10th American History
Unit VI- US Cultural History
The Roaring 20’s
Part 1 - 1920’s
Post War Reaction
Post World War I and the Red Scare
Allied Intervention into Russia
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The British, French and Americans four-fold goal:
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(1) prevent Japan from creating an empire in the East,
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(2) prevent massive Allied stores originally sent to the
tsarist armies from falling into German and subsequently
Bolshevik hands,
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(3) assist the White Armies in overthrowing the Bolshevik
regime and bring Russia under Lenin back into the war
against Germany,
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(4) rescue the Czechoslovak Legion trapped in central Asia
so that they could rejoin the war against Germany.
From 1918 on, Soviet propagandists skillfully exploited the raw
fact of Allied presence on Russian soil. The scale of Allied
operations was trivial, as their combat losses show. The
British in particular provided military equipment to the
Whites, but soon abandoned their Russian friends to
their fate.
Labor Problems in the 20’s
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Monopolies continued in spite of the
Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Social
problems flourished in the U.S.
During the 1910s labor unions
continued to grow as the middle
classes became more and more
unhappy. Unsafe working conditions
were underscored by the Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory fire in which 145
female workers were killed.
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Prices were soaring, wages and
benefits were not. Some 4 million
workers went on strike costing about
$2 billion in lost sales.
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Public, government and courts did
not support strikes.
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Strikes often turned violent and
union membership fell.
Urban Riots
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1919-These race riots were the product of white society’s desire to maintain its
superiority over Blacks, vent its frustrations in times of distress, and attack those
least able to defend themselves.
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This was the year of the "Red Summer," with 26 race riots between the months of
April and October. More than one hundred Blacks were killed in these riots, and
thousands were wounded and left homeless.
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These included disturbances in the following areas:
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May 10 Charleston, South Carolina; July 13 Gregg and Longview counties, Texas; July 1923 Washington, D. C. ; July 27 Chicago; October 1-3 Elaine, Arkansas.
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Lynchings. Seventy-six black Americans are known to have been lynched in 1919.
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1. In each of the race riots, with few exceptions, it was white people that sparked the incident by attacking Black
people.
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2. In the majority of the riots, some extraordinary social condition prevailed at the time of the riot: prewar social
changes, wartime mobility, post-war adjustment, or economic depression.
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3. The majority of the riots occurred during the hot summer months.
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4. Rumor played an extremely important role in causing many riots. Rumors of some criminal activity by Blacks
against whites perpetuated the actions of white mobs.
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5. The police force, more than any other institution, was invariably involved as a precipitating cause or
perpetuating factor in the riots. In almost every one of the riots, the police sided with the attackers, either by
actually participating in, or by failing to quell the attack.
•
6. In almost every instance, the fighting occurred within the Black community.
Bomb Scares
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In addition to workers' strikes, bomb threats also fueled the Red Scare- probably
scattered act of misguided terrorists.
•
In April of 1919, a United States Senator from Georgia, Thomas Hartwick, received
a package which exploded when his maid opened it. Thanks to an observant New
York City mail clerk, similar packages were discovered before they reached their
targets.
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In all, authorities found sixteen homemade bombs wrapped up and addressed to
such prominent members of commerce and government as J.P. Morgan, John D.
Rockefeller, and Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Although there
was no evidence, many claimed this was part of a radical, Bolshevik conspiracy to
take over the nation. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer was one of the targets of
an attempted bombing, which made him a convert to the Red Scare.
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The worst bombing was on Sept. 16, 1920 in Wall street where 38 people were killed
and hundreds wounded.
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Palmer made use of the wartime Sedition Act (1918) to arrest and prosecute socalled "radicals." (Bolsheviks, Anarchists, terrorists, and foreigners .) On 7th
November, 1919, the second anniversary of the Russian Revolution, over 10,000
suspected communists and anarchists were arrested and 247 other people, were
deported to Russia. These raids took place in several cities and became known as
the Palmer Raids.
