Name _____________________________ Class _________________ Date __________________
The Roaring Twenties Section 3
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
75 Interactive Reader and Study Guide
Key Terms and People
D. W. Griffith first moviemaker to use advanced techniques
Charlie Chaplin silent movie actor who created the character of a tramp
transatlantic across the Atlantic Ocean
Charles A. Lindbergh first man to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean
Amelia Earhart first woman to fly across the Atlantic
F. Scott Fitzgerald American writer who is closely linked with the 1920s
George Gershwin composer of popular songs
Section Summary
MASS ENTERTAINMENT IN THE 1920S
In the 1920s Americans invented new ways to learn
about the world and enjoy themselves. The radio was
invented in the late 1800s. During the 1920s radio
became widely popular. By 1922 there were 570 radio
stations in the United States. The invention of the
vacuum tube improved the quality of radio sound.
Soon people were listening to music, news, religious
services, sports, and stories. The radio helped bring
rural people and urban people closer together by
giving them the same programs to listen to. They also
heard the same ads and bought the same products.
Movies were another form of mass entertainment
that became popular in the 1920s. During World
War I, moviemaker D. W. Griffith had used advanced
techniques to show that movies could be a form of art.
Up until 1927, movies were silent. Words on the
screen described the story as music was played in the
theater. In 1927 the first movie with sound came out
and swept the country. The following year the first
animated star was born: Mickey Mouse.
AN ERA OF HEROES
In the 1920s a new kind of celebrity was born: the
movie star. One of the first silent film stars was
MAIN IDEA New technologies helped produce a new mass culture in the 1920s.
How did radio bring rural
people and city people
closer?
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Why was 1927 an important
year for movies?
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Name _____________________________ Class _________________ Date __________________
The Roaring Twenties Section 3
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
76 Interactive Reader and Study Guide
Charlie Chaplin. People laughed at his signature
character, the tramp. Fan magazines followed
romantic movie stars like Rudolph Valentino and
Clara Bow, and Hollywood, California, became the
center of the motion picture industry.
Not all heroes came from the screen. When he
made the first solo, nonstop transatlantic (across the
Atlantic Ocean) flight, Charles A. Lindbergh
became a hero to millions. A little more than a year
later, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to do
the same thing. Earhart also set other records.
Radio brought sporting events to people, too. Sports
heroes such as baseball’s Babe Ruth and tennis’s
Helen Wills became some of the most famous and
wealthy people in the world.
ARTS OF THE 1920S
The economic and social changes of the 1920s gave
authors much to write about. F. Scott Fitzgerald is
closely linked to the 1920s. His books drew detailed
pictures of life at that time, often including glamorous
characters. Sinclair Lewis wrote about the empty lives
of the middle class of the time and the cost of success.
Women such as poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and
novelists Willa Cather and Edith Wharton had much
to say. Some writers had been deeply affected by
World War I. Ernest Hemingway and John Dos Passos
wrote about their war experiences, among other
things. Many of them chose to live in Paris and came
to be called the Lost Generation. George Gershwin
wrote music. He is remembered for Rhapsody in Blue.
This piece, written for an orchestra, showed the
powerful impact of jazz music. Gershwin also wrote
popular songs with his brother, Ira.
CHALLENGE ACTIVITY
Critical Thinking: Summarize Do some research into the movies of the
1920s. If you can, watch one silent film and one sound film from that time.
Then create a list of articles that might appear in a fan magazine at the
beginning of 1928. Who were the stars? What were the issues facing
moviemakers? How might animation and sound impact silent film stars?
Choose one topic and write a full article.
What are some themes that
authors wrote about in the
1920s?
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What was Charles
Lindbergh’s major
accomplishment?
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