Portal:1920s

The 1920s Portal

The 1920s (pronounced "nineteen-twenties"; often shortened to the "'20s" or the "Twenties") was a decade that began on January 1, 1920, and ended on December 31, 1929. Primarily known for the economic boom that occurred in the Western World following the end of World War I (1914–1918), the decade is frequently referred to as the "Roaring Twenties" or the "Jazz Age" in America and Western Europe, and the "Golden Twenties" in Germany, while French speakers refer to the period as the "Années folles" ('crazy years') to emphasize the decade's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism.

The devastating Wall Street crash in October 1929 is generally viewed as a harbinger of the end of 1920s prosperity in North America and Europe. In the Soviet Union, the New Economic Policy was created by the Bolsheviks in 1921, to be replaced by the first five-year plan in 1928. The 1920s saw the rise of radical political movements, with the Red Army triumphing against White movement forces in the Russian Civil War, and the emergence of far-right political movements in Europe. In 1922, the fascist leader Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy. Other dictators that emerged included Józef Piłsudski in Poland, and Peter and Alexander Karađorđević in Yugoslavia. First-wave feminism made advances, with women gaining the right to vote in the United States (1920), Albania (1920), Ireland (1921), and with suffrage being expanded in Britain to all women over 21 years old (1928).

In Turkey, nationalist forces defeated Greece, France, Armenia, and Britain in the Turkish War of Independence, leading to the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), a treaty more favorable to Turkey than the earlier proposed Treaty of Sèvres. The war also led to the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate. Nationalist revolts also occurred in Ireland (1919–1921) and Syria (1925–1927). Under Mussolini, Italy pursued a more aggressive domestic and foreign policy, leading to the nigh-eradication of the Sicilian Mafia and the Second Italo-Senussi War in Libya respectively. In 1927, China erupted into a civil war between the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China (ROC) and forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Civil wars also occurred in Paraguay (1922–1923), Ireland (1922–1923), Honduras (1924), Nicaragua (1926–1927), and Afghanistan (1928–1929). Saudi forces conquered Jabal Shammar and subsequently, Hejaz.

A severe famine occurred in Russia (1921–1922) due to the combined effects of economic disturbance because of the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War, exacerbated by rail systems that could not distribute food efficiently, leading to 5 million deaths. Another severe famine occurred in China (1928–1930), leading to 6 million deaths. The Spanish flu pandemic (1918–1920) and Russian typhus epidemic (1918–1922), which had begun in the previous decade, caused 25–50 million and 2–3 million deaths respectively. Major natural disasters of this decade include the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake (258,707~273,407 deaths), 1922 Shantou typhoon (50,000–100,000 deaths), 1923 Great Kantō earthquake (105,385–142,800 deaths), and 1927 Gulang earthquake (40,912 deaths).

Silent films were popular in this decade, with the highest-grossing film of this decade being either the American silent epic adventure-drama film Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ or the American silent war drama film The Big Parade, depending on the metrics used. Sinclair Lewis was a popular author in the United States in the 1920s, with his books Main Street and Elmer Gantry becoming best-sellers. Best-selling books outside the US included the Czech book The Good Soldier Švejk, which sold 20 million copies. Songs of this decade included "Mack the Knife" and "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".

During the 1920s, the world population increased from 1.87 to 2.05 billion, with approximately 700 million births and 525 million deaths in total. (Full article...)

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Amazing Stories Quarterly was a U.S. science fiction pulp magazine that was published between 1928 and 1934. It was launched by Hugo Gernsback as a companion to his Amazing Stories, the first science fiction magazine, which had begun publishing in April 1926. Amazing Stories had been successful enough for Gernsback to try a single issue of an Amazing Stories Annual in 1927, which had sold well, and he decided to follow it up with a quarterly magazine. The first issue of Amazing Stories Quarterly was dated Winter 1928 and carried a reprint of the 1899 version of H.G. Wells' When the Sleeper Wakes. Gernsback's policy of running a novel in each issue was popular with his readership, though the choice of Wells' novel was less so. Over the next five issues, only one more reprint appeared: Gernsback's own novel Ralph 124C 41+, in the Winter 1929 issue. Gernsback went bankrupt in early 1929, and lost control of both Amazing Stories and Amazing Stories Quarterly; associate editor T. O'Conor Sloane then took over as editor. The magazine began to run into financial difficulties in 1932, and the schedule became irregular; the last issue was dated Fall 1934.

Authors whose work appeared in Amazing Stories Quarterly include Stanton A. Coblentz, Miles J. Breuer, A. Hyatt Verrill, and Jack Williamson. Critical opinions differ on the quality of the fiction Gernsback and Sloane printed: Brian Stableford regards several of the novels as being important early science fiction, but Everett Bleiler comments that few of the stories were of acceptable quality. Milton Wolf and Mike Ashley are more positive in their assessment; they consider the work Sloane published in the early 1930s to be some of the best in the new genre. (Full article...)

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Credit: Bain News Service

A portrait of Lillian Gish from 1921. Gish was one of the first female movie stars, called "The First Lady of American Cinema", starting in 1912 and continuing to appear in films until 1987. The American Film Institute named Gish 17th among the greatest female stars of all time and awarded her a Life Achievement Award, making her the only recipient who was a major figure in the silent era. Remarkably, she never won an Academy Award for her work, although she did receive a Special Academy Award in 1971.

