The Jazz Age Flashcards
Who named the jazz age
An American writer called F.scott Fitzgerald named the 1920s the jazz age
What caused the jazz age
Ww1 has been so bad that people felt lucky to have survived it. Young people threw away all the restrictions in manners,clothes and morals that existed before ww1
What was “it”
“It” was nothing more than sex appeal something women were not supposed to exhibit. In the 1920s any girl who possessed “it” was called flappers
What were flappers who liked dancing and syncopated music known as
Jazz babies
What were outrageous flappers like
They did what they liked. They specialised in scandal
Who was a major role model for flappers
Louise brooks. She was a famous film star who had bobbed hair, make up and short skirts. (Angelina Jolie of 1920s)
What did flappers do
They:
-drank
-smoked
-drove cars
-chatted up men and asked them out on dates
What did traditional people think of flappers
Thought this was all going too far. That these young women were not respectable
What were dances like in 1920s
Before World War I, people danced very sedate dances like the waltz. in the jazz age Charleston was all on the go
What was drinking like in America
In America, all alcohol was banned-illegal drinking clubs called speakeasies sprung up
What and why was the language of 1920 like
In the 1920s slang started to gain popularity. morals were now being questioned and youth culture was on the rise because of urbanisation. Prohibition was causing people to use slang to hide bootlegging (illegal alcohol) and to keep speakeasies hidden. Other people just wanted to be unique.
What are some examples of 1920 slang
Cheaters=glassses
Gaga=crazy/silly
Dumb Dora =stupid girl
Spiffilicated =drunk
Sheba= young woman with sex appeal
Sheik= young man with sex appeal
Ritzy =elegant
Jake=okay
Flat tire= dud boring person
What was the clothing of 1920s like
Some clothing that was trendy back in the 1920s for females were; shorter skirts, cloche hats, silk stockings, fake jewellery, furs and turned down hosiery.
For man, it was knickers bowties and “Oxford” bags
What was the purpose of dance marathons?
Dance marathons became very popular in the 1920s. They gain popularity because it was supposed to be a quick easy money for people out of work. Most people went for money but others did go first stardom .
How did the a dance marathon work
The only real rule was no falling asleep. For the dancers the music was played slow to hopefully lull you to sleep, but twice an hour the music would be picked up, theses were called sprints. Some competitions allied bricks but usually only a half hour for the first week and it would gradually go done until there was none left. There was occasionally staged contestants to help cause fights and entertain onlookers.dancers would do anything to win. One women even pickled her feet.
What eventually happened dance marathons and what was the record
The longest dance marathon recorded was 22 weeks and 3 1/2 days. Dance marathons were later outlawed due to the hard physical strain
What are games like in the 1920s
Game started to gain popularity in 1920s whether you were playing with your family or friends it was a guaranteed good time. Some popular games included; mahjong, ouija boards and crossword puzzles
Mahjong
Game similar to dominoes
Ouija boards
A game where your supposed to wake up to spirits
Crossword puzzles
A word game where you fill in the blanks with the information they give you
What caused jazz music to get a bad name
Jazz music started to get hot in the 1920s. Youth started to go out to clubs and speakeasies. that’s where jazz started to get a bad name..
jazz started to get blamed for just about every problem.
parents and other adults opposed to jazz said that young men and women that dance to jazz cause them to be morally loose.
Describe flappers
Flappers were considered the loose morales, modern women of the 1920s. They wore shirt skirts baring their arms and lower leg, had bobbed hair, rolled down their hose and powdered their knees.
The typical flapper was a considerably young women and often offended older generations.
What did prohibition do
Prohibition outlaw the public manufacture, selling and transportation of alcohol. It’s consequences characterised the roaring 20s for a many great reasons.
What way did women act in the 1920s
Women were finally starting to forget traditions and being stayed at home wives and enjoying who they were
What did prohibition lead to
-It led to the illegal land manufacturing and selling of alcohol beverages that were given the slang name bootlegging.
-There were many people rebelling against the laws and doing so openly.
-The hip flask filled with bootleg whiskey became a familiar civil of the era. The speakeasies or underground saloons became very popular.
What became a job if the 1920s
Thousands of rum runners, bootleggers and beer barons were employed to keep these underground saloons stocked with liquor. Most of the liquor traffic can be traced back to gangsters whose name still ring fear in our heart today
Who were some example gangsters
Al Capone of Chicago
Gentleman jack diamond
Who provided the illegal alcohol of the 1920s
Alcohol is obviously a huge market for what in the 1920s was illegal. It was the gangster who dominated various cities that provided it
Each major city had its gangster element but the most famous was Chicago with Al Capone.
