Section 2 intro | Postwar American Economic Prosperity

Who illustrated the cover for The Great Gatsby?

Francis Cugat

How can the cover of The Great Gatsby be described?

A blue-black night sky punctuated by neon lights and dominated by the floating lips and eyes of a mysterious woman

The 2013 film adaptation features who?

Leonardo DiCaprio, and Carey Mulligan

Who directed the 2013 Gatsby movie?

Baz Luhrmann

What does cultural critic Greil Marcus say about Gatsby?

The novel has become apart of America’s “iconographic lingua franca”

Who coined the term “Jazz Age”

Fitzgerald

What are some characteristics of the Jazz Age?

Well-dressed men and women, drinking fin in lavish saloons and speakeasies; dimly lit jazz clubs featuring performances by bands

The bands in jazz clubs would typically play what instruments?

Pianos, trumpets, and upright basses

Who were two infamous gangsters of the Jazz Age?

Al Capone and John Dillinger

What was 1920 - 1929 defined by?

Young and hip urbanities trying out new gender roles and taking in the thrills of cultural and aesthetic revolutions

What topics would writers of the time tackle?

How to make sense of the violence of WW1 and how to navigate a world filled with new technologies, changing social arrangements and diversifying populations

How did the 1920s impact Fitzgerald?

It impacted what he wrote about, how he wrote about it, and how his writing was received

What impacted Fitzgeralds writing?

The social, political and literary movements of the 1920s

The 1920s would become known as what?

A period of excess and affluence

How was the economy looking as the 1920s began?

Grim

When did the US enter WW1?

April 6 1917

What was WW1 formerly known as?

The Great War

Why did WW1 impact the economy?

The US spent significant amounts of money funding the war effort

How did wartime expenditures affect the US economy?

It helped fuel inflation

How does inflation occur?

Whenever an economy experiences an artificial injection of money

What are some examples for artificial injections of money?

Government purchase of significant amounts of product, military enterprise, or when he government distributes money to stimulate consumer spending

1916-1920 is notable due to what?

Experiencing the highest rates of inflation ever seen in U.S. history

How much did prices rise in a four year period?

80%

What was the nation experiencing as prices rose by 80%?

An economic recession

Why did Americans begin purchasing fewer and fewer goods?

Due to inflated prices

As the economy wrapped up wartime productivity what did the 20’s experience?

The period of one of the worst declines in production in American history

From June onward what happened to the economy?

Prices began to drop, re-stabilizing the economy

As prices dropped what did consumers gain more of?

Spending power. People had more money in their pockets as well as more interesting things to spend money on

The rapid rise of what led in part to the image of the 1920s?

New consumer products that were developed, refined, and marketed

What industry saw a boom in the 1920s?

The automobile industry

How much did car ownership increase in the 1920s?

It tripled

What new goods came about as a result of the automobile boom?

Gas stations, cheap accessible lodging (motels) and new forms of entertainment

What does motel stand for?

Motor hotel

What new forms of entertainment gained popularity as people could travel farther?

Athletic events, movie theaters, and public musical performances

The scenes depicting luxurious automobiles spoke to what?

The countries fascination with the car as a status symbol and as an everyday means of getting around

What is consumer culture?

A national emphasis on spending money and acquiring material goods

What did Fitzgerald critique?

The nations newfound obsession with consumption

What did inventions help create?

Opportunities for employment

Many Americans found themselves employed where?

At manufacturing sectors

What type of early forms of technology would people typically build?

Refrigerators and washing machines

The 20’s experienced a rapid growth in what industry?

Electrical industry

The electrification of the 20s brought what?

Increasing consumer demand for leisure items like radios and phonographs

What two presidential administrations existed in the 1920s?

Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge

When was Harding president from?

1920-1923

When was Coolidge president from?

1923-1929

The two presidential administrations at the time could be described as what?

Ideologically and administratively consistent

The 1920s were defined more by what rather than political upheavals?

Technological, cultural, and demographic changes

What was one of the most transformative changes of the 1920s?

The increased access to disposable income and consumer goods