a stronger voice
in society.
Jazz Reflection
What
are some unique
features to this type of music?
What does this style of music
reflect what was going on in
society at the time?
The Harlem Renaissance
 1920’s
movement centered in the
Harlem section of New York City,
creating a vibrant and creative
culture in which African-Americans
authors, poets, artists, musicians, and
movie stars experienced freedom of
expression and support.
 African-Americans
determined to
oppose continued racial
segregation and suppression.
Jazz and Changes in Music
 Jazz
originated in the south in
places like New Orleans but
migrated north with African
Americans.
 Jazz music of the 1920’s
reflected a breakdown of racial
barriers and search for increasing
opportunities. Greats included
Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong,
and Bessie Smith.
Langston Hughes
Famous African American
Poet who was a part of the
Harlem Renaissance.
His poems highlighted the
changing times and
lifestyles for Americans and
in particular Black
Americans during the 1920s.
Georgia O’Keefe and Changes in Art
Her
artwork
reflected the spirit
of the 1920’s, both
the industrialization
of the northeast
and the beauty of
the southwestern
desert.
Ernest Hemingway and Changes in Writing
Hemingway focused a
lot of his books on a
character discovering
themselves and who
they really were.
He portrayed the
generation of the 1920s
as lost and without real
purpose.
F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby
 The
Great Gatsby
highlighted the
extravagant and
wealthy lifestyle of the
1920s in most American
cities.
 It revealed and
suggested that maybe
Americans were living
too excessively.
The Automobile and Society
 More
and more Americans
began to take to the roads in
the 1920s.
 This
resulted in a more mobile
society and resulted in
populations spreading out
again.
 The
result was the creation of
suburbs where people lived
outside a city and drive into the
city for work.
Henry Ford and the Assembly Line
 Ford
was able to develop
the first mass produced
automobile that made it
possible for most Americans
to drive.
 He
developed the use of the
assembly line where workers
completed only one task
which dramatically
increased factory output in
every industry.
Airplanes and Society
Although
airplanes
began to be used
for commercial
flights, it was the
military that really
began to use them
as an effective tool
and weapon.
Glenn Curtiss
Designed
a plane
that could take off
and land from
water in 1908.
Convinced the
Navy to build the
first Aircraft Carrier.
Charles Lindbergh
First
to fly solo
across the Atlantic
Ocean in 1927.
Became an
international
celebrity and
national hero
overnight.