other+-+twenties

ATG //"Scopes isn't on trial, civilization is on trial."// – Defense attorney Clarence Darrow, on the Scopes Trial

The Scopes Monkey Trial took place in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee in 1925, a town that planned on using the trial to make a name for themselves. John Scopes, a high school football coach and substitute teacher was chosen by the American Civil Liberties Union to intentionally test the recently added Butler Act, stating that Darwin’s Theory of Evolution could not be taught in school. Although, in plain sight the Trial seemed to be persecuting Scopes, it was really meant to try the law and instigate a change. Darrow’s statement that “civilization is on trial” seems to sum up the real truth about the case in all. This case would stand to help define what the roaring Twenties as an era of great change. The trial represents a time where old traditions where becoming challenged by new ones. Prior to the Twenties, very few people if any would even know or look at the ideas of Darwin’s Evolution Theory, but social change would change it all. By using the term “civilization”, Darrow is referring to the new generation following the First World War. Whether or not Scopes won the trial had nothing to do with it, the purpose was to generate popularity and knowledge of the change and to help people realize, that although they may not believe in it, does not make it false.

ATG: Lindbergh's Trans-Atlantic Flight Charles Lindbergh was the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. This single flight would change the United States forever. The twenties represented a time of celebration for the United States, for the War was over and the economy was booming. It was an era of great change and innovation and the flight would open up new things for the United States. With the new technology of the 1900s the United States would find them selves a world power. The flight represents the new era because old traditions and obstacles would be over come. This flight added to the overwhelming affect of jazz as well. Women were dressing in ways that they had never before and the formal traditions of socializing where soon left behind. Lindbergh’s flight would fuel the generation of sex, drugs, and jazz. The speakeasies can also be related to the flight because it made people feel even more deserving and all powerful. People wanted to have fun and do things that were never even fathomed by previous generations. Young Americans wanted change and the flight that Lindbergh would complete helped this young men and women ignite the “roaring” Twenties. if the flight would have not been completed, the idea of putting a man on the moon would have stayed completely outlandish to Americans. New things were made possible and because of this, about thirty years later, the United States would become the first country to put a man on the moon. Although the Twenties could be perceived as an era of acting out, still many accomplishments would make it complete.

SLW: THE FLAPPER //by Dorothy Parker// The Playful flapper here we see, The fairest of the fair. She's not what Grandma used to be, -- You might say, //au contraire//. Her girlish ways may make a stir, Her manners cause a scene, But there is no more harm in her Than in a submarine.

She nightly knocks for many a goal The usual dancing men. Her speed is great, but her control Is something else again. All spotlights focus on her pranks. All tongues her prowess herald. For which she well may render thanks To God and Scott Fitzgerald.

Her golden rule is plain enough - Just get them young and treat them rough.

As the flapper phenomenon spread throughout the United States during the 1920s, many people who disagreed with the practices of these independent and radical women began to show their anger and disappointment. Those against the flapper sensation usually held fundamentalist beliefs and felt that flapper clothing and mannerisms were risqué and obscene. Opponents thought that the practice disgraced women and their moral values through exposed sexuality, smoking in public places, and wild drinking in violation of the existing prohibition law. Dorothy Parker, one of the outspoken opponents of the flapper fad that was taking place in the United States, was able to share her thoughts about these women through her writing. Parker was a well-known writer for //Vanity Fair//, the //New Yorker,// and //Vogue.// Parker was accustomed to writing poems and satires and being very witty. In the poem: //The Flapper,// Dorothy shares her view of what flappers are while carefully making fun of them at the same time. Parker does so by comparing their innocence to that of a submarine and by equating their abilities in dancing to a total lack of composure. Parker also makes sure to include her feelings of resentment towards writers of “The Lost Generation”, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, because she feels that, through their writings, they have spread the image of the flapper and therefore contributed to the flapper craze. Dorothy Parker was very clever in choosing how to write her poem because she wrote it using understandable vocabulary and in a lyrical way that would entertain her readers. Parker wrote this poem, about the frivolous nature of flapper women, for typical citizens of the United States, especially women, to encourage them to stop their heedless behavior and, again, resort to more refined and dignified behavior.

SL: I didn't see a quotes page, so I hope it's alright that I post this on this page.. Africa is for the Africans...at home and abroad!

-Marcus Garvey The author of this quote is Marcus Garvey, a noted anti-immigration proponent during the Twenties. A native of Jamaica, Garvey was the founder of the "Back to Africa" Movement, which entailed a mass migration of African Americans back to Africa in order to start a new community and way of life. Garvey believed that there was no conceivable way to successfully integrate blacks and whites because whites would never consider blacks their equal. Due to this belief, Garvey wanted to form an all black community separate from white society, even going as far to suggest a separate all black "state" within the United States. He also purposed that blacks only support black business so that societal and economic growth could be achieved. This quote originated during the 1920s, which was a time where African Americans where not given equal opportunities, and were mostly considered socially beneath immigrants. In addition, with the start of the Harlem Renaissance resulted in larger patronage of black business with the start of numerous Jazz clubs, such as the Cotton Club. Audiences would better understand Garvey's intent with prior knowledge about the inequalities that blacks experienced during this time and the distinction between prejudice and acceptance with the growing support for the Harlem Renaissance and popularity of Jazz. In a time where Blacks were both snubbed and accepted, Garvey's idea of leaving the United States was not well received, as many African Americans were just starting to prosper with increased white patronage of their Jazz clubs. This quote was created for the public, and specifically African Americans. The main idea of the quote is to increase support for the Back to Africa Movement. This quote is significant because it demonstrates Garvey's opinion of African Americans and his ideas and actions would later found the Black Muslim Movement in the 1960s, and the creation of the United Negro Improvement Association.

