The Roaring
Twenties
As America recovers from World War I
and goes back to its isolationist roots,
the people of America look to find a new
direction in life.
1
“How We Gonna Keep Them Down on
the Farm After They’ve Seen Pari
(Paris)?”
• After the war, the whole world was “shellshocked” as to how much destruction had been
done. Soldiers came back with a sudden
realization: there were no guarantees that a
person would live a long life- if another war
began. So “live for today” became the motto:
enjoy life because you may not be around if war
breaks out again. So, the “Roaring Twenties”
were a “Party Hardy” Decade on the surface, but
there was also some fear that most people felt
that life could end unexpectedly.
• FYI: The title of this slide was the #1 song in the
early 1920’s!
2
Women’s Rights &
Fashion Sense
• In 1920, women suffragists finally got the right to vote for
women. The elections of 1920, 1924, & 1928 were the first
elections that women voted. Rebecca Felton, a Georgian,
was the 1st female to serve in the U.S. Senate for one day
after Senator Tom Watson had passed away; this was an
honor for all her work for Georgia during the Progressive
Era. (The governor of Georgia then later chose a permanent
replacement for Senator Watson).
3
Flapper: The New Woman
“a somewhat foolish girl, full of wild surmises and inclined to
revolt against precepts and admonitions of her elders.”
—H.L. Mencken
4
Bessie Crowell &
Viola Napier
• These two women were the first to
serve in the Georgia General
Assembly.
• Women broke many social traditions:
shorter hair, shorter skirts, etc.
Urban life became radically different
from rural life.
5
Prohibition Era
• One of the great experiments of the 20th century was Prohibition.
This constitutional amendment outlawed the making and selling of
alcohol. This amendment came out of the Temperance Movement
from the Progressive Era. But people refused to stop drinking and
they bought alcohol supplied by gangsters like Al Capone. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), led by Elliott Ness & J.
Edgar Hoover, fought to stop the gangsters like Capone. By the
end of the decade, Prohibition was repealed, making it the only
amendment to the U.S. Constitution to be removed from law.
6
Prohibition Era
7
New Language: Slang
• “Hey, that flapper is
standing by the tin lizzy. If
her dogs are tired, then,
maybe she’ll let me take
her to the speak-easy for
some giggle water! Maybe
we can cut a rug as well! I
hope so, because she’s the
cat’s meow! I just hope
she thinks I’m dapper &
the bee’s knees and not
just a flat tire.”
• This uses 8 different
phrases from the 1920’s:
what do you think it
means?
8
New Language:
Slang Translation
• “Hey, that pretty girl is standing by
my car. If her feet are tired, maybe
she’ll let me drive her to the
restaurant for some dinner and
drinks. We might even dance the
“Charleston”! She’s the most
beautiful girl ever! I hope she thinks
I’m cool, and not just a boring
person!”
9
Music of the 1920’s
• Jazz music has been called “spur of the moment” magic
because of the improvisation of the band. Louis Armstrong
was one of the most famous musicians of the era.
• Blues music also was created during this era. It’is about
lost love, loneliness, poverty, or jealousy. Ma Rainey, from
Georgia, was known as “Mother of the Blues”.
10
The Great Migration
• During the 1920’s,
there was a
movement of AfricanAmerican citizens to
leave their job as
tenant farmers and to
move North- to cities
like Chicago and
Detroit, looking for
work. In this time of
“Separate But Equal”,
people were looking
for a chance for true
equality in jobs.
11
Technology of the 1920’s
12
Heroes of the 1920’s
• In 1927, Charles
Lindbergh, a 25 year old
pilot, became the first
person to fly a non-stop
solo flight across the
Atlantic Ocean. He flew
from New York to Paris,
with only sandwiches and
coffee for the 33 ½ hour
flight. He became an
international hero on both
sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Six months later, he flew
to Atlanta and was greeted
by 20,000 people.
(Lindbergh Drive was also
named for him).
13
Heroes of the 1920’s
• Ben Epps was known
as the “Father of
aviation in Georgia”. A
native of Athens, he
was inspired by the
Wright brothers and
built a light
monoplane (one wing)
that he hoped would
be a model for
passenger planes in
the future.
