1920
TIME
Urban v. Rural
Table of Contents Letters to The Editor………………………………………………………………………3-7 Briefing…………………………………………………………….…………………………….8 Politics Article……………………………………………….……………………………….10 World Article………………………………………………...……………………………....11 Society Article……………………………………………….………………………………..13 Economy Article…………………………………………..………………………………...14 Feature Article - Urban V Rural Life……………….…………………………….16-18 Entertainment Article………………………………….………………………………….20 Sports Article……………….…………………….……….………………………………….21 Celebrity Interview, “10 Questions”...........................................................23 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………...24
Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, I have some real beef with the rural folk. They have no place anymore, can these birds just get with the times? They don’t use any electrical devices, no washing or sewing machines, irons, toasters, mixers, vacuum cleaners or even refrigerators. they don’t know from nothing about urban life. We have great devices like the Ford Mobiles and the motion pictures. The rural people have to walk all over the place, they don’t even have a Model T! I’ ve gotten an earful from these folks telling me how farm life is “traditional”. I don’t understand how working all day on a farm for little pay year round is traditional. The rural communities are even worse. They’ re all so broke that they have to share housing and food! These people don’t understand that prices for crops have dropped since the war, people in europe don’t need food anymore. They seem to be content with making no dough, all because of tradition. Also, what do these people do for fun, use the radio? Last time I looked, we city people have motion pictures, joints, sports, breezers, jazz music, speakeasies, and casinos. These rural folk really need to beat it, and dry up. Get with the times people!
The 1920’s were very different depending on where you lived. If you were an urban citizen, life was excellent for you. You could go to movies, drink in bars, and hang out around the most popular parts of New York. But, being a rural citizen, life was more of a challenge. Food was sometimes hard to gather and farm supplies were getting more expensive everyday. Overall, life in America was scattered and unbalanced. This was the main time humans, especially women, got more freedom as the years went by. They were smoking and making some choices for themselves. So basically, they believed that they had the same rights as men. With this being present, not many rural women were affected by this change in society. Those rural women kept working on their husband’s farm and living everyday life. All in all, this was a life changing time for mostly every American.
Letters to the Editors Dear Editor, Knowing of the Scopes Monkey Trial, I am strongly on Scopes’ side. I aware of the other side of this preposterous argument, but don’t you think that we should give science a chance? Science is like the bees knees. We can’t even teach the children of the future basic science? That’s pure baloney. Anyways, I think we can find a way to counteract this mess. The American Civil Liberties Union will help other students learn Darwin’s theory of evolution. They’ll also cover the costs of teachers who are willing to join. I personally agree with this. Except, those darn Christians want to oppose us. Di Mi. Those Christians believe in that baloney Bible of theirs. They keep implying that God created the Earth, or something like that. Now thanks to them, merchants are more willing to put charges on our most beloved inspirationalist, John Scopes, for teaching the youngins the ways of the world. I just hope they don’t broadcast this little misconfusion. The last thing I hate about this stupid argument is the over-advertising of those darn Christians. I’m just walking around town, and all I see is signs saying, “Read Your Bible”, “Come to Jesus”, and “Prepare to meet thy maker. This is all a ridiculous matter and I hope those Christians learn a lesson.
