The Jazz Age was a large gathering of African-American men in Washington, D.C., on October 16, 1995. Called by Louis Farrakhan, it was held on and around the National Mall. The National African American Leadership Summit, a leading group of civil rights activists and the Nation of Islam working with scores of civil rights organizations, including many local chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People formed the Million Man March Organizing Committee.
In 1920’s America ‐ known as the Jazz Age, the Golden Twenties or the Roaring Twenties ‐ everybody seemed to have money. The nightmare that was the Wall Street Crash of October 1929, was inconceivable right up until it happened. The 1920’s saw a break with the traditional set-up in America. The Great War had destroyed old perceived social conventions and new ones developed.
The young set themselves free especially, the young women. They shocked the older generation with their new hair style (a short bob) and the clothes that they wore were often much shorter than had been seen and tended to expose their legs and knees. The wearing of what were considered skimpy beach wear in public could get the Flappers, as they were known, arrested for indecent exposure. They wore silk stockings rolled just above the knee and they got their hair cut at male barbers. The President of Florida University said the low cut gowns and short skirts “are born of the devil they are carrying the present generation to destruction”.
The Flappers also went out without a man to look after them, went to all-night parties, drove motor cars, smoked in public and held men’s hands without wearing gloves. Mothers formed the Anti-Flirt League to protest against the acts of their daughters. But after the horror of the First World War, the younger generation mistrusted the older generation and ‘did their own thing’ which flew in the face of the establishment.
The person who the Flappers most looked up to was Clara Bow ‐ the vamp in the film It.
Linked to the growth of an alternate generation, was the growth in jazz. This lead to new dances being created which further angered the older generation. The Charleston, One Step and Black Bottom were only for the young and the last one angered the establishment by name alone. The most famous jazzmen were Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Benny Goodman.
Along with jazz went the ‘crazies’ when people would do crazy things for fun such as sitting on top of a flag pole for as long as possible; marathon dances that went on until everybody had dropped and wing flying when you stood strapped onto the wing of a flying plane until it landed.
This was also the era of great sports champions such as Babe Ruth the baseball player and Bobby Jones “the greatest amateur golfer of all time.”
The 1920’s made Hollywood. 100 million people a week went to the movies. In the 1910’s the stars of movies were never named (especially true for women) but by the 1920’s stars were world famous. For many films, the star was more important than the film itself and they could earn a fortune. Slapstick comedy was dominated by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy and Fatty Arbuckle. The leading women were Clara Bow and Mary Pickford and the leading male star was Rudolf Valentino. When he died in 1926 aged just 31 people queued for miles to see his embalmed body and riots broke out.
The decade saw the first “talkie” ‐ The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson. Many silent screen stars lost their jobs as their voices sounded too strange or their accents were difficult to understand.
The stars lived lavish lifestyles ‐ Beverly Hills was the place to live and they cultivated in peoples minds the belief that you could succeed in America regardless of who you were.
Even murderous gang bosses achieved stardom. The most famous of all was Al Capone ‐ the gangster boss who all but controlled Chicago. His fame rivaled that of Hollywood’s superstars.
In 1918, Prohibition had been introduced into America. This law banned the sale, transportation and manufacture of alcohol. However, there was a ready market for alcohol throughout the 1920’s and the gangsters provided it. Capone’s earnings at their peak stood at $60 million a year from alcohol sales alone with $45 million from other illegal ventures. Notorious in Chicago, Capone achieved national celebrity status when he appeared on the front of the celebrated Time magazine.
Quick Facts
Start Date:
1918
End Date:
1939
- The African Americans are considered as the founders of jazz music. At first, it was considered as low class music. Over the years, the middle-class white Americans began to accept jazz music.
- The opposition to jazz music also occurred during the era. They believed that the jazz musicians had no skill and training.
- The middle class white musicians and performers were used as a vehicle to increase the popularity of jazz music. Even though they controlled the movement, the African American music, ideals and traditions were not left behind.
- The cultural centers of jazz music were located in big cities like Chicago and New York. They were associated with African American artists.
- The jazz age received bad reputation among the older generations because it was a threat to the moral value of old cultures.
- The first black jazz of New Orleans was Kid Ory’s Original Creole Jazz Band of musicians. They had recording in 1922.
- There are three types of jazz music proposed by Charles Hamm, a musicologist. Those are black music for white audiences, black music for black audience and white music for white audiences.
Credits
SOURCE: Historylearningsite.co + Wikipedia.com
PHOTO: Quizizz + SplendidTable + CNN
Last Updated
June 2019
Original Published Date
February 2018