14
Delta Air Lines
• In 1924, some crop-dusting pilots in Macon, led
by Collette Woodman, got together to form a
mail-delivery service by the air. It soon became a
passenger service, and now Delta (named for
serving the Mississippi Delta region of the
country). It is now the 2nd largest airline in the
U.S., and its headquarters is located in Atlanta.
15
Heroes of the 1920’s
•
Other Georgia heroes were Ty
Cobb (“The Georgia Peach”) and
Bobby Jones. Cobb was one of
the 1st players in the Hall of
Fame; he had a lifetime batting
average of .367 and he had the
career stolen base record of 892!
•
Bobby Jones won golf’s Grand
Slam (top 4 events) in one year,
and one 13 championships in his
career. He later designed Augusta
National golf course. Later in life,
Jones was stricken with a
crippling disease. When asked
about it, Jones said: “We all have
to play the ball as it lies.”
16
Heroes of the 1920’s
• Motions pictures
became a huge
entertainment
business in this
decade. “Hollywood”
was created as the
great silent, blackand-white movies of
the day were created.
• The first “millionaire”
actor was the
legendary Charlie
Chaplin.
17
Places of the 1920’s
• Atlanta also was growing in the downtown area.
One of its greatest attractions, the Fabulous Fox
theater, was established during this decade. It’s
wonderful ambience was saved in the 1970’s
when a campaign was done to raise money to
“Save the Fox” from being torn down.
18
Places of the 1920’s
• In 1928, another Atlanta tradition was started
near the Georgia Tech campus. The Varsity
restaurant became a great place to go before a
football game or an event at the nearby Fox
Theater. It is still a vital part of downtown Atlanta
today (and there’s a restaurant in Gwinnett too)!
19
Laissez-Faire:
An Economic Policy
that means, “hands off”!
• In the 1920’s, the Republicans won the White
House from Woodrow Wilson and the Democrats.
These 3 Republican Presidents believed in
“laissez-faire” economics. “Laissez-faire” is a
French phrase that means “hands-off”, implying
that the federal government should not tax too
much, nor should tell people how to save, spend,
or invest their money. That also means the
nation’s economy is left to the “marketplace” to
work out any problems that may arise. As more
people began to borrow money for investing in
the stock market, the economy’s “motor” began
to “overheat” and the Great Depression was soon
approaching.
20
Warren G. Harding
• Warren G. Harding was the
1st president of the 1920’s.
His election slogan:
“Return to Normalcy”.
• Why would this had been a
good slogan for the 1st
president AFTER World
War I?
• Harding faced the Teapot
Dome Scandal while in
office; some of his Cabinet
members had made some
shady land deals without
his knowledge.
21
Calvin Coolidge
•
Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge became
the next President after President
Harding dies in office. Ironically, he
rarely gave long speeches and yet he
was the 1st president to be heard on
the radio.
•
FYI: One time a lady met Coolidge and
proclaimed: “Mr. President, I know
you don’t like to talk too much, but I
know you’d say three words to me!”
•
Coolidge replied, “You lose.”
•
FYI: Coolidge was the only president
to be sworn in by a family member;
his dad was a Justice of the Peace, and
he quickly gave his son the
Presidential oath after word came in
the middle of the night of President
Harding’s unexpected death. This way
the country was not without a
president for very long.
22
Herbert Hoover
• Hoover was the third
Republican president of the
1920’s. The continuing
“laissez-faire” economic
policy was setting up the
country for the Great
Depression.
• FYI: Some people lost their
homes and lived in
temporary “homes” in
public parks; these were
sarcastically called
“Hoovervilles”.
23
Stock Market Crash
• On October 24, 1929, the Stock Market “crashed” as people
began to sell all of the stocks that they had borrowed to
buy. This caused the price & value of the stock to fall,
people could not repay back their loans, and so banks could
not give people their savings (because they had loaned
them out). So, many people lost their money in the Stock
Market Crash without ever having bought stocks
themselves.
24
Boll Weevil Adds to
Georgia’s Misery
• Georgia also had some unexpected “company”
when the boll weevil migrated from Mexico &
Texas. When these insects descended on a cotton
crop to digest it, a farmer’s whole year’s crop
could be destroyed and bankruptcy could soon
follow. This “Boll Weevil” song tried to help
people laugh instead of cry over their losses.
25
Who Knew How to End the
Great Depression?
26
Who Knew How to End the
Great Depression?
27