...F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby placed in the 1920s alludes to the mind of the rich and famous with the many extravagant landscapes, homes, and regions of west egg and east egg. No surprise this era was called the roaring twenties because of its modern mass-production and mass-consumption economy.During this era of the 1920’s wealth was the main objective, but bubbling up within the people was sadness and despair because they weren’t fully happy. The world of Gatsby within the 1920’s was full of wealth no matter if was inherited or made legally or illegally.His fancy luxurious home was made to make other people believe in his mirage of money and his wealth. The problem with money is that even though it can buy many items that...
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...A History of the Great Depression During the 1920s, the U.S faced a time of great prosperity. Often referred to as the “Roaring Twenties”, this period brought many increasing riches and wealth. Many, lulled by the decadence of the era believed that the good times would last forever. Looking back, many would see the naivety which colored their views on what would end up being for many, artificial wealth. For, the 1930’s ushered in an era of economic collapse that would overshadow history and adequately be deemed the “Great Depression”. Ironically, the roaring twenties became a precursor to the Great Depression leading to one of the main causes, the stock market crash of 1929. The economic growth of the 1920s was unparalleled to any previous time. The United States during the 20s experienced a wave of new technology and growth. Silent Films, which could be viewed on one of the newest inventions, the television had experienced a surge of popularity as well as radios. With the increase in factories came new methods of mass production, which made the automobile affordable now to many households (Scaliger). Skyscrapers were beginning to dot landscapes in larger cities seeming to support the notions of the decade that the sky was the limit. Underneath the glitz and glamour, though a startling truth was starting to emerge. The economic growth of the past decade was partially a façade created by an abundance of newly printed money. (Scaliger). Inexperience combined with arrogance...
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...The Great Gatsby Could you imagine life without alcohol? A world where you were prohibited to drink alcohol by an amendment in our constitution! The 18th Amendment ratifications on January 19, 1920 ban the manufacturing, transporting and any sale of intoxicating liquors. When the Prohibition era in the United States began on January 19, 1920, a few sage observers predicted it would not go well. Certainly, previous attempts to outlaw the use of alcohol in American history had fared poorly (Lerner 2010). With all the research I have read it seems like prohibition ended up causing more negative issues than positive. The closing and lay off of the employees of saloons, breweries lead to loss of jobs of truck drivers, wait staff and anyone else involved in the trade. This was thousands and thousands of jobs. With Prohibition in effect, that revenue was immediately lost. At the national level, Prohibition cost the federal government a total of $11 billion in lost tax revenue, while costing over $300 million to enforce. (Lerner 2010). This lead to an uprising in organized crime, especially, within the trade of alcohol sales. The people who ran these illegal liquor trades were called bootleggers. It is said that the growth of the illegal liquor trade made millions of Americans become criminals. It even made a lot of our Police Officers become corrupt because the money was worth it. There were two exceptions to the Prohibition law one was wine for religious purposes. Do to this...
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...In The Great Gatsby, F.Scott Fitzgerald’s cynicism about the American Dream in the 1920’s is represented by the characters Gatsby,Daisy, and Tom. The Roaring Twenties was 10 years of madness in America. The economy during the twenties were very unpredictable. A lot of criminal activity went on during the Roaring Twenties like bootlegging which helped Gatsby become famous. Parties and jazz music was also very popular which is evidenced by Gatsby big parties. Gatsby was trying to impress the girl he loves by throwing parties constantly so he could finally get to marry her. Gatsby was a very wealthy man who did not achieve his wealth fairly.F.Scott Fitzgerald saw that has the American Dream. But things like laws and depression kept him from that goal. F.Scott Fitzgerald attitude represented in the Great Gatsby was pretty bad since the 18th amendment banned alcohol and that’s what ended up causing F.Scott Fitzgerald view to be pretty bad. Gatsby was a very wealthy man who achieved wealth as a gentleman gangster. Gatsby dream was to marry Daisy Buchanan who was already married to Tom Buchanan. Gatsby constantly...
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...Crash the main cause for the Great Depression? A. Plan of the Investigation 1 B. Summary of Evidence 1 C. Evaluation of Sources 3 D. Analysis 5 E. Conclusion 7 F. Bibliography 8 A. Plan of the investigation The investigation considers the extent to which the Wall Street Crash was the main cause for the Great Depression that hit the Unites States throughout the 1930s, whose effects were spread worldwide. For this purpose the investigation assesses the significance of the crash in the stock market in relation to other factors that were also relevant. Through the selection and summary of relevant written sources, the investigation examines the 1920’s the domestic and international problems during the “prosperous” years that triggered the crisis. In order to reach a conclusion two of the sources: The Great Depression by Lionel Robbins and The Great Depression and The New Deal by Robert F. Himmelberg are evaluated for their origin, purpose, values and limitations. Word count: 120 B. Summary of evidence By the time the United States entered the First World War in 1917, the USA was the world’s biggest economic power[1]. Its role in providing extra equipment and a supply of fresh soldiers was instrumental in the final Allied victory[2]. The artificial prosperity of the war years was followed by an inevitable collapse[3]. After a short recession between 1920 and 1922...
