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New Music - Jazz
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The Jazz Age
Jazz music, a largely improvisational style of music that comes from African folk music with a bit of European influence, originated in New Orleans as early as 1910. BY the 20's, Jazz was everywhere and everyone was listening to it. Until the Great Depression, Jazz could be heard in every city in America. -
Harlem Renaissance
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Harlem Renaissance
Although at its strongest during the 1920's, the Harlem Renaissance, or flourishing of African American culture, spanned from about 1915 to the mid 1930's. During this time, many African American poets, artists, and musicians came out of the area of New York known as Harlem, the place after which the Harlem Renaissance was named. -
18th amendment (prohibition)
The 18th amendment to the US Constitution, originally ratified in 1919 but not put in effect until early 1920, essentially put a ban on alcohol throughout the country. Although owning or drinking it was not illegal, the production and sale of alcohol were prohibited. Not many approved of this though, so people began selling alcohol illegally by the barrel and made tons of money. -
Women get the vote
After many long years of pursuing more equal rights in America, women finally achieved the right to vote on August 1, 1920. Although still a long way from true equality, women had won a huge battle that could not be taken from them. -
First radio broadcast (KDKA)
Radios had been around since about 1906, but they weren't incredibly popular and so Westinghouse, a leading radio manufacturer, devised a plan to commercially broadcast on the radios to make it more appealing. The first broadcast shared the results of the 1920 election and quickly radios showed up in just about every home in America. -
Model T costs $290.00
Henry Ford revolutionized manufacturing forever with his assembly line, which allowed him to make products faster and cheaper than ever before. That was never clearer than when he was able to manufacture his model T automobiles and sell them for just $290. -
Scopes Monkey Trial
The Scopes Monkey Trial was an American legal case in 1925 in which a substitute high school teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which had made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school. -
Lindbergh's flight to paris
After he left military service following the end of world war one, Charles Lindbergh became a member of the US air mail service. Lindbergh had bigger dreams, though. He wanted to be the first man to fly nonstop from New York to Paris and claim the $25,000 prize. He did just that on May 20th, 1927, and he quickly became a national hero. -
Babe Ruth hits 60 home runs
With the popularity of radio skyrocketing, sports such as baseball became easier to follow and people began to follow famous players closely. One of the most famous was Babe Ruth, who, despite partying almost every night, always seemed to play incredibly. He even smashed the record for home runs in a season with 60 of his own and was immortalized in the record books. -
St. Valentines Day Massacre (1929)
during the 1920's, gangs and crime syndicates ran rampant throughout America. One of the most famous gangsters of the time was Al Capone in Chicago. In an effort to claim all of Chicago for his gang, Capone had his henchmen slaughter seven of his rival's men without any warning.
