The Roarin’ Twenties
December 1929 25¢
News on the monkey trial
How women gained the right to vote!
TABLE OF CONTENTS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
The Sheik promotes celebrities-Jaya B. The Curse of the Bambino-Brett S. Impact of Film-Alyssa C. What’s going down, up in Harlem-Allison C. 18th amendment- Brett S. Women Vote-Allison C. The Curse of the IsolationismAlyssa C. Bambino Scopes trial-Sam G. Forms of transportation-Marissa B. Unions and Strikes in the 1920’s- Brett S. Post-war economics-Marissa B. American Economy-Jaya B. Consumerism- Allison C. Credit/installment buying- Sam G. Henry Ford: Innovator-Jaya B. Advertising-Alyssa C.
The Sheik promotes celebrities George Melford's The Sheik was recently released in cities across America. Star Rudolph Valentino's first big film has women captivated. His fame mainly comes from the swooning of American ladies and not the film, however, talk of a sequel was heard. Although The Sheik is Valentino's main masterpiece, he has had a large impact on society. Many new celebrities have recently emerged due to movies, radios, etc. These media forms have made possible the quick spread of news. When people all over the country hear the same news, it becomes very popular, leading to what is known as popular culture. Celebrities have risen out of this, and now citizens everywhere admire the same people: celebrities. Rudolph Valentino is now a common heartthrob among women in the country.
Other new celebrities, such as Babe Ruth, have also caught on. The reason these people are so famous is that they are known everywhere by reason of mass-media. They are common “heroes� to American society. One type of celebrity, the movie star, is famous because they are glamorous, fantastical, and have no connection to their ordinary roots. Rudolph Valentino is an example. American women adore Valentino because of his good looks and charm. These figures have brought the United States together in a whole new way.
Movies have definitely influenced the American public. It is very common for Americans to go to movies. Movies gave Americans a false sense of reality. In a recent study, it showed some men preferred going to the movies instead of pubs. Studies also show the kids behavior, how they dress and etc. In just 1916, there were 21,000 movie theaters. Film has changed greatly in the last ten years. Talkies have come along. Movies were never silent though, orchestras or pianos would play at movie theaters. Jazz singer is the world’s first sound movie. Some talkie movies have two versions, a sound version and a silent version. Also color movies are starting to appear. The movie film is made tinted with color. Movies have also created new movie stars. Movie stars of silent movies have had some of their careers ruined because they don’t have stage experience or have really thick accents. Some people are really disturbed by the gangster movies of today. A Hays code got passed to make some of the movies less violent.
What’s going down, up in Harlem? Recently a new kind of music has been making its way up north from New Orleans. And has taken roots in Harlem. Its called jazz. This new music is solely American and is a mix of blues and ragtime. Jazz is everything classical wasn’t it is fast pace and seen as scandals to the older generations. And some of the best jazz is from right down in the heart of Harlem. Harlem has an abundance of dance clubs that play jazz all night. One Harlem’s best is the cotton club. There you can dance the night away listening to everyone from Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith, to Louie Armstrong to the king of swing himself Duke Ellington. The king of swing Edward Kennedy Ellington known as “Duke” was born April 29, 1899 in Washington D.C. As a young child duke was a promising piano player. By the time of his graduation duke had accepted a scholarship to the Pratt Institute of Fine Arts. After college he decided to peruse a career in music. After many years of failing duke Ellington finally made it big. Him and his band were the stars of Harlem's finest club The Cotton Club
Social News Dating patterns/young v. old As we all know dating patterns have changed dramatically. For example some people believe that in the old ways of dating are women were generally in control because the men had to go to their house to see them. While for most young people go out to a dance or movie and the man will pay for it. Can you believe that back in the olden days the church and communities established the dating rules and they would have chaperones on their dates?! Now a days we, the peers, decide the rules, now we have cars so we can add a bit more privacy and intimacy to our dates. Now no doubt that our way of dating is far better than the old ways, some people that use the olden days way of dating believe that we have “lost our way”. Our way is obviously better because you don’t want to marry your partner and find that he or she is IMPOSSIBLE TO LIVE WITH, we really get to know each other unlike the old way.
