In the early 1920s a more upbeat style was being originated in Harlem, in what is called Cotton Clubs. Many people would come to these cotton clubs during this time period because it was during the prohibition era and these were the only places which would sell alcohol under the table. This style was more of a smooth jazz feel which would later lead to R&B. Cotton Clubs were closed several times due to the government finding out about the illegal distribution of alcohol. They were also closed due to race issues, in 1935 race riots broke out and closed the cotton club. Earl Tucker was an emerging artist who implemented new dance moves he was often referred to as Snake Hips. In the 1940s new sound systems were able to be transported and carried
Flappers in the 1920s where the girls and women that dressed less modestly. They also disobeyed the rules that most women and girls followed. They did what others would not ever think of doing in this time period.
The Lafayette Club on beautiful Lake Minnetonka was first built in 1882. It was known as the nicest place in town and it had 300 guest rooms. Everyone wanted to go there but only the rich could afford to stay there. In 1897 it was burned down in a fire and Mr. Hill, the owner, then decided to build a new one. This beautiful hotel on the lake was made out of wood and sadly, 20 years later, it burned down again! Again, a new one was built because the property it was on was too beautiful to stay empty. By 1925 the brand new club was built to last and made with concrete. It is still there today.
In Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1939: Decades of Promise and Pain, author David E. Kyvig, creates historical account of the Great Depression, and the events leading up to it. Kyvig’s goal in writing this book was to show how Americans had to change their daily life in order to cope with the changing times. Kyvig utilizes historical evidence and inferences from these events and developments to strengthen his point. The book is organized chronologically, recounting events and their effects on American culture. Each chapter of the book tackles a various point in American history between 1920 and1939 and events are used to comment on American life at the time. While Kyvig does not exactly have a “thesis” per se, his main point is to examine American life under a microscope, seeing how people either reacted, or were forced to react due to a wide range of specific events or developments in history, be it Prohibition, the KKK, or women’s suffrage.
Today, the Detroit River is one of busiest waterways in the United States, shipping iron and other goods to and from Canada. Only 100 years ago, those waterways were being used to transport illegal liquor from Canada to the Unites States (“Rum-running in Windsor.”). The men to pick it up were called the Purple Gang. The Purple Gang was a mainly Jewish, well established group of criminals, that by the late 1920s and controlled the city's drug trade, liquor, vice, and gambling (“The Purple Gang.”).
As a nation coming out of a devastating war, America faced many changes in the 1920s. It was a decade of growth and improvements. It was also a decade of great economic and political confidence. However, with all the changes comes opposition. Social and cultural fears still caused dichotomous rifts in American society.
Imagine walking in the streets where all other women and girls are dressed in long dresses, look modest, and have long hair with hats. Then, there is a girl with a short skirt and bobbed hair smoking a cigarette. This girl makes a statement and is critically judged by many people for dressing this way. Women during the 1920s were not to look “boyish” in any way, so when short hair and short skirt were introduced, it was seen as shameful. The girls wearing this new style were known as flappers. Their style was introduced in the early 1910s but did not spark until the 1920s. The style was said to be more comfortable, but was not appealing to the more conservative. Before the change of style, most women were dressed modestly; however, women's
Sports were in rising popularity before and throughout the 1920’s. The economy was working astonishingly well, and the common American had substantially more disposable income that they did not have before. This gave numerous people the money to pay for the cost of entertainment services. Baseball was by far largest in popularity, with stars such as Babe Ruth. The 1919 World Series caused much commotion during this time, and slingshotted the popularity of Baseball and subsequently the popularity of other college and professional sports. New innovations such as the Radio and Television, made it easier to listen and keep track of sports and news across the country. This created a common culture with Americans and gave
The 1920s was an important time in sports. Many people have called the 1920s the Age of the Spectator, or even the Golden Age of American Sports. The United States had a strong economy for most this decade, so workers had more leisure time. This also meant that new and bigger stadiums could be built. Many people were interested in sports and the radio made it easier for fans to keep up with their favorite teams. Newspapers increased their coverage of sports and printed dedicated sports sections. From George Herman “Babe” Ruth (baseball) to Bobby Jones (golf) sports had a huge impact on American life, helping the 1920s to become known as the Golden age of American
The 1920s was a time of conservatism and it was a time of great social change. From the world of fashion to the world of politics, forces clashed to produce the most explosive decade of the century. It was the age of prohibition, it was the age of prosperity, and it was the age of downfall.
