US.39 Describe the changing conditions for American Indians during this period, including the extension of suffrage and the restoration of tribal identities and way of life. (C, G, P)
US.40 Describe the Harlem Renaissance, its impact, and its important figures, including an examination of literary and informational text of or about Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, James Weldon Johnson, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong. (C)
US.42 Describe changes in the social and economic status of women, including the work of Margaret Sanger, flappers, clerical and office jobs, and rise of women’s colleges. (C, E, P)
US.41 Analyze the emergence of the “Lost Generation” in American literature, including the impact of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. (C)
US.43 Analyze the rise of celebrities as icons of popular culture, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jack Dempsey, Red Grange, Bessie Smith, Billy Sunday, and Charles Lindbergh. (C)
Lesson 25. (US.39, 40, 42) 1920s Culture & Icons
a. American Indian Issues
b. The Harlem Renaissance
c. American Women in the 20's
d. The Lost Generation
e. Ernest Hemmingway
f. F. Scott Fitzgerald
g. Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig
h. Jack Dempsey
i. Red Grange
j. Bessie Smith
k. Billy Sunday
l. Charles Lindbergh
In 1830, a little over 50 years after the Declaration of Independence, the United States Congress passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which authorized the President to conduct treaties to exchange Native American land east of the Mississippi River for lands west of the river. Under President Andrew Jackson, Native Americans were forced to move to these newly created Western Indian Reservations in the “Trail of Tears.”
An Indian reservation is a legal designation for an area of land managed by a federally recognized Native American tribe under the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs rather than the state governments of the United States in which they are physically located. Each of the 326 Indian reservations in the United States is associated with a particular Native American nation. Not all of the country's 567 recognized tribes have a reservation—some tribes have more than one reservation, while some share reservations.
Indian Appropriations Act of 1871
In 1871 Congress passed the Indian Appropriations Act ending United States recognition of Native American independent nations within the borders of the United States, and prohibiting any additional treaties with Native American Tribes.
“That hereafter no Indian nation or tribe within the territory of the United States shall be acknowledged or recognized as an independent nation, tribe, or power with whom the United States may contract by treaty: Provided, further, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to invalidate or impair the obligation of any treaty heretofore lawfully made and ratified with any such Indian nation or tribe.”
— Indian Appropriations Act of 1871
On June 2, 1924 U.S. Republican President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act, which made citizens of the United States of all Native Americans born in the United States and its territories and who were not already citizens. Prior to passage of the act, nearly two-thirds of Native Americans were already U.S. citizens.
American Indians today have all the rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, can vote in elections, and run for political office. There has been controversy over how much the federal government has jurisdiction over tribal affairs, sovereignty, and cultural practices.
The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, also known as the Howard-Wheeler Act, was sometimes called the Indian New Deal and was initiated by John Collier. It laid out new rights for Native Americans, reversed some of the earlier privatization of their common holdings, and encouraged tribal sovereignty and land management by tribes. The act slowed the assignment of tribal lands to individual members and reduced the assignment of "extra" holdings to nonmembers.
In 1921, writer Langston Hughes arrived in the mostly African American neighborhood of New York City called Harlem. Langston recalled, “I can never put on paper the thrill of the underground ride to Harlem. I went up the steps and out into the bright September sunlight. Harlem! I stood there, dropped my bags, took a deep breath and felt happy again." Langston Hughes was one of several African American writers whose literary work flourished during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, which collectively celebrated African American music, poetry, prose, theater, and art. Jazz brought fame to such artists as band leader and composer, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong, whose trumpet could be heard at jazz clubs in Chicago and New York. Dizzy Gillespie once said, "Louis Armstrong's station in the history of jazz is unimpeachable. If it weren't for him, there wouldn't be any of us."
Coming Soon
The “Lost Generation” was a term that was popularized by Ernest Hemingway, when he used it in his novel “The Sun Also Rises.” The term is often used to describe American Writers of the period during or just after World War 1, but is also used in a broader context for the entire generation of young people who came of age during and shortly after World War 1, and during the Roaring Twenties.
The term, “Lost Generation” most likely originated in Great Britain when the British began referring to those who died in World War 1 as the “Lost Generation.” Many British perceived that the best and brightest of their country had been disproportionately killed in the war, robbing them of a future elite group that would lead the country, thus the term "Lost Generation."
Who popularized the term "Lost Generation"
Who does the term "Lost Generation" often refer to?
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "The Bambino" and "The Sultan of Swat", he began his MLB career as a star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging home run hitter for the New York Yankees.
Ruth established many MLB records (and some pitching records) including career home runs (714), and single season home runs (60). Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members.
