Jazz Age
The Jazz Age was the 1920s era, especially in the United States, marked by jazz, changing social norms, urban nightlife, and economic prosperity.
Harlem Renaissance: A flowering of Black American literature, music, art, and political thought centered in Harlem during the 1920s and early 1930s. Its writers and musicians shaped the era’s cultural life while asserting Black creativity and identity.
Jazz: A music originating in African American communities, characterized by improvisation, syncopation, and distinctive rhythmic interaction. The music gave the era its name and animated dance halls, clubs, and recordings.
World War I: A global war fought from 1914 to 1918 between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. The war reshaped society and left a postwar generation wary of inherited values.
Wall Street Crash of 1929: The collapse of U.S. stock prices in October 1929 that marked the beginning of a severe economic downturn. The crash punctured the decade’s image of uninterrupted prosperity.
Flapper: A young woman associated with 1920s fashions and behavior that challenged older expectations of femininity. The flapper became a visible symbol of changing gender norms and urban consumer culture.
Radio in the United States: The development and spread of radio broadcasting across the United States. Broadcasts carried popular music beyond the cities and venues where it was performed.
Great Migration: The movement of millions of Black Americans from the rural South to northern and western cities, especially from 1916 to 1970. Migration transformed urban communities and helped create new centers of Black music and culture.
Great Depression: A worldwide economic crisis that began in 1929 and lasted through much of the 1930s. The Depression replaced the Jazz Age boom with unemployment, hardship, and economic insecurity.
Lost Generation: A group of writers associated with post–World War I disillusionment, including Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Their fiction captured both the decade’s glamour and its doubts about wealth and modern life.
Phonograph record: A disc-shaped medium that stores sound as grooves played by a phonograph. Commercial recordings helped jazz reach listeners who could not attend live performances.