Themes in American History

As we saw in the Scortsese’s movie, gangs and history of crime is dated way before 1920’s. Figures like “Bill the Butcher” successfully run “Five Points,” making New York a violent place to live. But at that time, the crime was not yet organized and gangs didn’t have “specialties.” The idea of having a family that will look after you began in 1920’s and was innate by most famous mobsters – the Italian Mafia.

I would like to distinctive two cities, well known from organized crime networks: New York and Chicago. The gangsters started to play an important role in cities life after January 16, 1920, when the selling alcohol was banned through the United States. Illegal liquor distribution became very popular in both cities, because gangsters were able bribe the police, judges and politicians. Later on: crime, illegal gambling, drugs trafficking, infiltrating the construction businesses began to dominate ordinary city life. Very important aspect that differentiates Chicago and New York City mafia was a structure. In Chicago there was only one criminal organization called “The Chicago Outfit” which at certain point (between 1925 and 1932) was controlled by famous All Capone who had a monopoly on the crime world. He was suspected of ordering hundreds of murders and his income in 1927 was estimated at $105,000,000. The Outfit controlled not only Chicago, but also Iowa, Wisconsin and other areas in Mid West. The gang had 300-400 members and 1000 associates. In contrary, New York was ruled by “Five Families” who compete with each other to control New York. What’s more “The Outfit” was more diverse and had had other ethnic groups, while Five Families were strictly Italian. What is interesting, the mafia established national Commission, which was a governing body of American Mafia, and each of the five New York families received a vote on the Commission, while the heads of the families in Chicago revived only one vote.

I found very interesting movie about New York Mafia on You Tube which includes interviews with former mobs members with covered faced because of witness protective program.

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AWQpVMY1a0&feature=player_embedded#at=74

Comments Off on Mafia – the national crime network of 1920’s

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/SclJ94h2oyQ" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

The “Roaring Twenties”  was an era of great economic growth, prosperity that emphasized the  social, artistic, and  cultural  diversity in the city. It was an era of new inventions, discoveries that led New Yorkers to experience new technologies, entertainment, mass media, that brought changes in life style and culture of the people living in the city as well as the people living outside the city by giving hope of getting prosperity and wealth.

Comments Off on

During the 1920s, Moses sparred with Franklin D.Roosevelt  then head of the Taconic State Park Commission, who favored the prompt construction of a Parkway through the Hudson Vally. Moses succeeded in diverting funds to his Long Island parkway projects (the Northern State Parkway , the Southern State Parkway and the Wantagh State Parkway although the Taconic State Parkway was later completed as well. Moses is frequently given credit as the father of the New York State Parkway System from these projects.

Comments Off on The Parkway System

3 Comments »

Life in the 1920\’s – Transport and Fashion

By the late 1920s, the automobile had firmly    establishes itself as the newest and most popular method of road transport. The rapidly growing automible industry led by Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company produced new and better models every year for the insatiable public demand. Roads that had been designed for horse transport began to change. In 1927, all the State governments, the Federal Government, and the local governments contribute the money for roads redesigned as well as new road rules introduced.

Women’s fashions  experienced dramatic changes in the early 1920’s following the end of the First World War in a period often referred to as the “roaring 20’s”. The passing of bustles and corsets gave clothing designers much greater freedom of expression. New and colorful fabrics echoed the joy felt by a war weary population following the end of hostilities. Beautiful coordinated and accessorized outfits were a feature of 1920’s ladies fashions.

1 Comment »

I think the different visual footage other students have posted is amazing since it really captures life in the 1920s–the jazz music, dancing, cigarettes, new role for women as flappers, and fashion. I also wanted to make not of the rise of actors in the 1920s. Most of these rising starts were New Yorkers or from the East Coast. Hollywood was not the cosmopolitan of movie making, but New York was. It wouldn’t be until 1927 that Hollywood really becomes huge. Movies, for the majority, were silent films and black and white. Movies with sound were called “Talkies.” And movie theaters were called “Nickelodeons.” Normally in theaters there would be an organ player to add sound. Especially after  the first World War, this visual entertainment was very appealing, comical and successful. Mickey mouse made it’s first appearance in 1928 in NYC.

Almost a century later, our actors of today are treated much like actors of the 1920s. Individuals such as Mary Pickford, Rudolf Valentino and Charlie Chaplin were paid large salaries and had the opportunity to travel across the world to promote their film.

Here is also a link of Steamboat Willie which was Disney’s first animation (with sound) of Mickey Mouse.

2 Comments »

The Harlem Renaissance or the “New Negro Movement”, as it was called at the time. During this period there was a rise of African-American literature and art in the 1920s, mainly in the Harlem district of New York City. During the mass migration of African Americans from the rural agricultural South to the urban industrial North in the early 1900s, many came to New York and settled in Harlem, as well as other black New Yorkers moved from other areas of the city. Meanwhile, Southern black musicians brought Jazz with them to the North and to Harlem. The area soon became a sophisticated literary and artistic center. A number of periodicals were influential in creating this movement, particularly the magazines Crisis, which was published by W. E. B. Du bois who urged racial pride among African Americans.

