1. The 1920’s Culture

2. JAZZ
• Who were the first Jazz Musicians?
– African Americans
• Where was Jazz born?
– New Orleans
• When did Jazz appear nationwide?
– The early 1920s
• Why did Jazz spread past New Orleans?
– Violence and racism resurfaced in New
Orleans and Jazz musicians fled to cities like
Chicago, New York, and Kansas City

3. JAZZ
"The true spirit of jazz is a joyous
revolt from convention, custom,
authority, boredom, even sorrow--
from everything that would confine
the soul of man and hinder its riding
free on the air." ~ J.A. Rogers, "Jazz
at Home," The Survey Graphic, 1925

4. 1920s Jazz Musicians
Bix Beiderbecke Duke Ellington

5. 1920s Jazz Musicians
Jelly Roll Morton Earl Hines

6. 1920s Jazz Musicians
Kid Ory Louis Armstrong

7. 1920s Jazz Musicians
Joe “King” Oliver Paul Whiteman

8. The Charleston
• The Social dance - popular in the mid-1920s.
• Thought to have come from Cape Verdes Isles
in Africa

9. 1920s Fashion

10. 1920s Fashion

11. 1920s Fashion – The Men
• Stemmed from sports or gangsters
• Wanted to appear “dapper.”
• Baggy pants, polished shoes, and a handkerchief
in the pocket
• The baggy zoot suit worn for fancy occasions

12. Flappers
• F. Scott Fitzgerald said
"lovely, expensive, and
about nineteen.“
• Rebelling from societal
norms
• Short Sleek hair, short
shapeless dresses, lots of
makeup
• Frequenters of nightclubs

13. 1920s Fashion – The Flapper

14. Flappers
The Playful flapper here we see,
The fairest of the fair.
She's not what Grandma used to be, --
You might say, au contraire.
Her girlish ways may make a stir,
Her manners cause a scene,
But there is no more harm in her
Than in a submarine.
She nightly knocks for many a goal
The usual dancing men.
Her speed is great, but her control
Is something else again.
All spotlights focus on her pranks.
All tongues her prowess herald.
For which she well may render thanks
To God and Scott Fitzgerald.
Her golden rule is plain enough -
Just get them young and treat them
rough.

15. Prohibition
• 18th Amendment outlawed the
transporting, selling, manufacturing of
Alcohol.
• Widely ignored
• Lead to Organize Crime

16. The 1920s Night Club
“Speakeasies”
• Offered an intense experience
• Entertainment tended toward adult fare
• “Alcohol" was central to the experience.
• The Night Clubs also had their dark side.

17. Two Cultural Movements
1. The Harlem Renaissance
- Rebirth of African-American culture
- Literature, art, music, dance
- Took place primarily in Harlem
• Factors in the development of the Harlem Renaissance
were:
1. African-American urban migration
2. Trends toward experimentation throughout the country
3. The rise of radical African-American intellectuals.
• Never before had so many Americans embraced the
African-American culture.

18. The Harlem Renaissance

19. The Harlem Renaissance
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
by Langston Hughes

20. Two Cultural Movements
2. The Lost Generation
1. Rejection of American
Materialism
2. Looking for the Meaning
of Life, after quick
change from war.
3. Intellectuals, poets,
artists and writers

21. The Lost Generation
"The Hollow Men"
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rat's feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
by T.S. Eliot

22. Motion Pictures
• New Pastime: THE MOVIES!
• Silent movies became "talkies"
when sound was finally added.
• Charlie Chaplin most famous
silent actor

23. Motion Pictures
•The best movies of the decade were "Treasure Island" and
"Ben Hur” and “The Jazz Singer.”

24. Baseball
• The New American
Pastime
• Radio Broadcasts,
Stadiums, and Sports
Sections in Newspapers
• Celebrities like Babe Ruth
• A Spectator Sport for the
Working Class: Myth vs.
Reality

25. Slang Words
All wet
Applesauce
what you say when you are angry
"Oh, applesauce!"
describes a wrong idea or person
He's all wet.

26. Slang Words
The Big Cheese
The Cat’s Meow
something splendid or wonderful
the best
the most important person
the boss
Cheaters eyeglasses
Jake
OK
Everything is Jake.

27. Slang Words
Dogs
Giggle Water Alcohol
Feet
Heebie Jeebies A Scary Nervous Feeling
Jalopy An Old Car
Moll A Gangster’s Girlfriend

28. Slang Words
Pushover
Scram Alcohol
Someone easily convinced
Swell Wonderful
Upchuck Vomit

29. Is the 1920s for you?
Would you want to live in the
1920s? Why or Why not?