research questions about the 1920s

The Roaring 20s

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The 1920s (1920-1929)

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Becoming Modern: America in the 1920s

• Examines the 1920s in comparison to the preceding and succeeding decades, highlighting four characteristics that distinguish it.
• Discusses the benefits and limitations of taking a snapshot view of a historical period.
• Suggests research methods to test hypotheses about the decade.
• Delves into how modernity was defined in the 1920s, both on a national and personal level.
• Explores the aspects of modernity that were embraced, resisted, or overlooked during the decade
• Examines how social and political divisions of the time were reflected in debates about modernity.
• Explores how innovations of the “machine age” transformed American life in the 1920s.
• Examines the perspectives of both proponents and critics of these changes, including artists.
• Considers the long-term effects predicted from these innovations.
• Draws parallels between the 1920s discussions on technological innovation and social change and similar discussions in the 21st century.
• Explores the factors that contributed to or hindered the unprecedented prosperity of the 1920s.
• Discusses how “prosperity” became a source of national pride and was adapted to suit various political and psychological aspirations.
• Examines the role of workingmen and labor unions in the economic landscape and compares the economic cycles of the 1920s to those before and after the decade.
• Investigates the social divisions of the 1920s, examining the factors that led to these divisions and how they were influenced by postwar adjustments and the concept of the “modern age.”
• Identifies common issues that overlapped multiple social divisions and traces the evolution of these issues into the 1930s as the nation faced the Great Depression.

This educational resource provides a comprehensive exploration of the 1920s in America, highlighting key themes, questions, and historical contexts to better understand this pivotal decade in American history.

• John F. Kasson (NHC Fellow, 1980–81; 2009–10)
• Sean McCann (NHC Fellow, 2001–02)
• Karen Lucic (Professor of Art, Vassar College)

History / American History / The Twenties / Modernism / United States of America /

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Copyright notice

This article is from Tar Heel Junior Historian , published for the Tar Heel Junior Historian Association by the North Carolina Museum of History. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other uses directly to the museum editorial staff .

Is anything in this article factually incorrect? Please submit a comment.

Have a question or a suggestion about this entry contact ncpedia at https://www.ncpedia.org/contact, 1920s : a decade of change.

by Barrett A. Silverstein Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian . Spring 2004. Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum of History

Related Entry: How the Twenties Roared in North Carolina

Have you ever heard the phrase “the roaring twenties?” Also known as the Jazz Age , the decade of the 1920s featured economic prosperity and carefree living for many. The decade began with a roar and ended with a crash.

To paraphrase Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities , “It was the best of times, and sometimes it was the worst of times.”

The 1920s was a decade of change, when many Americans owned cars, radios, and telephones for the first time. The cars brought the need for good roads. The radio brought the world closer to home. The telephone connected families and friends. Prosperity was on the rise in cities and towns, and social change flavored the air. A substantial growth of industry occurred in North Carolina, especially in the areas of tobacco, textiles, and furniture. Some rural farmers were leaving their farms in order to receive a regular paycheck in the factories. Unions were on the rise. Women shortened, or “bobbed,” their hair, flappers danced and wore short fancy dresses, and men shaved off their beards.

In 1920 the average life span in the United States was about fifty-four years, whereas today it’s about seventy-seven years. In 1920 the average time a student spent in school each year was 75 days, and today it’s about 180 days.

In 1920 the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed, creating the era of Prohibition. The amendment forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcoholic beverages. Many people ignored the ban, however. In 1933 the amendment was abolished, and it became the only Constitutional amendment to be repealed.

The 1920s began with the last American troops returning from Europe after World War I . They were coming back to their families, friends, and jobs. Most of the soldiers had never been far from home before the war, and their experiences had changed their perspective of life around them. After seeing Europe, they wanted some of the finer things in life for themselves and their families. 

Two events in 1920 kicked off the era of change that Americans experienced. On August 18 the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote. And on November 2 the first commercially licensed radio broadcast was heard, from KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In North Carolina, women voted for better roads and better education for their children. And radio became a family experience. Everyone would gather around the radio and listen to the news, the comedy shows, and the music. The first North Carolina radio station, WBT, started broadcasting in Charlotte in 1922.

