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1920s ‑ Topics

During the 1920s (often referred to as the "Roaring Twenties"), a surging economy in the U.S. created an era of mass consumerism, as Jazz-Age flappers flouted Prohibition laws and the Harlem Renaissance redefined arts and culture.

3:38 minTV-PG

Al Capone’s Secret City

Learn the history of Al Capone’s secret city.

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1:01 minTV-PG

The Prohibition Agents Who Became Masters of Disguise

When Prohibition began, two regular guys thought it would be fun to sign up to enforce the new law. They were right.

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TV-PG

How Prohibition Created the Mafia

Starting in January 1920, the United States became a dry country. Prohibition banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol in an attempt to civilize unruly Americans (and some other reasons). The experiment had many unintended consequences, but most dangerously, it fostered the rise of organized crime and the American Mafia.

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2:16 minTV-PG

Flashback: Scopes Monkey – Rare Footage of the “Trial of the Century”

The 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial was one of the most important legal battles of its time. Two of the greatest speakers of the era, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, faced off in a debate encompassing science, religion, and Constitutional rights.

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Los Angeles Exteriors And Landmarks – 2014LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 03: A view of the Hollywood Sign on Mount Lee on February 03, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Hollywood

Hollywood’s Humble Origins In 1853, a small adobe hut was all that existed where Hollywood stands today. But over the next two decades, the area became a thriving agricultural community called Cahuenga Valley. When politician and real estate developer Harvey Henry Wilcox and his second wife Daeida moved to Los Angeles from Topeka, Kansas in […]

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Tulsa Race Riot

1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Tulsa’s Black Wall Street In much of the country, the years following World War I saw a spike in racial tensions, including the resurgence of the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan, numerous lynchings and other acts of racially motivated violence, as well as efforts by African Americans to prevent such attacks on their […]

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Flappers

Women’s Independence Multiple factors—political, cultural and technological—led to the rise of the flappers. During World War I, women entered the workforce in large numbers, receiving higher wages that many working women were not inclined to give up during peacetime. In August 1920, women’s independence took another step forward with the passage of the 19th Amendment, […]

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Scopes Trial

Butler Act The theory of evolution, as developed by Charles Darwin and others, was a controversial concept in many quarters, even into the 20th century. Concerted anti‑evolutionist efforts in Tennessee succeeded when in 1925, the Tennessee House of Representatives was offered a bill by John W. Butler that made teaching evolution a misdemeanor. The so‑called […]

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Cabinet member Albert B. Fall found guilty in Teapot Dome scandal

Teapot Dome Scandal

The Teapot Dome Scandal of the 1920s shocked Americans by revealing an unprecedented level of greed and corruption within the federal government.

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2:46 minTV-PG

18th and 21st Amendments

Did you know it wasn’t illegal to drink during Prohibition? Get the whole story behind the “noble experiment.”

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2:22 minTV-14

Teapot Dome Scandal

Warren Harding’s presidency was rocked by scandal, including one that didn’t come to light until after he left office.

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0:54 secTV-PG

Prohibition Raid

Police raid a garage in Chicago that contained five hundred and thirty‑seven barrels of alcoholic beverage, $30,000 worth of illegal drink.

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