Since it's the end of a year, I thought I'd take a look back on what was going on in America at the end of 1920. 100 years ago.
December 29, 1920 was a Wednesday.
In the United States, the most popular baby name is Mary. This name was given to 70,980 baby girls. For the boys, it is John. This name was recorded 56,913 times in the year 1920.
The generation born between 1910-1925 is called the Greatest Generation. People of this generation grew up in the midst of the Great Depression, then went on to fight in World War II.
The President of the United States was Woodrow Wilson. The Vice President was Thomas R Marshall.
The decade of the 1920s is known as the Jazz Age and "The Roaring Twenties." It featured economic prosperity and carefree living for many. The decade began with a roar.
The 1920s was a decade of change, when many Americans owned cars, radios, and telephones for the first time. The cars brought the need for good roads. The radio brought the world closer to home. The telephone connected family and friends. Some rural farmers were leaving their farms in order to receive a regular paycheck in the factories. Unions were on the rise. Women shortened, or "bobbed," their hair, flappers danced and wore short, fancy dresses, and men shaved off their beards.
In 1920 the average life span in the U.S. was about 54 years, whereas today it's about 77. In 1920 the average time a student spent in school each year was 75 days; today it's about 180 days.
The Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed in 1920, creating the era of Prohibition. The amendment forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcoholic beverages. Many people ignored the ban, however.
The 1920s began with the last American troops returning from Europe after World War I. They were coming back to their families, friends, and jobs. Most of the soldiers had never been far from home before the war, and their experiences had changed their perspective of life around them. After seeing Europe, they wanted some of the finer things in life for themselves and their families. World War I had left Europe on the decline and America on the rise.
Two events in 1920 kicked off an era of change in America. The Nineteenth Amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote. And the first commercially licensed radio broadcast was heard from KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1920 Prices
Bread: $0.11/loaf
Milk: $0.58/gal
Eggs: $0.39/dozen
Car: $345
Gas: $0.30/gal
House: $6,296
Stamp: $0.02/each
Average Income: $1,130/year
Top Songs for 1920:
The Love Boat by Gene Buck
Margie by Benny Davis
Whose Baby Are You? by Anne Caldwell
La Veeda by Nat Vincent
Avalon by Al Jolson
Japanese Sandman by Raymond Egan
Mah Lindy Lou by Lily Strickland
Whispering by Malvin Schoenberger
Top Books in 1920:
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Frontier in American History by Frederick Jackson Turner
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Top Movies of 1920:
Outside the Law directed by Tod Browning
The Mark of Zorro directed by Fred Niblo and starring Douglas Fairbanks
The Last of the Mohicans directed by Clarence Brown and Maurice Tourneur and starring Barbara Bedford.
People Born on December 29:
1800 - Charles Goodyear, Inventor
1808 - Andrew Johnson, Raleigh, North Carolina, 17th President (1865-69) (Unionist)
1936 or 1937 - Mary Tyler Moore, Brooklyn, New York, Actress (Mary Tyler Moore, Ordinary People)
Source: Ncpedia.org, 1920: a Decade of Change, by Barrett A. Silverstein, ncpedia.org/history/20th-Century/1920s#