Musical styles were also changing in the 1920s. In 1922 Louis Armstrong started improvising and adding personal musical variations with his trumpet, playing in a style known as jazz . In 1925 the flappers found a new dance craze, called the Charleston. In 1927 The Jazz Singer became the first successful “talking picture.” Before that time, motion pictures had been silent. In 1928 Mickey Mouse first appeared in the cartoon Steamboat Willie , and in 1929 Popeye first appeared in the comic strip Thimble Theater.

Aviation represented another area in which things were changing quite rapidly, helped by advances and improvements in aircraft during World War I. Up to this time only a few daredevils and barnstormers had flown. In 1924 the United States Air Service circumnavigated the world in airplanes, just twenty-one years after Orville Wright flew the first powered plane for only forty yards here in North Carolina. On May 20–21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh flew solo from New York to Paris, and on June 17, 1928, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Before the decade was over, commercial passenger air travel had begun. 

In 1924 Congress passed a law that made all American Indians citizens of the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment had already given African Americans citizenship in 1866. Yet segregation , or separation of the races, continued to be practiced in North Carolina and in the South. Modern civil rights laws for minorities were still many years away. 

As mentioned in the beginning of this article, the decade also represented the worst of times. In 1921 a revival of the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) took place. The KKK was targeting Catholics, blacks, and Jews with its terrorism.

Here in North Carolina, Thomas W. Bickett was the governor until 1921. He was followed by Cameron Morrison , the “Good Roads governor,” whose efforts in transportation had a lasting impact on the state.

In the mid-1920s, citizens debated Charles Darwin’s controversial evolution theory, as did most people throughout the nation. The Scopes “monkey trial” in Tennessee gained national attention in 1925. 

That same year, Edna Ferber was living in Bath when she wrote her Pulitzer Prize­winning book, So Big . The following year, she wrote Show Boat , a story about people she met at the John Adams Floating Theater on the Pamlico River. Show Boat became the basis for the popular musical of the same name. North Carolina native Paul Green won a Pulitzer Prize in 1927 for his play In Abraham’s Bosom . And Asheville’s Thomas Wolfe published his book Look Homeward, Angel in 1929.

Toward the end of the decade in October 1929, the stock market crashed, and America’s invested wealth suddenly lost $26 billion in value. Prosperity had ended. The economic boom and the Jazz Age were over, and America began the period called the Great Depression . 

The 1920s represented an era of change and growth. The decade was one of learning and exploration. America had become a world power and was no longer considered just another former British colony. American culture, such as books, movies, and Broadway theater, was now being exported to the rest of the world. World War I had left Europe on the decline and America on the rise. The decade of the 1920s helped to establish America’s position in respect to the rest of the world, through its industry, its inventions, and its creativity.    

Barrett A. Silverstein, a retiree of IBM Corporation, volunteers for both the North Carolina Museum of History and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences . He is also a volunteer instructor for classes in popular music and radio at North Carolina State University ’s Encore Center.

Additional Resources:

WBT Charlotte in the Golden Age of Radio. ANCHOR. https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/wbt-charlotte-golden-age

UNC. The Evolution Controversy in North Carolina in the 1920's. http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/evolution/

Forsyth County Public Library. Winston-Salem in the Jazz Age. http://northcarolinaroom.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/winston-salem-in-the-j...

North Carolina Museum of History. A New Woman Emerges. http://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/collateral/articles/s04.new.woman.emerg...

The Roaring Twenties. ANCHOR.  https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/roaring-twenties

The Booming Twenties. ANCHOR.  https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/booming-twenties

The Flapper. ANCHOR.  https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/flapper

Video Credits:

October 19, 2009. "The 1920's Charleston." Located at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRveIIe4uAs . Accessed February 28, 2012.

October 29, 2007. "Crazy 1920's Inventions." Located at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAGAeTC9fIo . Accessed February 28, 2012.

1 January 2004 | Silverstein, Barrett A.

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Roaring Twenties

In the Roaring Twenties, a surging economy created an era of mass consumerism, as Jazz-Age flappers flouted Prohibition laws and the Harlem Renaissance redefined arts and culture.

The Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties were a Jazz Age burst of prosperity and freedom for flappers and others during the Prohibition era, until the economy crashed in 1929.

Women’s Independence Multiple factors—political, cultural and technological—led to the rise of the flappers. During World War I, women entered the workforce in large numbers, receiving higher wages that many working women were not inclined to give up during peacetime. In August 1920, women’s independence took another step forward with the passage of the 19th Amendment, […]

Teapot Dome Scandal

The Teapot Dome Scandal of the 1920s shocked Americans by revealing an unprecedented level of greed and corruption within the federal government.