A. Mitchell Palmer and the Red
Scare
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In 1919 Wilson appointed Palmer as his attorney
general.
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Worried by the revolution that had taken place in
Russia, Palmer became convinced that Communist
agents were planning to overthrow the American
government. His view was reinforced by the discovery
of thirty-eight bombs sent to leading politicians and the
Italian anarchist who blew himself up outside Palmer's
Washington home.
•
Palmer recruited John Edgar Hoover as his special
assistant and together they used the Espionage Act
(1917) and the Sedition Act (1918) to launch a campaign
against radicals and left-wing organizations.
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When the May revolution failed to materialize, attitudes
towards Palmer began to change and he was criticised
for disregarding people's basic civil liberties. Some of
his opponents claimed that Palmer had devised this Red
Scare to help him become the Democratic presidential
candidate in 1920.
Fear of Foreigners and Nativism
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The Immigration Restriction
League
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Founded in 1894 by a group of Boston
lawyers, professors, and philanthropists
who were alarmed by the large number
of immigrants entering America each
year.
Lobbied for a literacy test for
immigrants- 1917 over Wilson’s veto.
This would discriminate against
Eastern and Southern European
immigrants, whom the league felt
inferior.
The First Quota Law-May 19,
1921,
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limited the annual number of
immigrants to 3% of the number of
foreign-born persons of most
nationalities living in the USA in 1910.
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National Origins Act 1924- only
150,000 immigrants a year.
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set immigration quotas based on
national origins that openly
discriminated against southern and
eastern Europeans. For example, the
law permitted 65,721 immigrants
from Great Britain annually, but only
5,802 from Italy and 2,712 from the
Soviet Union. Asians were almost
completely excluded.
KKK and the Immigration Restriction
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The second Ku Klux Klan (KKK) sought to reverse
the changes in gender and sexual norms.
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The KKK worked to elevate white Protestant men
and women while blaming the demise of America's
moral standards on Catholics, Jews, and people of
color. "pure Americanism."
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As a result of pressure from western states and
nativist organizations, the federal government enacted
laws that specifically targeted Asian immigrants, such
as the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 and the
"Gentlemen's Agreement" with Japan in 1907.
Literacy Tests. Immigration Act of 1924 (Quotas)
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KKK hatred of Blacks, Jews, Catholics, Flappers and
Immigrants. It established one of the largest social
movements of the 20th century, enrolling nearly five
million of ordinary, "respectable," middle-class
Americans
Sacco and Vanzetti
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It was a bold and outrageous pair of murders. Three
o'clock in the afternoon - in broad daylight - two armed
men shot and killed a paymaster and his guard. Seven
shots in all were fired. The killers picked up the two
boxes containing almost $16,000, leaped into a car
containing several other men, a car that had pulled up
with precise timing, and sped away. The whole audacious
enterprise had taken less than a minute.
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Retrospect, the evidence against them seems slim, and
certainly the question of reasonable doubt is raised.
•
Arguments supporting their innocence are indirect, but
important. What happened to the $16,000? Who were the
other three criminals? How can one explain the variety
of bullets taken from the victims that do not match
Sacco's gun? Why did the accused show no change in
their behavior? Why were the members of the Morelli
gang not questioned?
• Anarchists and Immigrants.
Prohibition
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Prohibition in the United States was a
measure designed to reduce drinking by
eliminating the businesses that
manufactured, distributed, and sold
alcoholic beverages.
•
The Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution took away license to do
business from the brewers, distillers,
vintners, and the wholesale and retail
sellers of alcoholic beverages.
•
The leaders of the prohibition movement
were alarmed at the drinking behavior of
Americans, and they were concerned that
there was a culture of drink among some
sectors of the population that, with
continuing immigration from Europe, was
spreading. Anti Saloon League, Scientific
Temperance Federation, World League
Against Alcoholism, and Women’s
Christian Temperance Union.