Henry Ford: Innovator Innovative businessman Henry Ford is becoming an important part of the American economy. He has helped enlarge the middle-class by making cars more affordable. He also invented the assembly line, which made possible the faster, cheaper production of goods. This has led to dropping prices in cars and other goods. The price of the Ford Model T decreased from $850-$550 in the first year of production, and has settled at $450 per car. Because cars are now cheaper to make, Ford Motor company has been able to pay their workers more; Wages have more than doubled to an astounding $5 per day. Due to this increase in pay, workers and their families now have more money to spend on entertainment, which is helping the economy soar. In addition, these highwages have created a new kind of job: the lowskill/high-wage job.
As a result of the decreasing prices, many more average citizens are now able to afford cars. In 1921, more than half of the cars in America were Model T’s. Henry Ford’s assembly line and idea of mass production have helped the economy immensely.
Women Vote Sound the alarm women finally have equal rights. The wait is over. As of July of 1920 Tennessee ratified the 19th amendment adding it to the constitution. This amendment allows all women the right to vote. Women had stated demanding the right to vote since 1848. In 1870 women tied to gain the right to vote through the 15th amendment, but it was given to African American men only. Women like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton created a large push for women’s suffrage. They created things the like the National Women Suffrage Association (NWSA) and books and pamphlets encouraging women’s rights. Starting in the 1915s Alice Paul and other members the NWSA started protest for women’s suffrage. Many went to jail for their actions. Finally in 1919 congress proposed the 19th amendment and by July of 1920 the amendment got the necessary votes to add it to the constitution. As an effect from this women have become very progressive. They have seats in the senate and now they have a say in the government.
Advertising before the roaring twenties was very dull. It was very weak and used to only inform the public. One person even said it was “like a salesman in print.” Not very convincing, one would say. Now that it is the twenties, Advertising has changed drastically. Before the great war, advertising was used for reforms but since the economic boom lately, the ads are for consumerism. Advertising now a days convinces the public that they need things. Not necessarily needs, but more of needed wants. This has changed from just announcing a new product like it used to be. Advertising is now using different methods to try to get a person to buy something. Advertisers are now using things such as psychology and celebrities to convince people. The thought is, if a movie star uses this product, you should too. If advertisers could convince someone of one product, it created brand loyalty. Then someone would trust the brand and buy a different product from the same brand. Now, Advertising is seen everywhere and the American public is now exposed to ads at a greater level. Just about every person has some access to radio. Advertisers pay to put their ads on the radio, that helps keep radio stations open. Since everyone has access to a radio of some type, they have access to advertisements Even big companies are using advertising greatly. Coca cola ads can be seen or heard just about anywhere. The motor industry is using big slogans to catch people’s attention. Henry Ford’s recently seen ad has changed from “everyone needs one,” to “everyone needs two.”
• UNIONS/ STRIKES IN THE U.S. DURING THE 1920’S • Strikes: • Strikes in the U.S. were a big thing during the 1920’s. Since World War One was over, the employment rates went down drastically due to not needing to mass-produce war supplies. Also, people thought America needed to return to “normalcy”, or how they were before the war. The reason why strikes were caused was because there was a dramatic change in labor unrest, which is why labor strikes increased. There were a lot of strikes all throughout the time period. Just to name a few, there was the strike by the U.S. steel corporation workers, The United Mine Workers strike, and the Boston Police strike. • Labor Unions: • Labor Unions decreased surprisingly during the 1920’s, no one really expected it to decrease. If anything, people thought it would increase rapidly. A Labor Union is defined as an association, organization, or combination of employees who band together to reach a goal such as better wages, better working conditions, and/or better working hours. In the 1920’s, employment rates were going up but the Labor Unions surprisingly weren’t.