Who was Al Capone
Capone was public enemy number one
He had moved to Chicago in the 1920s where he worked for Johnny Torrio the cities leading figure in the underworld
What was Capone jobs for Torio
Capone was given the task of intimidating Torrios rivals within the city so that they would give up and handover torio their territory
Capone also had to convince speakeasy operators to buy alcohol from torrio
How did cake end up leader
Capone was very good at what he did. In 1925 Torio was nearly killed by a rival gang and he decided to get out of the criminal world while he was still alive. Torio handed over to Capone his “business.”
How long did it take Capone to rise to power
Within two years Capone was earning 60 million a year from alcohol sales alone
other rackets earned him an extra 45 million a year
What did Capone consider a good investment
Capone managed to bribe both the police and the important political leaders of Chicago
he spent 75 million on such ventures but considered it a good investment
In what way did Capone bribe leaders
His arm thugs patrolled election booths to ensure that Capone politicians were returned to office.
the cities mayor after 1927 was big Bill Thompson one of Capone‘s man
Thompson said, “we’re not only reopen places these people have closed but we’ll open 10,000 new ones. (Speakeasies 
How did Capone travel
For all his power Capone still had enemies from other surviving gangs in the city. He drove everywhere in an armour plated limousine and wherever he went so did his armed bodyguards.
What was violence in Chicago like
Violence was a daily occurrence in Chicago 227 gangsters were killed in the space of four years
What happened on valentines day
On Saint Valentine’s Day 1929, seven members of the O’Banion gang were shot dead by gangsters dressed as police
What eventually happened, Capone?
In 1931 the law finally caught up with Capone and he was charged with tax envision. He got 11 years in jail. In prison His health went and when he was released he retired his Florida mansion no longer the feared man he was from 1925 to 1931.
What changed for African Americans during the 1920s
Life began to change for the African-Americans during the jazz age from the position of the Jim Crow laws
What were the Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws and yes, history were laws passed by Southern states beginning in the 1980s that legalised segregation between different races.
This encouraged the passage of discriminatory laws
, Railways and street cars, public waiting rooms, restaurants, boarding houses, theatres and public institutions (generally of inferior quality) were designed for African-Americans
Who is the birth of jazz music accredited to
The birth of jazz music is often accredited to African-Americans but expanded and overtime was modified to become socially acceptable to middle class white Americans. White performers were used to make jazz popular in America
What did the jazz age help do for African Americans
Even though the jazz movement was taken over by the middle-class white population, it helped mix African-American traditions with the white middle-class society
What was a huge obstacle in American society
Bigotry in American Society remained a huge obstacle to African-Americans but jazz music and the culture offered Americans and unprecedent opportunity to mix regardless of race
What did African Americans begin to do that lead to jazz music
The continuation of African-American migration out of the American south into the northern cities. White patrons routinely frequented jazz clubs to listen to African American performers like Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet and Duke of Ellington
What was the father of the Harlem renaissance
A movement that represented an outpouring of African-American culture
What happened that ruined the jazz age
The strength of America’s economy in the 1920s came to sudden end in October 1929 with the Wall Street crash. Suddenly the glamour of the jazz age and gangsters disappeared and America was faced with a major crisis.
What was the illusion about America’s wealth
The huge wealth that appeared to exist in America in the 1920s was an illusion. The stock market crashed with the value of shares and Wall Street exchange in New York so low that many people lost all their money. This event led to the depression of the 1930s.
What’s was the bulk of America’s money like
They rich lost money in Wall Street but they could just about afford it but the vast bulk could not afford any loss of money. They had a very important economic impact .
What caused the major issue of unemployment in America
people could no longer afford to spend money and therefore did not buy consumer products. therefore as there was no buying shops went bust and factories had no reason to employ people who were making products that were not being sold
When was the depression at its worst
The depression took awhile to get going but by the winter of 1932 it was at its worst
What was the impact of the depression
-12, million people out of work
-12,000 people being made unemployed every day
-20,000 companies had gone bank
-1616 bank had gone bankrupt
-One farmer in every 20 was evicted
-23,000 people committed suicide in one year(highest ever)
What was the system for unemployed
There was no system of benefit for the unemployed charity such as the salvation army gave out free food and shelter. It is known that some people actually starve to death.
What did such unemployment lead people to do
In some states, man deliberately set fire to forest to get temporary employment as firefighters while farmers killed their animals as no one can afford to buy them in cities despite the great hunger there
