Chapter 11:
The Roaring Twenties
1919-1929
Timeline




1920 – Warren G. Harding
elected president
1923 – Calvin Coolidge
becomes president
1924 – Coolidge is
elected, Nellie Ross is
elected governor – first
female
1925 – Scopes Trial,
Harlem Renaissance
1927 – Lindbergh flies
solo across ocean, first
movie with sound is made
 1928 – Herbert Hoover is
elected president
 1929 – October 29th
(Black Tuesday) the stock
market crashes and
begins the Great
Depression*
**Stay tuned - in 8th grade
history you will learn more
about this!

Key Vocabulary

Warren G. Harding – elected president in 1920, he promised
“a return to normalcy,” died suddenly in 1923

Teapot Dome Scandal – corrupt gov't officials that made
money illegally and ruined Harding's presidency

Calvin Coolidge – took over for Harding in 1923 and was
elected in 1924, he believed in laissez faire

Laissez faire – gov't hands off policy in business, let
businesses run themselves

Isolationist – a belief that a country should stay out of other
nations' affairs except in self-defense (Harding and Coolidge)

Kellogg-Briand Pact – a treaty signed in 1928 by fifteen
countries, all promising not to make war against each other
except in self-defense

Assembly line – a conveyor belt system to speed up the
process of making an item

Installment buying – using a credit card, or money you don't
have, to buy expensive items and paying for them in small
chunks

Flapper – the symbol of American women in the 1920's, wore
short hair, makeup, and dresses just below the knee

Prohibition - 18th amendment, passed in 1920, banned the
manufacture and sale of alcohol in the U.S.

Al Capone – organized crime boss, gangs would compete to
control bootlegging (illegal manufacture and sale of alcohol)

NAACP – (National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People) group that tried to protect African American
rights

Marcus Garvey – started a “return to Africa” campaign to
form a separate nation there

Fundamentalism – believed in a literal translation on the
Bible and did not want evolution to be taught in schools

Ku Klux Klan – racist white group that tried to keep African
Americans powerless in society

Jazz – music developed by African Americans in New Orleans,
features horns

Mass media – communication that reaches a large audience,
radio, TV, movies

Popular culture – songs, dances, fashion, slang terms like
scram and ritzy

Harlem Renaissance – rebirth of African American culture in
Harlem, NY by migrants from the South

Lost Generation – artists and writers who see the Roaring
Twenties as a dark time

Expatriates – people that move away from U.S.
Let's Hear Some Jazz!

While you listen to 1920s
jazz, I would like you to
doodle!

Doodling while listening to
music will help you
understand the music
better!

Duke Ellington -->
Business of America

After WWI, Warren G. Harding promised a “return to
normalcy” and to lower taxes

He believed in laissez faire, or gov't having their hands off
of business

Coolidge took over after Harding died and followed an
isolationist policy – staying out of other nations' affairs
unless in self-defense

Coolidge and 15 other nations signed the Kellogg-Briand
Pact, promised no fighting
Technology

Because the average income per house rose 35%, people
had money to spend on luxury items

In 1920, Henry Ford produced his Model T faster and
cheaper than ever because of his assembly line process

Ford produced one car per minute, each costing $335 –
sounds cheap, but the average worker made only $716 per
year

Installment buying became necessary – using credit cards –
which led to the Depression
Air Age

After WWI, fighter pilots
bought old planes and
found new uses

Charles Lindbergh and
Amelia Earhart made the
first solo flights across the
ocean in 1927 and 1928
Youth and Women in 1920s

Youth became
rebellious and wanted to
express themselves

Fashion, songs, dance
marathons, flagpole
sitting, were all ways for
youth to rebel

Women, symbolized by
the flapper, were playing
sports, driving cars,
going to college and even
working

19th Amendment
allowed women the right
to vote
Prohibition and Organized Crime


Religious groups wanted 
to promote morality and
health so they encouraged
the 18th Amendment
(Prohibition)
Organized crime grew to
struggle for control of
bootlegging (illegal sale and
manufacture of alcohol)

Al Capone became one of
the most
notorious crime
bosses in Chicago

21st Amendment
Prohibition
This banned the sale,
transport, manufacture,
and consumption of
alcohol in the U.S.
repealed
America's Changing

The Great Migration relocated a quarter of a million
African Americans to the North with the hope of a better
life – free of racial violence and the chance of a better job

The NAACP was formed to help protect the constitutional
rights of African Americans

Life was better, but still not great, race riots were common
and many African Americans were being treated unfairly

Marcus Garvey suggested that African Americans move to
Africa to create a nation of their own
A Divided Society

Many people were upset at the changes going on in
society and that caused tension between the different
sides – African Americans and whites, native-born and
immigrants, urban and rural communities, science and
religion

In Tennessee, a biology teacher broke the law and taught
evolution, he was taken to court and found guilty but the
Tennessee Supreme Court found the law unconstitutional
– Scopes Trial – evolution is taught
America Relaxes

Technology allowed for more leisure time (time to relax)
so people began to go see movies, go to libraries,
museums, read books and magazines, listened to the
radio, and driving their cars

Some Americans could not enjoy as much leisure time,
African Americans and Hispanic Americans were limited
by money and race – some events were still segragated
Mass Media Influences Pop Culture

Mass media, such as the radio and movies, is a
communication that reaches large audiences

Once radio and movies were widely accessible, the youth
began to dress like their favorite stars and listen to popular
music, this is the beginnings of popular culture – whatever
is “in” during a time period

Walt Disney, MGM, and Warner Brothers movie
companies all debuted their new “talkies” and made a
fortune
Sports

Baseball became a
favorite leisure activity
during the 1920s

Yankee Stadium in New
York became popular
because of Babe Ruth

Sports like golf, tennis,
swimming, and college
sports were also popular
Harlem Renaissance

Harlem Renaissance was
a rebirth of freedoms for
African Americans in New
York

Jazz musicians, artists,
and writers

Many African Americans
became popular but only
whites were allowed in
most clubs
The Lost Generation

Many writers and artists saw
the 1920s as a very dark
time and saw no hope for
the future

Many artists and writers
were so upset they left the
U.S. for France and became
expatriates