Tulsa Race Massacre

Tulsa’s Black Wall Street In much of the country, the years following World War I saw a spike in racial tensions, including the resurgence of the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan, numerous lynchings and other acts of racially motivated violence, as well as efforts by African Americans to prevent such attacks on their […]

Warren Harding’s presidency was rocked by scandal, including one that didn’t come to light until after he left office.

Harlem Renaissance

As African Americans flocked to Northern cities in the 1920s, they created a new social and cultural landscape.

Prohibition Raid

Police raid a garage in Chicago that contained five hundred and thirty-seven barrels of alcoholic beverage, $30,000 worth of illegal drink.

18th and 21st Amendments

Did you know it wasn’t illegal to drink during Prohibition? Get the whole story behind the “noble experiment.”

The Multiple Scandals of President Warren G. Harding

Hush money to mistresses, secret payments for an out-of-wedlock child and far-reaching corruption tainted the 29th president’s legacy.

9 Entrepreneurs Who Helped Build Tulsa’s ‘Black Wall Street’

Before the Tulsa Race Massacre, the city’s African American district thrived as a community of business leaders and visionaries.

7 Writers of the Harlem Renaissance

These writers were part of the larger cultural movement centered in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood and offered complex portraits of Black life in America.

How Prohibition Put the ‘Organized’ in Organized Crime

Kingpins like Al Capone were able to rake in up to $100 million each year thanks to the overwhelming business opportunity of illegal booze.

This Day in History

Chanel No. 5 perfume launches

This Day in History Video: What Happened on February 14

This Day in History Video: What Happened on August 23

Charles lindbergh takes off across the atlantic in the spirit of st. louis, star of the silent-screen rudolph valentino dies, sacco and vanzetti executed.

US History: Resources by Decade: 1920s

1920s: resources from database u.s. history in context (gale).

• U.S. History in Context (Gale): 1920s This link contains a variety of content (e.g. an overview, academic journals, primary sources, images, references) on the 1920s.

Barnett, Thomas P. (American architect, 1870-1929), Role: painter. (Work: 1922, Era: CE, Image Date: 1989). Riches of the Mines, detail view. [mural paintings (visual works)].  https://library.artstor.org/public/SS7732236_7732236_12897144

Ebooks and Print Books: USA in 1920s

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100 years later, do we think Prohibition was good for the nation?

January 17, 1920, was an important day in American history. Why? Because on that day the grand social experiment called Prohibition was first enforced. The Volstead Act, the law that put enforcement teeth into the Eighteenth Amendment, banning intoxicating beverages, went into effect. The transformation of the nation from an alcoholic republic to a dry state created a surprising list of winners and losers.

Let’s start with the obvious people who lost out: drinkers, especially working-class immigrants. Temperance advocates worried about immigrant men who gathered—and drank—in saloons. “Alien illiterates rule our cities today; the saloon is their palace,” proclaimed prominent Prohibitionist Frances Willard. Of course many temperance advocates had a double standard; a drink for themselves with dinner was good manners, but booze for others (especially working-class people) was dangerous.

The increasing number of immigrants, and their bars, was a source of race- and class-based fear for many white middle- and upper-class people born in the United States.  By 1900, there were 300,000 saloons across the nation (one for every three hundred citizens), and they were heavily concentrated in urban areas. The neighborhood drinking establishment was where working-class men aired grievances, organized politically, and found jobs. The patrons, speaking their native languages (such as German, Croatian, and Italian, among others), worried Temperance advocates who feared the saloon customers were socialists or communists and perhaps fomenting political upheaval. To save America, the saloon must go.

While Prohibition may have killed saloon culture, it didn’t end the consumption of alcohol. Working-class men moved their drinking from saloons into their homes, private halls, “athletic clubs,” and illicit bars. Affluent Americans also continued to drink. Famed Chicago mob boss Al Capone was reported to have said “When I sell liquor, it is bootlegging. . . . When my patrons serve it on a silver tray on Lake Shore Drive, it is hospitality.”

One unexpected downside of Prohibition was its impact on the health of the nation. While alcohol consumption initially decreased after implementation of the Volstead Act, working-class consumers soon turned to alternative forms of alcohol, not all of which were safe. Patent medicine and over-the-counter goods with a high percentage of alcohol (even hair tonic) were consumed for off-label purposes. 

