The Roaring 20s in America
Understanding the Culture in the United States during the 1920s
United States History 11
INTRODUCTION
The 1920s has often been referred to as the “Jazz Age” or the “Roaring 20s.” It was a time of conflicting attitudes, moral interpretation, and
changing political and economic fortunes. Coming out of World War I, the United States was enveloped by racial discord, nativist feelings, and a
general distrust of outsiders. This resulted in a general feeling of isolationism for most Americans. On the other hand, some Americans began to
display a sense of adventure and experimentation in regards to expression of feeling and a move toward a ‘new morality’.
DIRECTIONS
In order for you to appreciate the mood of the nation during the 1920s, you will be researching various areas that were prominent in American culture
during this time period. Your assignment is to find background information on the various topics and provide pictures and descriptions of how those
areas were important in understanding the atmosphere in which Americans lived during the 20s. For each topic, I have listed appropriate links that
would provide the information you need to develop your presentation for the class.
PRESENTATIONS
You will be developing a PowerPoint presentation on the topics assigned. Your presentation should provide a (1) background on the topic, (2)
pictures that illustrate the topic, (3) major people involved in that particular area, as well as the (4) impact the topic had on the overall landscape of
American culture during the 1920s. Presentations will be done in class; everyone must participate. In addition, each group must develop a set of
questions to be answered by students at the end of the presentation (no more than five questions). Those questions should be on the last slide of the
presentation. This will provide an assessment for your fellow classmates as to whether or not they are paying attention. In other words, you are the
teacher and the expert on that particular area. It’s not a bad idea to start your research for the presentation by using your textbook.
TOPICS TO RESEARCH
Politics of the Day
 http://www.1920-30.com/politics/
 http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Politics-in-the-1920s.topicArticleId-25238,articleId-25200.html
 http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture15.html
 http://www.slideshare.net/icteacher/politics-1920s
Sports, Radio, and Music
 http://library.thinkquest.org/C005846/categories/sports/sports.htm
 http://www.1920-30.com/sports/
 http://www.sportplanet.com/sbb/apfas/20R.HTM
 http://library.thinkquest.org/27629/themes/media/md20s.html
 http://www.1920-30.com/music/
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/beyond/jazz.html
 http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade20.html
Immigration Issues (Nativism)
 http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1564.html
 http://library.thinkquest.org/17126/chapter/18.html
 http://www.radford.edu/~shepburn/nativism.htm
 http://www2.davidson.edu/academics/acad_depts/rusk/prima/Vol3Issue1/Nativism.htm
Changing Morals (what people are doing for fun, working women, fashions, the automobile, music, dancing)
 http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=437
 http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/womenofthecentury/decadebydecade/1920s.html
 http://www.1920-30.com/fashion/
 http://www.slideshare.net/fschiro/ppt-women-1920s
 http://www.1920-30.com/dance/
 http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade20.html
 http://www.1920-30.com/automobiles/
Fundamentalism vs. New Morality
 http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=437
 http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Politics-in-the-1920s.topicArticleId-25238,articleId-25200.html
 http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture16.html
 http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/history/chapter16section3.rhtml
Prohibition
 http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade20.html
 http://www.1920-30.com/prohibition/
 http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=441
 http://prohibition.osu.edu/
 http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture17.html
 http://www.1920-30.com/prohibition/repeal-prohibition.html
Art and Literature
 http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade20.html
 http://library.thinkquest.org/C005846/categories/artliter/artslit.htm
 http://www.1920-30.com/art/
 http://www.1920-30.com/literature/
 http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/1920.htm
Harlem Renaissance (origin, writers, music, African American politics)
 http://www.lib.subr.edu/data/harlem.htm
 http://www.vintageperiods.com/harlem.php
 http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83
 http://www.slideshare.net/juliahornaday/1920s-lecture-5-harlem-renaissance
 http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/A-New-Society-Economic-Social-Change.topicArticleId-25238,articleId-25203.html
RUBRIC
You will receive a group grade (presentation) and an individual grade (questions from presentations). The group grade rubric is listed below. The
individual grade for the assignment is you answering questions at the end of presentations. The individual grade is worth fifteen (15) points.
Presentation is labeled correctly and follows the instructions for content
Images are contained in the presentation and demonstrate appropriate links with the material
Information provided in the presentation is accurate and reflects the culture of the decade
Questions accompanying the presentation
Group demonstrates overall understanding of the topic
Presentation is neatly organized and creative
5 points
5 points
30 points
5 points
10 points
5 points
60 points total
Total possible points for entire project: 75
PROCEDURE
You will have approximately two full class days to work on the presentations. A third may be added if needed. Your group will be assigned a topic
by me (no whining or asking for the topic to be changed). You will use the Lenovo Netbooks in the classroom to work on the project. You will sign
out the Lenovo and use the same one throughout the duration of the activity. Make sure you save the information to your shared drive (or flash drive)
so that it will not be lost. There will be NO EXCUSES for not having the assignment ready for presentation on the assigned day. Once presentation
day arrives, the entire group will come to the front, hook up their Lenovo or provide me with the flash drive. As you present, the rest of the class will
either be taking notes or listening intently. At the end of the presentation, you will provide the questions (no more than five) for the class to answer.
Each student will answer all questions (except the ones from your own presentation) on a single sheet of paper. No one will be required to write the
questions, simply give your answer. At the end of all presentations, the sheets will be collected as a participation grade for the project. Take these
projects seriously. You will not be tested individually on the 1920s; however, this information will be included on the 2 nd Nine Weeks Benchmark
Exam coming up at the end of the semester.