Henry Louis Gehrig, (1903 – 1941), nicknamed "the Iron Horse", was an American baseball first baseman who played his entire professional career (17 seasons) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1923 until 1939.
Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, which earned him his nickname "the Iron Horse". He was an All-Star, and MVP, and a member of six World Series champion teams. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and was the first MLB player to have his uniform number (4) retired by a team.
A native of New York City and a student at Columbia University, Gehrig signed with the Yankees in 1923. He set several major-league records during his career, but most notably he played in 2,130 consecutive games, setting a record that stood for 56 years and was considered unbreakable before Cal Ripken, Jr. became the only player to ever break the record in 1995. Gehrig's consecutive game streak ended on May 2, 1939, when he voluntarily took himself out of the lineup, stunning both players and fans, after his performance on the field became hampered by a medical condition.
Gehrig had an incurable illness that was unknown at the time but is now commonly referred to in the United States as "Lou Gehrig's disease". The disease forced him to retire at age 36, and was the cause of his death two years later at age 38. His famous farewell from baseball featured his iconic 1939 "Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth" speech at Yankee Stadium.
After his death, in 1969, the Baseball Writers' Association voted Gehrig the greatest first baseman of all time, and he was the leading vote-getter on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team chosen by fans in 1999. The Lou Gehrig Memorial Award is given annually to the MLB player who best exhibits Gehrig's integrity and character.
Harold Edward "Red" Grange (1903 – 1991), nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Football Yankees. In college, Grange was a three-time All-American and led his team to a national championship in 1923. Grange’s signing with the Chicago Bears helped legitimize the National Football League (NFL) in the early days of the league. He is an original member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. In 2008, he was named the best college football player of all time by ESPN.
William Ashley Sunday (1862 – 1935) was an American athlete who, after being a popular outfielder in baseball's National League during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first part of the 20th century.
Born into poverty in Iowa, Sunday spent some years at the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home before working at odd jobs and playing for local baseball teams. His speed and agility provided him the opportunity to play baseball in the major leagues for eight years, where he was an average hitter and a good fielder known for his base-running.
Converting to evangelical Christianity in the 1880s, Sunday left baseball for the Christian ministry. He gradually developed his skills as a Christian Preacher in the Midwest and then, during the early 20th century, he became the nation's most famous evangelist with his sermons and energetic delivery. Sunday held large church services in America's largest cities, and he attracted the largest crowds of any evangelist before the invention of electronic sound systems.
He also made a great deal of money and was welcomed into the homes of the wealthy and influential. Sunday was a strong supporter of Prohibition, and his preaching likely played a significant role in the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919.
Despite questions about his income, no scandal ever touched Sunday. He was sincerely devoted to his wife, who also managed his campaigns. His audiences grew smaller during the 1920s as Sunday grew older, religious revivals became less popular, and alternative sources of entertainment appeared. Nevertheless, Sunday continued to preach and remained a defender of Christianity until his death.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (1902 – 1974), nicknamed Lucky Lindy, was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, explorer, and activist. At age 25 in 1927, he went from obscurity as a U.S. Air Mail pilot to instantaneous world fame by making a nonstop flight from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, New York, to Paris, France. Lindbergh covered the 33 1⁄2-hour, 3,600 statute miles (5,800 km) alone in a single-engine purpose-built Ryan monoplane, called the “Spirit of St. Louis.”
This was not the first flight between North America and Europe, but he did achieve the first solo transatlantic flight and the first non-stop flight between North America and the European mainland. Lindbergh was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve, and he received the United States' highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for the feat. His achievement spurred interest in aviation and Lindbergh himself devoted much time and effort to promoting aviation after his record breaking flight.
However, Lindbergh's celebrity status led to tragedy. In March 1932, his infant son, Charles Jr., was kidnapped and murdered in what American media called the "Crime of the Century" and described as "the biggest story ever." The case prompted the United States Congress to establish a new law that made it a federal crime to cross state lines with a kidnapping victim.
By late 1935 the hysteria surrounding the case had driven the Lindbergh family to move to Europe to escape the press.
During World War 2, Lindberg spoke out against America’s involvement and he supported the antiwar group known as the “America First Committee.” Lindbergh resigned from the United States Air Forces in 1941 after President Franklin Roosevelt publicly rebuked him for his anti-war views. Later, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Lindbergh publicly supported the U.S. war effort. He forgave the US government and even flew fifty combat missions in the Pacific Theater of World War II as a civilian consultant, but President Roosevelt refused to reinstate his status in the U.S. Air Forces.
In his later years, Lindbergh became a prolific prize-winning author, international explorer, inventor, and environmentalist.