Tainted alcohol was an even bigger problem—especially for poor people. Alcohol is an important industrial chemical, and large quantities are produced for use as solvents in paint, antifreeze, and other non-potable substances. Industrial alcohol is not taxed like drinking alcohol and is denatured (purposely adulterated) to make it unattractive for human consumption. During Prohibition, denatured ethyl alcohol and deadly methyl alcohol found their way into the U.S. beverage stream. Many people got sick and some died from unregulated and tainted alcohol.

Retailers and producers of alcohol also lost out during Prohibition. Closing saloons was not only a blow for men who frequented the drinking establishments, but meant a significant loss of business in immigrant communities. Of all licensed saloons, 80% were owned by first-generation Americans.

Some beer producers turned to legal nonalcoholic beverages, but with only limited success. Others made ice cream, cheese, ceramics, and even homebrewing supplies . Vintners and distillers had different options. Since the United States has a large religious population, the Volstead Act allowed for the production and shipment of sacramental wine . Sales went up with Prohibition, essentially making some priests and rabbis bootleggers. A 1925 report by the Department of Research and Education of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ angrily reported that “there is no way of knowing what the legitimate consumption of fermented sacramental wine is, but it is clear that the legitimate demand does not increase 800,000 gallons in two years.”

Most distillers closed their operations during Prohibition, but another loophole in the Volstead Act allowed for the sale of medical whiskey. While medicinal whiskey had been sold by pharmacies for years, sales skyrocketed during Prohibition. Affluent customers could afford the three-dollar physician visit to get a prescription for legally purchasing their whiskey. In general, however, alcohol producers and retailers took a financial loss during Prohibition.

But, not all sellers of alcohol took a loss. The amount of money to be made in bootlegging was astronomical. Booze is big business. According to United States Attorney Emory Buckner, bootleg liquor sales in 1926 amounted to $3.6 billion. That was about the same as the U.S. federal budget at the time. Bootlegging was an opportunity for entrepreneurial criminals to become fast millionaires. But smuggling, transporting, and distributing large amounts of alcohol was complicated. Criminals organized national operations to manage and conduct their business. Where crime had once been local, the Volstead Act inadvertently promoted the development of organized crime. And competition between rival operations soon became violent.

Despite Prohibition, many Americans chose to flout the law and continue consuming alcohol at home or in illicit bars. Making matters worse, the poorly paid Prohibition officers hired to enforce the Volstead Act often found lucrative opportunities in criminal sales of alcohol. The resulting rise in government graft and corruption led to a lack of respect for authority that continued after Prohibition was repealed. 

Who were the winners during Prohibition? One was quick meals. As saloons closed during the first decade of Prohibition, the number of restaurants in the country tripled, and eating patterns changed with the rise of quick meals. Luncheonettes, cafeterias, and soda fountains sprang up in largely urban neighborhoods catering to middle-class and lower-middle-class workers.

Women helped win the argument for Prohibition. White protestant women were the principle advocates for Prohibition. Groups like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and the Anti-Saloon League made a moral argument, claiming that men squandered money on drunkenness, putting their wives and children at risk. Women’s and family rights were recognized and protected to a degree by Prohibition. More importantly, these activist groups not only won their argument when Prohibition became law, they developed skills and expectations that applied to another cause: woman suffrage. In general, the 1920s was an era of increased rights for women (although to different degrees). 

The ultimate loser in the tale of Prohibition was the Eighteenth Amendment itself. Andrew Volstead, author of the Prohibition enforcement act, was defeated in 1922 in his bid for an 11th term in Congress. Widespread unemployment and the economic chaos of the Great Depression fueled political upheaval. The 1932 elections swept many “wets” (politicians opposed to Prohibition) into office. Widely considered unenforceable and a failure, the Volstead Act and the Eighteenth Amendment were repealed by passage and ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933. The effort for a government-led common good (Prohibition) was replaced by a public desire for a good time. Americans could legally drink again. 

Peter Liebhold is a co-curator of the American Enterprise exhibition in the Mars Hall of American Business.  

Related Stories

Prohibition was fantastic for American beer, or, cheers to homebrewers

Grape gluts and Mother Clones: Prohibition and American wine

Jimmy Carter: American homebrew hero?

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Researching the 1920's Era

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Searching by Subject Headings

To identify materials about a particular type of literature, consider the following subject headings: These might be good for historical research on the era.

