TEACHER’S GUIDE
• In the 1920s, Robert and Helen Lynd conducted a landmark sociological
study of Muncie, Indiana. Their findings were published in 1929 in
Middletown: A Study in American Culture. Distribute excerpts from the
Lynds’ study, along with historical photographs of Muncie, and have your
class describe what life was like in a typical American town in the
1920s. Students may then conduct research and develop a comprehensive portrait of their own city or region, offering details such as how
people earn a living, use their leisure time and participate in community
life. Students may compare their data to national trends to assess how
“typical” their community is. Historical photographs of Middletown
may be found at this Web site: www.bsu.edu/library/thelibraries/units/
archives/middletown.html
• Advertisers educated Americans about the great variety of new products
entering the marketplace in the 1920s, often tapping into people’s
unconscious fears, urges and desires. Ask students to listen to sample
radio ads from the time period and assess the marketing strategies
and persuasion techniques that were employed.As a follow-up, students
may compare 1920s advertising methods with current advertising
campaigns. Several radio ads from this era may be found at this Web site:
bss.sfsu.edu/tygiel/Hist427/427ads/427radioads.htm
• Congress passed laws in the 1920s that would severely limit the number
of immigrants entering the United States. Ask students to examine
primary sources, such as the Immigration Act of 1924, and discuss the
fears that contributed to the development of these laws. Students may
also develop charts and graphs that offer statistical analyses on the effects
of restrictive immigration laws.A wealth of information on immigration
issues of the 1920s may be found at this Web site:
www.history.ohio-state.edu/projects/clash/Imm_KKK/
antiimmigrationKKK-index.htm
• America enjoyed unprecedented prosperity in the Roaring Twenties,
sparked by technological advancements and productivity improvements.
Ask students to review a number of primary source documents that
demonstrate how the public and private sectors combined to spur this
tremendous industrial and commercial growth.This Library of Congress
Web site provides teachers and students with an excellent resource for
studying the rise of America’s mass consumer culture: memory.loc.gov/
ammem/coolhtml/coolhome.html
Suggested Internet Resources
Periodically, Internet Resources are updated on our Web site at
www.LibraryVideo.com
• www.isop.ucla.edu/mgpp/default.htm
UCLA’s “Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association
Papers Project” provides teachers and students with excellent primary
source materials related to Garvey, including two rare recordings of his
speeches.
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TEACHER’S GUIDE
TEACHER’S GUIDE
• memory.loc.gov/ammem/vshtml/vshome.html
The Library of Congress’American Variety Stage:Vaudeville and Popular
Entertainment 1870-1920 offers links to playbills, sound recordings and
motion picture clips from this era.
• www.nypl.org/research/sc/scl/MULTIMED/multimed.html
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture presents selected
clips from the Louis Armstrong Jazz Oral History Project.
Suggested Print Resources
• Blackman, Cally. 20s and 30s: Flappers and Vamps. Gareth Stevens
Publications, Milwaukee,WI; 2000.
• Larson, Edward J. Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s
Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion. Basic Books, New York,
NY; 1998.
• Streissguth,Thomas. Roaring Twenties. Facts on File, New York, NY; 2001.
TM
THE ROARING TWENTIES
Grades 5–12
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Jeffrey W. Litzke, M.Ed.
Curriculum Specialist, Schlessinger Media
Rudolph Lea
Historian
COMPLETE LIST OF TITLES
• Three Worlds Meet (Origins–1620)
• The Era of Colonization (1585–1763)
• Slavery & Freedom
• The American Revolution
• A New Nation (1776–1815)
• Expansionism
• Democracy & Reform
• Causes of the Civil War
• The Civil War
• Reconstruction & Segregation (1865–1910)
• Industrialization & Urbanization
(1870–1910)
• Immigration & Cultural Change
• A Nation in Turmoil
Teacher’s Guides Included
and Available Online at:
• The Progressive Movement
• U.S. & The World (1865–1917)
• The Great War
• The Roaring Twenties
• The Great Depression
& The New Deal
• World War II
• Post-War U.S.A.
• The Cold War
• Civil Rights
• The Vietnam War
• The Middle East
• U.S. Politics (1960–1980)
• U.S. Politics (1980–2000)
800-843-3620
Teacher’s Guide Copyright 2003 by Schlessinger Media,
a division of Library Video Company
D6777
P.O. Box 580,Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620
V7017
Program Copyright 1996, 2003 by Schlessinger Media
Executive Producer:Andrew Schlessinger
Original production produced and directed by Invision Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved.
T
his guide is a supplement designed for teachers
to use when presenting programs in the United
States History series.
Before Viewing: Give students an introduction
to the topic by relaying aspects of the program
summary to them. Select pre-viewing discussion
questions and vocabulary to provide a focus for
students when they view the program.
After Viewing: Review the program and vocabulary, and use the follow-up activities to inspire
continued discussion. Encourage students to
research the topic further with the Internet and
print resources provided.
This program correlates to the following
Prentice Hall textbooks:
The American Nation: Chapter 25
America: Pathways to the Present: Chapter 11
Program Summary
Americans turned away from international affairs in the aftermath of World
War I, an attitude reflected in newly elected President Warren G. Harding’s call
for a return to “normalcy.”The country’s focus shifted instead to the material
benefits associated with America’s unprecedented postwar prosperity. Spurred
by new inventions and technological innovations, the United States’ economy
was in the midst of a third industrial revolution. The automobile became
a dominant feature of America’s new consumer culture and created a more
mobile society, and consumer goods such as electrical appliances caused fundamental changes in daily life.
