NY in the 20s

Michelle Grant
Chris Weber
Steve DiNiso
Yanni Agrotis
Nick Pepe
Flappers
-Flappers became known as the modern women in the 1920s

-They led a more rebellious and carefree lifestyle

-They began wearing shorter skirts, bobbed their hair, and listened to jazz music

-Flappers were known for wearing too much makeup, drinking, driving automobiles
and embracing their sexuality.
Baseball
-Babe Ruth became famous in the 1920s for being a Major League Baseball player.

-He began his career pitching for the Boston Red Sox

-He gained immense popularity after becoming an outfielder for the NY Yankees

-His real name is George Herman

- Record 60 home runs in a single season, 714 in career

1920s Immigration
From 1880 to 1920, nearly 20 million new immigrants settled in the United States with
just under half entering through Ellis Island
Many immigrants arriving in New York would be employed by the clothing industry as it
was booming at the time. Many new immigrants also were part of the construction
industry, building New York Citys skyline
Immigration would widely shape New York. During the 1920s, due to the influx of
immigrants from southern and eastern Europe, for the first time, Brooklyns population
would exceed Manhattans.
Many of these new immigrants were Italians, Russians, jews, and other eastern European
ethnicities.
Because of the rising immigrant population, the U.S government established new
immigration controls in 1924 which severely restricted the number of immigrants from
southern and eastern Europe, slowing overall population growth.
Jones Beach
Jones Beach was built in the 1920s by Robert Moses for the general public to
enjoy the beach on the South Shore
Despite the ideal location, the area was significantly below sea level and
susceptible to storm floods, so construction would be done to raise the land area
Sand would be poured all across the marshy location until it was twelve feet
above sea level.
On August 4, 1929, the beach would be opened along with the Wantagh
Parkway, which was built for beach goers to travel across Long Island to Jones
beach.
With the opening of Jones Beach, it brought many commuters from around the
country to New York, raising much revenue and turning the beach into one of
New Yorks biggest icons.
Prohibition: Origins
- Movement came out of the Temperance Movement in the Progressive Era

- Good intentions: meant to make America safer and more pure

- 65-20 vote in the Senate, 282 to 128 in the House

- Passed in January of 1920, the 18th Constitutional Amendment

Prohibition Era in NYC
- Contrary to intentions and belief, Prohibition actually made cities more dangerous
and led to organized crime

- Speakeasies: Illegal bars or liquor stores

- Bootlegging: Distribution, selling, and making of illegal goods-very hazardous

- Gang wars- Battles over turf

Speakeasy Today
Failures
- Exhibited the willingness of the American people to disregard the law

- People who had been otherwise law-abiding citizens were now criminals

- Lasted only 13 years

- Repealed December of 1933 by the 21st Amendment

Main Causes of the Great Depression
-One of the main causes of the Great Depression was the crash of the stock market
on Black Tuesday, October 29th, 1929.

-Two months after the original crash in October stockholders had lost more than
$40 billion dollars.

-The crash of the stock market led to the failure of 9000 banks over the next few
years.

-Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing
steep declines in industrial output and rising levels of unemployment as failing
companies laid off workers.
Beginning of the Great Depression
-The Great Depression was the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in
the history of America.

-When New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt became president, the Hooverville
shacks dotted city parks.

-The city became a showcase for New Deal spending.

-There were massive building projects including highways, bridges, public housing,
new schools, and expansion of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Christmas dinner line at the New York Municipal
Lodging House
Automobiles in the 1920s
Henry Ford

Ford Motor Company

Reinvented the auto industry

Automobiles in the 1920s
Henry Fords factories gave jobs to many
immigrants in cities, such as New York, who
were looking for work.

Workers were taught to do one specific job on

one part of the assembly line.

Ford treated his workers more fairly than others

and since his cars were made cheaper, more
people could afford to buy them.

The automobile was no longer a rich mans toy.

Automobiles in the 1920s
Henry Fords assembly line
allowed for cheaper and
faster production of the cars
for his company, the Ford
Motor Company.

Fords assembly line was so

efficient that his workers
would put out hundreds of
cars a day.
 Automobiles in the 1920s
More people could afford an automobile because
of Fords production methods.

This contributed to the nightlife in the 1920s.

People could travel to and from bars and clubs

faster and cheaper.

More people were able to go out because they

could drive there, the automobile was the most
efficient way of getting around in the city.