Prohibition - Problems
Alcohol became more dangerous to
consume; crime increased and became
"organized"; the court and prison
systems were stretched to the breaking
point; and corruption of public officials
was rampant.
St. Valentines Day Massacre
No measurable gains were made in
productivity or reduced absenteeism.
Prohibition removed a significant
source of tax revenue and greatly
increased government spending.
It led many drinkers to switch to
opium, marijuana, patent medicines,
cocaine, and other dangerous substances
that they would have been unlikely to
encounter in the absence of Prohibition.
Eliot Ness
Prohibition
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Speakeasies were actually illegal
"nightclubs." They were created during
the 20's when prohibition was lurking
about and alcohol was ruled illegal.
They were usually opened late at night and
served a playing field for the rebels that
wanted to dance the night away and drink
alcohol.
They would usually have code words for
people to get into and would be run by the
local cop on the street.
The Cotton Club in Harlem, New York
was the most famous of these speakeasies.
They were a place where the prosperous
could party, local cops could make a little
extra cash.
In the speakeasies, discrimination was a
problem.
Womens Suffrage- 19th Amendment
– Why We Don't Want Men
to Vote

Because man's place is in the army.

Because no really manly man wants to settle
any question otherwise than by fighting about
it.

Because if men should adopt peaceable
methods women will no longer look up to
them.

Because men will lose their charm if they step
out of their natural sphere and interest
themselves in other matters than feats of
arms, uniforms, and drums.

Because men are too emotional to vote. Their
conduct at baseball games and political
conventions shows this, while their innate
tendency to appeal to force renders them
unfit for government.
Womens Suffrage- 19th Amendment
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1920 Henry Burn casts the
deciding vote that makes
Tennessee the thirty-sixth, and
final state, to ratify the
Nineteenth Amendment.
August 26: The Nineteenth
Amendment is adopted and the
women of the United States are
finally enfranchised.
•
19th Amendment
•
“The right of citizens of the
United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United
States or by any state on account
of sex.”
Part 2 - 1920’s
The Roaring 20’s
Thanks to Henry Ford and mass
production, one could buy a car for $290. This
was a period of prohibition and intolerance,
speakeasies, flappers, gangsters, and crime.
This brought about much of the flavor of the
Jazz Age or Roaring Twenties as we know
them. The 19th Amendment had passed the
previous year allowing women the right to vote
in national elections. Technology grew - the
country shrunk - as popularity of automobiles,
radios, and movies exploded. In the fall of
1929, the New York Stock Exchange was more
active than it had ever been. By October 24,
1929, Black Thursday, the stock market
crashed and panic broke out.
The Roaring 20’s
"Old" Culture
"New" Culture
Emphasized Production
Character
Scarcity
Religion
Idealized the Past
Local Culture
Substance
Emphasized Consumption
Personality
Abundunce
Science
Looked to the Future
Mass Culture
Image
Life in the Jazz Age - Automobile
 As the end of the decade neared, Ford and
Chevrolet locked horns in a fierce pricing
battle that continued through the Thirties.
Other automakers, such as Cadillac, Packard,
and Chrysler, began to have an impact on the
market.
 Virtually every household in America owned
an automobile, and it quickly became an
integrated part of American life. Parents
would drive to work in their automobiles.
Families could visit friends and family who
lived farther away. And young people found a
whole new way to have fun. Entertainment
and recreation as well as work.
 A wide variety of new industries were
spawned- petroleum, manufacturing, road
construction, etc.
