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Post Office starts using air mail service
Before this point, mail was sent over land. But, After WWI, old military pilots used their old planes for crop-dusting, stunt flying, and flighrt instruction. Air mail was another use for these old planes, allowing for mail to travel faster. -
Ford develops assembly line
Henry T. Ford used an assembly line to speed up production and lower costs and prices. This allowed for a million cars to be produced in 1920 with a rate of one car a minute. This made each car cost $335. by the mid-1920s, one car came off the assembly line every ten seconds. -
Period: to
The Twenties
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League of Nations holds meeting to ratify Treaty of Versailles
The League of Nations holds its first meeting and ratifies the Treaty of Versailles, ending the hostility of World War I. U.S. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, however, opposed joining the League and wrote a speech that helped turn the public against joining. He felt that joining the League would oblige the U.S. to guarantee the other nations' freedoms. -
18th Amendment goes into effect
The 18th Amendment outlawed anything that has to do with alcohol. But, not everyone followed this law. There were clubs called speakeasies that sold illlegal liquor gained power. Organized crime also made itself known. Al Capone, Chicago's most ruthless crime boss, had a private army of about 700 criminals and controlled 10,000 of the cities speakeasies by the end of the decade. People also made their own liquor. This amendment was later repealed by the 21st Amendment. -
First commercial radio broadcast takes place
The first commercial radio broadcast took place at station KDKA in Pittsburgh, Soon, other radio stations followed suitand the number of families that owned radios jumped from 60,000 to 10 million by the end of the decade. -
Warren G. Harding's Inaugural Address
Warren G. Harding was urged by his wife to rise from a small- town news publisher, to U.S. senator from Ohio, to Republican presidential candidate. He appointed his friends to important government jobs, even though they were not all qualified. This led to several scandals and Harding died while on a speaking tour to try and clean up these scandals. -
Harlem Renaissance begins
Harlem, neighborhood on New York's west Side was the home of many writers, musicians, singers,and artists. Harlem was also the largest black urban community in the world. The Harlem Renaissance was called a renaissance because it symbolized the rebirth of hope for African Americans. Jazz found its way into nightclubs,making stars out of African-American preformers. -
Teapot Dome Scandal begins
Secretary of the Interior, Albert B. Fall, accepted bribes to lease land from an oil reserve in Elk Hills. He was sentenced to one year in prison and was fined for $100,000. this scandal was one of those that cuased Pres. Harding's death. -
Lincoln Memorial dedicated
The Lincoln Memorial is located on the opposite end of the National Mall from the Capitol building. It was built in 1914, though its construction was comissioned by Congress 50 years earlier. It was dedicated dedicated by President Harding in 1922. -
Vice President Coolidge is sworn in as President
Upon Pres. Harding's death, Vice Pres. Coolidge, who was asleep at his family's home in Plymouth Notch, Vermont he was woken by his father. A telegram had been recieved saying that Pres.Harding has died and that he needed to be swron in as president. His father, who was a justice of the peace, swore him in at 2:47 A.M. -
Coollidge wins presidency
Coolidge becsme President after Harding's death, no election required. He was Harding's successor and didn't get a full presidential term. In 1924, he won the presidency in his own right. He moved quickly to clean up the scandals that occured during the Harding administration. He also believed in laissez faire, or the statement that if a business was left unregulated by the government, it would act in a way that benefitted the nation. -
John Scopes trial
In the 1920s, a movement called fundamentalism rose to power. The followers of this movement called for and succeded in bringing about the banning of the teaching of evolution in public schools. In 1925, John Scopes, a biology teacher in Nashville Tennessee, broke this law to test if the law could be enforced. The jury found Scopes guilty and the controversy of the teaching of evolution still continues. -
Pan American Airways founded
Pan American Airways was the nation's first passenger airline. Commercial flight was inspired by transatlantic flights by Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. By the end of the 1920s, Pan American Airways connected cities in North and South America. -
Charles Lindbergh starts first transatlantic flight
Charles Lindbergh flew nontsop across the Atlantic in 33 1/2 hours in his planem The Spirit of St. Louis. He took off from Roosevelt Field, New York and landed in Paris, France, making him the first pilot to make the first transatlantic flight. -
First movie with sound produced
Before 1928, movies were silent. The production of The Jazz Singer in 1927 and Steamboat Willie in 1928 first introduced sound to movies. Shortly after, all movies were produced with sound. -
Kellog-Briand Pact formed
This pact was formed by Pres. Coolidge in 1928. This was his major peace effort. It was signed by 15 nations who pledged not to make war on each other, except for self-defense. -
Amelia Earhart flies over Atlantic Ocean
Amelia Earhart was often called "Lady Lindy" because she both physically resembled Charles Lindbergh and because she was similarly skilled at aviation. She became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Both this flight and the one by Charles Lindbergh the year before helped to promote commercial flying.
