City/Urban Life in the 1920s

1. City/Urban Life in the 1920s By, Elana Cooper, SafiyaLochan, and Gabriela Patla

2. Population and Immigration • 40% of nations people lived in cities • More Americans lived in cities of 2,500+ people than in small towns or rural areas • Immigrants settled in New York due to the open jobs and the fact that they were brought over from Ellis Island. • Immigrants were attracted to the cheap housing and job opportunities in the city • They moved in large groups of mainly young men who hoped to be successful in the city • Foreigners of many different cultures all came in large groups • The percentage of immigrants were cut down each year

4. Life as a teenager • Majority of the male population in high school were drafted into the army due to World War I so school wasn’t a priority. • They often started families and got jobs at an early age unless they were in the war. • Girls were influenced by the flapper style which became the latest trend. • Rock N’ Roll set an example of what men/teenagers should wear which was a leather jacket.

5. Night Life • Prohibition began on January 16, 1920 • Speakeasies were created which were hidden rooms in public areas that illegally sold alcohol • Speakeasies used secrets codes that you would have to say in order to fool the police and keep them from finding out about the speakeasy • The people who were involved in speakeasies were usually in gangs and supplied the alcohol, or flappers who would dance all night

6. Common Jobs • Work was usually 12-14 hours but it later became 8 hours in the 1930’s due to much protest • Jobs during this time weren’t much different how they are now excluding the fact that women were now starting to get a bit more equality. • Down in the South farming, share croppers and tenant farmers were still in business • New York Had more doctors, shopkeepers, lawyers and clergies • Outside the city there would usually be factories, seamstresses, miners and loggers

7. The Wealthy • Lived on the outskirts of the cities because the city was overpopulated and they could afford to have a car to transport in and out of the city as much as they needed. • Created separate neighborhoods for themselves in the suburbs. • Built mansions on large empty plots at the edges of cities. • The ones that did live in the city lived on the upper side

8. Transportation • Holland Tunnel opens • Development of railroads, street cars, and trolleys in the 19th century allowed city boundaries to expand • People didn’t have to live within walking distance of their jobs • The cities roadways could not keep up with the growing demand for automobiles • More than half a million new cars were built but there were no highways constructed. • Because there weren’t any highways, cars traveled through the cities which caused heavy traffic. • transportation video

9. Transportation

10. New Technology • Besides cars as a new invention, many appliances that we use today were invented during this time period as well. • The radio became a big hit for spreading information quickly, the media had a major influence on people. • Because of the crowded streets and accidents the traffic lights were created to ease congestion. • Assembly lines were created to increase production and produce things more quickly and efficiently.

11. Depression • The great depression began on October 29, 1929 (Also known as Black Tuesday) on the day that the stock market crashed • The stock market crash was only the beginning to the crisis • It left many homeless and unemployed • The US wasn’t the only country to have a depression. France, Germany and England had one as well. • It lasted until 1939

13. Unemployment • Much lower than previous decades but still common • 3.2 million people were unemployed after the depression • Unemployment rose up to about 25% of the country and even 33% in other countries • People were desperate for money so they sold basically any item they could find.