The 1920's and 1930's (Assignment 1-5)

Defining the Era

The 1920s and 1930s was a time of great change in American history, fashion, art, music, and other pop culture artifacts.  It was a time period in which our lives were becoming bigger and fuller.  Women were at work and college learning to become great inventors, artists, and professionals.  The Volstead Act too place in 1920 and prohibited the sale of drinks that contained more than one half ounce of alcohol.  The roaring ‘20s was a time of prohibition, speakeasies and bootleg whisky.  1921 is the year the 19^th amendment was passed allowing women to vote in national elections.  The stock market was the most active it had ever been during the 1920’s until the fall of ’29 when on Black Thursday the stock market crashed and sent the US into a panic causing the greatest period of recession in history known as the Great Depression.  The US and its people lived through this dark and hard period through most the 1930s before the economy recovered.  In the 1930’s the       Social Security Act of 1935 was set up to ensure income for the elderly.  These decades were the turning point for the American economy becoming regulated more and more by the federal government. 

People

The 1920s was the era of Harry Houdini, Henry Ford, and Al Capone.  It was the decade of the gangsters, intolerance, sawed off shotguns and crime.  Flappers could be seen in the clubs with the men It was a time of the mass production of automobiles which lowered the price to $290 for a car.  Charles Lindbergh finished the first transatlantic flight.  In the 1930’s Amelia Earhart followed the aviation style of Lindbergh and became the woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.  Jesse Owens became the star of the decade by winning four gold medals in Berlin at the Olympics.  Frank Lloyd Wright was a famous architect and developing turn of the century designs building higher and higher.  It was an era full of life and prosperity along with great hope for the future of the company turned bleak and full of despair and fighting to regain control of the economy and the American dream.

Movies and Radio

The 1920’s was big on silent films, and known most famously in the movie industry for starting the Oscars in 1927.  People in the 1930’s were big on film during the great depression, and movies such as “Gone with the Wind” and “The Grapes of Wrath” became huge films that are still popular.  Movie Stars were born such as Clark Gable, Bette Davis, and Gretta Garbo.  Disney developed and released their first animated movie “Snow White”.  People were fascinated with Bob Hope and the Marx Brothers.  Families would gather around their radios to listen to “Fireside Chats” of Franklin Roosevelt and delightfulness of Bing Crosby. 

Music

The 1920’s was the era of Jazz and the Grand Ole Opry which was first transmitted over the radio in the ‘20s.  It was the Charleston, Black Bottom, and the Shimmy dance moves at the clubs.  The 1930’s evolved into the big band era, and the ways of Duke Ellington, and a motto of “It don’t mean a thing, if you ain’t got that swing”.

Fun Facts

This is the era of the mass production of fashion as women were moving away from staying at home and more toward careers and dreams. 

A pack of cigarettes cost 10 cents in 1920

Board games most played were Mahjong, Ouija, and in the ‘30s, Monopoly was first released. 

Hats were a definition of social class and status

The Empire State Building and Chrysler building were completed in this time period. 

The Mount Rushmore memorial was completed in this era by Gutzon Borglum. 

These were two great centuries to explore and gain a wider understanding of pop culture.  This era is truly what started the American ideals of movie stars and role models that weren't necessarily intellectuals btu entertainers.