Reference Sources (Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

American decades / edited by Richard Layman Detroit : Gale Research, c1994-2001 LOCATION: Reference Collection E169.12 .A419 1920-29

American decades primary sources / edited by Cynthia Rose Detroit : Gale, c2004 LOCATION: Reference Collection E169.1 .A471977 2004 v.3 

Bowling, beatniks, and bell-bottoms : pop culture of 20th-century America / Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast, editors  Detroit : U X L, c2002 LOCATION: Reference Collection E169.1 .B7825 2002

Books about the 1920's: Literary, Social and Cultural Histories

American Heritage History of the 1920's & 1930's / Ralph K. Andrist (Editor) New York: Crown Publishers, 1987 LOCATION: General Collection E784.A67 1987

Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1939: Decades of Promise and Pain / David E. Kyvig Westport, CT : Greenwood Press, c2002 LOCATION: General Collection E169.K985 2002

Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and the Twenties / Ronald Berman Tuscaloosa : University of Alabama Press, c2001 LOCATION: General Collection PS3511.I9 Z55774 2001

The great trials of the twenties: the watershed decade in America's courtrooms / by Robert Grant and Joseph Katz Rockville Centre, NY: Sarpedon, 1998 LOCATION: General Collection KF220.G73 1998

The jazz age: the 20s / by the editors of Time-Life Books Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1998 LOCATION: General Collection E784.J39 1998

The Lawless Decade / Paul Sann New York: Crown Publishers, 1961 LOCATION: General Collection E784.S3

New world coming : the 1920s and the making of modern America / Nathan Miller  New York : Scribner, c2003 LOCATION: General Collection E784.M555 2003

The Roaring Twenties Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2004 LOCATION: General Collection E784.R63 2004

Sacco & Vanzetti: [Italian immigrants and anarchists, framed by the State and executed for murder in Boston during the Red Scare of the 1920s] / edited by John Davis New York: Ocean Press, 2004 LOCATION: General Collection HX843.7.S23 A97 2004

Saying it's so: a cultural history of the Black Sox scandal / Daniel A. Nathan Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2003 LOCATION: General Collection GV875.C58 N38 2003

VideoResources

The Great Gatsby [videorecording] / produced by David Merrick ; directed by Jack Clayton ; screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola 1 videocassette (146 min.) Based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the story concerns a mysterious American millionaire whose efforts to recapture the sweetheart of his youth results in tragedy. LOCATION: Popular Collection ZZT 2345

The Twenties [videorecording] / produced by Richard Petrow ; written by Bill Moyers, Richard Petrow. 1 videocassette (58 min.) Journalist Bill Moyers looks at the 1920's, usually seen as the age of speakeasies, flappers and high living. The age also saw millions of workers struggling for better wages. He explores the decade when old America was vanishing and a new urban nation was being formed. Includes reminiscences of Americans who lived during the period. LOCATION: Circulation Desk E784 .T9 1988 (In Library Use)

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Academic Search Complete

Academic Search Complete contains indexing and some full text for 1,837 journals. This scholarly collection provides journal coverage for nearly all academic areas of study - including social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences and ethnic studies. 

Chicago Tribune Historical

Digital image of every issue of the Chicago Tribune from 1890-1956, cover-to-cover. Use this database to find not only news, editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, and birth and marriage announcements but also historical photos, stock photos, and advertisements. By utilizing software enhancements, the original microfilm image can frequently be improved for a cleaner, more readable image. And the date range searching tool lets users search on, before, or between two dates. On completion, the Chicago Tribune Historical database will cover the years 1849-1984. It currently holds the years 1890-1946.

History Study Center

History Study Center provides access to primary and secondary American history sources, full text articles, video, research guides, and reference materials.

New York Times Historical

Digital image of every issue of the New York Times from 1851-1999, cover-to-cover. Use this database to find not only news, editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, and birth and marriage announcements but also historical photos, stock photos, and advertisements. By utilizing software enhancements, the original microfilm image can frequently be improved for a cleaner, more readable image. And the date range searching tool lets users search on, before, or between two dates. 

JSTOR is an archive of digitized journal articles ranging in date from the 1700's to the early 2000's. These collections span a variety of subjects in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Physical Sciences.

Project Muse

"Project MUSE is a leading provider of digital humanities and social sciences content; since 1995, its electronic journal collections have supported a wide array of research needs at academic, public, special, and school libraries worldwide. MUSE books and journals, from leading university presses and scholarly societies, are fully integrated for search and discovery." (From the website)

American Experience: Monkey Trial Hosted by PBS, the American Experience series chronicles major events in US history. This site provides good background information about the Scopes trial, including: timelines, speeches, and links to further reading. An excellent background source to assist in developing a thesis topic.