In the early 1920’s farmers lobbied the federal government for assistance. During that time some farmers and trade unions came together to form the Farmer labor Party. They were hoping that by combining forces they could both gain political voice for their concerns. the party itself was short lived, although it’s farm labor program formed the basis of the Progressive party’s platform in the 1924 election. The so called “farm bloc” a loose political grouping in congress comparison both Democrats and Republicans from traditional farming, forming states also represented farm concerns at a federal level in the early twenties.In the year 1800, an estimated 5% of the American population lived in urban areas. By the year 1920, that figure jumped to 50%. It is commonly suggested that more people lived in urban areas than in rural areas throughout the 1920s. Also during this time, more white-collar jobs became available. Blue-collar jobs, like mining, farming and other forms of physical labor, were by no means rare in the 1920s, but they were increasingly being replaced by white-collar jobs in fields such as law enforcement, public service, private business and the like. The automobile played a crucial role in modernizing society during the 1920s. When the automobile was first invented, it was available only to the extremely wealthy. Henry Ford's affordable Model T helped change that. The Ford Model T and similar imitations opened up a whole new world of possibilities for the middle class. Because of the automobile, people were traveling farther and more frequently. The popularity of this modern machine also helped birth a host of industries, including gas stations, hotels and automobile repair, just to name a few. The automobile created an
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I am so very glad that the 19th amendment has been passed. Now my husband and husband's family won't be drunk and wasting money all of the time. My kids won't be surrounded by a whole bunch of drunk hooligans on the streets when they walk home from school. Life at home has been the bees knees. I heard that some people go to secret bars called speakeasies that produce their own alcohol and then they would get arrested. Some people even smuggle alcohol into america from canada. Alcohol is bad for people, it makes people behave foolishly and now that won't be a problem. Since the prohibition act made a lot of people rebel, people from all over the country have been getting arrested for attending the speakeasies. It made people want to rebel even more. I honestly think that alcohol isn't good for anyone. It's unhealthy and it can lead to death. Thanks to the prohibition act we have saved money that my husband used for drinks at the bar to travel in our affordable new car. Life is just swell. Sincerely, Anonymous
Briefing
By: Alexander Seemuth
Scopes Trial brings controversy!
Wages and Leisure time skyrocket!
The Scopes Trial has been stirring up fights between the religious and scientific communities. The Scopes Trial investigates a Tennessee teacher, John Scopes, and how he broke Tennessee’s law against teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. The trail has already sparked conflict between the people for and against Mr. Scopes. Many city folk have put up signs, spreading their opinions.
It seems as if you are getting more for less! With the new ways of creating products with mass production and assembly lines, workers are given higher pay than ever before!
Ford Automobile assembly line.
T.T. Martin’s AEL Gathering. Because of the trail, T.T. Martin has created the Anti-Evolution League. A group centered around sharing creationist messages against Mr. Scopes, his supporters, and evolutionists alike.
Workers now have more dough to spend on leisurely activities, such as listening to the radio, watching sports, cooking, cleaning, watching a motion picture, listening to some Jazz music, or going to a speakeasy. It seems as if the 20’s couldn’t get any better!
Politics - Quincy
World - Michael
At 10:58 a.m. on April 7, 1926, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini was heading back to his car after having just given a speech in Rome to the International Congress of Surgeons when a bullet nearly ended his life. Irish aristocrat Violet Gibson shot at Mussolini, but because he turned his head at the last moment, the bullet went through Mussolini's nose instead of his head. Gibson was caught immediately but never explained why she wanted to assassinate Mussolini.
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By Megan Kuennen
Societies Tensions
Society has recently formed more problems for itself. The Ku Klux Klan is growing drastically by the day. Edward Clark recreated the KKK in 1915 and it has changed dramatically. It already has about 4 million members and more to come. Starting in Tennessee to all over America. The burning of the cross is the KKK's new symbol of destruction. They use the burning of the cross for night time, parades, marchings. The Ku Klux Klan's main targets are African Americans, Jews, Christians, and immigrants. The clan claims that they are showing americanism by brutally torturing the lives of innocent individuals. They would usually tar, feather, lynch, or whip their victims. In most cases the torturings are brutal that they lead to death. As the KKK spreads throughout America they are finding new more targets and this time they are gaining political power. The U.S. government is the clan's next target and they are unable to control this terrifying group. The KKK has threatened anyone that tries to stop them. Hopefully their behavior will come to an end soon.