Comments Off on The Harlem Renaissance

The 1920’s also known as the Roaring Twenties, was marked by unprecedented affluence, innovations, social, and cultural changes.  It was a decade known for it’s growth of entertainment and spare time for leisurely activities.  People attended movie theaters, listened to radios, and flooded stadiums to watch a game of baseball.

The rise of popularity of baseball in the 1920’s was known as the Golden Age and was transformed by one player, Babe Ruth.  Babe Ruth the premier iconic player of all time, changed the game with his form of “power-hitting” (homeruns).  Attendance at Yankees Stadium in the 1920’s rose to 1 million, higher than any stadium at it’s time.  What made this possible was new forms of communication, the invention of radio broadcasting and sports sections in newspapers.  Also, the development of the Negro Leagues in 1920, provided African Americans players, some of the best ever to play the sport, an opportunity to play the game.  Although the game has changed since the Golden Era, baseball will always be known as an American national pastime.

Comments Off on The Golden Age of Baseball

With the arrival of the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century, came a reformation of American culture. It was only a matter of time before new technology too over the world. New Yorkers saw it coming; however, they were not aware of how quickly it would revolutionize the country. By the 1920s, the New York was fl0urishing beyond belief. Goods were now advertised by people trying to sell them. Production of those goods increased. This mass-consumer culture which characterized the United States (Chudacoff 186) was centered in New York. “Leisure activities were another type of consumption mostly supported by city dwellers. A mania for sports, movies, and music gripped every city. Passionate interest in sports had been building since the late nineteenth century. In 1923, 300,000 fans attented the six-game Wold Series of baseball between the New  York Yankees and New York Giants” (Chudacoff 186). Baseball became a popular sport and was practiced by most people  in sandlots, beaches, tennis courts and golf links. In addition, motion pictures drew large crowds as it became a popular attraction with an average attendance of 110 million people per week in a nation with a population roughly over 120 million people.

One of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game, Babe Ruth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People crowd New York City's Warners' Theatre for the showing of Don Juan.

9 Comments »

During the 1920s, digital technology became to influence people’s life. Radio brought the new world of entertainment and advertising directly into urban homes in the 1920sThe first commercial radio station began broadcasting in 1919, and during the 1920s, the nation’s airwaves were filled with musical variety shows and comedies.

Radio drew the nation together by bringing news, entertainment, and advertisements to the households. In 1926, a network of stations was formed by the national broadcasting corporation and in 1927, the federal government created the federal radio commission which distributed broadcasting licenses and frequencies among 412 cities. National radio broadcasting linked people living distant from one another in new ways, making listeners to share a common experience with each other, and radio advertising brought the message of consumption into every listening household.

Also radio disseminated racial and cultural caricatures and derogatory stereotypes. The nation’s most popular radio show, “Amos ‘n Andy,” which first aired in 1926 on Chicago’s WMAQ, spread vicious racial stereotypes into homes whose white occupants knew little about African Americans. Other minorities fared no better. The Italian gangster and the tightfisted Jew became stock characters in radio programming.

1 Comment »

New York City had already begun changing from a horizontal city to a vertical one. There wasn’t enough space on Manhattan for all of its massive corporations, so they built skywards. As if the shift from trade to manufacturing wasn’t enough, lower Manhattan slowly became dominated by corporations whose influence stretched all over the world. Structures like the Mercantile Building,  Met Life building, and (in 1931) the famous Empire State Building was turning Manhattan itself into a marvel of modern engineering. Development of much of what we consider Manhattan’s skyline was in full swing in the 20’s as the economy was booming. Construction conditions were clearly more dangerouis than those we have today, primarily because 1920s builders lacked technology. This video (rather comedically), portrays some of the techniques:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn6h-RVqfZM

Comments Off on Skyscrapers in the 1920’s

In the 1920s, the fashion industry was soaring and reaching new heights. The women of this time we breaking out into society politically and socially. They were no longer hiding in the shadows without a voice. Looks have always been something women held at a high regard. Prior to the 1920’s women would use a vacuum to achieve the look they wanted with their hair. The vacuum would double as a dryer when you add a hose to the mouth of it. The first hair dryer was extremely massive. Though it wasn’t as handy as what we have on the shelves in 2011, this item was a solution that paved the way to many of the hair products and gadgets women all over use today.

Comments Off on Hair

In early 1920’s the hairstyle of women changed from traditional long hair styles of 19^th century to short hair styles like “the Bob”. In the beginning bobbed hair style was plain, straight and simple. As the time passed that hair style started getting more interesting and innovative. Straight hair transformed into curly and wave forms from 1920-1930. Styles like Finger waves, Marcel wave and shingle sown were also not less popular.  Stars and celebrities adopted these styles in movies and played their role in popularizing the new hair fashion. Even now women still adopting and trying to copy the hair style of 1920’s.