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...United States History 2 Final Review Guide Part I: Multiple Choice Chapter 20 ● Results of the Treaty of Versailles: - The Treaty of Versailles was signed after WWI in the palace of Versailles on June 28, 1919. Its goals were to "clean up the mess" after the war. The Treaty reestablished many boundaries and borders. Colonies, namely Germany's, were split among the Allied nations. Germany was disarmed since they were considered to be a threat by the rest of the world. Germany was also forced to take full responsibility for WWI, and were charged billions of dollars, which destroyed their economy. In the long run, the Treaty did more harm than good. Due to all the problems the Treaty caused for Germany, the country was left in a bad mood and was definitely looking at the rest of the world with a vengeful eye. In a way, it could be said that the Treaty of Versailles indirectly led to WWII. ● Explain the policy of Imperialism: - Simply put, imperialism is the quest for colonial empires. Countries go to other places in the world and claim them as their own. Countries imperialized for many reasons. Some countries wanted to establish military bases. An example of this is Hawaii, which the United States took over and used as a naval base. Other reasons countries imperialized were to gain global prestige, as well as to expand their territory. ● President Wilson's rules for peace after WWI: - After the war, President Woodrow Wilson sought to repair...
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...There were five main reasons that America got in to the great depressions. The largest factor causing the great depressions was the stock market crash of 1929. The stock market crash was when there was a huge decline in stock market values. The reason that the stock market crashed was because it had a large expansion in the 1920’s. so many people invested their money in the stock market. People became so obsessed with putting their money into the stock market that they would mortgage their houses and invest all that money. This obsession to buy shares lasted until the prices on the stock market began to decrease. People began to get worried because they had so much invested in it. The biggest issue was that people would borrow money from banks...
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...Transformations of the 1920s By: Emma Hudson The 1920s catapulted us into modern society. It brought great changes in music, art, science, and literature. There was a dark side to this time period such as bootlegging, racism and violence in the workplace, but fashion, jazz, and Women’s Suffrage brought progress to the nation. A lot of today’s growth is due to the 1920s and we don’t even know it. The 1920s brought a new mentality into the world, especially for women. On August 18, 1920 women won the right to vote and in this same time period the number of working women increased by 25%. Women became teachers, nurses, social workers and librarians. “The women of this generation grew up when the advertising industry was rapidly...
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...After analysis of the interpretations as well as use of my own knowledge, I have reached the conclusion that the war was indeed the main reason why the economy boomed in 1920’s America. The interpretations that support this are A, B and C. While certainly there are other factors that are presented in all of the interpretations, I believe that the prominence of the war throughout these 3 passages support the strength of the argument. Interpretation D attributes Andrew Mellon as the main reason for the boom, but as Cannadine is the only one to do so this limits the strength of his argument. The war was the main cause of the boom as it provided the catalyst necessary to start of a chain of events that provided a huge boost to the economy. Without World War I, it could be argued that the American economy would not have boomed to the extent that it did in the 1920’s. One of the main reasons for this school of thought is an argument provided in interpretation A. Jim potter states that World War I provided an ‘impetus both to agricultural and industrial expansion’. This was because of the fact that the war brought in a need for armaments and munitions to supply the forces with, and there were many countries that could not yield the materials and products due to their lacklustre industry. America was not like these countries, and with the stimulus of the war they were able to quickly improve their industries and make these new products. As a result of this, as the historian Gary...
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...She sang in several notable clubs, was signed to successful labels, and released singles that revolutionized jazz music. Holiday later battled with alcoholism and drug abuse which damaged her voice. In 1959 she died of cirrhosis of the liver. 10.Jazz - Jazz is a genre of music originating from New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz was created as a creative outlet for the African American community. Jazz is a combination of blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and country music in which instruments such as the trumpet, bass, and saxophone are featured. Significant Jazz figures include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie. 11."Flappers" - In the 1920s, after the suffrage movement, the term “flapper” emerged. This word pertained to young, middle class women who disregarded conventional standards of style and sexuality. Flappers had a distinctive look including shoulder-length hair, elaborate makeup, boyish physiques, straight, loose dresses, and bare arms. These women experimented with their lifestyles, often frequenting dance...
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...Depression varied depending on the country, but first began in the late 1920’s. It ended in the late 1930’s or early 1940’s when the Second World War began. It devastated virtually everyone, rich and poor, people of all occupations. The term was first coined by British economist Lionel Robbins who wrote a book in 1934 called “The Great Depression” but popularized by President Herbert Hoover in a statement: “I need not recount to you that the world is passing through a great depression.” The cause of The Great Depression is still an open debate amongst economists and historians. Theorists can be split into two major categories: classical economists and Keynesian economists. When classical economists theorize The Great Depression, they focus on how central banking decisions lead to overinvestment and an economic bubble, or on the supply of gold which backed many currencies at that time. Keynesian economists, on the other hand, blame underconsumption and overinvestment or government and banking incompetence. Many agreed that the main event which spurred The Great Depression was the crash of the stock market in 1929. Known to most as Black Tuesday: the most famous stock market downturn in American history, October 29, 1929 was the day the stock market collapsed and started an economic slump that lasted over a decade. This economic disaster came as a huge surprise to everyone. During most of the “Roaring 20’s”, the economy was in very good standing. Hundreds of thousands of Americans...
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...sell products through the commodification of women. For the sake of profit, they try to sell women products that would improve their look. Such advertisements insinuate that women in their natural state are not good enough and must change in order to fit the current societal trend. Women change their style, appearance and body at any cost. The main goal of these companies is to make a profit by exploiting the insecurities of women. They intend to make women feel dissatisfied with their physical appearance in order to promote their beauty enhancing products. These media advertisements are a complete distortion of reality. With the help of Photoshop and other blemish perfecting technologies, it easy for anyone to look flawless. Consequently, viewers tend to overlook the external factors that go into media production and are set up to attain unrealistic body standards. Constantly being exposed to...
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...ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Research Question: How the credit system and market speculation lead to the infamous Wall Street crashes of 1929 and how they were the main causes of the Great Depression. The Sources: 1. Bierman, