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The 1920s Portal

Wall Street Crash of 1929

The 1920s (pronounced "nineteen-twenties" often shortened to the "20s" or the "Twenties") was a decade that began on January 1, 1920, and ended on December 31, 1929. In America, it is frequently referred to as the "Roaring Twenties" or the "Jazz Age", while in Europe the period is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Twenties" because of the economic boom following World War I (1914-1918). French speakers refer to the period as the "Années folles" ("Crazy Years"), emphasizing the era's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism.

The 1920s saw foreign oil companies begin operations in Venezuela, which became the world's second-largest oil-producing nation. The devastating Wall Street Crash in October 1929 is generally viewed as a harbinger of the end of 1920s prosperity in North America and Europe. In the Soviet Union the New Economic Policy was created by the Bolsheviks in 1921, to be replaced by the first five-year plan in 1928. The 1920s saw the rise of radical political movements, with the Red Army triumphing against White movement forces in the Russian Civil War, and the emergence of far right political movements in Europe. In 1922, the fascist leader Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy. Economic problems contributed to the emergence of dictators in Eastern Europe to include Józef Piłsudski in Poland, and Peter and Alexander Karađorđević in Yugoslavia. First-wave feminism saw progress, with women gaining the right to vote in the United States (1920), Ireland (1921) and with suffrage being expanded in Britain to all women over 21 years old (1928).

In Turkey, nationalist forces defeated Greece, France, Armenia and Britain in the Turkish War of Independence, leading to the Treaty of Lausanne (July 1923), a treaty more favorable to Turkey than the earlier proposed Treaty of Sèvres. The war also led to the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate. Nationalist revolts also occurred in Ireland (1919–1921) and Syria (1925–1927). Under Mussolini, Italy pursued a more aggressive foreign policy, leading to the Second Italo-Senussi War in Libya. In 1927, China erupted into a civil war between the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China (ROC) and forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Civil wars also occurred in Paraguay (1922–1923), Ireland (1922–1923), Honduras (1924), Nicaragua (1926–1927), and Afghanistan (1928–1929). Saudi forces conquered Jabal Shammar and subsequently, Hejaz.

A severe famine occurred in Russia in 1921–1922 due to the combined effects of economic disturbance because of the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War, exacerbated by rail systems that could not distribute food efficiently, leading to 5 million deaths. Another severe famine occurred in China in 1928–1930, leading to 6 million deaths. The Spanish flu (1918–1920) and the 1918–1922 Russia typhus epidemic, which had begun in the previous decade, caused 25–50 million and 2–3 million deaths respectively. Major natural disasters of this decade include the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake (258,707~273,407 deaths), the 1922 Swatow typhoon (50,000–100,000 deaths), the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake (105,385–142,800 deaths), and the 1927 Gulang earthquake (40,912 deaths).

Silent films were popular in this decade, with the 1925 American silent epic adventure-drama film Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ being the highest-grossing film of this decade, grossing $9,386,000 worldwide. Other high-grossing films of this decade include The Big Parade and The Singing Fool. Sinclair Lewis was a popular author in the 1920s, with 2 of his books, Main Street and Elmer Gantry, becoming best-selling books in the United States in 1921 and 1927 respectively. Other best-selling books of this decade include All Quiet on the Western Front and The Private Life of Helen of Troy. Songs of this decade include "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" and "Stardust". (Full article...)

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Canadian Home Journal, 1920

Western fashion in the 1920s underwent a modernization. For women, fashion had continued to change away from the extravagant and restrictive styles of the Victorian and Edwardian periods, and towards looser clothing which revealed more of the arms and legs, that had begun at least a decade prior with the rising of hemlines to the ankle and the movement from the S-bend corset to the columnar silhouette of the 1910s. Men also began to wear less formal daily attire and athletic clothing or 'Sportswear' became a part of mainstream fashion for the first time. The 1920s are characterized by two distinct periods of fashion: in the early part of the decade, change was slower, and there was more reluctance to wear the new, revealing popular styles. From 1925, the public more passionately embraced the styles now typically associated with the Roaring Twenties. These styles continued to characterize fashion until the worldwide depression worsened in 1931. (Full article...)

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Credit: American Colony, Jerusalem

Sultan al-Atrash was a prominent Arab Druze leader, Syrian nationalist and Commander General of the Syrian Revolution (1925–1927). He fought against the Ottomans, French, and even against the Syrian government in days of dictatorship. One of the most influential figures in Syrian and Druze history, he played a major role in deciding the destiny of Jabal ad-Duruz and of Syria in general.