Comments Off on 1920’s Hair-style

     The 1920s was a time for the American people to change the ways they lived and it was a time where culture took a dramatic change for the etter. This time also brought along heros like Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh. Henry Ford provided the assembly line where it revolutionized the way automobiles were built thus causing them to be cheeper and providing a boost in the economy. It altered the American landscape and American’s society, and it was only one of the several factors in the country’s business boom in the 1920’s. The automobile changed the way people lived their lives, the way the city was run, and how the economy was dealt with.
       Charles Lindbergh also was a hero by revolutionizing the way of proving that so called the aerial flights could be accomplished. He proved that humans can travel by air for a long period of time which set a new bar and new standards in the world of flying. These two men set new standards in two industries that made many things in modern day life possible to achieve. They were the source of all the heroes of that time period and with them they made many other industries boom and made dreams a bit more achieveable. They were greatly admired in this time period because of all these achievements that they did and even until this day.

Comments Off on June 30, Assignment

Between 1908 and 1927, The Ford Model T’s relatively low price and reliability enticed more than 15 million Americans to buy an automobile. In many of those years, the Ford Motor Company produced over half of all autos sold. The mass-produced Model T helped make America a nation of drivers.  That is what also led to the reason more people were able to travel now because it was somewhat affordable so not only the rich were traveling now.  This is one of the many aspects that contributed to modernity.

Comments Off on The Model T and Travel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOSOYSLDuQE&feature=related

During 1970’s; despite the rapid growth of  industrialization, immigration, and business competition in New York City, the over population and poverty tended some New Yorkers to be involved  in a gangster and smuggling. After watching the movie “Gangster of New York”  and watching the segregation, murder, discrimination of power within the people in a movie where regulation and security wasn’t strong, I thought of the movie, ” American Gangster” based on the life of heroin dealer and organized crime boss Frank Lucas (African American) operated in Harlem during 1960s and 1970s. The movie was based on the true story directed by Ridley Scott.

Although the freedom, rules and an equality came among Americans and others, the movie, “American Gangster”  made me thought that some impacts of the “five points” history still somehow exist in our present lives in a different names and techniques. The only difference we can see in this present movie is the presence of  rules and regulations, security, equality, integrity, disciplined etc. among  people and society. For the people suffering poverty, smuggling comes to be the short-cut way of obtaining success and prosperity as Lucas did by making $1 million per day selling drug.

2 Comments »

In 1920 education had been taken completely different than it was in the 1800s and prier to it. Education was already mandatory and children had the opportunity to get an education in the New York public school system. Children did not have to go to school before hand, which led them to start working in early ages. With an education the city had a potential to grow larger and compete nationally for resources and various other things such as engineering and advance in politics. This is considered a big step  since it is an investment in NY’s and its citizens future.  

Comments Off on Education in 1920

Airplanes started out as a relatively new invention in the earl 1920s. However the quickly caught on later in the decade.  Airmail  began to take flight in 1919 and 1920 when planes travelling started to travel from  New York and Washington DC. Since air travel cut down the time from weeks to just a few days, it quickly became popular. Later in the 1920s, as planes became more reliable and well built,  passenger planes started to make flights across the US. Today we see airplanes as a normal means of transportation that is almost essential to our everyday lives, while back in the 1920s airplanes were revolutionary.

4 Comments »

1920s is the decade of the rise of consumer culture. New mass production techniques enabled American industrialists market goods that many white collar and working class families could afford. Installment buying made people more possible to acquire automobiles and refrigerators and other big home appliances. Advertising became the tool to create the demand American industries needed to sell mass quantities of goods. They claimed that washing machines, stoves, canned goods can help housewives easy from housework. Radio also played an important role in launching the consumer culture. It was the medium through which advertising worked its magic. For the first time in history, one person, one ad, or one product could reach every corner of the American landscape. It provided a form of entertainment and source of information. The radio became as necessary as food or shelter as its position moved from luxury to necessity. Motion pictures also attracted many people in the 1920s. During 1927 to 1929, weekly movie attendance reached an estimated 110 million people. (Chudacoff pg217, 6^th Ed.) There were independently black-owned theaters served only for black audiences in New York. Movies presented scenes involving diverse city people, which helped to popularize urban culture.

19 Comments »

With the recent invention of automobiles, city streets became chaotic and dangerous.  There was a mixture of pedestrians, buggies and cars and a need for order.  In about 1920, Detroit police officer William Potts invented an overhanging four-way, red, green, and yellow light system.  The traffic light brought order to the chaotic city and also set the trend for inventing ways to modernize the city.  

1 Comment »