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“The Curse of the Bambino” The great Bambino, also known as Babe Ruth or George Ruth, was at the heart of the great sports incline during the 1920’s. He created the Boston Red Socks, and then the New York Yankees, into a baseball powerhouse. He started off living in a poor neighborhood in Baltimore until his parents sent him to an all boy boarding school where he lived for twelve years and was introduced to the sport of baseball. Babe Ruth was shown baseball from his “father” from boarding school, Mathias. This was where he excelled and was finally noticed by the Red Sox manager, Jack Dunn. Before he could officially sign with the Red Sox, he had to have his official guardian sign the form for him. Since his parents could not do that, Jack Dunn became his legal guardian. It was because of this, his soon to be teammates started to call him “Dunn’s new Babe.” And the name stuck. As soon as Babe was brought up to the majors, he excelled. He played the position of a pitcher, and was one of the best in the league. He still owns the record for the most consecutive scoreless-innings in a game: thirteen. He was also a southpaw, left-handed. But, even as great as he was, the Red Sox had to trade him due to budget cuts. In the end, the Great Bambino was traded to the New York Yankees for $100,000, a huge amount of money at the time. The Red Sox had just made the mistake of a life time. After trading Babe, the Red Sox fell into was known as the Bambino’s Curse. They did not win a world series until the year of 2004. On the other side, however, the Yankees had made the deal of a lifetime. Babe Ruth became supposedly the greatest hitter in the history of baseball. He set the records for most home runs in a single season (60), slugging, overall careerbatting average (.396), and runs scored. He had become a baseball legend. Some people say that when the Yankees built their new stadium, it was dubbed as “the house that Ruth built.” In the end, George Herman Ruth Jr., aka Babe Ruth, became a baseball legend. Even today, people still admire him for his greatness.
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• THE 18TH AMENDMENT’S IMPACT ON SOCIETY •
The 18th amendment was all about drinking and selling alcohol. People were spending most of their income on beer and other alcohols and not on other necessities. Fathers and other men were abusing their families and were constantly drunk. All of these problems were said to be stopped with the ratification of the 18th amendment, or prohibition. But it wasn’t.
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The 18th amendment caused more problems than it fixed. There were gangs that sold illegal alcohol, people brewed their own beer, and the government spent money on worthless things such as policemen who were supposed to stop the selling and production of alcohol, but were easily bribed. All of these things were big contributions to the making of the 21st amendment, or the amendment that evened out the 18th amendment.
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It also created two social groups, the wets and the drys. The “wet” group thought that prohibition led to an increase of illegal activity and did not do what it was created to prevent. The “dry” group thought that prohibition was good for America and benefited America greatly because men and women were bringing their hard-earned money home instead of spending at saloons on alcohol.
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American Economy Throughout the 1920’s, the American economy has been soaring. There are several reasons that explain this. Taxes on imports and new advertisements on products have helped promote American goods, and economic innovations such as credit, installment buying and mass production have helped make these goods affordable to average citizens. Due to mass production and assembly lines, companies are able to pay their workers more, and that money goes back into the economy when the worker buy products or goes out to see a film and such; However, the basis of the economic boom is recent technological developments. In addition to the new innovations, rising income taxes have helped the economy prosper.
The results of this economic boom include that people can now obtains not only needs, but also wants. Things like electric vacuum cleaners and television sets are not necessities, but people definitely want them; and now that workers are being paid more and have more leisure time, these new products are an option. Furthermore, credit and installment buying have helped make these goods affordable.
Forms of Transportation In 1921, more than 10 million Americans owned automobiles, since they were now much more affordable to more than just high class citizens. This resulted in President Warren G. Harding spending $75 million on new roads. Roads had to be redesigned and rebuilt to accommodate the automobile, new road rules had to be introduced, standardized road signs erected, and methods of controlling traffic (like traffic lights) implemented in densely populated areas. Trains and ocean liners were the dominant mass-transportation methods. Trains opened up our continent, by being able to travel in between cities, states, and other sides of the country. But Ocean Liners opened up our world, by traveling to other countries, and across the world. Air travel, though still in its infancy, captured Americas imagination. Mainly used in peacetime for mail delivery, but started to be used for passengers as planes became larger and more reliable towards the end of the decade. In September of 1929, airship technology had advanced enough to the point that the first roundthe-world flight was completed by Grat Zepplin.