In the 1920s, a new woman was born. She smoked, drank, danced, and voted. She cut her hair, wore make-up, and went to petting parties. She was giddy and took risks. She was a flapper.
People had a lot of money to spend after the war, new fashion trends were popping up in every corner of the United States, and the nightlife became the center for social life. When the outlawing of alcohol started, the nightlife died but only for a short time. Many jazz clubs known as speakeasies kept the nightlife going and soon enough everybody was trying to get into one. What made these clubs grow so much in popularity was that it was a social place where people were able to both buy alcohol and dance. Both men and women alike were in the same crowded room and there was socializing, flirting, and dancing between the two sexes. Clubs during the 1920’s had played a major role in taking down the wall that separated men and women.”For the first time, women went out to drink too and occupied the same dark small, dark spaces as
1920’s Sports The 1920’s were considered by some as the Golden Age of sports. These sports at this time were on the uphill rise to becoming more popular. Sports in general started to become very popular among the average person, especially young farmers or factory workers when they got done with the day’s work.
As it grew in influence and popularity, Jazz brought many young people together. It was such a social movement it brought mixed young people together to dance “The Charleston, The Cakewalk, The Black Bottom, The Flea Hop.” Since Jazz was such a influential and persuasive musical style. It had its time as a great social leveler and unifier. It brought together African Americans and Americans, in a love of fast, rhythmic music, which was multiplied through the radio and the recording industry. “What a crowd! All classes and colors met face to face, ultra aristocrats, bourgeois, communists, park avenue galore, publishers, broadway celebs, and harlemites giving each other the once over.” Jazz became attractively to popular Jazz Bands, it traveled widely playing all kinds of venues from restaurants, to dance halls, and even nightclubs. One of the many best renowned nightclubs would have to be the Cotton Club its where hollywood, paris and broadway rubbed elbows, people who came from all over the United States wanted to experience what was going on Harlem in the
The swing style was greatly influenced by jazz and also a multitude of popular dances from before it’s time, for example the Black Bottom, Big Apple and the Turkey Trot. The style of Swing dancing is named after the type of jazz music that swing dancing is traditionally danced too. Swing dancing is said to have been created at a club called the Savoy Ballroom. The Savoy Ballroom was a block-long dancehall in New York City and was so popular that it was frequented by many of the greatest dancers of the 1920’s and 30’s such as “Shorty George” Snowden. The Savoy was so large that it had 2 bands playing Jazz at all times, one on either end of the dance floor. Another thing that made the Savoy Ballroom so unique is it was one of the few places at that time that were desegregated, so the black and whites were dancing in the same room. A typical night at the Savoy ballroom would entail the patrons starting the evening doing line dances then pairing up according to ability and continuing to dance the night away in pairs. Usually the better dancers would gather, dance together, and try new moves in one corner of the dance floor known as the “cat’s corner.”
Dancing skyrocketed during the 1920s. Many styles of dance that were created before the era did not become popular until the 1920s. For example, the Charleston did not swept the world until after the moves appeared in “Running Wild”, a show on Broadway. The Charleston dance was a fast paced dance that went with the song “The Charleston” by James P. Johnson. Many dance clubs banned the Charleston because the dance was unsuitable for the youth to be dancing. Also new dance styles were being created, for example, the Foxtrot. The Foxtrot was one of cherished dances during the era. The Foxtrot is a partner dance and many disapproved of how close the partners were to each other while dancing, often cheek-to-cheek.