1920's Consumerism

In the 1920's the economy shifted from wartime to peace and began an era of consumerism. Prices dropped and what people couldn't afford they began buying on credit.

Advertisers, now reaching millions of consumers on a daily or weekly basis, hired movie stars and sports figures to persuade Americans to buy all types of products, from washing machines to chewing gum. Business had become America's secular religion, thanks to advertising. Bruce Barton's 1925 book comparing religion and business, The Man Nobody Knows, declared Jesus Christ's parables as "the most powerful advertisements of all time.... He would be a national advertiser today."

Barton's philosophy was that good advertising appealed to consumers and created desire for a product. According to Barton, " The American conception of advertising is to arouse desires and stimulate wants, to make people dissatisfied with the old and out-of-date."  Barton told his employees that their ads should have a theme, an interesting headline, and a purpose to direct consumers to act in a particular way (usually to buy a product).  His ads often used catch slogans.

In 1919 Bruce Barton co-founded his own advertising firm whose clients included General Electric, General Motors, and US Steel.  His advertising firm was also one of the first agencies to use radio, rather than newspapers and magazines, for advertising.  Barton grew to be one of the most successful advertising executives of the 1920s.

What is the 'formula' for successful advertising?

What other techniques did advertisers use?

How do commercials get us to buy stuff we don't need?

Pick a product from the 1920's.

Create your own ad.

See some sample ads. 

Inflation Calculator:  How much would my product cost in 1920's?

How have perceptions of many of these products (i.e. cigarettes) changed over time?

The most important part of an AD is its 'signature' or 'logo'.  How many of these famous brands do you recognize?

Original O.G.

Dillinger and Capone were the 'Original' Original Gangstas. How 'Gangsta' are you?

However 'well-intentioned,'  the 18th Amendment had some rather unintended consequences.

Gangland violence in Chicago captured headlines and attention across the nation the afternoon of Thursday, Feb. 14, 1929, and fueled rumors in Butler County. The crime later was called "the most spectacular of the decade in Chicago." There were more than 500 gangland murders in the Windy City in the 1920s.

The 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre took the lives of seven men by machine-gun and shotgun fire at about 10:30 a.m. in a garage at 2122 North Clark Street in Chicago. The mass shooting climaxed a struggle for control of Chicago's North Side. It pitted the powerful gang of Al Capone against the faltering group led by George (Bugs) Moran. Capone ordered his lieutenants to annihilate the entire Moran gang -- and they almost did it. Moran and two other gang members approached the garage, but fled when they believed police were raiding the building.

Moran had been lured to the massacre site by the prospect of buying bonded whisky. At stake was the security of Capone's illicit liquor business, estimated at more than $60 million a year by federal authorities. The killings solidified the 30-year-old Capone's control over the Chicago whisky trade and other criminal activities.

The Chicago crime still dominated conversations four days later when three strange men checked into the Anthony Wayne Hotel at High Street and Monument Avenue in Hamilton. They aroused suspicion by arriving in an expensive car with Illinois license plates and asking for the hotel's highest priced room.

Who were these mystery men and why did they come to Hamiltion, Ohio?

What connection did other notorious gangsters like John Dillinger have to this area?

How were gangsters of the '30s different from gangsters today?

Bet you didn't know Mr. Kelly is related to a notorious 20s gangster either.

Who would win:  Al Capone or Blackbeard the Pirate?

Would you want to live in a 'Gangster's Paradise?'

Prohibition

Who were these women?

The 'noble experiment' as it was called in the 1920s was intended to reduce alcohol abuse, strengthen families and make America a better place.

But it didn't stop people from drinking, it just criminalized them, and it brought violence and corruption to our streets.

On March 23, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law an amendment to the Volstead Act known as the Cullen-Harrison Act, allowing the manufacture and sale of certain kinds of alcoholic beverages.

On December 5, 1933, the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment for good.

1) Was Prohibition a success or failure?  Explain.

