In order to contextualize the time period of The Great Gatsby, we will research some major historical moments of the decade. Using the internet as your research tool, answer the following questions in point form notes:
1.
a) Between 1920-1929, automobile sales rose from 8 million to 23 million. What effects have automobiles had on the lives of people, both positive and negative? b) What contributions did Ford make to the automobile industry?
2.
Who was Marcus Garvey? What did he advocate? How was his message received by society?
3.
How did women’s fashions change in the 20s? Have these styles survived or ever been revived in later years? How did they reflect the new freedoms many women were enjoying in the 20s?
4.
a) Research the case of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two men convicted in the 1920 murder of a Massachusetts paymaster and his guard. Why was this case so controversial? b) What was the general feeling towards immigrants at the time and how might that have affected the trial’s outcome?

5.
In The Great Gatsby, there are several references to illegal activity – World Series fixing, bootlegging, police complicity in crime. Research criminal activity in the 1920s, including the Harding Administration scandal, and the Teapot Dome scandal.
6.
The Eighteenth Amendment, the Prohibition Act, was passed in 1919. How and why did the temperance movement win this battle? How did it affect the country? When and why was it appealed?
7.
Charles A. Lindbergh was a very important figure in the 1920s. In 1927 he made the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight. What other parts of Lindbergh’s life became important in the psyche of the American people?
8.
a) The Harlem Renaissance was a period of literary and intellectual flowering that fostered a new black cultural identity in the 1920s and 1930s. List the names of some of the artists, poets, and writers who were involved in the Harlem Renaissance. b) Why do you think it happened in such a specific place and at such a specific time?
9.
The 1920s is often called the Golden Age of Sports. What accomplishments were made in sport in the 20s? Who was involved in these accomplishments?