The 1920's This is a remarkably well constructed website about the 1920's era. This Digital History site comes from the University of Houston.

F. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary Website This website, published by the University of South Carolina, provides a wealth of biographical and critical information regarding F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Great Gatsby," and many of Fitzgerald other works as well.

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U.S. History: 1920s Research Assignment - Mrs. Thomson

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Mrs. Thomsons U.S. History

1920s Research Assignment

Description

For this project, you will be researching a topic within the decade of the 1920s and will be completing an annotated bibliography.  You will also be participating in an online discussion to share and discuss your research and ideas.

• 1920s Research Topics

Assignment: Part 1 - Annotated Bibliography

You will be using Student Resources in Context (Gale) and  World History: Modern Era  (ABC-Clio) databases, print resources and authoritative websites to conduct your research.

What is an annotated bibliography?

An annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. For this assignment our annotations will do the following:

• Summarize : Includes the title and author of the book/article. What topics are covered? What are the main arguments? What is the author’s purpose in writing this piece (what do they want the reader to think or understand)?
• Reflect : Once you've summarized a source, discuss how it fits into your topic of study on the 1920’s. How does the information you found relate? How was the source you found useful to your topic?

          9 Required Sources for the annotated bibliography:

• 2 reference articles from the databases
• 1 newspaper or magazine article from the databases
• 2 web based sources (authoritative) - use a web evaluation checklist if needed
• 1 print reference article from the media center
• 1 other book source from the media center
• 1 primary source image
• 1 primary source

Assignment: Part 2 - Online Discussion

After you complete your research you will be completing an online discussion of the themes found in your research.

You will post your response on the following blog:

          Mrs. Thomson's Blog  Block 2

Your response should reflect analysis of the sources read and a clear explanation of the following question:  How was the 1920s a decade of change? 

Response Guidelines

• Provide an answer to the question with evidence from research and the textbook
• Offer insights on the significance of the sources used and their usefulness and what clues it gives about the 1920s as a decade.
• Your response should be a minimum of two paragraphs
• Make connections between their research and your own
• Respond to their posts and pose your own questions
• Provide additional information/insight on their topic

Competencies & Rubric

Using multiple historical contexts, students will analyze the connection between ideologies and human behavior due to changing demographic patterns, civic ideals, and the role of government.

Power & Wealth

Using multiple historical contexts, students will analyze the recurring social tension caused by differences in power, wealth, and influence, as well as critique successful and unsuccessful attempts to resolve these issues. #1

• 1920s Competencies & Rubric

Assignment Sheet - Block 2 (printable)

• 1920s Research Assignment. Thomson

Annotated Bibliography Step-by-Step

• Log into NoodleBib.
• Open another tab and go to the Media Center home page.
• Click on the Research Guides tab at the top of the page.
• In the Databases box, click on Student Resources in Context .
• Remember to search by keyword, then limit your results by Document Type and Subject .
• Choose Database from drop-down menu-> select Reference Source -> Quick Cite (to copy & paste citation)
• Scroll to the bottom of the citation page and summarize the article (4-6 sentences) in the annotation box.
• Next, reflect upon why this article is relevant to your topic and add your reflection (4-6 sentences) to the annotation box.
• Repeat steps 3-7 for a print reference article . (Refer to the 3 lists of reference books on the 1920 Resources page.)
• Repeat steps 3-7 for a magazine or newspaper article . (You may use EBSCO's Explora or Academic Search Premier if you prefer.)
• Go to Google and find a RELIABLE and VALID source relating to your topic. Repeat steps 4-7 for a web based source
• Continue with the same procedure for the remaining required sources.
• Once you’ve completed your annotation and cited your source, click “submit.”
• Export your NoodleBib works cited page to Microsoft Word.
• Lastly, make sure your name, the date, and the class are typed into your works cited page and print.

Block 1 Assignment

Essential Question:  How was the 1920s a decade of political, technological, economic and cultural change?

Description:  For this project, you will be researching a topic within the decade of the 1920’s and will be completing an annotated bibliography.  You will also be participating in an online discussion using a blog format.

