THE ROARING TWENTIES

The 1920s is one of the most fascinating decades in American history, a time when the seeds of modern American life were sown. It was the era of flappers, jazz, and the Charleston, of rolled stockings and strings of pearls and speakeasies. Prohibition was the law of the land and gangsters controlled bootlegging and organized crime. But there was more to the 1920s than the Great Gatsby and roadsters. It was also a time of recovery from war, when women began to change their role in society. It was the birth of consumerism, when advertising first began to show us what we didn't know we wanted, and when consumer credit made it possible to get anything, even if you didn't have the money. It was a time of increasing prosperity, but also of poverty for many people in the United States. The 1920s had a dark side as well: the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan, racial intolerance, hard times for immigrants and farmers, and an impending financial collapse.

As with any era in American history, the Roaring Twenties are best learned about by exploring all the different aspects of the time, good and bad, from literature and music to politics, fashion, economics, and invention. The Roaring Twenties: Discover the Era of Prohibition, Flappers, and Jazz immerses young people in the era through activities that help them experience what it was like to be a part of that time. To experience and understand one of the most vibrant, and difficult, eras in US history, readers will debate the pros and cons of prohibition, create an advertising campaign for a new product, analyze and compare events leading to the stock market crashes of 1929 and 2008, and use the consumer price index to evaluate the cost of living in the 1920s and today.