Meanwhile, society is going on a labor strike. They strive for more reasonable pay and work hours in which they deserve. Not to mention the way they are treated during work. The strikes have been taking place all over America, but shipyards, city police, coal mines and factories are the main ones. The workers march the streets of America looking for resolution. Alvin S. Johnson an American economist estimated that about 9 million workers went on strike. While the large group of workers are on strike instead of working, the employers of the workers demand the government to stop the labor strikes. The U.S. government hasn't put an end to it yet. Lets hope that everything turns out in a fair manner and that it doesn't end up in a riot.
The Economy during the 1920’s Dear Editor, The Economy was very good in the presence of wages. The average worker could spend more money now thanks to wages. Most standard living supplies were more accessible and easier to obtain. Practically every American home had the basic supplies to live. Mass production was very effective because it made more goods and took less time to make so more families could live easier lives. A reason mass production was so effective was because of the assembly line, mostly used by Henry Ford. Another good use of the growth of the economy would be consumer credit. American households can now afford to buy expensive items, such as cars and furniture. Financing was a way for families to have all the comforts they wanted right away, which increased the growth of the economy. 65% of all cars in the United States were purchased on credit. They did this because Americans didn’t believe the economy would ever slow down, so they thought they could buy whatever they wanted and not worry about it. Advertising also increased the economy by having more people buy their products. Calvin Coolidge, the president at this time, was nicknamed “Silent Cal” because he was very quiet when it came to conversation. His overall image was thrifty and frugality. When he was a child, he was a Vermont farmer. His image showed the mood of the country of growing consumer spending. He wanted to see the same thrift in the government spending that he advocated in his personal lifestyle. So what he did was payed off the national debt and eliminated waste. He also didn’t like the government regulating businesses because it helped bigger corporations grow. What he wanted was to help smaller corporations grow so the economy would be even.
The 1920’s economically could be summed up in two words: rapid growth. Mass production in the U. S. grew over 60%. Wages for American workers grew 26% in 10 years. That’s huge! But, unemployed Americans grew 2%. They still need to work on this issue of unemployment. In many areas of the country, more jobs existed than workers did during this time. The industrial mass production rose from unemployed to a vast quantity of many items. Production in items were also a big part of these 1920’s. Henry Ford, with the help of Taylor, made his first factory with very trained workers. His new technique was groundbreaking, and way beyond Taylor’s dreams would ever go. Mass production and Ford’s assembly line improved the quantity of cars, which made the economy grow. A downside to this new improvement to the economy was the pollution in the air and all the materials needed to create the cars. By 1920, a Model T was on the road every minute. By 1925, a Model T was on the road in 10 seconds. One of the last main things that made the economy grow was credit. Credit motivated almost every American to take financial risks and get the luxury they wanted. Credit also let Americans to buy more expensive items that will make their lives and children’s lives a lot better and easier. Before the 1920’s, Americans would save their money for one or two good items, but now you could get almost anything anywhere. Finally, advertising helped out stores by having more citizens come to the shop. They could be anywhere or anything, and could say anything to help out there store. The economy overall has done really nice things, but there are slight side effects to the luxurious life.
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Urban and Rural life during the 1920’s The roaring 20s are filled with glamour, new technology, flappers, speakeasies, and an assortment of social differences. People have more freedom to be creative and invent new things and ideas such as the harlem renaissance and the ku klux klan as well. People in the urban parts of America are modernists. They had more advantages than the traditionalists that lived in the rural parts of America.
From the 1900’s to the 1920’s, the percentage of farmers dropped from 38% to 27%. This lead to food shortages not only in America, but also during World War I. It also lead to struggles with American alliances. In 1929, the drop of goods lead to a stock market crash. This lead to the crash of rural banks. Bank failures were two times more common, and many rural citizens were in debt.
In the early 1920s, farmers lobbied the federal government for assistance. During that time, some farmers and trade unions came together to form the Farmer Labor Party. They were hoping that by combining forces they could both gain political voice for their concerns. The party itself was short lived, although it’s farm labor program formed the basis of the Progressive party’s platform in the 1924 election.