2) How has the government continued to prohibit other health risks like smoking? Why?

3) What responsibility does the government have to protect the health of its citizens?

4) What Federal agency regulates our food & drugs? Who is in charge?

5) Should the Government ban fast food? Why/ not?

6) What American foods have been banned in other countries?

To Tell the Truth

 Three contestants claim to be the same person. Four celebrities question the contestants, then vote for the one they think is the real person. This simple game has endured as a TV classic for over 45 years. Today's assignment pays tribute to the show that asked the burning question... 

 "Will the real ________ please stand up?" 

 With your group you are each to choose a fact for the historical figure assigned you. Use your Biography Handout as a resource. All of your facts should be made false except one. After presenting  your facts in front of the class they will try to guess which is true.  The more realistic/ believable your facts the better chance you have of fooling your classmates and winning the game. 

  

 Do you have what it takes TO TELL THE TRUTH (1969-1978) (2018+)?

GEORGIA O'KEEFFE

CHARLES LINDBERGH

JIM THORPE

LANGSTON HUGHES

DAVID SARNOFF

GERTRUDE EDERLE

CHARLIE CHAPLIN

F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER

AMELIA EARHART

LOUIS ARMSTRONG

ALICE PAUL

BESSIE SMITH

"Wise Up:" 1920's Slang

The twenties were the first decade to emphasize youth culture over the older generations, and the flapper sub-culture had a tremendous influence on main stream America. Many new words and phrases were coined by these liberated women and are still used today!

Find the words in the puzzle and then write a sentence using each word correctly. If Mr. Kelly hears you using these words in the hall you may get extra credit.

1) What conclusions can we draw about the 'Roaring '20s' from this list?

2) What can we learn about a Generation from their slang?

3) What will historians think about you 100 years from now based on your slang?

4) Would you have wanted to live in the 1920's? Why/not?

5) How has the Evolution of Dance also reflected the 'Generation Gap?'

Learn how to do the 'Charleston!'

Postmodern Jukebox

Want To Go Clubbing?

 

Imagine you are creating a new club. What kind of club would it be? Would it be an athletic club or team? Would it be intellectual? What would the purpose or goal of your club be? How would you recruit new members? What are the membership requirements or rules?

Following WWI President Wilson sought to create a 'League of Nations,' or club, where countries could gather peacefully and resolve their quarrels. At the Treaty of Versailles in France he outlined his '14 points' promoting openness, encouraging independence, and supporting freedom. At it's heart was his idea of 'peace without victory;' a peace inspired by noble ideals, not greed and vengeance.

What is Fight Club? What are the '8 Rules of Fight Club?' How was Wilson's club different? What did critics think of his ideas?

What was the great debate about ratification  in the US Senate?

Who were the RESERVATIONISTS? IRRECONCILIABLES? INTERNATIONALISTS?  

WHICH SIDE WERE YOU ON?

Johnny Got His Gun

Johnny Got His Gun is an anti-war novel written in 1938 by American novelist Dalton Trumbo and published in September 1939. Joe, a young American soldier serving in World War I, awakens in a hospital bed after being caught in the blast of an exploding artillery shell. He gradually realizes that he has lost his arms, legs, and all of his face (including his eyes, ears, nose, teeth, and tongue), but that his mind functions perfectly, leaving him a prisoner in his own body. Joe eventually successfully communicates this with military officials after several months of banging his head on his pillow in Morse code. He wants to be placed in a glass coffin and toured around the country in order to demonstrate to others the true horrors of war. however, he realizes that the military will not grant his wish. As Joe drifts between reality and fantasy, he remembers his old life with his family and girlfriend and reflects upon the myths and realities of war.

1) What was the human cost of the 'Great War?'

2). Which country suffered the most? The least?  Use facts from the text to support your answer.

3) What is Dalton Trumbo's message?  Was war worth it?  Why/ not?

4) What would your 'SOS' to the world be?

5) Write a poem describing the experience of war.