George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist.[1][2] Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known. Among his best known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), as well as the opera Porgy and Bess (1935).

An Introduction to the Individuals and Groups That Captured the Publics Imagination During

the

JAZZ AGE

Individuals of the Roaring 1920s

Bessie SmithBessie Smith was called “Empress of the Blues” due to her unique style and elaborate costumes.By the end of the 1920s, Smith was the highest-paid black performer of her day, and had earned herself the title "Empress of the Blues."

SILENT CALVIN COOLIDGECalvin Coolidge was known as “Silent” Cal. While he was President, the United States was a very prosperous nation. He said “The business of America is Business.”Unfortunately, the United States economy was overproducing goods and relied too much on credit purchases – which eventually would cause a severe depression!

F. Scott FitzgeraldOne of America’s memorable authors. With his novel The Great Gatsby he depicted the Gilded Age of over indulgence and greed. Fitzgerald was a critic of what he saw as the emptiness of rich people’s lives. He seemed both fascinated and disgusted by the people he wrote about.

F. SCOTT FITZGERALD AND The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald was a member of a group of expatriate American authors known as “The Lost Generation.” He was the author of The Great Gatsby, a novel which many of America’s literary critics consider the greatest novel in American History.

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland music was uniquely American and is still used today in commercials and on Broadway. By the mid-’30s Copland had become not only one of the most popular composers in the country, but a leader of the community of American classical musicians.

Georgia O’Keefe.Georgia O”Keefe was known for her paintings of the Southwest often featured a combination of skulls and beautiful flowers.

FLAPPERSFlappers of the 1920's started a new era for women. Independent-minded women who cut their hair short, went to college, drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, and became involved with politics and demonstrations during the Roaring 1920s. This was a rebellion by women that changed women's fashion and their place in society.

Dancing the Charleston

Jacob LawrenceJacob Lawrence, one of the most important artists of the 20th century, was born in 1917 and is best known for his series of narrative paintings depicting important moments in African American history.

MARCUS GARVEYMarcus Garvey was the leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. He urged African-Americans to take pride in their culture, and started the “Back to Africa” Movement.

CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISTS

Individuals who interpret the Bible literally and oppose teaching theories which are in opposition to Scripture, in particular the theory of evolution. They rejected the theory of evolution saying it denied the words of the bible.

The Scopes ‘Monkey’ Trial

JOHN SCOPES – The Scopes-Monkey Trial of 1925 in Dayton, TN

John Scopes was a substitute teacher who was arrested in Dayton, TN for teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution from the book, The Origin of the Species. The law in Tennessee said that only the Book of Genesis could explain the origins of man.

The KU KLUX KLANThis Nativist hate group claimed to have over 5 Million members during the 1920s, most of whom used threatening, violent methods to hurt African-Americans, Jews, and immigrants

Klan Rally

LOUIS “SATCHMO” ARMSTRONGLouis Armstrong was born in New Orleans around the turn of the century. He became the most famous jazz trumpeter and vocalist of his generation, and is considered by many to be the ‘Father of Jazz”. You know ‘It’s a Wonderful World’ and a ‘Hello Dolly’.

Clarence DarrowClarence Darrow, the “sophisticated country lawyer,” when the Scopes trial opened in Dayton, Tennessee. He was the John Scopes attorney and was delighted to take the case to show the danger of “the religious fundamentalist.” “Scopes isn’t on trial; civilization is on trial.”

LANGSTON HUGHES

This African-American poet was the most famous contributor to the “Harlem Renaissance.” His most famous poems during the 1920s were “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “I, Too Sing America.”

DUKE ELLINGTONHe was born in Washington, D.C., but he really became famous after moving to New York and taking a job playing piano at the Cotton Club in Harlem. His “swing” music was a major innovation in the history of jazz. Today, he is picture on Washington DC’s quarter, standing next to his piano.

‘Lost Generation’This title is given to the group of expatriate American authors who moved to France after World War I to pursue their writing – Hemingway, John Dos Passos, Sinclair Lewis, and F. Scott Fitzgerald were all considered a part of the group.

Harlem RenaissanceThis term refers to the birth of African-American literature, poetry, art, and music which occurred during the 1920s in Harlem, New York. The movement consisted of poets like Langston Hughes, actors like Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and writers like Zora Neale Hurston.