Life in the South was mainly rural and they were mostly black laborers. They were the most disadvantaged rural dwellers of all other citizens. The black laborers were mostly propertyless sharecroppers. But, they were working for white landowners, not the same as slavery. The laborers were caught in a cycle of debt, which was bad for mostly every store buyer in the area.
Rural life for Americans was difficult because there was a lack of food and supplies to support their own families. But for farming, it gave many Americans and immigrants who never had owned their own property before a chance to succeed in life. Rural life was marked by poverty and hardship, which made it difficult to live. Rural farmers had fertile soil and could feed their families with ease. But subsistence farmers didn’t have a lot of fertile soil and it was more of a challenge to feed their own families, as well as most of America.
Urban life was a growth of cities. the new ideas made things easier to such as a washing machine it made it easier to wash your clothes instead of hand washing one piece of clothing at a time. The cities grow constantly from one million in 1880 to about nine million in 1950. The new ideas made resources easier to get from place to place. factories made tons of packaged foods and products then shipped them to shops and stores but the new ideas was not always a good thing the factories used chemicals to make products taste good and last longer so people would get sick from these chemicals. The new machines caused people to become more lazy. The factories poured out tons of smoke out into the fresh clean air and poisoned the cities lungs, but the urban life made the world change a whole lot into what it is today.
There is no doubt that the modernist’s view is where the money is. Rural life brings back a more traditional time, but life on the farm is a lot of work with little pay. The modernist view is a progressive one. With new ways of living coming from urban dwellers, traditionalist New York City’s Apollo Theater in the mid-1920’s. views seem out of touch, and behind the times. Machinery has been have far more leisure time. Urban cities have many different forms of entertainment including introduced into factories radio, motion pictures, music, casinos, and and wages have been speakeasies. Motion pictures are particularly increased by over 30% popular among modernists, spending $40 million in cities, While farm dollars a year on movies. Many modernists also living pays little, enjoy going to speakeasies, illegal joints (bars) averaging about $1000 used to drink alcohol during the time of the prohibition. These speakeasies require a password per year, with most of to enter. Usually, customers will hide alcohol with that work being done by them, typically in there bootleg or hidden in their hand. After the war jackets or coats. ended, an Traditionalists enjoy the radio, introduced in overproduction of food the early 1900’s, the radio has created a way for arose. people to have an affordable way to listen to broadcasts, emergencies, and By 1929 ten million Factory and city houses had radios, there were 800 stations, and sales reached 426 million dollars. work is far less The Rural and Urban cultural war may never exhausting with with the end. With many choosing the city life, the rural benefit of higher pay, folk seem to be falling behind, doing more work The average American for less pay. earns about $1500 a year. Americans also
Rural Life The previous generation of workers earn their wages, as well as live, on the farm. They is no electricity in rural towns, as well as no indoor plumbing, refrigerators, or other modern inventions enjoyed by city dwellers. The gangland crime, flapper fashions, dance marathons, and Jazz glamour are far away from the sunrise to sunset labor of farmers.
Minnesota Farm in the early 1920’s.
created an overproduction of food, lowering the price of crops significantly. This created an ongoing depression during a time when most farmers had spent there money earned off the war on more land and tools. Between 1920 and 1932, one in four farms were sold to meet financial obligations, many farmers migrated to urban areas as a result.
During the war, farming prices had gone up by a mile, since crops were needed to send to Europe. After the war however, Europe had started growing its own crops once again. This shift
Automobiles are expensive for farm workers, Averaging about $780. A mid-1920’s farm is shown above with a Model T at the doorway.
Urban life gives its dwellers a higher wage for less work with more time for leisure. Since the war, the price of crops will never fully recover. 1 in 4 farmers sell their farms and move to the city. Traditional life is in the decline due to these problems and has caused depression and problems for traditional living. Urban cities have far more industries and career choices, including factory work, nurses, bookkeepers, cashiers, store clerks, teachers, librarians, dietitians in hospitals, administrators of schools and orphanages, teachers and religious workers, military troops, models, doctors, lawyers, accountants, farmers, grocers, and real estate agents. Urban cities have more pay and better technology. Rural life seems to be falling behind.
