The Roaring
Twenties
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Vocabulary
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2.
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7.
Urban: relating to cities
Rural: relating to the country
Renaissance: a rebirth or surge of culture.
Amendment: a change or addition (in this case to
the Constitution)
Prohibition: the act of making something illegal;
something you are not allowed to do is
prohibited.
Speakeasies: illegal bars of the 1920s
Leisure: free time activities; relaxation
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What was
The Roaring 20s?
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“Roaring Twenties” is a phrase used to
describe the 1920s in the United States.
Normality returned to the US after World
War I.
It was a decade of increased economic
prosperity (people had more money)
Although in many cases people spent
money they didn’t have (credit)
Social changes occurred as well as changes
in the lifestyle of the average American.
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New Roles for Women
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The 19th Amendment
allowed women to vote
Some were elected to state
and local office.
Women joined the workforce
in large numbers, though
mostly in the lowest-paying
professions.
Women attended college in
greater numbers.
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Flappers
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The flapper was the name of a
dress style that was popular
among young, rebellious
women of the time.
It also came to be another name
for the young urban women
who wore them
The term flapper suggested an
independent, free lifestyle.
Flappers mostly lived in cities,
though rural people read about
them in magazines.
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Quick Quiz
1.
2.
3.
4.
What are FOUR major ways of
explaining the Roaring
Twenties?
What amendment to the
Constitution gave women the
right to vote?
What were TWO other new
roles for women?
What/Who were flappers?
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Increased Urbanization
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After World War I, demand for farm products was
reduced so many farmers and farm workers moved
to industrialized cities.
The 1920 census showed that for the first time ever,
more Americans lived in cities than in rural areas,
and 3/4 of all workers worked somewhere other
than a farm.
The Automobile also helped bring the
cities/country together, rural people were now
likely to spend time in town and were less isolated.
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The End of Child Labor
Education also increased, and by the
1920s many states passed laws requiring
children to attend school, helping force
children out of workplaces.
 School attendance and enrollment
increased as industry grew because more
people could afford to send their children
to school, not to work.
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New York in the 1920s
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The rise of the Ku Klux Klan
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The Ku Klux Klan grew dramatically in the 1920s
Many of its members were people from rural America
who saw their status declining – this made them
angry
Members of the Klan continued to use violence,
targeting African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and all
immigrants.
In the 1920s, the Klan focused on influencing politics.
The Klan’s membership was mostly in the South but
spread nationwide.
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The Great Migration
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The major relocation of African Americans from the
south to northern cities is known as the Great
Migration.
Many African Americans looked to the North to find
freedom and economic opportunities (JOBS)
African American newspapers spread the word of
opportunities in northern cities, and African
Americans streamed into cities such as Chicago and
Detroit.
African Americans also looked to escape the racism of
the South.
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Quick Quiz
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What did the 1920 census show? How does this relate
to the Automobile?
What were TWO reasons that child labor was reduced?
Why did the Ku Klux Klan grow during the 20s? Where
was the Klan mostly located?
What were some things the Klan did?
What was the Great Migration? Give two reasons that it
happened?
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The Harlem Renaissance
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The great migration led to large
black communities in many of
America’s northern cities.
Many black Americans moved to
a neighborhood of New York City
known as Harlem, which became
the center of African American
culture and activism in the
United States.
This surge of black culture came
to be known as the Harlem
Renaissance
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W.E.B Du Bois
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A key figure in Harlem’s rise was
W.E.B. Du Bois, a well-educated,
Massachusetts-born African
American leader.
In 1909 Du Bois helped found the
National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) in New York City
He was also the editor of a magazine
called The Crisis, that published
African American writing and
poetry.
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Poets, Artists, & Writers
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Poets
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Poets like Claude McKay
and Langston Hughes
wrote about black defiance
and hope.
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Artists
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Writers
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Little African American
literature was published
before this period of time.
Writers like Zora Neale
Hurston and James
Weldon Johnson wrote
about facing white
prejudice.
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Black artists won fame
during this era, often
focusing on the
experiences of African
Americans.
William H. Johnson,
Aaron Douglas and
Jacob Lawrence were
some well known
authors of the time.
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Quick Quiz
1.
2.
3.
4.
What led to the Harlem Renaissance?
Who was W.E.B. DuBois? What were TWO important
contributions of his?
Name at least one famous black POET, ARTIST, and
WRITER from this period?
What was the topic of many of their pieces of
writing/art?
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Increase usage of Radio
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The use of radio
allowed for faster
and more accurate
news
Radio dance parties
became common for
times when music
was played
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Hobbies, Sports and Leisure
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In the 20s people had
more free time to watch
sports.
Sports like baseball,
tennis, swimming and
boxing were especially
popular
Heroes like Babe Ruth
emerged as pop culture
icons
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The rise of Hollywood
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The 1920s saw the
very beginning of film
and the film industry
In 1928 Disney’s
‘’Steamboat Willie”
was the first
animated film with
sound.
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Quick Quiz
Explain 2-3 pieces of information about each of the
following lifestyle changes of the 1920s:
1.
2.
3.
Increase usage of radio
Hobbies and Sports
The Rise of Hollywood
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The Fight for Prohibition
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The movement to ban alcohol 
was call the Temperance
Movement
When World War I started, some
in the movement argued that
grain and grapes, which most
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alcohol is made from, needed to
go towards feeding troops, not
alcohol.
Others used prejudice against
immigrants to fuel their cause by
portraying immigrant groups as
alcoholics
Religious groups favored a
liquor ban because they
thought alcohol contributed
to society’s evils and sins,
especially in cities.
By 1917 more than half the
states had passed a law
restricting alcohol use.
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Prohibition achieved!
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The 18th Amendment
banning alcohol was
proposed in 1917 and
ratified (agreed to) in
1919.
This meant the
constitution had been
changed to make alcohol
illegal nation-wide.
This national ban on
alcohol was called
Prohibition
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Bootleggers and the Speakeasy
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Prohibition gave rise to huge smuggling operations.
Newspapers followed the hunt for bootleggers, or liquor
smugglers entering the country.
Many people also made their own liquor using homemade
equipment, and others got alcohol from doctors, who could
prescribe it as medicine.
The illegal liquor business was the foundation of great criminal
empires, like Chicago gangster Al Capone’s crew, who smashed
competition, then frightened and bribed police and officials.
3,000 Prohibition agents nationwide worked to shut down
speakeasies, or illegal bars, and to capture illegal liquor and
stop gangsters.
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Quick Quiz
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What was prohibition?
What major world event made it more likely?
How/Why?
What were TWO other reasons people gave to support
prohibition?
What did the 18th Amendment do?
Who were bootleggers? Who was Al Capone?
What is a speakeasy?
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