Talk about CELEBRATING!
People danced until they dropped. The radio became popular, and people tuned in everyday. The T.V. was not invented yet, so the radio was the next best thing. When they listened, people liked to listen to jazz, especially the king of jazz, Louis Armstrong. But never fear, people weren't  couch potatoes, sitting next to the radio. Movies were also a big hit. This decade marked the start of the sound movies. So much happened in the 1920's, this is only a fraction of it all.


Fads of the 1920's

Since the 1920s was a time of celebration, there were many fads. People loved to dance, especially the Charleston, Fox-trot, and the shimmy. Dance marathons were something everyone went to every weekend. The longest dance record ever recorded was a record of 3 weeks of dancing. Another fad of the 1920's was the radio. People "tuned" in every day to listen to music, as jazz, sports and live events. A favorite for listening to jazz was "the king of jazz", Louie Armstrong. The latest fashion fad was the flapper, a fad for women. The movie was also the latest thing. The start of 3-D movies was in the 1920's. The average American had a lot to look forward to, in the 1920's, that’s for sure!

Inventions

An invention, which soon after became a popular fad, is the radio. Because of no invention of the TV, the radio was their TV. And, it really did do pretty much everything the TV does for us. If you tuned in at the right time, you could catch comedy shows, news, live events, jazz, variety shows, drama, opera, you name it, the radio had it! Discovered in the 1920's were penicllin and discovery of insulin for diabetic.This decade had some major breakthroughs in medicine and  science.

Entertainment

The 1920’s was the decade of entertainment. Rin-Tin-Tin, the movie dog, used to be a starving German Shepherd dog during the Great War. He  became most famous dog ever to star in the movies in 1923. The first radio broadcast ever came out in November of   1920. The first Miss America contest was held on September 8, 1921. Metro Goldwyn Mayer film making studio was founded. A new Pooh Bear story by A.A. Milne was a big hit for little children. Mickey Mouse became everyone's favorite cartoon character in Steamboat Willie.

The Stockmarket Crash

On October 24, 1929, later to be known as Black Thursday, the stock market began its downhill drop. After the first hour, the prices had gone down at an amazing speed. Some people thought that after that day, the prices would rise again just as it had done before. But it didn’t. Prices kept dropping, and on October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday, more than 16 million shares were sold, but by the end of the day, most stocks ended below their previous value, and some stocks became totally worthless. Because of that, some people became homeless and penniless, all because of the Stock Market Crash. By November 13, the prices had hit rock bottom. The stock AT&T had gone from $304, to the price of $197. America had celebrated for eight years, but now, everything was wasted in just a few weeks, by the Stock Market.  It was a sad ending to this glorious decade!

Timeline

1920 - November 2: First Radio broadcast; President Warren Harding elected; women get their first vote 

1921 - September 8: First Miss America pageant held in Atlantic City; November 11: Unknown soldier of World War I buried 

1922 - November 26: Archaeologist Howard Carter finds tomb of Tutankhamen near Luxor, Egypt 

1923 - August 2: President Harding dies; August 3: Vice President Calvin Coolidge is sworn into office as president 

1924 - February 3: Former President Woodrow Wilson dies; November 4: Calvin Coolidge is elected President 

1925 - October 2: Scottish inventor John Baird invents the first form of a television 

1927 - First talking movie, The Jazz Singer released; May 20: Spirit of St. Louis and pilot Charles Lindbergh land in Paris 

1928 - September 19: First Mickey Mouse talking film, Steamboat Willie, released by Walt Disney; November 6: Herbert Hoover elected President 

1929 - October 24: Start of the Stock Market Crash 
 

    The 1920's was, for 8 years and 3/4 of 1929, a very happy decade. The last 1/4 was the Stock Market Crash that could have started the Great Depression that lasted straight through the 1930' s, not ending until mid-1940. A war started before 1920, and a war broke out in 1929. Although it was called the Great Depression, people killed others, killed themselves, became homeless, and became penniless. Actually, the eight years of happiness might have felt like a small vacation to a person who lived during the time.