1. art and entertainment
2. books and literature
3. poetry

Name________________________________________ Date ________________ CLASS __________
Reading Essentials
and Study Guide
netw rks
The Jazz Age, 1921-1929
Lesson 4 Cultural Innovations
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How was social and economic life
different in the early twentieth
century from that of the late
nineteenth century?
How has the cultural identity of the
United States changed over time?
Reading HELPDESK
Content Vocabulary
bohemian unconventional; not bound by the rules of society
mass media medium of communication (such as television and radio)
intended to reach a wide audience
unify to bring a group together with a similar goal or thought pattern
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Academic Vocabulary
diverse being different from one another
Name________________________________________ Date ________________ CLASS __________
Reading Essentials
and Study Guide Cont.
netw rks
The Jazz Age, 1921-1929
TAKING NOTES: Organizing
ACTIVITY As you read about the 1920s, complete a graphic organizer like the
one below by filling in the main characteristics of art, literature, and popular
culture of the era.
Art and Literature
GUIDING QUESTION How did many artists and writers of the time describe
the 1920s?
During the 1920s American artists and writers searched for meaning in the
modern world. They questioned traditional ideas. Many artists, writers, and
intellectuals moved to Manhattan’s Greenwich Village and Chicago’s South Side.
These places allowed young artists, musicians, and writers greater freedom to
express themselves. They lived an artistic and unconventional, or bohemian,
lifestyle.
Modern American Art
European art influenced the modernists of American art. Modern American art
included a diverse range of artistic styles. Each artist attempted to express the
modern experience in an individual way. American painter John Marin used the
energetic feel of New York City for his inspiration.
Painter Charles Scheeler created urban and rural paintings. He used
photography and the shapes of Cubism for inspiration. Edward Hopper used the
visual accuracy of realism in his haunting scenes. His paintings carry a sense of
disappointment and isolation. People still admire the bold landscapes and flowers
that Georgia O’Keeffe painted during her long life.
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IT MATTERS BECAUSE…
The 1920s was a time of artistic creativity and great change in popular
culture. Artists and writers tried out new techniques. Broadcast radio introduced
the latest trends in music and entertainment. Motion pictures became a major
leisure-time activity. Americans also began to fall in love with sports such as
baseball and boxing.
Name________________________________________ Date ________________ CLASS __________
Reading Essentials
and Study Guide Cont.
netw rks
The Jazz Age, 1921-1929
Poets and Writers
PROGRESS CHECK
Describing Why did many artists, poets, playwrights, and novelists move to Paris
in the 1920s?
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Popular Culture
GUIDING QUESTION Why did many Americans have more time for
entertainment, and how did they spend their time?
The economic fortunes and new technology of the 1920s provided many Americans
with more spending money and leisure time. Millions of Americans eagerly
watched sports. They enjoyed music, theater, and other forms of popular
entertainment.
Movies and Radio Shows
Silent films were popular in the 1920s. Theaters hired piano players to play music
for silent films. Subtitles explained the plot. Audiences went to movies to see such
stars as Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., and Rudolph
Valentino. In 1927 the first “talking” picture, The Jazz Singer, came out. Hollywood
entered its golden age.
Famous songwriter Irving Berlin worked in New York City’s Tin Pan Alley. Tin Pan
Alley was the part of town where publishers of popular music were located. Berlin’s
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Writers of the 1920s had different styles and subjects. Illinois poet and writer Carl
Sandburg used common speech to glorify the Midwest. So did Pulitzer Prize–winner
Willa Cather. Sinclair Lewis poked fun at small-town life in Main Street. Edith
Wharton criticized upper-class ignorance in her Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The
Age of Innocence. In Greenwich Village, Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote about
women’s lives. Millay was also a Pulitzer Prize winner.
Several poets—such as Amy Lowell, Ezra Pound, and William Carlos Williams—
used words that created clear images to express moments in time. Others, such as
T. S. Eliot, criticized what they saw as a loss of spirituality in modern life.
Eugene O’Neill was probably the most innovative writer of drama. His plays had
realistic characters and situations. They gave a modern vision of life that
sometimes touched on the tragic. Long Day’s Journey Into Night is a memorable
example.
Some American writers moved to Paris. That city was a center of artistic activity.
World War I and the growing consumer society in the United States had shattered
the writers’ ideals. American writer Gertrude Stein called these artists a “Lost
Generation.” Her Paris apartment became a home away from home for many
writers. Among them was Ernest Hemingway. He wrote novels about war and its
ruinous results. One of Hemingway’s novels about war was A Farewell to Arms.
Another visitor was F. Scott Fitzgerald. He criticized society’s shallowness in The
Great Gatsby. His colorful characters chased fruitless dreams. He modeled some of
his characters after his wife Zelda. She was an artist, dancer, and writer.
Name________________________________________ Date ________________ CLASS __________
Reading Essentials
and Study Guide Cont.
netw rks
The Jazz Age, 1921-1929
famous songs include “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and “White Christmas.” Radio broadcasts
aired everything from classical music to comedy. One popular show was Amos ’n’
Andy. In it, the troubles of two African American characters (portrayed by white
actors) grabbed the nation’s attention.
Radio, movies, newspapers, and magazines aimed at a broad audience made up
the mass media. More than just entertainment, the mass media also gave a
sense of shared experience that helped unify the nation.
Sports
PROGRESS CHECK
Explaining Why did new national pastimes emerge during the 1920s, and what
were some of the most popular new ways for Americans to spend their leisure time?
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Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
Sports reached new levels of popularity in the 1920s, thanks to the mass media.
Baseball star Babe Ruth became a national hero, famous for hitting hundreds of
home runs. Fans also admired boxer Jack Dempsey, who was world heavyweight
champion from 1919 until 1926, when he lost the title to Gene Tunney. When
Dempsey tried to win back the title in 1927, one store sold $90,000 worth of
radios in the two weeks before the event.
Newspaper articles helped build support for college football. One of the most
famous players of the 1920s was Red Grange of the University of Illinois. He was
known as the “Galloping Ghost” because of his speed and ability to dodge those on
the other team. Sports fans thrilled to stories about Bobby Jones, the best golfer
of the decade. Fans also bought newspapers to read about tennis players Bill
Tilden and Helen Wills. The story of swimmer Gertrude Ederle delighted American
readers. Ederle broke records by swimming the English Channel in a little over 14
hours in 1927.