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The 1920's Iconic Moments (Lauren and Rachel)
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The eve of prohibition
Celebratory Americans gathered all over the country in churches and town halls to ring in the night before prohibition was enacted. They believed this would change the country immensely, erasing their “sinful” past, and making a better future, emptying prisons of criminals and abolishing slums. They were extremely wrong, since bootleggers quickly emerged to produce and smuggle alcohol around the country, and prohibition was eventually abandoned allowing alcohol to become an accepted beverage eve -
Nineteenth Amendment
The Nineteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution stated that any U.S. citizen was able to vote, male or female. This amendment was first introduced in 1878, and fought for for many years. Shockingly, it was not given to Congress to ratify until 1919! It was a great vcitory for women everywhere, although the privilege was not taken seriously until years later. -
The first 4-way, 3-colour traffic light
There were about 8 million horseless carriages around America at this time, allowing suburban communities to flourish, inventing tourism around the U.S., and encouraging multiple other car and road-related inventions. For example, as roads were extended, the motel, shopping center, and public parking garage were invented. Police officer William L. Potts in Detroit wanted to do something about the increased usage of automobiles. He used red, amber and green railroad lights to imitate railroad sig -
Beauty in the 1920's and the 1st Miss America
Margaret Gorman was named the first Miss America, after the competition started out as a popularity contest through The Washington Herald. Beauty was becoming a predominant concern in the 1920’s for women, as a result of increased sexual awareness before marriage. This led to daily weigh-ins, calorie- counting, etc. The term sex appeal was coined in this decade. In 1922, New York had 750 extremely expensive beauty parlors, but by 1927, had 3,500 for any salesgirl going on a date. This is now a -
First commercial radio stations
After the First World War, radio channels began to be sold as commercial channels that played music and began to play sports. With the first channels available to the public in September 1921, sports broadcasts followed swiftly in October 1921. -
First tabloid in the U.S. celebrates its 6th birthday!
The Daily News, the first daily paper printed in a tabloid style in the United States, celebrated its sixth anniversary, after it was established in 1919 in New York City. The tabloid had significantly increased its readership, with circulation of over a million! It is the fourth most circulated paper in the U.S. as of 2011, making it an important part of American culture. Tabloids hound many well-known figures in the country, spreading private information and gossip about them. -
First movie with sound! - Don Juan
Warner Brothers released the first feature-length film with a synchronized soundtrack on August 6th, 1926. Until then, either a live orchestra performed while the film was shown, or a separate soundtrack was played on a different machine. This was the first time, audio and visual was put together into one film. -
Jukeboxes introduced
Jukeboxes, or “nickelodeons” were partially automated music-playing devices. A 1918 technological advancement led to the mass production of the first selective jukeboxes in 1927. Jukeboxes became common fixtures in places such as restaurants, diners, military barracks, video arcades and Laundromats, until personal audio players became more common. -
Mickey Mouse premieres in 'Steamboat Willie'
Mickey Mouse, the beginning of Walt Disney’s collection of popular characters, was premiered in November 1928 in the animated film, Steamboat Willie. It opened in black and white, to introduce one of America’s most iconic pairs of ears! It was the third of Mickey’s films, but the first one to be distributed. Minnie was introduced in the movie as well. -
"Black Tuesday" Stock Market Crash
The “Black Tuesday” stock market crash occured on October 29th, 1929. After the prosperous 1920's, the stock market reached an all-time high and had no where to go but down by the end of the decade. This crash began the horrifyingly lengthy Great Depression, a period of mass unemployment and economic troubles that some say continued until 1947! This period of time altered the economy of the country after a very prosperous two decades; and many people suffered.