Automobile Production
Motor Vehicle Production (Thousands)
Year
United States CanadaFrance United Kingdom
Germany
1907
45
3
25
12
4
0
0
0
1913
485
15
45
34
14
2
0
0
1924
3504
135
145
133
18
35
2
0
1928
4359
242
210
212
90
55
13
1
1935
3971
173
165
404
240
44
10
97
The Radio
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Most radio historians assert that radio
broadcasting began in 1920 with the historic
broadcast of KDKA
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Radio became a product of the mass market
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Between 1923 and 1930, 60 percent of
American families purchased radios. Families
gathered around their radios for night-time
entertainment
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Radio stations broadcast things like popular
music, classical music, sporting events,
lectures, fictional stories, newscasts, weather
reports, market updates, and political
commentary.
•
The Federal Radio Commission was set up in
1926; the Radio Act of 1927 organized the
Federal Radio Commission.
•
Crystal radios, like the one at left, were
among the first radios to be used and
manufactured.
The Phonograph
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The phonograph or Victrola was
developed as a result of Thomas Edison's
work on two other inventions, the
telegraph and the telephone.
•
Uses of the Phonograph- according to
Edison
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Letter writing
dictation
Phonographic books,
The teaching of elocution.
Reproduction of music.
The "Family Record"--a registry of sayings, reminiscences,
etc., by members of a family in their own voices, and of
the last words of dying persons.
Music-boxes and toys.
Clocks
The preservation of languages
Educational purposes.
Connection with the telephone
1920’s Movies
Janet Gaynor
Fairbanks and Pickford
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Rudolph
Valentino
Buster Keaton- The Great Stone Face
Charlie Chaplin
Films really blossomed in the 1920s, expanding upon the foundations of
film from earlier years. Most US film production at the start of the decade
occurred in or near Hollywood on the West Coast, although some films were still
being made in New Jersey and in Astoria on Long Island (Paramount). By the mid20s, movies were big business (with a capital investment totaling over $2 billion)
with some theatres offering double features. By the end of the decade, there were
20 Hollywood studios, and the demand for films was greater than ever. Most
people are unaware that the greatest output of feature films in the US occurred in
the 1920s and 1930s (averaging about 800 film releases in a year) - nowadays, it is
remarkable when production exceeds 500 films in a year.
Throughout most of the decade, silent films were the predominant
product of the film industry, having evolved from vaudevillian roots. But the films
were becoming bigger, costlier, and more polished. They were being manufactured,
assembly-line style, in Hollywood's 'entertainment factories,' in which production
was broken down and organized into its various components (writing, costuming,
makeup, directing, etc.).
The major emphasis was on swashbucklers, historical extravaganzas,
and melodramas, although all kinds of films were being produced throughout the
decade. Films varied from sexy melodramas and biblical epics by Cecil B. DeMille,
to westerns (such as Cruze's The Covered Wagon (1923)), horror films,
gangster/crime films, war films, the first feature documentary (Robert Flaherty's
Nanook of the North (1922)), romances, mysteries, and comedies (from the silent
comic masters Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd).
Refrigerators
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Two of the first home refrigerators both appeared in Fort
Wayne, Indiana, where, in 1911, General Electric
company unveiled a unit invented by a French monk. In
1915 the first "Guardian" refrigerator - a predecessor of
the Frigidaire - was assembled in a wash house in a Fort
Wayne backyard.
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Kelvinator and Servel models were among some two
dozen home refrigerators introduced to the U.S. market
in 1916. In 1920 the number had increased to more than
200. Compressors were generally driven by belts attached
to motors located in the basement or in an adjoining
room.
•
In 1918 Kelvinator introduced the first refrigerator with
any type of automatic control. One manufacturer's 1922
model had a wooden cabinet, a water-cooled compressor,
two ice cube trays and nine cubic feet of storage space. It
cost $714. In 1923 Frigidaire introduced the first selfcontained unit. Steel and porcelain cabinets began
appearing in the mid-20s.
Washing machines
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In 1922 The Maytag Company introduced a system of
forcing water through the clothes by means of an
agitator rather than dragging the clothes through the
water. This system is most commonly used now.
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Even as early as 1875 there had been more than 2,000
patents issued for various washing devices. Not every
idea worked, of course. One company built a machine
designed to wash only one item at a time.
