The Roaring Twenties

SS5H4 The student will describe U.S. involvement in World War I and post-World War I America.
a. Explain how German attacks on U.S. shipping during the war in Europe (1914-1917) ultimately led the U.S. to join the fight against Germany; include the sinking of the Lusitania and concerns over safety of U.S. ships.
b. Describe the cultural developments and individual contribution in the 1920's of the Jazz Age (Louis Armstrong), the Harlem Renaissance (Langston Hughes), baseball (Babe Ruth), the automobile (Henry Ford) and the airplane (Charles Lindbergh).
SS5G2c. Map and explain how the dispersion of global economic activities contributed to the United States emerging from World War I as a world power.

The 1920's Economy

The United States emerged from the World War I as a full fledged world power. Many women who had begun working to help the war effort continued working. Many war time factories were converted into productive businesses which were able to mass produce popular new inventions such as radios, cars, refrigerators and much more. American stocks also made great gains after the countries success in World War I. Many people began investing heavily in the stock market causes stocks to rise even higher. Banks even loaned out large amounts of money, so people could invest borrowed money in the stock market. This increased flow of money into the stock market drove stocks even higher, but the poor financial decisions people were making were not going to last forever.

People who had a surplus of money also began spending an increasing amount of money on entertainment such as sports, music and art. Professional baseball took off spurred by the tremendous hitting of Babe Ruth. The National Football League also had its beginnings. Charles Lindbergh became a national celebrity by flying his plane solo across the Atlantic Ocean. 

Louis Armstrong "Satchmo"

Louis Armstrong brought in the Jazz Age in the 1920's. For the first time, large numbers of people had money to spend on entertainment, which included live music. In addition, with the widespread development of radio and record players, the music industry was bursting at the seams.

Babe Ruth

Just as Louis Armstrong brought about the Jazz Age, Ruth brought about the age of professional sports. Sure, baseball was played before the 1920's, but people flocked to the ballparks for the first time to see Babe Ruth hit his famous homeruns. He was the first professional athlete that was adored by fans. The age of professional sports had arrived.

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes became part of a movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. Harlem was a neighborhood in New York City, where African Americans moved and were trying to prove that they were as good as whites in art, music, sports and culture. Their main goal was to inspire African Americans to succeed and change racial stereotypes. Hughes was a famous writer who was first published in 1926 and continued to write until 1967. UShistory.org has more detail about the Harlem Renaissance.

Additional Video Links:

Charles Lindbergh

Lindbergh became an instant hero when he became the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Much like Neil Armstrong a few decades later, Lindbergh's achievement instantly changed the future of America. Lindbergh had proved it was possible to travel across an ocean in days rather than weeks.

Henry Ford and the Assembly Line

Ford wanted to make cars for the masses. The only problem was that cars were far too expensive for most people, so he had to come up with a way to assemble them quicker and cheaper. He introduced the world to the assembly line and began making cars by the millions. Many companies would follow suit, and the world would never be the same. You can see an additional video from History.com about how Henry Ford changed American Industry.