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The 1920s Portal

The 1920s (pronounced "nineteen-twenties" often shortened to the "'20s" or the "Twenties") was a decade that began on January 1, 1920, and ended on December 31, 1929. In America, it is frequently referred to as the "Roaring Twenties" or the "Jazz Age", while in Europe the period is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Twenties" because of the economic boom following World War I (1914–1918). French speakers refer to the period as the "Années folles" ('crazy years'), emphasizing the era's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism.

The 1920s saw foreign oil companies begin operations in Venezuela, which became the world's second-largest oil-producing nation. The devastating Wall Street Crash in October 1929 is generally viewed as a harbinger of the end of 1920s prosperity in North America and Europe. In the Soviet Union, the New Economic Policy was created by the Bolsheviks in 1921, to be replaced by the first five-year plan in 1928. The 1920s saw the rise of radical political movements, with the Red Army triumphing against White movement forces in the Russian Civil War, and the emergence of far-right political movements in Europe. In 1922, the fascist leader Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy. Other dictators that emerged included Józef Piłsudski in Poland, and Peter and Alexander Karađorđević in Yugoslavia. First-wave feminism made advances, with women gaining the right to vote in the United States (1920), Albania (1920), Ireland (1921), and with suffrage being expanded in Britain to all women over 21 years old (1928).

In Turkey, nationalist forces defeated Greece, France, Armenia and Britain in the Turkish War of Independence, leading to the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), a treaty more favorable to Turkey than the earlier proposed Treaty of Sèvres. The war also led to the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate. Nationalist revolts also occurred in Ireland (1919–1921) and Syria (1925–1927). Under Mussolini, Italy pursued a more aggressive domestic and foreign policy, leading to the nigh-eradication of the Sicilian Mafia and the Second Italo-Senussi War in Libya respectively. In 1927, China erupted into a civil war between the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China (ROC) and forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Civil wars also occurred in Paraguay (1922–1923), Ireland (1922–1923), Honduras (1924), Nicaragua (1926–1927), and Afghanistan (1928–1929). Saudi forces conquered Jabal Shammar and subsequently, Hejaz.

A severe famine occurred in Russia (1921–1922) due to the combined effects of economic disturbance because of the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War, exacerbated by rail systems that could not distribute food efficiently, leading to 5 million deaths. Another severe famine occurred in China (1928–1930), leading to 6 million deaths. The Spanish flu pandemic (1918–1920) and Russian typhus epidemic (1918–1922), which had begun in the previous decade, caused 25–50 million and 2–3 million deaths respectively. Major natural disasters of this decade include the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake (258,707~273,407 deaths), 1922 Shantou typhoon (50,000–100,000 deaths), 1923 Great Kantō earthquake (105,385–142,800 deaths), and 1927 Gulang earthquake (40,912 deaths).

Silent films were popular in this decade, with the highest-grossing film of this decade being either the American silent epic adventure-drama film Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ or the American silent war drama film The Big Parade, depending on the metrics used. Sinclair Lewis was a popular author in the United States in the 1920s, with his books Main Street and Elmer Gantry becoming best-sellers. Best-selling books outside the US included the Czech book The Good Soldier Švejk, which sold 20 million copies. Songs of this decade included "Mack the Knife" and "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".

During the 1920s, the world population increased from 1.87 to 2.05 billion, with approximately 700 million births and 525 million deaths in total. (Full article...)

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Subway Sadie is a 1926 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Alfred Santell. Adapted from Mildred Cram's 1925 short story "Sadie of the Desert", the film focuses on a relationship between New York salesgirl Sadie Hermann (Dorothy Mackaill) and subway guard Herb McCarthy (Jack Mulhall), who meet on the subway and become engaged. However, after Sadie receives a promotion, she must choose between her new job and marrying Herb. The cast also includes Charles Murray, Peggy Shaw, Gaston Glass, and Bernard Randall.

The film began production in May 1926. Arthur Edeson served as cinematographer, shooting around Central Park in areas like casinos and nightclubs. Distributed by First National Pictures, the film premiered in New York on September 12, 1926. Many publications wrote positively of the film, praising its acting and Santell's direction. Today, it remains unknown if a print of Subway Sadie has survived. (Full article...)

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A portrait of Lillian Gish from 1921. Gish was one of the first female movie stars, called "The First Lady of American Cinema", starting in 1912 and continuing to appear in films until 1987. The American Film Institute named Gish 17th among the greatest female stars of all time and awarded her a Life Achievement Award, making her the only recipient who was a major figure in the silent era. Remarkably, she never won an Academy Award for her work, although she did receive a Special Academy Award in 1971.