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What may have been the first "laundromat" was
opened in 1851 by a gold miner and a carpenter in
California. Their 12-shirt machine was powered by 10
donkeys.
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Earliest washers were hand powered by means of a
wheel, pump handle or similar device. One, was
driven by twisted ropes which powered the washer by
"unwinding" somewhat like the use of a rubber band
to power model airplanes. One washer contained
rollers which were pushed back and forth by hand to
squeeze out dirt. Several featured "stomping" devices
and one - called a "Locamotive" was moved rapidly
back and forth on a track washing the clothes by
slamming them against the walls of the tub.
Vacuum Cleaners
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In 1907 an American named James Murray Spangler,
who was working as a cleaner, Designed the first small
electric cleaner. he sold the patent to a harness maker
named Hoover. By the 1920's Bothe started to produce
his own range of electric cleaners under the Goblin
name. He had 2500 door to door sales representative's
in England selling mainly under hire purchase. Both
the Hoover and the Goblin range were very successful
and are still operating today selling machines that
have not changed much in basic design since their first
prototype.
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In 1908 Hoover introduced the Model O vacuum, the
first to use both a cloth filter bag and cleaning
attachments. The machine weighed only 40 lbs.
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Hoover developed positive agitation in 1926, and this
greatly increased the dirt removal efficiency of the
vacuum. The Model 700 featured a rigid beater bar
which was used in combination with the brush on the
agitator to dislodge dirt from the carpet.
Bonnie and Clyde
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Clyde Champion Barrow and his companion, Bonnie
Parker, were shot to death by officers in an ambush near
Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, on May 23, 1934, after
one of the most colorful and spectacular manhunts the
Nation had seen up to that time.
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Barrow was suspected of numerous killings and was
wanted for murder, robbery, and state charges of
kidnapping.
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At the time they were killed in 1934, they were believed to
have committed 13 murders and several robberies and
burglaries. Barrow, for example, was suspected of
murdering two police officers at Joplin, Missouri, and
kidnaping a man and a woman in rural Louisiana.
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Numerous sightings followed, linking this pair with bank
robberies and automobile thefts. Clyde allegedly murdered
a man at Hillsboro, Texas; committed robberies at Lufkin
and Dallas, Texas; murdered one sheriff and wounded
another at Stringtown, Oklahoma; kidnaped a deputy at
Carlsbad, New Mexico; stole an automobile at Victoria,
Texas; attempted to murder a deputy at Wharton, Texas;
committed murder and robbery at Abilene and Sherman,
Texas; committed murder at Dallas, Texas; abducted a
sheriff and the chief of police at Wellington, Texas; and
committed murder at Joplin and Columbia, Missouri.
Some day they will go down together,
And they will bury them side by side,
To a few it means grief,
To the law it's relief,
But it's death to Bonnie and Clyde.
Scopes Trial
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THE CAST:
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Clarence Darrow,famed and brilliant lawyer specializing in
defending underdogs, who volunteered for this case to help combat
fundamentalist ignorance
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John T. Scopes, a 24-year old science teacher and football coach
v.s.
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William Jennings Bryan, famed orator, fundamentalist and
presidential candidate.
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The world's attention was riveted on Dayton, Tennessee,
during July, 1925. At issue was the constitutionality of the "Butler
Law," which prohibited the teaching of evolution in the classroom.
Oklahoma, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina and Kentucky
already had such laws.
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The ACLU hoped to use the Scopes case to test (and
defeat)Fundamentalist meddling in politics.
Judge John Raulston began the trial by reading the first 27 verses of
Genesis.
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Clarence Darrow said: "Science gets to the end of its knowledge and,
in effect, says, 'I do not know what I do not know,' and keeps on
searching. Religion gets to the end of its knowledge, and in effect,
says, 'I know what I do not know,' and stops searching.