Political News The Scopes (Monkey) Trial John Scopes, a substitute teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, taught the theory of evolution in school there! He was swiftly arrested for it because of the Butler Law that has made the teaching of evolution illegal. So why did he do this; because the American Civil Liberties Union an organization devoted to individuals rights or the ACLU asked him to test the Butler Law which didn’t work in his favor. The defendant John Scopes had the top criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow which faced off against an antievolutionist William Jennings. The trial ended in William Jennings favor despite the fact the Clarence Darrow had tricked William Jennings, since he says that everything in the Bible should be taken literally, Clarence Darrow asked if William Jennings really believe that the Earth was created in seven days. William Jennings replied, that he didn’t think so relative to human days but rather to God’s time. But the judge dismissed this as not relative to the trial. So John Scopes was found guilty and fined one hundred dollars by the court but the fine was dropped after the Supreme Court ruled this unconstitutional because he had the freedom of religion.
Impact of New Communications Radio dominated the 20s., with roughly 3 million Americans owning radios by 1923. The appeal of spoken word attracted an audience and advertisers. Radio changed the way Americans received information and the way they are entertained. It was the first from of mass-communication. Families would often sit around their radios listening to drama, mystery and detective serials, soap operas, news programs and children's shows. Jazz Journalism was the period of journalism that followed yellow journalism, and lasted from approximately 1919–1924. Jazz journalism tended to cover subjects such as Hollywood, sex, violence, and money, with an emphasis on photography rather than writing. Jazz Journalism was dominate with the press. Often being preoccupied with entertainment instead of significant stories and news events. These stories often glorified celebrities and built up events such as murder trials into national sensations.
Consumerism Do you ever find yourself wanting more or wanting to buy things that may not be necessities? That’s okay today we live in a society of consumers. How did our society become this way. And increase in production and the invention of many revolutionary products made products easier to buy. But were do consumers find this money to buy these things? With the increase in wages people have more money to spend. Also the introduction of credit and installment buying make bigger things such as appliances easier to buy. Advertising has also contributed to consumerism. By convincing people they need these things. All these things and more have lead to us to becoming a county of consumers.
Post-War Economics/Unemployment As a result of America joining the war , industry production had boomed. In order to produce more material in a short amount of time, new technologies were developed to help new manufactures meet the needs of government and people. But as the war ended and soldiers returned home, industry slowed and there was less need for workers in factories. Many women stopped working, but even then there weren't enough jobs for the men who returned from Europe. This rise in unemployment lead to The Great Depression. Americas economy took a turn for the worse, in 1929 when the stock market crashed, 85,000 businesses failed, and unemployment shot up from 3.27% to 23.67%. Banks also were forced to close, since they loaned money to other businesses, but didn’t have enough money to honor the deposits.
After The Great War, the U.S. is now making moves towards isolationism. Basically, the U.S doesn’t want involvement in European or Asian conflicts or getting with international politics. Most of the American public feels like U.S. involvement does not justify all the American casualties from the Great War. Also, the Great Depression has been really bad for the economy. If the United States got into another war, the economy would be even worse. The U.S has some reasons they want to move towards isolationism. The U.S does not want to be in another devastating war. Europe seems to be very war prone and they can draw other people in, like the U.S. European wars also have nothing to do with American interests. There is also huge war debts so getting into another war would drive the U.S. into bigger debts. Things have already been done to move towards isolationism. The Quota Act in 1921 was limit immigration. Immigrants bring European and other foreign thinking and feelings of their countries to America and also don’t strive to be more American. They also aren’t need for the labor force because of new technologies, their cheap labor also brings American Citizens wages down. That is why it is important to control immigration. Also, to prevent foreign trade, taxes have been put on foreign products.
Economic News Credit/Install ment buying Credit and installment buying has had a great purpose in this economy so that anybody can buy a house or a car or even a little thing like a stoves. As we all know there are 2 kinds of “buy now, pay later”. These are Credit and Installment buying, credit is when a credit company buys the item and you pay a bit more for it over a certain amount of time. Then there’s Installment buying that is when the store lets you buy the item at a low down payment and has you pay for the rest of it over a certain amount of time. Now no doubt that is a great thing for almost everybody but some are saying that as soon as credit and installment buying was introduced that national debt soared up because people were buying things they couldn’t pay off over the certain amount of time. Though the charts don’t lie I believe that this is a good thing for Americans that can make the payments but the people who know that they can’t afford the item shouldn’t buy the item in the first place. That is what is increasing the national debt.
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