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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Jazz Age 1919 1929: Prosperity and Popular Entertainment

For Students 11th - 12th
Examines the transformation of American culture and lifestyle through movies, sports and the automobile, particularly the Model T Ford.
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: The Jazz Age: Redefining the Nation 1919 1929: A New Generation

For Students 11th - 12th
Looks at the new morality that emerged in the 1920s. It changed the role of women and the perception of African Americans, the latter facilitated by the Harlem Renaissance and its impact on the music and dance of the Jazz Age. Also...
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Website
Other

Babe Ruth

For Students 9th - 10th
The official web site of Babe Ruth provides excellent resources about his baseball career and his personal life.
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Activity
Other

For Many, One: Passing From Light to Dark

For Students 9th - 10th
This scholarly article looks into the treatment of race and ethnicity in the 1920s and how they were handled in popular culture. Read about stereotypes of African Americans and immigrants from Asia and southern Europe and find out how...
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Activity
Digital History

Digital History: Formation of Modern American Mass Culture

For Students 9th - 10th
A mass culture developed in America in the 1920s due to several factors. Read about the influence of radio, movies, and spectator sports in the adoption of common speech. Find out about the creativity of the time in literature and music.
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Roaring Twenties [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Read this comprehensive look at the Roaring Twenties, or Jazz Age. Read about Prohibition and its ramifications, women's gains, entertainment, and literature. Also find out about the resurgence of racial unrest and violence. A very good...
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Handout
PBS

Pbs: People and Discoveries: Kdka Begins to Broadcast 1920

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from PBS details the history of radio and KDKA (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) the first radio station to offer programming. Mentions: advertising, NBC Radio, mass culture.
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Activity
Chicago History Museum

Chicago History Museum: History Files: The Black Sox

For Students 9th - 10th
Media coverage of the 1919 World Series involving the players from this team and the scandal that became so well known.
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Activity
Other

Image Entertainment: Lost Films of Laurel and Hardy

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Image Entertainment talks about many of Laurel and Hardy's silent comedies.
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Activity
Other

For Many, One: Eugenics in the Culture Wars of the 1920s

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the bizarre ideas of those who believed in the role of eugenics in society. Find out about "bad" heredity and "good" heredity and see the form from the Eugenics Society of America that determined the "fitness" of individual...
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Handout
Other

Dance Marathons

For Students 9th - 10th
Author describes the dance marathon craze in detail, from the fun sport it was in the 1920s to the desperate play for brief fame and fortune in the 1930s. Published in 2004.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Books and Movies

For Students 5th - 8th
A look at the literature and movies written and produced in the Jazz Age. See how the writers of the age reflected the consumer society and the emptiness of middle class. Movies appealed to mass culture and millions went to the movies...
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Handout
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: Ernst F. W. Alexanderson

For Students 9th - 10th
This site honors Ernst F. W. Alexanderson for his invention of the high-frequency alternator radio and his pioneering efforts in developing picture transmission for television.
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Activity
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: President Harding Installed a Radio

For Students 3rd - 8th
This 3-page article explores the role of radio in the 1920s, and the day that President Harding installed a radio in the White House.
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Website
Oswego City School District

Regents Prep: Entertainment

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the impact of various forms of entertainment on the popular culture of the Jazz Age. The content is brief but informative.
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Website
Wessels Living History Farm

Wessels: Farming in the 1920s: 1920s World Events

For Students 9th - 10th
Find a list of events in many categories that occurred in the 1920s.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Fads and Heroes

For Students 5th - 8th
A time of fads and hero worship, the 1920s' entertainment didn't always make sense, but it was interesting. Find out about some of the fads of the time, and who became the heroes of popular culture. Take a brief quiz about the 1920s.
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Activity
ESPN Internet Ventures

Espn: Galloping Ghost Scared Opponents!

For Students 9th - 10th
A unique biography of Harold "Red" Grange brought to you by ESPN.
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Low Brow and Middle Brow Culture

For Students 9th - 10th
A good overview of the popular culture in the Jazz Age. Read about the kinds of entertainment and literature enjoyed by the middle class in the 1920s.
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Activity
PBS

Pbs: People and Discoveries: Television Is Developed, 1926

For Students 9th - 10th
Gives a brief account of the inventors and developments that lead up to the creation of television.
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Website
Other

Silent Era: Buster Keaton

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief biography of Buster Keaton, star of the Silent Film era. Links to additional resources
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Graphic
Other

Silent Era: Actors

For Students 9th - 10th
A list of actors in the Silent Film era. Click on a name to find a brief biography and additional resources.
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Graphic
Smithsonian Institution

National Postal Museum: Art of the Stamp: Mickey Mouse

For Students 9th - 10th
View the artwork for a U.S. postage stamp issued in 2004 to commemorate Mickey Mouse's debut in "Steamboat Willie". With a short passage on Mickey's legendary 75 year history.
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Graphic
Smithsonian Institution

National Postal Museum: Art of the Stamp: Laurel and Hardy

For Students 9th - 10th
View the artwork for a U.S. postage stamp issued in 1991 to commemorate Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. With a short passage on their contributions to both silent films and comedies.