Darrow
Bryan
Charles Lindbergh
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Lindbergh Does It! To Paris in 33 1/2 Hours;
Flies 1,000 Miles Through Snow and Sleet;
Cheering French Carry Him Off Field
New York Times, May 21, 1927
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Lindbergh, Charles Augustus (1902-1974), an
American aviator, made the first solo nonstop flight
across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20-21, 1927. Other
pilots had crossed the Atlantic before him. But
Lindbergh was the first person to do it alone nonstop.
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Lindbergh's feat gained him immediate, international
fame. The press named him "Lucky Lindy" and the
"Lone Eagle." Americans and Europeans idolized the
shy, slim young man and showered him with honors.
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Before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941,
Lindbergh campaigned against voluntary American
involvement in World War II. Many Americans
criticized him for his noninvolvement beliefs. After the
war, he avoided publicity until the late 1960's, when
he spoke out for the conservation of natural resources.
Lindbergh served as an adviser in the aviation
industry from the days of wood and wire airplanes to
Flappers
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The flapper was "modern."
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Lively and full of energy, she was single but
eligible.
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With short hair and a short skirt, with
turned-down hose and powdered knees the flapper must have seemed to her
mother (the gentle Gibson girl of an earlier
generation) like a rebel.
•
No longer confined to home and tradition,
the typical flapper was a young women who
was often thought of as a little fast and
maybe even a little brazen
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These young women further blurred the
boundaries between respectable and
depraved by their public activities;
swearing, smoking cigarettes, drinking
alcohol, dancing, and dating were among
her pastimes.
Slang
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ankle: to walk, i.e.. "Let's ankle!”
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apple sauce: flattery, nonsense, i.e..
"Aw, applesauce!”
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beeswax: business, i.e. "None of your
beeswax." Student.
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Tin Pan Alley: the music industry in New
York, located between 48th and 52nd
Streets
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palooka: (1) a below-average or average
boxer (2) a social outsider, from the comic
strip character Joe Palooka, who came
from humble ethnic roots
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killjoy: a solemn person
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Bee's Knees - An extraordinary person, thing,
idea; the ultimate.
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Cat's Meow - Something splendid or stylish;
similar to bee's knees; The best or greatest,
wonderful. Cat's Pajamas - Same as cat's
meow.
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Heebie-Jeebies - The jitters.
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Sheba - A woman with sex appeal (from the
move Queen of Sheba) or (e.g. Clara Bow).
Sheik - A man with sex appeal (from the
Valentino movies).
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Spiffy - An elegant appearance.
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Swell - Wonderful. Also: a rich man. Take for a
Ride - To drive off with someone in order to
bump them off. Torpedo - A hired gun.
The Jazz Age
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Nothing quite like it had ever
happened before in America. And by
the mid-1920s, jazz was being played
in dance halls and roadhouses and
speakeasies all over the country. The
blues, which had once been the
product of itinerant black musicians,
the poorest of the southern poor, had
become an industry, and dancing
consumed a country that seemed
convinced prosperity would never
end.
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Dances like the Lindy Hop,
Charleston, Shimmy, Blackbottom,
the Break-a-way, Texas Tommy, Cake
Walk, Turkey Trot, Grizzley Bear,
and Apache Dance.
1920’s Fads
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His name was Alvin Kelly but he was best known as
"Shipwreck" Kelly. Employed as a professional
stuntman in Hollywood, Kelly decided to attempt to
sit on a flagpole in response to a dare from a
Hollywood friend. He sat upon the pole for 13 hours
and 13 minutes and began a national spectacle.
•
Kelly's stunt occurred in 1924 and within weeks
hundreds of people were trying to call themselves
the "King of the Pole." One man sat for 12 days,
another for 17 and another for 21 days. Public
fascination was phenomenal as huge crowds would
gather to watch the participant. With such a large
audience, the publicity-hungry Kelly decided that he
must once again be King. In Atlantic City, New
Jersey, Kelly sat atop a flagpole for a record 49 days
in front of an audience of 20,000 admirers.
