D 1920s
Research Paper
The 1920s was a truly exciting decade in American History – today we might say it “rocked,” back then, it
“roared.” In all aspects of life (fashion, music, literature, sports, economics, social reform, politics) things were
happening and happening fast. This is not merely a list of categories; rather, it is a collection of topics and, with
the graphic organizer, related subtopics which together, provide a complex view of the Roaring Twenties.
The topics for this paper have been assigned to specific categories. You are going to be assigned ONE category
and research the topics connected to that category.
This paper will require you to use the appropriate resources available (databases, the Internet and books) to
effectively complete the following:
Graphic Organizer:
1. Provide the necessary background about each subtopic on the accompanying graphic organizer.
2. Explain that topic’s political, social and/or economic impact. It may be easier to draw parallels for
some as opposed to others.
3. The graphic organizer is due with the research paper. It is designed to assist you in accumulating
data and examples.
Note ! Do you need to look up all the information following each subtopic? No. However, you are required
to focus on the subtopics. The accompanying words are provided to offer you a starting point,
as you will certainly find additional examples or areas of focus during your research.
Research Paper:
1. Complete a 3 page paper, Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1.5 spacing and 1 inch margins that
incorporates the research accumulated in the library and at home.
2. Stress the impact of the category (topic) on American society, politics and/or economics in the
1920s and beyond. For example, detail the effect of the topic on American society. Prove the topic
had an impact, positive, negative or both on American society.
3. Utilize a combination of the subtopics to help make your point.
4. Ensure, to some degree, that the subtopics used tie into the main focus – IMPACT.
5. Provide an introduction, multiple body paragraphs and a conclusion.
The number of sources you are required to have should exceed the number of topics you are researching by one
(ex. 4 topics = 5 sources). You must use all of the sources available at least once. For example, if you need 5
sources, then you could use 2 databases, 1 book and 2 Internet sources. Other expectations for this paper will be
discussed in class. Remember the research strategies you learned from the days in the library!
Suggested Strategies:
1. Read the 1920s chapter in the textbook.
2. Stress important concepts and ideas. Look for connections between subtopics.
3. Analyze information and draw conclusions. What can be inferred from the data?
4. Utilize multiple sources to ensure accuracy and thoroughness.
5. Look further than the sub topics provided. Effort is required.
6. Keep copious notes and a list of sources.
7. Search for data, statistics, and information. Extract this material to use in your paper as proof.
Categories
Entertainment
“The Jazz age was wicked and monstrous and silly. Unfortunately I had a good time.”
Heywood Brown
Society and Fads
“The parties were bigger… the pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the
morals were looser.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Politics – Not a category, but a neat quote.
“America’s present need is not heroics, but healing, not nostrums (remedies) but normalcy, not revolution but
restoration, not surgery but serenity.”
Warren G. Harding
Civil Rights and Intolerance
“We return. We return from fighting. We return fighting.”
W.E.B. duBois
Sports
“Well, I had a better year.”
Response when asked why he made more than the U.S. President.
Babe Ruth
Technology, Economics, and Business
“The chief business of the American people is business.”
Calvin Coolidge
Due Date - _____________________
Name ______________________
Graphic Organizer
(Attach additional sheets when and if necessary.)
Entertainment
“The Jazz age was wicked and monstrous and silly. Unfortunately I had a good time.”
Heywood Brown
Jazz – Duke Ellington; Bessie Smith; Louis Armstrong; George Gershwin; Blind Lemon Jefferson (Blues)
Radio – KDKA; effect on sports; politics on the radio; news; advertising; soap operas/radio shows
Movies – silent movies and the silver screen; talkies and the Jazz Singer; Douglas Fairbanks; Charlie Chaplin
Literature – Ernest Hemingway; F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby; expatriates; Sigmund Freud
Dance – The Charleston; marathon dance craze; as a fun-time leisure activity
!
Focus - The social, political and/or economic impact of Entertainment on America in the 1920s and beyond. How
did Entertainment influence, change, impact, affect, etc… America?
!
Information/Facts
Jazz -
Radio -
Social
Political
Economic
Information/Facts
Movies -
Literature -
Dance -
Social
Political
Economic
Name ______________________
Graphic Organizer
(Attach additional sheets when and if necessary.)
