sidPresident Coolidge

The 1920's and Its Excesses

Introduction

The 1920's in America was a period of opulence and excess that led to the
inevitable consequences of the 1930's and the Great Depression. Our romantic image of the Jazz
Age (Roaring Twenties) is heightened by the images of flappers, pin striped suits, Model T's, the
Charleston, Prohibition, and Speak Easies.

The Task

How were such romantic excesses of the Jazz Age reported at the time? How were they viewed
in such delightful duplicity, and how do we today explain the Great Depression to which
the Jazz Age led? In order to answer these questions you must know the culture of the day,
"live" the times, and "become" the people. As reporters for a Jazz Age newspaper, you and
your classmates will be able to assume the identities of 20's correspondents. Your task will
be to report the news as it happened.

The Process

1. You and a partner will personally take on the roles of 1920's newspaper
reporters/editors/publishers.
2. The two of you will layout, design, and produce a front page of a newspaper that would
be representative of the times.
3. Because historically there were various concerns and interests of the day, much too much
for one two-page newspaper, you and your partner will be given an area on which to
focus your writing. Areas of focus will include:
mass production and credit the automobile industry entertainment industry
sports celebrities Sacco and Vanzetti the "New Woman"
Prohibition Organized Crime the Scopes trial
music and dance The Harlem Renaissance the Lost Generation
art and architecture racial issues
4. Each newspaper should contain the following sections and information:
1. Your front page should have a headline that would be appropriate for the times --
choose a newspaper name, date, and price that would be indicative of the 1920's
2. 4 Articles-
1. 1 article corresponding to the headline
2. 3 other articles representative of the Jazz Age
3. A political cartoon
4. Newspaper filler, want ads, advice columns, and/or advertisements that would be
indicative of the time -- enough to fill the front page
 Resources:

Use the resources below to conduct your search.

Sacco and Vanzetti

 Sacco-Vanzetti Case
 The F.B.I.: Sacco-Vanzetti
 Overview of the Case (with references)
 Report of the Lowell Committee
 Illionis Trails History

The Eighteenth Amendment

 The Eighteenth Amendment

 Temperance and Prohibition
 Illinois Trails History
 The Volstead Act and Related Prohibition Doc.’s

The Scopes Trial

 The Scopes Monkey Trial

 Tennessee v. John Scopes
 Scopes Monkey Trial –(another site)
 American Experience: Monkey Trial
 CourtTV On-line: Monkey Trial

The Teapot Dome Scandal

 Teapot Dome Scandal

 Senate Investigates the Teapot Dome
 History Central.com

The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre

 Haunted Chicago
  The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (an essay)
 The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (an article)
 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

The 19th Amendment: Women’s Suffrage

 The 19th Amendment

 Women’s Fight For the Vote
 Articles from the New York Times
 Susan B. Anthony Center (with links)
 The U.S. Senate

The Ku Klux Klan

 A Hundred Years of Terror

 Digital History
 Encyclopedia.com
 History Central.com
 Lynchings in America
 American Experience: Scottsboro

Charles Lindbergh

 Charles Augustus Lindbergh Home Page

 The American Experience: Lindbergh
 Lucky Lindy Links
 CourtTV: The Lindbergh Kidnapping
 Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site

Amelia Earhart

 The Official Amelia Earhart Site

 Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum
 America’s Library
 George Palmer Putnam Collection of A.E. Papers
 U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission
Bessie Coleman

 Bessie Coleman Site

 The American Experience
 U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission
 Women in Aviation Resource Center
 Handbook of Texas Online

Henry Ford and the Assembly Line

 The Life of Henry Ford

 People and Discoveries
 Ford Motor Company
 Quotations Page
 Henry Ford Heritage Association

NBC: National Broadcasting Company and CBS: Columbia Broadcasting

System

 NBC.com
 CBS.com

 CBS Network History

 Max Jordan – NBC’s Forgotten Pioneer

 Library of Congress: Recorded Sound Reference Center
 Broadcast History Timeline
 OldRadio.com
 Broadcasting History Resources
 Broadcasting History in Chicago

The Stock Market Crash

 1929 Stock Market Crash: Charts and Stories

 The First Measured Century
 1929 Stock Market Crash: Articles and Resources
 Stock Market Crash of 1929
 Dow Jones Indexes
  National Public Radio

The Jazz Singer

 Filmsite.org
 Plot Summary/Synopsis
 The Jazz Singer
 Rottentomatoes.com
 Al Jolson – The Jazz Singer

Mary Pickford

 The Mary Pickford Foundation

 Mary Pickford Site
 The American Experience
 Mary Pickford Theater
 Mary Pickford Quotes

Charlie Chaplin

 CharlieChaplin.com
 The Time 100
 PBS: American Masters
 Charlie Chaplin Archive
 Charlie Chaplin Museum

The Harlem Renaissance

 Harlem Renaissance
 Harlem Renaissance Bibliography
 Langston Hughes
 Library of Congress: Langston Hughes
 America’s Library
 PBS: Langston Hughes
 Langston Hughes Criticism

Louis Armstrong

 Redhotjazz.com
  Satchmo.net
 Louis Armstrong: A Cultural Legacy
 Time 100
 LouisArmstrong.net

Duke Ellington

 Duke Ellington: The Official Website

 Redhotjazz.com
 Duke Ellington: 100 Years
 Duke Ellington’s Washington
 PBS: JAZZ

Emperor Jones and Paul Robeson

 Green Cine
 American Masters
 Paul Robeson Biography
 The Emperor Jones (oneill.com)
 Emperor Jones: Summary and Essays

The Carter Family

 The Carter Family Memorial Music Center

 SouthernMusic.net
 The Carter Family Fold
 Country Music Hall of Fame
 The American Experience: Will the Circle Be Unbroken?
 Songs of the Carter Family

Babe Ruth

 BabeRuth.com
 National Baseball Hall of Fame
 Babe Ruth Museum
 Babe Ruth Quotes
 Babe Ruth Statistics
Jack Dempsey

 The Official Site

 Jack Dempsey Museum
 ESPN Classic
 Jack Dempsey Quotes
 The Authentic History Center

Bobby Jones

 BobbyJones.com
 ESPN Classic
 Harvard Magazine.com
 Bobby Jones Quotes
 Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius

Red Grange

 College Football News

 White House Kids
 Pro-Football Hall of Fame
 Red Grange Quotes
 College Football Hall of Fame

The Black Sox Trial

 Chicago Black Sox

 The Chicago Black Sox Trial
 1919 Black Sox Scandal
 JURIST – Legal Intelligence
 The Sporting News

Ernest Hemingway and A Farewell to Arms

 Summary and Commentary

 Summaries and Essays
 ErnestHemingway.com
 Timeless Hemingway
  Ernest Hemingway Foundation
 The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum

F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby

 The Great Gatsby Website

 Time Magazine’s All-Time 100 Novels
 F. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary Home Page
 F. Scott Fitzgerald Society Home Page
 F. Scott Fitzgerald Biography
 Quotes

Amos and Andy

 The Originial Amos n’ Andy Web Page

 Radio Lovers
 Radio Hall of Fame
 Meet Amos n’ Andy
 Old Time Radio Days

The Cotton Club

 The Cotton Club, New York

 Jass.com: Cotton Club Revues
 PBS: JAZZ
 The Cotton Club (Info. on the movie)

The Model T

 Showroom of Automotive History

 Time 100: Henry Ford
 Model T Ford Automotive Heritage Complex
 Muscle Car Club
 History of the Ford Motor Company

Sears and Roebuck

 Sears Homepage
 Sears Intro
 Sears Archives Homepage
 Houghton Mifflin