NOTES-Chapter 20 Section 1: American Life Changes
Main Idea: The United States experienced many social changes during the 1920s.
New Roles for Women
New Opportunities
 19th Amendment
o women run for office and take advantage of new right
 Women tended to vote the ___________________________________________
________________________.
 Due to economic boom, women began to join the workforce again.
o Mostly low paying professions.
New Family Roles
 Rules that defined women’s role in society began to change.
o Continued to play a key role in the home, but some sought more
____________________ with men.
The Flapper
 refers to a young woman in the 1920s who ________________ traditional ideas of
proper dress and behavior
o Suggested a lifestyle of freedom and independence.
o Not all women were flappers.
Effects of Urbanization
 A growing divide between the __________________________________________.
o Farmers did not join in on the “good times” of the 1920s.
o People began moving from rural areas to cities.
 The car shrank the distance between rural and urban.
o Rural countryside had more access to the latest trends and lifestyles of the
cities.
Conflict Over Values
 There was a large divide between the values of rural America and urban America:
o Rural America represented ________________________________ America:
hard working, self-reliant, religious, and independent.
o Urban America represented changes that threatened these values.
 Ku Klux Klan grew rapidly in the 1920s as the threat to these traditional values
increased.
o Targeted African Americans, immigrants, Catholics, and Jews.
 Fundamentalism or ___________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ increased.
Scopes Trial
 Fundamentalism and science came into conflict, especially over evolution.
o Fundamentalists did not want evolution taught in public school, went as far
as to have laws passed outlawing the teaching of _____________________.
 Opponents of these laws wanted to challenge it.
o John Scopes, a science teacher in Tennessee, challenged it and was arrested
for it.
o The nation followed the trial closely.
 Scopes was represented by _______________________________________ while
__________________________________________________ led the prosecution.
 Scopes was found guilty of breaking the law, but the trial was really about
_________________.
o Freedom of speech, difference between traditional and new values.
Prohibition
 WWI aided the prohibitionists fight; there was a need for self-discipline during the
war and the need for grains that alcohol was made of.
 Religious groups, Nativists, and women supported the fight against alcohol.
 In 1917 Congress proposed an amendment to make it illegal to manufacture,
transport, and sell alcohol in the United States.
o Ratified the __________________________________ in 1919.
 Enforcing Prohibition was difficult, ______________________________ smuggled
alcohol for the masses for consumption in ____________________________.
o Mobsters got in on the business as well.
NOTES-Chapter 20 Section 2: The Harlem Renaissance
Main Idea: Transformations in the African American community contributed to
a blossoming of black culture centered in Harlem, New York.
The Great Migration
 African Americans moved in mass from the South to the North to _________
_______________________________________________________________
o Mass movement was called ___________________________________.
 North was no better than the South.
o Men returning from war wanted their jobs back, tension between
whites and blacks over jobs intensified.
o Erupted in Race Riots in Chicago
o Many African Americans believed that by helping fight in WWI they
earned more freedom.
W.E.B. Dubois
 Helped found the _____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
that worked to end discrimination and mistreatment of African Americans in
the United States.
 Was the editor of the magazine _________________________ that was a
major source of African American writing and poetry.
o Helped promote the African American arts movement in New York
known as __________________________________________________.
Marcus Garvey
 Garvey took great pride in his African roots.
 Founded the ____________________________________________________
to encourage African Americans to take pride in their heritage.
o Promoted ___________________________
o UNIA’s slogan was Back to Africa.
 Believed that African Americans needed to ___________________________
_________________________.
 Very critical of the NAACP.
A Renaissance in Harlem
 James Weldon Johnson wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” who rose to the
top of NAACP leadership and his song became the ___________________
________________________.
 Common theme was _____________________ or ___________________
in the face of white prejudice.
 Langston Hughes, a famous poet, wrote of defiance but also hope.
 Zora Neale Hurston a famous writer for the variety of work she produced.
Harlem Artists
 William H. Johnson, Aaron Douglas, and Jacob Lawrence
 Often focused on the experiences of African Americans in their work
Harlem Music
 ___________ and blues travelled from the South to the North.
o Very exciting, improvised, fast or slow, and very easy to dance to.
o Famous jazz clubs: Savoy Ballroom and the Cotton Club.
o Mostly played for white audiences.
 _________________________________one of the most famous jazz players.
o Other famous artists were Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, and Fats
Waller.
 ___________________________ one of the most famous blues vocalists
NOTES-Chapter 20 Section 3: A New Popular Culture is Born
Main Idea: New technologies helped produce a new mass culture in the 1920s.
Mass Entertainment in the 1920s
Radio
 one of the most influential inventions due to the ability to play music and
news
o Westinghouse Company created first radio station ___________ to play
music and news, other stations quickly joined.
o With the invention of batteries, radios became portable.
o ___________________________ amongst Americans-brought country
and city together
Movies
 Previous to the 1920s movies had been short and simple.
 During WWI __________________________ produced The Birth of a Nation,
which was considered controversial for racist themes and images.
o Introduced many advanced filmmaking techniques.
o Established film as an art form.
 Films with sound were also introduced.
Movie Stars
 The popularity of movies in the 1920s helped to create a new type of
celebrity: The Movie Star.
 _______________________________ was one of the biggest stars in the
1920s for his signature character – a tramp with ragged clothes and a
derby hat.
 Rudolf Valentino was a super star in the silent films, known for his dark
and handsome roles.
 Clara Bow was the female sex symbol of the 1920s.
Airplane Heroes
 _______________________________________ flew a single pilot plane from
New York to Paris.
o First pilot to attempt and complete a ___________________________
______________, or flight across the Atlantic ocean.
 He was young, tall, and handsome and a solid example of many qualities
American’s admired.
 _______________________________ was the first woman to fly across the
Atlantic, a little over a year after Lindbergh.
 In 1937 she attempted to fly around the world.
o She disappeared somewhere in the Pacific and was never found.
Sports in the 1920s
 As technology developed to allow Americans to keep up with different sports
teams, Americans became devoted to different teams and their players.
 Radio helped Americans to keep up with their favorite players and teams.
o American athletes became the most famous and wealthiest individuals
in the world.
Arts of the 1920s
 _______________________________________________ is one of the most
influential writers of the 1920s.
o Wrote “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” which helped create the image of the
Flapper, Tales of the Jazz Age which helped coin the name of the
decade, and The Great Gatsby which explored the lives of the rich and
examined the values of the upper class.
 WWI had a deep impact on American writers and gave them powerful
experiences to write about.
 _______________________________________ of writers moved to Europe
following WWI to give themselves more of the freedom that they desired.