What Does the 1920s Mean to you?

Before looking at Images

What do I know and remember learning about the 1920s? The first idea that comes to mind when I think of the 1920s is the “Great Gatsby Era.” The 1920s was a decade of enormous glamorous parties run by the wealthiest people in America at the time.  The term “Roaring Twenties” was created because of how pivotal and action-packed this era was. Pivotal movements such as the Women’s right to vote was founded in this era.  I have learned about the 1920s in other classes, such as high school. I have also read books such as The Great Gatsby, which takes place in the 1920s. When I read The Great Gatsby in high school, I remember learning about the history of the time as an introduction to the book. I remember that women would wear flappers and short dresses to these parties, and men would be in suits wearing ties at these formal house parties. The book The Great Gatsby doesn’t delve into the historical aspects of the time but instead focuses on the book’s two main characters’ love life. The 1920s were when the culture was made up of new dressing, dancing, and parties. I have also learned about the Jazz Era in a music class that I took, which this era discussed. A renowned Jazz artist, Louis Armstong, also comes from this time. At this time, the population took in this new type of music as a sign to go out to party and enjoy this new type of music that had been born.

After looking at images 

As I googled the term “1920s” and looked at the image search, I noticed that I remembered the same dress from recalling the 1920s. Wikipedia had a collage of eight pictures that represented the 1920s in a nutshell. The images include the prohibition period of people destroying the barrels that held alcohol in them. Another image that I noticed was in the photos’ assortment was the late Babe Ruth, who played for the New York Yankees in the 1920s. Another picture that I saw in that collage is a woman holding up a sign fighting for the right to vote. As historians, we have to look at the meaningful aspects of every decade the Earth goes through. Before looking at these images from Google, I thought the 1920s were all about partying and going out in groups to go out dancing. As I look at the images from google, that is true as the photos showcase, but some pivotal points in history play out in the 1920s. I also noticed that most pictures when you search on google are made up of black and white photography because this was a time before colored photography was around. I think it is a shame that most of the pictures showcase the fashion of the era. When initially searching the 1920s, the search doesn’t showcase more photos of American history’s  pivotal moments, such as the women’s suffrage movement and the prohibition period. After looking at the pictures of this time, I am excited to learn more about it!

Citations

• Rossini, Antonio. Throw Back Thursday- the Restaurant Scene in the 1920s. Restaurantsupply.com. Antonio Rossini, June 24, 2016. https://www.restaurantsupply.com/blog/post/throw-back-thursday-the-restaurant-scene-in-the-1920s/. 
• Volvo Trucks In 1920s. n.d. Volvotrucks.com. https://www.volvotrucks.com/en-en/about-us/history/1920s.html. 

• 1
  1
• 2
  2