Essays
Blog posts that explore some aspect of the 1920s
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The Modern Temper 4-6: Leopold and Loeb
Some aspects of the murder of Bobby Franks by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb relate to themes brought up in chapters 4, 5, and 6 of The Modern Temper by…
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The Modern Temper (Chapters 1-3) and The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer is one of the most influential films in history due to its use of synchronized sound in a feature-length movie. However, there is much more to unpack…
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The Women’s World’s Fair and ‘The Modern Temper’
Lynn Dumenil’s piece “The Modern Temper” directly touches upon and reflects notions of the Women’s World’s Fair that made the event so important and impactful. Specifically, the third chapter titled…
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The Modern Temper Chapters 1-3: Battle of Warsaw
The Battle of Warsaw was a significant battle during the Soviet-Polish War in August of 1920. The event has some themes that are connected to American 1920’s themes, though the…
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The Modern Temper Chapters 1-3: Einstein as a Celebrity Scientist
Albert Einstein’s reception of the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics, and particularly this event’s recognition in the United States, draws many parallels to Lynn Dumenil’s discussion of competing public and…
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The Modern Temper Chapters 1-3: Transportation Technology and the Press in the Nome Serum Run
The 1920s were a decade of rapid industrialization that are often remembered for their improvements in transportation technology. These advancements, however, did not prove useful to the town of Nome…
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The Modern Temper chapters 1-3 and the death of Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini’s death most directly relates to the major chapter ideas of chapter 2 of Lynn Demenil’s book The Modern Temper, “Work and Consumption”. Dumenil describes the consumption patterns of…
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What the 1920’s Means to Me
The roaring 20’s. A time of great change, parties, and flappers. That’s what I think about when I think of the 1920’s. This time period was a renaissance of some…
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The 1920s Through My Eyes
When I think of the 1920s, one of my first thoughts is how much art is centered around that time period. Chicago is a musical that comes to mind, showing…
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Impressions of the 1920s
The 1920s have always struck me as a decade of social, cultural, and technological innovation, coupled with broad reshaping of national narratives in most of the industrialized world. In the…