4 Required Sources for the annotated bibliography:

• 2 reference articles from Student Resources in Context and/ or World History: Modern Era databases
• 1 web based source other than a database (authoritative)

        Due: At the end of class on Friday, 11/20

Online Discussion:

         After you complete your research you will be completing an online discussion of the themes found in your research. Your  response should answer the essential question:  How was the 1920s a decade of change? (political, technological, economic, and cultural change)

          You will post your response on the following blog:      http://ushistoryfound.blogspot.com/

          Initial Posting Due: Monday 11/23 & follow up postings due 11/24

• Block 1 1920s Annotated Bibliography Assignment Sheet (printable)
• << Previous: 1920s Resources
• Next: Other Assignments >>
• Last Updated: Nov 6, 2023 9:56 AM
• URL: https://nhsn-nashua.libguides.com/ushistory

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https://www.nist.gov/pao/nist-100-foundations-progress/roaring-twenties-overview

The Roaring Twenties: Overview

The United States emerged from the Great War as a rich and powerful nation. American life changed dramatically in the 1920s, which saw the first trans-Atlantic phone call, the first movie with sound, the first enclosed car at popular prices, and the discovery of penicillin.

And suddenly everyone seemed to have a radio. Radio had been a topic of research interest at NIST since its early years, when both the Army and Navy set up separate research facilities at its site to study wireless telegraphy. By the late 1920s there were hundreds of broadcasting stations and nearly 10 million privately owned radio sets in the United States, including quite a few that were handmade using instructions published by NIST. The Institute built the first alternating-current (ac) radio set in 1922, years before commercial firms offered ac-powered radios for the home (earlier models were battery powered). The Institute also helped train radio technicians, published early reference works, and coordinated the writing of an academic textbook that was admired by Thomas Edison as "the greatest book on this subject that I have ever read."

Also booming in the 1920s were the building and construction and automobile industries, both of which received support from the nation's principal physical science research laboratory. NIST recommended revisions aimed at achieving greater uniformity in local building and plumbing codes and zoning regulations and published a popular handbook for prospective home buyers. NIST staff, in partnership with Underwriters Laboratories and the National Fire Protection Association, began developing methods to test the fire endurance of building structures; this work led to test procedures that became ubiquitous throughout the world.

Automobile research focused on two issues that would come to dominate the history of this technology-fuel economy and safety. Amid warnings that the nation's known petroleum reserves would be depleted in as little as 10 years, the Institute helped conserve gasoline by identifying the characteristics of engines, fuels, and oils that enhanced operating efficiency. To help establish safe driving speeds, it also investigated brakes, the braking ability of cars, and the reaction time of drivers in applying brakes.

Meanwhile, NIST became internationally known for its technical prowess. Radium, a radioactive element used in medical treatments, became so expensive that its discoverer, Marie Curie, had a difficult time obtaining enough for her own studies. American women raised money to buy some for her and, in 1921, Madame Curie visited the United States to receive a gram of radium from President Warren Harding. It came with a certificate from the Institute attesting to the purity and radioactivity of the sample.

While helping to enhance the quality of commercial products, the Institute also helped create new industries. After German sources of cane and beet sugar (sucrose) were cut off, for example, NIST scientists recreated the manufacturing processes to prepare small samples of corn sugar (dextrose) and other rare sugars for standardization and testing purposes. They also looked for ways to reduce costs, eventually developing a process for large-scale manufacturing of almost chemically pure, low-cost dextrose, which then became an industry unto itself. A spinoff of sugar research was the discovery of practical uses for process wastes. NIST developed products such as wall and insulating boards made from cornstalks, an early example of recycling.

Another way of making the most of American products was standards. High quality made a difference, too. In the 1920s, NIST standards became official federal standards, unifying the specifications of some 40 government purchasing agencies and achieving greater economies in supplies. The Institute quickly prepared specifications for items such as fire hoses, pneumatic tires, and shoe sole leather and recommended simplified practices, such as reducing the number of milk bottle designs from 49 to nine. American industry saved tens of millions of dollars through simplification. Standards also reduced the price of incandescent lamps from $1.30 to 16 cents. Then came the stock market crash in 1929 and the Great Depression, ending the crusade for a time.

Articles on 1920s

Displaying all articles.

Why have you read ‘The Great Gatsby’ but not Ursula Parrott’s ‘ Ex-Wife ’?