Society and Fads
“The parties were bigger… the pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings
were higher, the morals were looser.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Prohibition – Volstead Act; Speakeasies; Eliot Ness; effects and unintended consequences
Fads – flagpole sitting; flappers; sheiks; marathon dance craze; other leisure activities; changing role of women
The Automobile – the Tin Lizzie; the cars affect on the roads, economy, and society
The Airplane – Charles A. Lindbergh; Amelia Earhart; barnstorming
Organized Crime – Al Capone; bootleggers; St. Valentine’s Day massacre; reasons organized crime grew!
!
Focus - The social, political and/or economic impact of Society and Fads on America in the 1920s and beyond.
How did Society and Fads influence, change, impact, affect, etc… America?!
!
Information/Facts
Prohibition -
Fads -
Social
Political
Economic
Information/Facts
The Automobile -
The Airplane -
Organized Crime -
Social
Political
Economic
Name ______________________
Graphic Organizer
(Attach additional sheets when and if necessary.)
Civil Rights and Intolerance
“We return. We return from fighting. We return fighting.”
W.E.B. duBois
African Americans – the rebirth of the KKK; reasons for growing intolerance; Marcus Garvey; Tulsa Race Riot
Sacco and Vanzetti trial – background and result; Were they scapegoats for fear?; Nativists
The Scopes trial – background and result; the debate over evolution; it’s grip on the national attention
The Harlem Renaissance – the epicenter of culture; major figures; literature and art; Langston Hughes
Zora Neale Hurston; Claude McKay; James Van Der Zee
Fear of Foreigners –!Red Scare;!Palmer Raids; fear of communism, socialism, anarchism; Quota Laws ’21 & ‘24!
!
Focus - The social, political and/or economic impact of Civil Rights and Intolerance on America in the 1920s and
beyond. How did Civil Rights and Intolerance influence, change, impact, affect, etc… America?!
!
Information/Facts
African Americans -
Sacco and Vanzetti Trial -
Social
Political
Economic
Information/Facts
The Scopes Trial -
The Harlem Renaissance -
Fear of Foreigners -
Social
Political
Economic
Name ______________________
Graphic Organizer
(Attach additional sheets when and if necessary.)
Sports
“Well, I had a better year.”
Response when asked why he made more than the U.S. President.
Babe Ruth
Baseball – Babe Ruth; Lou Gehrig; Chicago Black Sox scandal; popularity of the game as a pastime;
Negro Baseball League – reason for the league; Satchel Paige and other major players; the league’s impact
Football – Red Grange; Knute Rockne; the birth of the NFL; college football
Boxing – Dempsey-Tunney Rematch; impact as a major sport and moneymaker
Golf, Tennis, Swimming – Bill Tilden, Bobby Jones and Gertrude Ederle
National Sports Heroes – Why did players of a game become heroes & role models?; Who? Male and female
Sports on the Radio – Baseball and boxing; the ability to reach fans far and wide
!
Focus - The social, political and/or economic impact of Sports on America in the 1920s and beyond. How did
Sports influence, change, impact, affect, etc… America?!
!
Information/Facts
Baseball -
Negro League Baseball -
Football -
Social
Political
Economic
Information/Facts
Boxing -
Golf, Tennis, Swimming -
National Sports Heroes -
Sports on the Radio -
Social
Political
Economic
Name ______________________
Graphic Organizer
(Attach additional sheets when and if necessary.)
Technology, Economics, and Business
“The chief business of the American people is business.”
Calvin Coolidge
Advertising – effects on America; mixes wants and needs; major ad campaigns; How did it transform radio?
Chain Stores – major examples; explain their growth in popularity; relate to consumerism
Consumerism – installment buying; the growing problems of credit; impact on U.S. economy; Credit Crisis
Business and Workers – Henry Ford; Laissez faire in the 1920s; income of workers; Margin Buying; The Crash
Inventions - labor saving devices and their impact on leisure time; major inventions from all areas
Teapot Dome Scandal – Loss of faith in president and politics; corrupting influence of business money!
!
Focus - The social, political and/or economic impact of Technology, Economics, and Business on America in the
1920s and beyond. How did Technology, Economics, and Business influence, change, impact, affect, etc… America?!
!
Information/Facts
Advertising -
Chain Stores -
Social
Political
Economic
Information/Facts
Consumerism -
Business and Workers -
Inventions -
Teapot Dome Scandal -
Social
Political
Economic