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Eighteenth Amendment Passes
The 18th Amendment prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol. Believers in Prohibition worried about alcoholic husbands and impoverished families. Resistance to Prohibition came from most of the middle-class men who demanded to drink what they pleased. Temperance advocates were assisted in their fight against alcohol by World War I, where it was unpatriotic to drink beer because many brewers were German and wheat was supposed to be conserved for the war effort. -
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The Rise of Speakeasies
Speakeasies were establishments that illegally sold alcohol during Prohibition, often requiring a password to get in. Speakeasies often had a store in the front with the alcohol in the back. -
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Jazz: The Music of the 1920's
Jazz began in dance halls and was truly American, especially African American. It represented the 1920's with its excitement and character. Hotspots for jazz were Chicago, New York, Kansas City, and Los Angeles. Major jazz entertainers like Louis Armstrong and Ferdinand Morton helped spread its popularity, along with the invention of phonograph records. -
19th Amendment Passes
The 19th Amendment finally passed as a result of the hard work and determination of the National Women's Party and the National American Women Suffrage Association. Carrie Chapman Catt led the NAWSA and Alice Paul led the NWP. Parades and mass meeting were effective ways of gaining recognition for suffrage. -
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The Radio Gains Popularity
Radio promoted mass culture in the 1920's and began to increase in popularity when a Pittsburgh radio station picked up on announcing the election returns. Nine years later, nearly 40% of American households owned a radio. Some businesses even managed their schedule around popular radio shows. -
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Al Capone's Prime
Al Capone was a notorious gangster during the Prohibition era and made his earnings selling alcohol illegally. He was thought to be involved in the Valentines Day Massacre, where seven men were killed. He was given eight years in prison in 1931 not for murder or illegally selling alcohol, but for tax evasion. -
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The Automobile and Its Impact
After the invention of the assembly line by Henry Ford in 1913, cars were produced faster and cheaper, making them more popular. America owned 23 milliion cars by 1930, one for every five people. The automobile gave new life to the steel, petroleum, rubber, and glass industries. Highways were constructed all across the country, and people could now afford to live several miles out of the city. -
Movies Take Off
In 1926, movies grossed $1.6 billion dollars, most of it coming from the larger studios like Paramount, Metro-Golden-Mayer, and United Artists. Famous movie stars like Clara Bow impacted how younger women dressed and acted. Movie theaters sprang up across the nation and sold 90 million tickets in 1929. -
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Fireside Chats
Fireside chats were talks given by President Franklin Roosevelt using the new invention of radio to give reassuring sermons to the American people, talking about his New Deal, war, and national security. These chats, often given at around 7 PM, gave the people a sense of communication with their president. -
18th Amendment Repealed
Prohibition was repealed with the 21st Amendment to the Constitution - still the only Amendment to be repealed in United States history. The American public saw the problems Prohibition was causing, such as the widespread violence and rise of gangsters in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, causing an outcry to end Prohibition.
