The Roaring 20s: Culture of the 1920s and the Harlem Renaissance
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to identify the changes brought to America by urbanization
2. Students will be able to understand how the 1920s changed the role of women in society
3. Students will be able to explain the effect that the Harlem Renaissance had on Black Americans
and their contributions to society
A) The Divide: Rural v. Urban
● For centuries, rural values are at the center of American culture
○ Heavy focus on conservative morals and values
■ Mom stayed at home
■ Church on Sundays
■ Work hard
○ Everyone knew everyone (not a lot of diversity in communities)
■ Heavy reliance on neighbors for support
○ Things change very slowly in rural America
● During the 1900s, however, the societal focus began to shift to a set of urban focused values
○ Liberal values ruled
■ Women seen as more than just housewives, they were more independent
■ Church on Sundays, if you had the time
■ Play harder
○ Diversity was the rule in urban centers
■ Meet new and interesting people every day. Your neighbor may not speak your
language so you had to be more independent
○ Things changed with the wind
B) The Moral Panic and Prohibition
● With a change in societal values, small town politicians and religious leaders feared that America
was on the path to damnation
● Found their scapegoat in Alcohol and all the things that went with it
○ Drunkenness
○ Gambling
○ Meeting women
● Saw alcohol as the root of all society’s ills
○ Caused unemployment
○ Caused domestic violence
○ Caused accidents at work
●
January 1920, the dawn of the Prohibition Experiment
○ Brought to life by the 18th amendment. A law that banned the manufacture, sale, and
transportation of alcohol.
○ Was meant to bring America “back into the light”
○ Was the product of the “Anti-Saloon League” which drew its support primarily from the
rural South, the West, and other areas with large populations of Native-Born Protestants
C) Women in the 20s
● The identity of the American woman changed.
○
No longer was she barefooted, pregnant, wearing simple clothes, and chained to the
kitchen stove.
● The Flapper
○ A term used to describe the clothes worn by young women in the 1920s
○ The embodiment of feminine rebellion and freedom at the time
○ Were often spoken ill of by those of more traditional sensibilities
● Began seeking equal status to men, smoking and drinking in public, and were carefree in
conversations and relationships.
○ Some men in society were threatened by this because they were used to women being
domestic figures
● Women began to work outside the home, and the family dynamic changed.
D) Culture Changes
● Along with women’s roles in society, American culture began to change too.
○ More of a focus on recreation and enlightenment
● The radio gave people access to news as it happened and launched the careers of musicians who
became famous nationwide.
○ News was no longer local
○ Musicians like Louis Armstrong could record a song in Harlem and have it played in San
Francisco the same week.
● Motion pictures become popular
○ Were silent films
○ Had entire orchestras playing the score of the film
■ Charlie Chaplin is a famous film star from the period
● Sports become a focal point in society thanks to radio
○ Everyone could hear Babe Ruth (NY) and Enos Slaughter (STL), even if they were not in
Yankee Stadium
○ Professional sporting leagues are taken seriously as businesses see the potential for
advertisements and invest in the teams
○ Brought new life to athletic events like baseball and early football
●
Literature
○ The great writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Gertrude Stein became
famous for their unconventional style during this time
○ Writing about things nobody had ever written before in ways anybody had read before.
○ Connected with a “restless” generation of young men and veterans
E) The Harlem Renaissance
 The Great Migration brought tens of thousands of Black Americans to New York City, seeking
opportunity
o Racism still rampant in society
o Many were discriminated against unjustly
 By 1920, 200,000 Black Americans live in the neighborhood of Harlem
o Harlem became the center for a cultural revolution
 Renaissance Artists:
o Langston Hughes (Poet)
o Louis Armstrong (Musician-Father of Jazz)
o Bessie Smith (Singer/Songwriter-Made headway for female vocalists in society)
o Aaron Douglas (Artist)
 Harlem Renaissance revolutionized America:
o Fashion
o Literature
o Music
o Art/Expressionism
 Why is this an important movement?
o It redefined the roles that Black Americans held in society
o Gave Black Americans a voice that was heard
o Gave birth to “popular culture”
Closure: Things were going well in the 20’s. America was experiencing widespread opulence and
prosperity the likes of which nobody had seen before. It seemed that the good times would roll on
forever and America had thrown all their cares to the wind. The roles of women, technology, and life in
general were all changing during this time. it seemed the 1920s were the ultimate cure to life after the
great war, a time of great sorrow and darkness followed swiftly by a time of joy and progress. America,
however, had been blinded by their good fortune and all the money they were making; they did not see
the storm clouds on the horizon.