HONOR CODE PLEDGE: ___________________________________ BLOCK: _____ DATE:______________
THE ROARING 1920S CHARACTER SKITS
The purpose of our research in this unit will be to conduct inquiries into the lives of charismatic and
influential personalities of the 1920s. We are also going to focus on two critical skills that historians
have to grapple with: research and value conflicts.
The 1920s was a decade that brought fame and prosperity to many. Inventions like the radio and the
motion picture machine became standard features of small towns across America, and the ability of
mass media – newspapers with large circulations, radio broadcasts, and newsreels – to transmit
information to huge populations of people allowed many Americans to have shared experiences like
they never had before. It also provoked controversial debates.
Even though the 1920s is known as a decade of great prosperity and happiness, it was also a time period
when people’s values were put to the test, and societal rules were being tested. Conflicts often
emerged between traditional, conservative, and rural communities and more progressive, liberal, and
urban ones. Of course, there were no hard and fast rules here, but we can make generalizations.
VALUE CONFLICTS OF THE 1920s & EXAMPLES:
Urban, Cosmopolitan City Dwellers
VS.
Rural, Locally Concerned Farmers
Wets (Against Prohibition)
VS.
Drys (For Prohibition)
Scientific, Rational Progressivism
VS.
Christian Fundamentalism, Tradition
Pro-Immigration
VS.
Nativists
Favoring Equal Rights for Women
and Minority Groups, Integration
VS.
Favoring Traditional Roles for
Women and continued Segregation
During the 1920s, there were a number of important “flashpoints” when the differences in the United
States regarding issues like the ones in the text box above came to light. Sometimes, the disagreements
which came to light resulted in spirited debates about government policy. On other occasions, however,
heated disagreements transpired which resulted in violence and even deaths. Consider some of the
major events in the textbox below. What would it have been like to witness these events: dramatic,
joyful, terrifying? How do you think that you might personally have responded to the event?
MAJOR EVENTS OF THE 1920S:
The Scopes “Monkey” Trial of 1925 in Dayton, TN.
The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.
Charles Lindbergh’s trans-Atlantic flight, or the ticker tape parade in his honor.
The sentencing or the execution of Nicholai Sacco and Bartolomeu Vanzetti .
Babe Ruth hitting his sixtieth (60th) homerun in 1927.
A jazz performance by Louis Armstrong and his band at the Cotton Club in Harlem.
The opening of the first ever “talky” – The Jazz Singer, starting Al Jolson.
The first ever commercial radio broadcast from KDKA – Pittsburgh, PA.
The death of President Warren G. Harding in 1923 in San Francisco.
The onset of Prohibition in America with the enforcement of the Volstead Act.
The first Presidential Election during which women voted: 1920.
The Stock Market Crash of 1929.
All of these events produced powerful emotional responses – sometimes, though, the responses were
very, very divergent. WCTU crusader Carry Nation was thrilled to see Prohibition go into effect;
however, it was not a very popular law in major cities like New York and Chicago. Al Capone, who
controlled the alcohol trade in the “Windy City,” was excited at the opportunity to make a fortune
selling liquor on the black market.
SKITS ON THE 1920S
In order to complete this assignment, there are three important tasks that need to be accomplished.
1. You must engage in research in order to understand the biography of the individual you have been
assigned to portray. Each student will be responsible for handing in a self-produced one-page
biography of their individual, with special emphasis on the role that he or she played during the 1920s in
America. It is critical that this paper be well researched and the citations are attached giving credit to
any sources you have relied upon. Anyone engaged in academic dishonesty or plagiarism will be put up
on Honor Council charges. YOU WILL BE ASSIGNED A CHARACTER IN CLASS TODAY BY YOUR TEACHER.
2. You must conduct research into the “flashpoint” event which your group is using as its focal point to
the play. If the setting of your play is the courtroom where Sacco and Vanzetti are being sentenced to
death – or outside in the streets protesting that event – then you will need to know a lot about the
event in question. Your characters will be commenting – in a voice which is representative of the lives
that they led – on the events in the courtroom.
3. Every group member must make significant contributions to the dialogue which you create. No
member of the groups should have fewer than six lines. In your written work you must:
A. Describe your characters life and accomplishments.
B. Convey what the person feels – or how they probably would have felt – about the flashpoint
event which you are studying.
C. Ask a question of at least one other group member.
D. Describe what they consider the greatest accomplishment of the United States during the
1920s.
E. Describe what they consider the worst flaw in the United States during the 1920s, and
propose a solution to the problem.
By the end of the skit, your audience must know more about the biographies of all the individuals
involved in the play, know more about the flashpoint event your play revolves around, and be able to
gain a better understanding of the decade of the 1920s as a whole. The plays will be performed live in
class, and every student must hand in: (a) a biography of the individual they have been assigned. Each
group is responsible for handing in a copy of the skit itself – including all lines and stage directions.
Although we are hoping to learn a little about American History, let’s also resolve to have fun!
Entertainment value should be a factor in your plays. Zombies are a big bonus! Laughter is even better.
You may use props, sound effects, and even take a few liberties with history – just be sure to explain!!!
SOCIAL STUDIES SEVEN: UNITED STATES HISTORY FROM 1865 – THE PRESENT
LIST OF ASSIGNED CHARACTERS FOR THE 1920S SKIT ASSIGNMENT:
Marcus Garvey
A. Mitchell Palmer
Nicolai Sacco
Samuel Gompers
Bartolomeau Vanzetti
Warren G. Harding
John Scopes
Ernest Hemingway
Jacob Lawrence
Carrie Chapman Catt
Langston Hughes
Sinclair Lewis
Bessie Smith
Upton Sinclair
Louis Armstrong
Herbert Hoover
Duke Ellington
Eugene V. Debs
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Charles Lindbergh
Calvin Coolidge
Clarence Darrow
William Jennings Bryan
Thomas Alva Edison
Guglielmo Marconi
Al Jolson
W.E.B. DuBois
Booker T. Washington
Frances Willard
Al Capone
Charlie Chaplain
Babe Ruth