WMA “Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.” – H.L. Mencken Henry Louis “H.L.” Mencken was a social critic and prolific write during the first half of the twentieth century. Mencken was notable for his outspoken, and radical, beliefs regarding cultural norms. Mencken attacked all politicians, middle-class Americans, Christianity, Democracy, and marriage. Although Mencken eventually did marry in 1930 he was never divorced, thus he never had firsthand experience with alimony. Mencken produced this quote during the first half of the twentieth century, an era in which divorce rates were increasing. Due to Mencken’s negative disposition toward marriage it is inferable that “the happy” are divorced men, now free from their ex-wife, “the devil”. This quote was most likely a humorous appeal directed toward divorced men; however, it is also an attack against still married couples. By referring to unmarried men as “happy” Mencken is implying that married men are unhappy. Mencken’s quote also draws attention toward the growing frequency of divorces by discussing divorce humorously. Previously a divorce would be viewed as a sign of failure, yet Mencken instead casts it in a positive light. Mencken removes himself from the status quo by lashing out against marriage – while simultaneously promoting divorce.

SMR- “The Road Not Taken”- Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I marked the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost, author of this poem, is a known for being a writer of the Lost Generation. Frost was one of many who lost hope in the American way of life. The Twenties gave way to existentialism, and Robert Frost, along with the rest of expatriate writers, condemned the loss of personal identity. Frost did not move to Europe, like other writers during this time period. Instead, he bought a farm in New England, where he launched his career as a writer, lecturer, and teacher. Frost’s writings are based on how American life changed from individualism to playing a role in society. He denounced American materialism. In “The Road Not Taken,” the road on which was most traveled represents how the American way has changed. The new way was to do what others were doing. However, the narrator chooses the road less traveled because he refuses to conform. This poem is directed toward the general American population, to voice how conformist everything has become. Writers, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway probably would have agreed with Frost’s point of view. Other groups, such as Flappers, would probably have disagreed with Frost because they embraced the Cultural Revolution. Frost addresses the increase in consumerism and how people label their wealth with the clothes they wear, the cars they drive, or the parties they attend. In a sense, the poem shows how American culture is spiraling downward and how reason and academics is no longer the highest priority.

RCJ – “I think a woman gets more happiness out of being gay, light-hearted, unconventional, mistress of her own fate.... I want [my daughter] to be a flapper, because flappers are brave and gay and beautiful.” Zelda Fitzgerald

During the whirlwind of change that was the 1920s, women’s attitudes were changing drastically with mixed reactions ranging from contempt to encouragement. Zelda, wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, was an iconic flapper and wrote of women like herself on many occasions. Women had previously been expected to remain at home and serve their families, but in the years after WWI the mold was broken with short hemlines and a strong will to experience life outside of marriage and motherhood. Zelda was a supporter of this movement towards freedom for the ‘weaker sex’, and many looked to her and her husband as the quintessential 1920s couple – young, attractive, and wealthy. The ideas that permeated her writings were reflective of what most flappers believed; slaving in the kitchen was no way to spend one’s youth. Zelda’s hope that her own daughter would grow to embrace the same path as herself and other wild young women of the time gave a mature perspective on what many conservative individuals viewed as juvenile rebellion. Mothers wish the best for their children, and Zelda found that the flapper lifestyle was about more than sex and dancing, it was a way to live one’s life to the best of one’s ability – and without the chains of domesticity to restrain happiness.

CHE—"Louis Armstrong's station in the history of jazz is unimpeachable. If it weren't for him, there wouldn't be any of us." - Dizzy Gillespie

Dizzy Gillespie, like Louis Armstrong, was a jazz musician. However, Dizzy Gillespie’s fame came after that of Louis Armstrong; Louis Armstrong’s talent took precedence over the fact that he was African-American, and he was popular among whites and blacks in the United States. Famous for his ability to hold notes on his trumpet for extremely long periods of time, he strongly influenced the foundation of jazz in the nineteen-twenties by introducing music as a collaboration of beats and sounds of different sources, as well as popular music in general. Gillespie made this statement in 1971, the year Armstrong died; this was also during Gillespie’s recreation and after the civil rights movements had achieved success. Although Gillespie directly refers to “us” as the successful jazz artists who flourished thanks to Armstrong’s incredible achievements, the time period in which Gillespie made this statement allows inference to be made that Gillespie specifically means that African-American artists would not have been so successful without Armstrong’s breakthrough decades ago. The significance of this quote is represented within itself; it is a reminder that jazz music as it is today (being when Gillespie made this statement) was greatly influenced by the talent and contributions of Louis Armstrong.

checked