Marsha Gordon , North Carolina State University

Marguerite Duras called The Lover ‘a load of shit’, but her novel about her affair as a 15-year -old stuns with its emotional force

Anthony Macris , University of Technology Sydney

Will the end of the COVID-19 pandemic usher in a second Roaring ’20s?

Agnes Arnold-Forster , McGill University

The last time the UK had a December election – in 1923 – it resulted in a hung parliament

Philip Williamson , Durham University

Québec’s fashion police: A century of telling women what not to wear

Donica Belisle , University of Regina

Related Topics

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Top contributors

Professor of Creative Writing, University of Technology Sydney

Professor of History, University of Regina

Emeritus Professor of Modern British History, Durham University

Researcher, Centre for History in Public Health, The University of Edinburgh

Professor of Film Studies, North Carolina State University

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Course: US history   >   Unit 7

• The Nineteenth Amendment
• 1920s urbanization and immigration
• The reemergence of the KKK
• Prohibition
• Republican ascendancy: politics in the 1920s
• The presidency of Calvin Coolidge
• 1920s consumption
• Movies, radio, and sports in the 1920s
• American culture in the 1920s
• Nativism and fundamentalism in the 1920s

America in the 1920s

• (Choice A)   The Eighteenth Amendment empowered Congress to enforce the Amendment through legislation; the Volstead Act enumerated the ways in which Prohibition would actually be carried out. A The Eighteenth Amendment empowered Congress to enforce the Amendment through legislation; the Volstead Act enumerated the ways in which Prohibition would actually be carried out.
• (Choice B)   The Volstead Act protected select businesses who bought a liquor license before 1919, to manufacture, sell and transport liquor. B The Volstead Act protected select businesses who bought a liquor license before 1919, to manufacture, sell and transport liquor.
• (Choice C)   The Volstead Act was the law that repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, making alcohol legal to produce, sell, and transport once again. C The Volstead Act was the law that repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, making alcohol legal to produce, sell, and transport once again.

Census Records

• Land Records
• Methodology
• Occupations

Select Page

The 1920 Census – A Research Guide

by Kimberly Powell | 7 Nov 2020

Census Day:  1 January 1920 Time to Complete:  One month U.S. Population:  106 million

On January 2, 1920, at 9:00 a.m., the Bureau of the Census began taking the 14th decennial census of the United States. All responses were to reflect the individual’s status as of 1 January 1920, even if the status had changed between 1 January and the day of enumeration (i.e., children born after 1 January should not be listed, and people who died after 1 January should be counted).

The format and questions used in the 1920 census schedules closely resemble that of the 1910 census. One notable change is that Native Americans living on reservations were enumerated with the general population rather than on special schedules as they were in 1910 and 1920. The 1920 census also did not ask about unemployment on the day of the census, nor did it ask about service in the Union or Confederate army or navy. Questions about the number of children born and how long a couple had been married were also removed. The 1920 census did include four new questions: the year of naturalization, the individual’s mother tongue, the mother tongue of the individual’s father, and the mother tongue of the individual’s mother.

For the first time, the majority of the U.S. population of 106,021,537, a 15 percent increase from 1910, was urban or living in a place with over 2,500 people. New York was the most populous city, followed by Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Cleveland. Over 13 percent of Americans (about 13.9 million people) were identified as foreign-born.

Questions Asked in the 1920 Census

• street or road name; house number or farm
• name, age (at last birthday), and sex of each individual in the household
• relationship of each individual to head of household
• whether the home was owned or rented; and free or mortgaged
• color or race
• whether single, married, widowed, or divorced
• year of immigration
• whether naturalized (na), alien (al), or have started the naturalization process (pa = papers)
• if naturalized, the year of naturalization
• whether attended school since September 1919
• whether able to read and write
• place of birth
• father’s place of birth and mother tongue
• mother’s place of birth and mother tongue
• whether able to speak English and, if not, their native tongue
• profession, occupation, or trade
• type of industry, business, or establishment in which at work
• whether employee, employer, or self-employed
• whether or not currently employed; the number of weeks out of work in 1919

1920 Census Online

• FamilySearch – 1920 Census – Digital images and an every-name index.  Free account required.
• Ancestry – 1920 Census  – Digital images and an every-name index.  Subscription required .
• MyHeritage – 1920 Census – Choose “advanced search” for best results. Subscription required.

Research Another US Census Year:

1930 Census | 1920 Census |  1910 Census  |  1900 census  |  1890 Census  |  1880 Census  |  1870 Census  |  1860 Census  |  1850 Census

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