1920’s Fads
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In the early 1930s, during the height of The
Depression, young people across America
gathered to participate in Dance Marathons.
These endurance contests offered the
unemployed hopes of temporary fame, small
fortune, and the opportunity to dance their
cares away. Prizes ranged anywhere
between $1000 to $5000, but many
contestants participated solely for the
promise of food and shelter. Serious
competitors danced for days, even weeks at
a time. The record stands at 5,148 hours and
28.5 minutes. The contestants were usually
allowed a mere 15 minutes of rest for every
hour of dancing. Success came to those who
had the ability to keep their partner moving
at all times; style was irrelevant.
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Hot toys included the erector set, tinker
toys, and lincoln logs. The Ouija Board
became popular. Sales of this game soared.
 Up until 1922, no swimmer, male or female, had been able to
swim the 100 meters in under a minute's time. American
Johnny Weissmuller (1904 - 1984), an exception to the record
books, broke the record with 58.6 seconds swimming freestyle
on July 9. This, however, was not Weissmuller's only feat. He
went on to win three gold medals at the 1924 Olympics in
Paris, France, and two gold medals at the 1928 Olympics in
Amsterdam. In his career, he claimed 52 U.S. titles and 28
world distance records. 1st “Tarzan” in the movies.
1920’s Sports
 Gertrude Ederle (1906 - ), who was born on October 23, 1906,
was a superb swimmer. Not only did she win three Olympic
medallions and break several records, but to top it all off, she
went on to become the first woman to swim across the English
Channel. When she swam the 21 miles on August 6, 1926,
Ederle was only nineteen. Her time: 14 hours and 31 minutes good enough to beat the previously set men's record.
 George Herman Ruth (1895 - 1948), often known to his fans as
Babe Ruth, hit a total of 60 home runs in 1927. This recordbreaker would remain a record itself until 1961, when Roger
Eugene Maris (1934 - 85) hit 61 home runs. Babe Ruth, who
earned more than $2 million in his career, was known by
several other names as well. These included: the Bambino, the
Behemoth of Bust, the Blunderbuss, the Colossus of Clout, the
Mammoth of Maul, the Mauling Mastodon, the Mauling
Monarch, the Prince of Powders, the Rajah of Rap, the Sultan
of Swat, and the Wazir of Wham. Among all of his other
accomplishments, this southpaw pitcher was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.
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1920’s Sports
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Legendary Notre Dame Football coach Knute Rockne in 1924
featured one of the greatest backfields in college football
history. They were Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, Don
Miller and Elmer Layden. They got their nickname the four
horseman by sports writer Grantland Rice who compared
them to those of biblical fame. " Outlined against a blue-gray
October sky the four horseman rode again”
•
Red Grange became a household name when he scored 5
touchdowns against Michigan. However his biggest
accomplishment was probably establishing the pro game. Up
to that point the NFL was in the same category as monster
truck shows are today. Well that changed when Red Grange
decided to go pro after his final college game. “Galloping
Ghost”
•
Jack Dempsey was not just the greatest heavyweight of the
decade but usually makes anyone short list for the best of alltime. He was a fierce fighter and usually awarded boxing fans
with exciting fights. This made him very popular figure of the
day, along with Babe Ruth he was probably the most well
known sportsmen of his time. He also took par in one of the
most famous fights in boxing history " The Long Count fight
Man O’ War
The four Horsemen
Red Grange
Like Babe Ruth is to baseball so is Man O' War is to horse
racing. The horse they called Big Red burst onto the scene as
a two year old and would win 20 of 21 races. As a three-yearold he did not lose when he did race he often gave 30 pounds
to his rivals. Although he did not win the Triple Crown it was
only because he did not race in the Kentucky Derby.
in a rematch with Gene Tunney.