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... that the colorfully-painted common room of the Jazz Age Naniboujou Club Lodge (pictured) has been called "a psychedelic marriage of Art Deco and traditional Cree Indian patterns"?
... that Charlie Bowman was a major influence on the distinctive fiddle sound that helped shape and develop early country music in the 1920s and 1930s?
... that Margie (ABC, 1961–1962) is one of the few network programs set during the Roaring Twenties, complete with jalopies, raccoon coats, period music, and references to flappers?

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Armstrong in 1953

Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He is among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and different eras in the history of jazz.

Armstrong was born and raised in New Orleans. Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an inventive trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. Around 1922, he followed his mentor, Joe "King" Oliver, to Chicago to play in the Creole Jazz Band [fr]. In Chicago, he spent time with other popular jazz musicians, reconnecting with his friend Bix Beiderbecke and spending time with Hoagy Carmichael and Lil Hardin. He earned a reputation at "cutting contests" and his fame reached band leader Fletcher Henderson. Henderson persuaded Armstrong to come to New York City, where he became a featured and musically influential band soloist and recording artist. Hardin became Armstrong's second wife and they returned to Chicago to play together and then he began to form his own "Hot" jazz bands. After years of touring, he settled in Queens, and by the 1950s, he was a national musical icon, assisted in part, by his appearances on radio and in film and television, in addition to his concerts. (Full article...)

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Josephine Baker Bix Beiderbecke Niels Bohr Louise Brooks Stanley Bruce Al Capone Coco Chanel Calvin Coolidge Jack Dempsey Albert Einstein Duke Ellington F. Scott Fitzgerald Zelda Fitzgerald George V Warren G. Harding Ernest Hemingway Rogers Hornsby William Randolph Hearst Al Jolson Kenesaw Mountain Landis Charles Lindbergh Józef Piłsudski Babe Ruth Gloria Swanson Anna May Wong

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... that the Mutual Reserve Building was described as "a law office slum" and a 1920s center of the "personal injury underworld"?
... that as the health commissioner of Chicago in the 1920s, Herman Bundesen advocated the distribution of prophylactics by the city to combat sexually transmitted diseases?
... that the League for Human Rights, established in Germany in the early 1920s, was the first mass organization for homosexuals?
... that B. Max Mehl, a coin dealer in Texas who made the hobby popular, advertised his "Mehl-ing list" in the 1920s?
... that 1920s actress Susie Sutton created her own vaudeville troupe and toured her company throughout the TOBA circuit?
... that in the 1920s, "the mouthpiece of Bloomsbury liberalism" was published in London's Great James Street?

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The following are images from various 1920s-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Benito Mussolini and Fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome in 1922. (from 1920s)
Image 2Adolf Hitler (standing) delivers a speech in February 1925 (from 1920s)
Image 31920s phone (from 1920s)
Image 4Dow Jones Industrial, 1928–1930 (from 1920s)
Image 5Buster Keaton in the 1922 short film The Frozen North (from 1920s)
Image 6Babe Ruth in 1920 (from 1920s)
Image 7F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1929 (from 1920s)
Image 8M1 Thompson rifle (1921 model) (from 1920s)
Image 9Spanish troops in San Sebastián, prior to their departure to the Rif War. (from 1920s)
Image 10The period from the end of the First World War until the start of the Depression in 1929 is known as the "Jazz Age" (from 1920s)
Image 11Albert Einstein, 1921 (from 1920s)
Image 12Irving Berlin (left) and Al Jolson, c. 1927 (from 1920s)
Image 13Robert Goddard and his rocket, 1926 (from 1920s)
Image 14Charlie Chaplin during the 1920s (from 1920s)
Image 15D. W. Griffith at a rolltop desk, c. 1925 (from 1920s)
Image 16The British and French colonial empires in 1920 (from 1920s)
Image 17From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Seán Hogan during the Irish War of Independence; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States throughout the entire decade; In 1927, Charles Lindbergh embarks on the first solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris on the Spirit of St. Louis; A crowd gathering on Wall Street after the 1929 stock market crash, which led to the Great Depression; Benito Mussolini and Fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome in 1922; the People's Liberation Army attacking government defensive positions in Shandong, during the Chinese Civil War; The Women's suffrage campaign leads to numerous countries granting women the right to vote and be elected; Babe Ruth becomes the most famous baseball player of the time. (from 1920s)
Image 18Prohibition agents emptying barrels of alcohol. (from 1920s)
Image 19Frank Lloyd Wright, 1926 (from 1920s)
Image 20Crowd gathering after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 (from 1920s)
Image 21The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) is created in 1922. (from 1920s)
Image 22The most memorable fashion trend of the Roaring Twenties was undoubtedly "the flapper" look. (from 1920s)