Along with the consumer revolution came dramatic cultural changes,
especially for women.With the ratification of the 19th Amendment, women
experienced increased participation in public affairs, improved educational
and employment opportunities and enjoyment of the many glamorous aspects
of the Roaring Twenties.
The motion picture industry was born and quickly assumed a pivotal role in
American culture. Americans were also entertained by jazz music, just one
aspect of the emergence of a distinctively African-American culture, known
as the Harlem Renaissance. Heroes from the “Golden Age of Sports” led by
Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey excited many, and Charles Lindbergh thrilled
the world with his daring flight.
However, old social tensions flared up during this period of rapid cultural
change. Temperance advocates had succeeded in making Prohibition the
law of the land, but enforcement proved very difficult.The Ku Klux Klan
experienced a strong revival, expressing hatred towards those they regarded
as un-American, and nativist groups rejected many elements of the new
culture that they believed were destroying American values.
The excitement generated by the economic prosperity of the time tended
to overshadow underlying weaknesses such as high speculation in stocks,
cutbacks in industrial production and the increasing gap between rich and
poor.The causes for an abrupt end to the economic optimism of the Roaring
Twenties were in place.
Time Line
1913 — Henry Ford sets up the first moving assembly line.
1913 — John Watson publishes Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It.
1914 — Marcus Garvey founds the Universal Negro Improvement Association.
1919 — The 18th Amendment, prohibiting the sale of alcohol, is ratified.
1920 — Women gain the right to vote with ratification of the 19th
Amendment.
1920s — For the first time, more Americans live in cities than in the countryside.
(Continued)
2
1924 — The Immigration Act establishes the first national origins quota
system.
1925 — The Scopes trial is held in Tennessee.
1927 — Duke Ellington brings his band to the Cotton Club in Harlem.
1927 — The Jazz Singer, the first “talkie” movie, is released.
1927 — Charles Lindbergh is first to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
1929 — The stock market crash signals the end of the Roaring Twenties.
Vocabulary
Progressivism — An American reform movement within both major
political parties, from about 1890 to World War I, that pressed for legislation
to reform many aspects of America’s urban and industrial systems.
“The Jazz Age” and “The Roaring Twenties” — Terms used by historians
to characterize the decade of the 1920s.
Third Industrial Revolution — The shift in the 1920s towards relying on
electricity for power and utilizing the assembly line for the mass production
of consumer goods.
Model T — A reliable, affordable car that was designed, manufactured and
sold by Henry Ford. It became one of the most popular American-made cars
in history.
mass consumer culture — The desire of producers to sell, and of
consumers to buy, the many new products developed in the 1920s, such as
electrical appliances.
19th Amendment — The Constitutional amendment that gave women the
right to vote.
speakeasies — Places where alcoholic drinks were sold illegally during the
time of Prohibition.
flappers — Young women of the 1920s who sought to liberate themselves
from old social rules and customs and to enjoy life fully and on a basis equal
with men.
snake oil salesmen — A term used to describe dishonest salesmen in
traveling medical shows or in country fairs, who sold bottles filled with
worthless mixtures as medicinal cures.
Universal Negro Improvement Association — A large African-American
organization founded by Marcus Garvey to promote racial pride, economic
self-sufficiency, and the formation of an independent nation in Africa.
Harlem Renaissance — An outpouring of literary and musical creativity
by African Americans in the 1920s, centered in New York City.
The Cotton Club — A popular nightclub in Harlem where white patrons
came to enjoy entertainment by African-American performers, including
Duke Ellington.
blues — A form of melancholy music originated by African Americans in the
South.
(Continued)
3
Prohibition — A time in American history, following the passage of the
18th Amendment, when it was illegal to produce, transport or consume
alcoholic beverages.
Ku Klux Klan — A secret terror organization dedicated to white
supremacy, first organized in the South after the Civil War.
nativism — A postwar phenomenon characterized by Americans’ distrust
of foreigners and foreign influence.
“Golden Age of Sports” — A time in the 1920s when sports became
tremendously popular and top athletes like Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Bill
Tilden, and Red Grange became sports heroes.
Scopes trial — A controversial trial in which John Scopes, a high school
teacher, was convicted of breaking a Tennessee law outlawing the teaching
of evolution.
The Gospel of Business — During the boom of the 1920s, the strong
belief in American corporations and prosperity, best expressed by President
Coolidge, that “The chief business of the American people is business.”
Pre-viewing Discussion
• After World War I, many Americans bought automobiles and other
merchandise using the “buy now; pay later” approach. Ask students to
consider the pros and cons associated with this type of financing.
• By the 1920s, going to the movies became an extremely popular
American pastime. Ask students to consider the historic and modern
impact of movies and movie stars on American culture.
• Electricity and new electrical appliances were introduced in the 1920s.
How would life be different without these technological advancements?
Follow-up Discussion
• Prohibition was repealed on December 5, 1933.Ask students to speculate about why this ban on alcohol failed. Do students think the failure
of this effort means that all laws like it would fail? Why? Why not?
• Ask students to interpret and evaluate President Coolidge’s statement,
“The chief business of the American people is business.”
• Describe the underlying problems of the American economy in the
1920s. Consider the effect these weaknesses had on the future.
Follow-up Activities
• Many people were disillusioned with traditional American values and
culture in the aftermath of World War I. Read with your class poems,
essays and excerpts from novels of writers such as Langston Hughes,
Zora Neale Hurston, Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway.Ask students
to describe what these Harlem Renaissance and “Lost Generation” writers
thought about American society, and to assess the impact of their works.
(Continued)
4