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The Roaring Twenties

Roaring Twenties
http://www.history.com

The 1920s was a time of fantastic discoveries like penicillin and insulin. Goddard invented the rocket. Refrigerators, automatic dishwashers, radios, televisions, and air conditioners transformed homes. It was the dawn of the consumer society. Chain stores allowed people across the country to buy the same things. People began listening to the same music and watching the same movies. The changes brought a lot of conflict between the generations. Women could finally vote and work in white-collar jobs. Cars became more affordable, and credit became part of life.

  • Topic: (1920s) Nineteen twenties
  • Language: English
  • Lexile: 920
  • Video: http://www.history.com

The twenties in America book cover

 

The Twenties. Here's access to a database that has information about all kinds of subjects from the 1920's.

The 1920s: An OverviewThe Jazz Age is the term used to describe the United States during the 1920s. A common conception about this decade is provided in the beginning of this online chapter and some common misconceptions are explained. You will discover that rather than a decade of prosperity, flappers, bootleggers, and jazz, the 1920s were actually a continual struggle between old America and new America. Groups were fighting over the use of alcohol, religion, and also gender, racial, and morality issues. The social changes that took place during this decade are presented as well.

  • Topic: (1920s) Nineteen twenties
  • Language: English
  • Lexile: 1340
  • http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu

America Goes Dry with Prohibition
Video: http://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/videos/america-goes-dry-with-prohibition

The Invention of the TeenagerOver a century ago, Americans went straight from being children to being adults. There was no such thing as a teenager. Young adults married as adolescents and started families of their own. Discover how the invention of the automobile changed chaperoned courtship into unsupervised dating. More teenagers began to go to consolidated high schools and it became more common to date people from other towns. The teenage mindset created a gap between a sheltered childhood and the responsibilities and trials of adulthood. Teenagers waited longer to marry and spent more time on schooling.

  • Topic: Teenagers, Dating (Social customs)
  • Language: English
  • Lexile: 1020
  • http://www.ushistory.org

AutomobilesWhile Henry Ford didn't actually invent the assembly line, he used it on a scale never before seen. It was the workers' idea for each person to do only one job on the line. With one job, new unskilled workers could easily learn their job. Henry Ford was also ahead of his time in providing a livable wage. As a result, his workers didn't go looking for another job. Standardized, interchangeable parts were an innovative idea. Discover how the Model T changed American culture. Many technological advances in automobiles came from Europe, but Ford's mass production made cars affordable.

  • Topic: Automobiles--History, Automobiles--Design and construction

The Golden Age of Radio in the U.S.
The Golden Age" By the 1920s, a few decades after Marconi’s first broadcast, half of urban families owned a radio. More than six million stations had been built."  
dp.la/exhibitions/exhibits/show/radio-golden-age/radio-broadcast-news

Examine how the 1920s were different from the decades before and after. Looking back from nearly a century later, the beginning of the Modern Age seems both familiar and old-fashioned. Bobbed hair, forbidden dances, and women's sports were seen as a little too modern by some. Political cartoons, newsreels, animations, and subway posters provide a glimpse back in time. The automobile evolved from a luxury item to mass production. Radio evolved from military to household use. Airplanes evolved from entertainment to a travel option. The Roaring Twenties was seen as a Golden Age until the Stock Market crashed.
Topic: (1920s) Nineteen twenties

Language: English

Lexile: 1310

Primary Source Material: http://americainclass.org

Modern City in Art

Louis Lozowick, New York, lithograph, ca. 1925

Louis Lozowick, New York, lithograph, ca. 1925                                                             

The TwentiesWhat was life like in the United States during the 1920s?

United States Roaring Twenties
http://www.learner.org/biographyofamerica/prog20/images/20_home_feature.jpg

Experience this time in history with a segment from A Biography of America from Learner.org. By completing a free registration, you will have access to a video describing the years from 1913 to 1929. As you browse the site, you are invited to decide if the twenties were really a roar or a yawn! See what the economy was like then, understand the effects of prohibition, and witness the impact of pop culture. There is a list of key events and a list of additional web sites.

  • Topic: (1920s) Nineteen twenties
  • Language: English
  • Lexile: 1140
  • Interactive: http://www.learner.org

Celebrating the Centennial--The Roaring TwentiesThis article on the roaring twenties explores many positive aspects of the decade. The new luxuries such as radio, automobiles, sugar substitutes, and higher product standards were becoming more prominent. A similar article on the Great Depression and the Industrial Age are available through this web site as well. The development of radio and optical glasses in the twenties is also discussed. The National Institute of Standards and Technology sponsors these articles and look at the topics from a unique perspective that is demonstrated in the articles.

  • Topic: (1920s) Nineteen twenties
  • Radio Language: English
  • Lexile:1400
  • http://www.nist.gov

Life in the 1920's: Home AppliancesMondays were dreaded wash days in the 1920s, when washing clothes was an all-day chore. Advertisements promised consumers leisure time on Mondays with brand new washing machines from the factory. Vacuum cleaners to replace brooms and Freon refrigerators to replace iceboxes were two other appliances created in the early days of electricity. Take a look at advertisements from General Electric, Sunbeam, and Hotpoint. While General Electric emphasized quality, other advertisers emphasized appliances as gifts that would bring joy to the household. Other sections of this site discuss automobiles, radio, movies, and other cultural changes in the 1920s.

  • Topic: Household appliances
  • Language: English
  • Lexile: 1130
  • http://www.classzone.com

This site provides information using PDF, visit this link to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC software.