(11/2) Post WW1 - The Roaring 20s - Amy Rigdon | Library

After World War 1 - The Roaring 20s
After World War 1, the United States entered a time of economic growth that improved the lives of many Americans.  Businesses grew in the 1920s, providing people with new jobs and higher pay.  Many Americans were able to buy new products such as Henry Ford's Model T automobile and radios.

The radio made it possible for Americans to listen to their favorite sport, baseball.  Babe Ruth became famous for hitting home runs.  Mass media also gave fame to  Charles Lindbergh, who was the first to fly an airplane solo (alone, by himself) across the Atlantic Ocean.

People had more money and more leisure time.  In the cities especially, people looked for more entertainment.  Jazz music and dance clubs became popular.  African American Louis Armstrong was a famous jazz musician and African American Duke Ellington was a well-known jazz composer and bandleader. The search for fun in cities, combined with illegal alcohol, earned this era the name the "Roaring Twenties."

Many more Americans were going to movies and buying books, magazines, and music.   One famous writer of the 1920's was African American Langston Hughes.  Hughes was an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance.  This was a movement of African American artists centered in Harlem, a neighborhood of New York City.  Many artists of the Harlem Renaissance used their writings, paintings, and music to explain how it felt to be an African American at the time.  The Harlem Renaissance marked the first time African American artists in the United States gained national attention for their work.

Langston Hughes wrote many novels and childrens books, but he is most known for his poetry.  In his poem "I, Too," Hughes expresses his hope for better treatment of African Americans.

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After World War 1, the United States entered a time of economic growth that improved the lives of many Americans. Businesses grew in the 1920s, providing people with new jobs and higher pay.

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Famous baseball player that set the record for hitting home runs.

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Became famous for being the first person to fly solo (alone) across the Atlantic Ocean,

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An African American writer from the Harlem Renaissance that became famous for his poetry. He often wrote about unfair treatment of African Americans.

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A famous African American jazz trumpet player during the Roaring 20s.

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African American that was a well known jazz composer and bandleader in the 1920s.

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Mass Produced the Model T automobile which was cheap enough for most people to buy.

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The Harlem Renaissance was a movement of African American artists centered in Harlem, a neighborhood of New York City. Many artists of the Harlem Renaissance used their writings, paintings, and music to explain how it felt to be an African American at the time. The Harlem Renaissance marked the first time African American artists in the United States gained national attention for their work.