The Roaring Twenties

By: Anna Walls, Amanda Kaiser, Audrey Rosenberger, Kasey Shires, and Shannon

Bischoff

The 1920s were a time of inventions and growth. But they were also the beginning of the modern age. Such

dances became popular as the Charleston, fox-trot, and shimmy

(Hanson par. 2). Games that most knew how to play were mah-jongg,

Ouija boards, and crossword puzzles (Peggy par. 2).

Other, equally as popular events that all enjoyed were the attractiveness of American baseball (Peggy par. 2).

Stylish and upscale women all wanted to wear the designer Chanel (Ruby

32). Peanut butter and jelly became a huge hit with the children of this era

also (Hanson par. 4).

And now for the news…

New inventions have been popping up all over the nation. You may recall

when the first robot was built in 1921(Bellis line3). However, today’s

scientists are creating more and more. Penicillin was discovered two years

ago (Horsham 123), along with bubble gum and the Band-Aid, which was invented in 1920 by Earle Dickson

(Bellis lines 2 and 23).

Other technological advancements are being made even as we speak. Philo Farnsworth invented an electronic T.V. system (Bellis line 17) two years after 1925, when John Baird invented the earliest version of a T.V. (Hanson par. 9). However, the first “talkie” wasn’t invented until 1927 (Hanson par. 9).

Transportation also seems to be getting a makeover recently. It was reported

that “Ford produced more than 60 percent of the automobiles in the

1920s”(Hanson 13). While the traffic signal wasn’t invented until 1923,

Paul Galvin invented the car radio in 1929 (Bellis lines 7 and 25).

Some may recall that “The 1920s was a period of rapid economic progress and

change” (Hanson 11). Anyone who lost everything in the 1929 New York Stock Exchange Crash begs to differ (Horsham 123). Many remember the

beginning of it all, on October 24, 1929, more commonly known as Black

Thursday (Hanson par. 8).

As you may recollect, president Herbert Hoover had a simple win in the 1928 presidential election (Goldberg 167).

Women played a huge role in the elections as this time. Women were

granted the right to vote in 1920 (Sage 5). However, by the mid-

twenties, only a few had been granted access to Congress (Goldberg 53).

To conclude our news segment, a few words would like to be said of the

terror that is sweeping the nation. It has been reported that the Ku Klux

Klan, as of 1923, have become common in the following states:

Texas, Indiana, Colorado, and Oregon (Goldberg 117). They have allegedly included “Catholics, Jews, radicals,

and foreigners as objects of intolerance” (Hanson 64).

End of reel