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... that the colorfully-painted common room of the Jazz Age Naniboujou Club Lodge (pictured) has been called "a psychedelic marriage of Art Deco and traditional Cree Indian patterns"?
... that Charlie Bowman was a major influence on the distinctive fiddle sound that helped shape and develop early country music in the 1920s and 1930s?
... that Margie (ABC, 1961–1962) is one of the few network programs set during the Roaring Twenties, complete with jalopies, raccoon coats, period music, and references to flappers?

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Wilson in 1914

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only Democrat to serve as president during the Progressive Era, when Republicans dominated the presidency and legislative branches. As president, Wilson made significant economic reforms and led the United States through World War I. He was the leading architect of the League of Nations, and his stance on foreign policy came to be known as Wilsonian idealism.

Born in Staunton, Virginia, Wilson grew up in the Southern United States during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. After earning a PhD in history and political science from Johns Hopkins University, Wilson taught at several colleges prior to being appointed president of Princeton University, where he emerged as a prominent spokesman for progressivism in higher education. Wilson is considered one of the founding fathers of the field of public administration due to his 1887 article "The Study of Administration". Wilson served as the governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913, during which he broke with party bosses and won the passage of several progressive reforms. (Full article...)

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... that much of Archcliffe Fort was demolished in the 1920s to allow for expansion of a railway?
... that 1920s belles-lettres books published by the State Publishing House of Ukraine sold out more rapidly than similar books published elsewhere in the Soviet Union, despite the higher average price?
... that the Union of Assyrians's mishandling of shoe-polishing stations led to violent conflicts in 1920s Moscow?
... that Masoud El Amaratly, one of Iraq's most popular folk singers in the 1920s (recording featured), was a mustarjil?
... that a 1920s reviewer considered Hammond's Hard Lines "dangerously experimental ground for boys' fiction"?
... that despite being rivals since the 1920s, the 2010 NFC Championship Game was only the second time the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers had ever met in the playoffs?

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General images

The following are images from various 1920s-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 11920s phone (from 1920s)
Image 2The most memorable fashion trend of the Roaring Twenties was undoubtedly the "flapper" look. (from 1920s)
Image 3Spanish troops in San Sebastián, prior to their departure to the Rif War (from 1920s)
Image 4Irving Berlin (left) and Al Jolson, c. 1927 (from 1920s)
Image 5Map of the world from 1920, two years after World War I (from 1920s)
Image 62 out of 10 best-selling American books in the 1920s were written by Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951). (from 1920s)
Image 7Paavo Nurmi in 1924 Summer Olympics (from 1920s)
Image 8Albert Einstein, 1921 (from 1920s)
Image 9Pancho Villa (from 1920s)
Image 10Thompson submachine gun (1921 model) (from 1920s)
Image 11Gabriel Narutowicz (from 1920s)
Image 12The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) is created in 1922. (from 1920s)
Image 13Adolf Hitler (standing) delivers a speech in February 1925. (from 1920s)
Image 14Prohibition agents emptying barrels of alcohol (from 1920s)
Image 15From left, clockwise:
- Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Seán Hogan during the Irish War of Independence, 1920;
- Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol, 1921, in accordance with the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States throughout the entire decade;
- In 1927, Charles Lindbergh embarks on the first solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris on the Spirit of St. Louis;
- A crowd gathering on Wall Street after the 1929 stock market crash, which led to the Great Depression;
- Benito Mussolini and fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome in 1922;
- The People's Liberation Army attacking government defensive positions in Shandong, during the Chinese Civil War;
- The women's suffrage campaign leads to numerous countries granting women the right to vote and be elected;
- Babe Ruth becomes the most famous baseball player of the time.
(from 1920s)
Image 16Crowd gathering after the Wall Street crash of 1929 (from 1920s)
Image 17An Autochrome of the pavilion of Poland in Paris in 1925, during the World Expo. (from 1920s)
Image 18Frank Lloyd Wright, 1926 (from 1920s)
Image 191925 Ford Model T. A typical 1920s car. (from 1920s)
Image 20F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1929 (from 1920s)
Image 21Benito Mussolini and Fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome in 1922 (from 1920s)
Image 22Buster Keaton in the 1922 short film The Frozen North (from 1920s)
Image 23Palacio Barolo, designed by Mario Palanti. (from 1920s)
Image 24Babe Ruth in 1920 (from 1920s)
Image 25The British and French colonial empires in 1920 (from 1920s)
Image 26Robert Goddard and his rocket, 1926 (from 1920s)
Image 27George Grosz in 1921 (from 1920s)
Image 28Dow Jones Industrial, 1928–1930 (from 1920s)
Image 29Georgia O'Keeffe in 1920, photographed by Alfred Stieglitz (from 1920s)
Image 30D. W. Griffith at a rolltop desk, c. 1925 (from 1920s)
Image 31Charlie Chaplin during the 1920s (from 1920s)
Image 32Michael Collins (Irish leader) (from 1920s)
Image 33The period from the end of the First World War until the start of the Depression in 1929 is known as the "Jazz Age". (from 1920s)