University:
Eastern Kentucky University
Course:
HIS 103 | American Civilization Since 1877
Academic year:

2022
Views:

299

Pages:

2
Author:

Accinkiquicpqw

Cultural Change in the USA 1920’s Jazz  After the Great Migration of Black Americans to major cities, Jazz was played in clubs nationwide  Jazz originated as a Black music genre, however it was soon picked up by White Americans  Black musicians such as Louis Armstrong became famous and household names causing more media attention for Black Americans  Jazz helped create new dance styles such as the Turkey Trot and Charleston  However, Jazz was not popular in rural areas- Black rural Americans tended to prefer Blues and White rural Americans tended to prefer country music  The KKK and Protestant leaders in the South and Midwest denounced Jazz as the music of the Devil The Harlem Rennaissance  Many Black Americans that migrated north landed in Ghettos such as Harlem NY  In these areas where Black Americans were highly concentrated, Black culture flowed  Clubs such as the Cotton Club housed Jazz and dance Acts by Black Americans. These venues were attended by Whites and Blacks alike helping to spread Black culture  This culture included art, literature, dance, poetry, plays and music  This was reinforced by Marvin Garvey who introduced the Universal Negro Improvements Association to improve quality of life for Black Americans and unite black people over the world to gain equality Baseball  Baseball became a hugely popular sport in the 1920’s with stadiums being built in major cities  Baseball players became household names E.G. Babe Ruth of the Yankees  Baseball was controversial in the early 1920’s after allegations of match fixing in the 1919 World Series, however a new commissioner cleaned up the image and the sport boomed  This was aided by the economic boom as higher disposable incomes meant more working class people could afford to attend games and games were broadcasted to the nation via radio  However, the MLB was white only with Black players playing in the Negro Baseball League. This still generated large crowds, however they were mostly black  It wasn’t until after the Second World War when Jackie Robinson played for the Brooklyn Dodgers that the league became desegregated Radio and Cinema  The radio introduced the USA to Jazz, baseball and entertainment, giving individuals celebrity status  Radio channels were played to the whole nation and listened to by the vast majority of people, allowing them to connect with one another better  Radios also brough advertising opportunities causing the consumer boom  The Cinema allowed the USA to become global powers in entertainment  Acts such as Charlie Chaplin were able to become famous and spread awareness of social issues  By 1929 every small town had a cinema and Hollywood films were viewed by millions worldwide  Celebrities from films began to be followed by the media and covered in newspapers  However, religious moralists were worried that Hollywood films were undermining Christian Ethos in America Literature  Novels of the period focused heavily on the economic boom and effects of WW1  F Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby focussed on a man who invested on the New York Stock Exchange and featured a Flapper girl and a lavish millionaire  Ernest Hemingway’s A farewell to Arms told the story of a WW1 ambulance driver  These books pushed USA to the top of World Literature for the first time