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Entertainment Today by: Alexander Seemuth
Urban cities have many different forms of entertainment including radio, motion pictures, music, casinos, and speakeasies. Motion pictures are particularly popular among modernists, spending $40 million dollars a year on movies. Many modernists also enjoy going to speakeasies, illegal joints (bars) used to drink alcohol during the time of the prohibition. These speakeasies require a password to enter. Usually, customers will hide alcohol with them, typically in there bootleg or hidden in their jackets or coats. Traditionalists enjoy the radio, introduced in the early 1900’s, the radio has created a way for people to have an affordable way to listen to broadcasts, emergencies, and By 1929 ten million houses had radios, there were 800 stations, and sales reached 426 million dollars. This decade has marked huge advances in the music industry. The phonograph record became the primary method of disseminating music, surpassing sales of sheet music and piano rolls. Jazz music, which had originated in New Orleans in the early 1900s, began to spread throughout the country by the late ‘teens. As more employment opportunities opened up in the North, especially in Chicago and the Midwest, both black and white musicians from New Orleans moved to Chicago. Prohibition and the advent of the “speakeasy” created many opportunities for musicians in small cabarets, dance halls and ballrooms. The latest music craze of Jazz has taken the nation by storm. Developed in New Orleans within the African American Community, Jazz is a mixture of European and African Styles.
A Speakeasy in the late 1920’s.
Louis Armstrong in the mid-1920’s Louis Armstrong highly influenced the Jazz age which was booming in the 1920’s. Leaving this era to be known as the “Roaring 20’ s” Louis was born in Louisiana, the heart of jazz. Later he was well as many other African Americans migrated to cities in the north. The Harlem Renaissance is an example of desegregation in informal ways before it occurred politically. This gave African American Musicians more respect as a race and recognized them for their talents and culture. The great migration, a migration of African Americans from the south to the north in the early 1900’s to escape segregation, is what started the event known today as the Harlem Renaissance. Harlem is one of the many cities that became extremely populated with African Americans. The development that transpired in Harlem spread to the other cities which also had a variety of nightclubs where Jazz music has since become the most popular form of music today. What will the future hold for entertainment in our era? The 20’s seem to be a prime time for culture and leisure activities. Will other cultures or ethnic groups bring fun and entertainment to the scene? All we can say is that the 20’s are the bee’s knees.
Sports Sports was a big hit in 1920. one of the big superstars was George Herman but his nickname was Babe Ruth.in 1920 his first season was with the New York Yankees .That year he hit 54 homeruns more than all teams but one.But his first team was the Red Sox.The second big superstar was wililam Harrison Dempseyaka Jack Dempsey but he get call by so many nicknames like Kid Blackie or The Manassa Mauler.Jack Dempsey is a professional boxer.Jack Dempsey was the grateis boxer of 19th century. He was the boxing champion and he was greatest puncher. The globetrotters was a very ode basketball team.They played basketball like its joke.They made fun of the teams that played them and do funny tricks on their opponents.
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10 Questions for ‘The Babe’ (1) Q: Where were you born? A: I was born in Pigtown, Baltimore (2) Q: What was your dream job? A: Being part of the MLB (3) Q: When you born? A: February 6, 1895 (4) Q: Do you have any famous quotes for us? A: The only real game I think in the world is baseball. (5) Q: How is the baseball life ? A: It’s going good. I have it 714 home runs (6) Q: Were you or are you married? To whom? A:Claire Merritt Ruth (7) Q: What inspired you to play? A:I just love baseball in general (8) Q: Do you have any siblings? A:Yes I do, I have 7 other siblings (9) Q: what do you do when not playing baseball? A: spending time with my wife or hang out with friends. (10) Q: Any hobbies? A: No, not at the moment right now.
Babe Ruth posing for picture
Women of the 1920's. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web
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