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Did you know...

... that the colorfully-painted common room of the Jazz Age Naniboujou Club Lodge (pictured) has been called "a psychedelic marriage of Art Deco and traditional Cree Indian patterns"?
... that Charlie Bowman was a major influence on the distinctive fiddle sound that helped shape and develop early country music in the 1920s and 1930s?
... that Margie (ABC, 1961–1962) is one of the few network programs set during the Roaring Twenties, complete with jalopies, raccoon coats, period music, and references to flappers?

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Portrait, 1919

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of Princeton University and as the governor of New Jersey before winning the 1912 presidential election. As president, Wilson changed the nation's economic policies and led the United States into World War I in 1917. He was the leading architect of the League of Nations, and his progressive stance on foreign policy came to be known as Wilsonianism.

Born in Staunton, Virginia, Wilson grew up in the Southern United States, mainly in Augusta, Georgia, during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. After earning a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in history and political science from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Wilson taught at several colleges prior to being appointed president of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, where he emerged as a prominent spokesman for progressivism in higher education. (Full article...)

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... that in the 1920s, Australian journalist E. George Marks predicted military conflict in the Pacific between Japan and the United States?
... that the serial arsonist who started the fatal Nihon Shōgakkō fire confessed to starting at least 25 other California fires in the early 1920s?
... that the League for Human Rights, established in Germany in the early 1920s, was the first mass organization for homosexuals?
... that 1920s and 1930s radio show actress Artie Belle McGinty played the original radio advertisement voice for Aunt Jemima?
... that in the 1920s, a guard was posted outside the New York City Subway's Clark Street station to prevent sailors from using it at night?
... that in the 1920s, Hickson Inc. had the "most elegant and expensive specialty shop" on New York's Fifth Avenue?

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General images

The following are images from various 1920s-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Crowd gathering after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 (from 1920s)
Image 2Spanish troops in San Sebastián, prior to their departure to the Rif War (from 1920s)
Image 3Babe Ruth in 1920 (from 1920s)
Image 4D. W. Griffith at a rolltop desk, c. 1925 (from 1920s)
Image 5Map of the world from 1920, two years after World War I (from 1920s)
Image 6Georgia O'Keeffe in 1920, photographed by Alfred Stieglitz (from 1920s)
Image 7Robert Goddard and his rocket, 1926 (from 1920s)
Image 8George Grosz in 1921 (from 1920s)
Image 9Frank Lloyd Wright, 1926 (from 1920s)
Image 10The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) is created in 1922. (from 1920s)
Image 112 out of 10 best-selling American books in the 1920s were written by Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951). (from 1920s)
Image 12Dow Jones Industrial, 1928–1930 (from 1920s)
Image 13Charlie Chaplin during the 1920s (from 1920s)
Image 14The period from the end of the First World War until the start of the Depression in 1929 is known as the "Jazz Age". (from 1920s)
Image 15Paavo Nurmi in 1924 Summer Olympics (from 1920s)
Image 16The most memorable fashion trend of the Roaring Twenties was undoubtedly "the flapper" look. (from 1920s)
Image 171920s phone (from 1920s)
Image 18The British and French colonial empires in 1920 (from 1920s)
Image 19Albert Einstein, 1921 (from 1920s)
Image 20Prohibition agents emptying barrels of alcohol (from 1920s)
Image 21Thompson submachine gun (1921 model) (from 1920s)
Image 22Buster Keaton in the 1922 short film The Frozen North (from 1920s)
Image 23From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Seán Hogan during the Irish War of Independence; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States throughout the entire decade; In 1927, Charles Lindbergh embarks on the first solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris on the Spirit of St. Louis; A crowd gathering on Wall Street after the 1929 stock market crash, which led to the Great Depression; Benito Mussolini and fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome in 1922; the People's Liberation Army attacking government defensive positions in Shandong, during the Chinese Civil War; The women's suffrage campaign leads to numerous countries granting women the right to vote and be elected; Babe Ruth becomes the most famous baseball player of the time. (from 1920s)
Image 24F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1929 (from 1920s)
Image 25Adolf Hitler (standing) delivers a speech in February 1925. (from 1920s)
Image 26Benito Mussolini and Fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome in 1922 (from 1920s)
Image 27Irving Berlin (left) and Al Jolson, c. 1927 (from 1920s)