Name: _____________________ Date: ________ Class: _____

Roaring 1920s Webquest

Overview
World War I shattered Americans' faith in reform and moral crusades, leading the younger
generation to rebel against traditional taboos while their elders engaged in an era of economic
speculation.
The popular image of the 1920s, as a decade of prosperity and riotous living and of
bootleggers and gangsters, flappers and jazz, flagpole sitters, and marathon dancers, is
indelibly etched in American history. But this image is also profoundly misleading. The 1920s
was a decade of deep cultural conflict. The pre-Civil War decades had fundamental conflicts in
American society that involved geographic regions. During the Gilded Age, conflicts centered on
ethnicity and social class. In a different way, the conflicts of the 1920s were primarily cultural,
placing a more cosmopolitan, modernist, urban culture against a more agricultural, traditionalist,
rural culture.
The decade witnessed a titanic struggle between an old and a new America. Immigration,
race, alcohol, evolution, and gender politics,--all became major cultural battlefields during the
1920s. Wets battled drys, religious modernists battled religious fundamentalists, and urban
ethnics battled the Ku Klux Klan.
The 1920s was a decade of profound social changes. The most obvious signs of change
were the rise of a consumer-oriented economy and of mass entertainment, which helped to
bring about a "revolution in manners." Gender roles, hair styles, and dress all changed
profoundly during the 1920s. Many Americans regarded these changes as "liberation" from the
country's patriarchal past. But for others, morals seemed to be decaying, and the United States
seemed to be changing in undesirable ways. The result was a thinly veiled "cultural civil war.

The Roaring 20s Webquest Part One

Type the following links into your web browser and answer the questions. You will need to read
various paragraphs as well as watch videos in order to completely answer the questions. Please
explore each site in detail.
The Roaring Twenties
Prohibition http://www.1920-30.com/prohibition/
1. What were the intended goals for Prohibition?

2. What were the actual results of Prohibition?

3. Which amendment began Prohibition? Which amendment repealed it?

4. Who was Al Capone?

Jazz http://www.pbs.org/jazz/time/time_roaring.htm

5. How were the roaring twenties a time of unprecedented prosperity?

6. Name five bands from the 1920s.

7. What two inventions helped jazz reach even remote locations of the U.S.?

8. Did everyone enjoy jazz music? How do you know?

Fashion http://www.1920-30.com/fashion/
9. Describe fashion in the 1920s.

10. What was the bob?

11. Who were the flappers?

12. How did the roaring twenties redefine womanhood?

Slang of the 1920s http://local.aaca.org/bntc/slang/slang.htm

13. Use the slang terms to write one sentence about Prohibition.

14. Use the slang terms to write one sentence about the music of the 1920s.

15. Use the slang terms to write one sentence about the fashion of the 1920s.

Part 2:
After looking at the broad picture of the 1920s, take some time to explore and get to know ONE
aspect of culture from the 1920s. Once youve familiarized yourself with the topic you will create
a magazine cover that focuses on the area you learned about and is representative of the times.

The Process:
Choose one of the following aspects of culture to explore: Fashion, Cars, Sports,
Entertainment, Women, Technology, or Crime
Read about your topic using the links below. Become as informed as possible about that
particular segment of culture. VERY IMPORTANT: Sites have both pictures and text. It is
IMPORTANT that you look at the pretty pictures AND READ!
Consider the themes, achievements, and important people that shape your topic.
You may take note of any words or pictures that you want to use on your magazine cover.
Once you finish, create a cover that might have appeared on a magazine like Life, People,
ELLE, or TIME. Covers should have a combination of pictures and headlines that highlight
the major trends of the day. Your goal is to capture the flavor of culture in the 1920s.
***Go to the class website to access the links more easily.***
http://gerunhistory.weebly.com
(click on the Roaring 20s button under the Honors US History tab)
Resources:
Fashion:

Fashion for Men and Ladies

History of Fashion

The Ultimate Fashion Site

Womens Clothing

Boys Fashion
Cars:

Chicago Vintage
1920s Automobiles
Riley Motors
Classic Cars
Ford
Consequences of the Automobile

Sports:

Helmets

Babe Ruth

1920s Sports

Black Baseball Leagues

African Americans in Sports

Entertainment:

Movies and Radio

Music

Media History Timeline

The Roaring 1920s Concert Extravaganza

Audio Clips of Music

Greatest Films of the 1920s

Fads

Women:

Woman on the Silver Screen

Flapper Jane

Congresswomen

Womens Organizations in the 1920s

Margaret Sanger

Bessie Smith

Amelia Earhart
Business, Industry, and Technology:

Technologys Impact of Life

Charles Lindbergh

Electronic Consumer Appliances

Consumerism

Henry Ford #1
Henry Ford #2

Business
Crime:

Leopold and Loeb

Capone
Sacco and Vanzetti
St. Valentines Day Massacre
Temperance and Prohibition
The Scopes Trial

Conclusion:
This short webquest should have given you an overview of 1920s culture. Hopefully, you have
noticed how much of our culture today has been influenced by this period. This is a theme we
will pick up on throughout the rest of the year.