The Roaring 20's

Overview

It has been a century since the economic boom in the US, known as the Roaring Twenties, led to an era of mass consumerism and cultural expression. This was the age of Jazz, flappers, the Charleston, the Harlem Renaissance, and more.  Join Active Minds as we explore the origins, manifestations, and legacy of this colorful era.

Key Lecture Points

  • Domestic and international political events of the 1910s, especially World War I and the Great Influenza Pandemic, led to an inward-facing US in the 1920s.
  • Economic growth and urbanization set the stage for the Roaring 20s. Jazz music, prohibition, and new rights and social conditions for women were all key players in the Jazz Age.
  • The Great Migration of Black Americans from the South into America’s Northern cities had a significant impact on American culture that’s particularly visible via 1920s jazz music and the cultural output of the Harlem Renaissance.
  • Lost Generation writers and art deco artists and architects produced art that captured the spirit of the age.
  • Racism and nativism remained significant problems in US political and cultural life through the 1920s and beyond.
  • The 1929 stock market crash helped set off a catastrophic economic meltdown that brought the prosperity of the decade to a rapid close and ended the decadence characteristic of the Roaring 20s.

Discussion Questions

  • What role did the Great Migration play in the culture of the Jazz Age?
  • Have you read any fiction or poetry by a Harlem Renaissance or Lost Generation writer? What did you think about it? How do you think the author was affected by the time in which it was written?
  • Do you listen to jazz music? If so, do you have a favorite jazz musician?
  • Are there any ways in which the 2020s resemble the 1920s? How?

More to Explore

Books For Further Reading

  • Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 2004—originally published 1925. 180 pages. 9780743273565. The Great Gatsby is a strong contender for both the most important novel of the Roaring 20s and the Great American Novel.
  • Hughes, Langston. The Weary Blues. 2022—originally published 1926. 96 pages. 9780486849010. This iconic collection is the first ever published by Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. It’s a powerful meditation on both the Jazz Age and the Black experience.
  • Lemann, Nicholas. The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America. 1992. 408 pages. 978-0679733478. This New York Times bestselling history of the Great Migration is considered one of the definitive books on the subject.
  • Mackrell, Judith. Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation. 2015. 512 pages. 9780374535049. Acclaimed biographer Judith Mackrell explores the lives of a diverse group of flappers: Josephine Baker, who left the slums of Saint Louis to eventually became a Parisienne and the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture; to Tamara de Lempicka, who fled the Russian Revolution; to Zelda Fitzgerald and her tragic life as wife of F. Scott. The book also contains biographies of American Tallulah Bankhead and Brits Diana Cooper and Nancy Cunard.
  • Tye, Larry. The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America. 2024. 416 pages. 9780358380436. A brand-new portrait of how three Black musicians changed the course of American music, this exhaustively-researched volume includes more than 250 interviews.