The Twenties

How did early country musicians get started in an industry that did not yet exist? Students will examine the personal and broader historical circumstances in which select country artists of the period 1920-1945 got their starts.  The story of DeFord Bailey’s tumultuous tenure with the Grand Ole Opry offers an opportunity to examine race relations in the era through the lens of the music industry. Students will understand how the genre’s first stars, the Carter Family, produced their 1927 landmark recordings and became famous, despite facing poverty and personal struggle and despite there being no precedent for making a living by selling records. Finally, Students will be introduced to the Maddox Family, whose trek from the rural south to California during the Dust Bowl offers a framework to further explore the workings of the industry in the context of 1930s mass migration, economic hardship, and marginalization.  An historical overview of this era, included in the support materials, provides additional historical context about the period to offer a broader perspective about these artists’ circumstances. These artists’ stories can be explored individually or as a gallery. The discussion questions and historical context included support either approach.

As the 19th century turned into the 20th century a modern America emerged. This change came just in time. As the end of the second decade of the 20th century was approaching, the United States found itself engulfed in a world war. This was followed by a decade of unrestrained technological and economic development that quickly crashed into a deep economic depression that was intensified when the dust bowl struck the nation’s breadbasket. In this lesson, students will explore, through art and music, how country music evolved alongside the nation.

The 1924 Democratic Convention between William McAdoo and Al Smith pitted rural versus urban America, and would set the stage for 1928.Learning Objective: Students will understand how the fight surrounding Prohibition revealed underlying tensions between rural and urban America.

The 1928 presidential election between incumbent Herbert Hoover and Al Smith, Governor of New York, was one of the dirtiest in history. Smith was the first candidate to run a national campaign that was critical of Prohibition. He was an unapologetic wet, while Hoover favored the law and supported the dries.    Learning Objectives: Students will: Analyze the fight between the “wets” and the “dries;” Understand how the inflexibility of the “dries” lead to the ending of Prohibition; Understand and analyze how the fight over Prohibition began to change into a fight between rural and urban areas. (Mentioning religion and immigrants.)

On February 14, 1929, in what came to be called the "Valentine's Day Massacre," George Moran's gang is gunned down in cold blood and Al Capone is thought to have ordered the hit.

Lois Long—pen name "Lipstick"—wrote about speakeasies for the New Yorker. Women who could not afford to live the decadent lifestyle got to experience it vicariously by reading about her exploits.

While millions of Americans stopped drinking during Prohibition, those who did drink, women as well as men, drank more. Learning Objectives: Students will: Understand how Prohibition caused an increase in drinking in some Americans; Understand how Prohibition created a black market for liquor and led to severe health complications for many Americans.

The Volstead Act, the law that enforced the 18th Amendment, which established prohibition in the U.S., was more strict than most Americans had anticipated. Many believed that beer and light wines would be excluded from the amendment. They were wrong. Learning Objective: Students will analyze how the Volstead Act prohibited the manufacture, sale, and consumption of ALL alcoholic beverages.

From 1920-1933, the United States was a dry country. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibited the making, transportation, and sale of alcohol. The law, as explained in the Ken Burns’ film Prohibition, “turned law-abiding citizens into criminals.” It also proved to be a lucrative business venture for gangsters and bootleggers, who took over once legitimate businesses to illegally supply alcohol to Americans. The prominence and power of gangsters during Prohibition grew as a result. Learning Objectives Students will: Analyze how Prohibition lead to an increase and overall organization of crime in America; Determine if organized crime tactics are still being used today by individuals and big business.

From 1920-1933, the United States was a dry country. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibited the making, transportation, and sale of alcohol. Americans went to illegal bars, called “speakeasies,” on the sly to drink.  Learning objectives: Students will: Understand how Prohibition created an underground club scene that started in New York City and eventually proliferated to the rest of the United States; Analyze how Prohibition led to a social and cultural revolution for women.

From 1920-1933, the 18th Amendment to the constitution ruled the land. It prohibited the making, transportation, and sale of alcohol. The amendment grew out of the pervasive alcohol abuse, especially among men and immigrant populations, of the 19th century. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union and Anti-Saloon League politicized the issue, and the nation was divided between “wets” opposed to the amendment, and “drys” supporting it. Learning objective: Students will analyze how the fight over alcohol revealed larger societal tensions in American politics.

The activity within this gallery explores the bootlegging industry that flourished during Prohibition. Students will view four video segments to gain an understanding of the origins of bootlegging and analyze the federal government's response.  Learning Objectives: Students will: Understand and analyze how the bootlegging business began and continued during Prohibition; Understand and analyze the federal government’s retaliation against the bootlegging industry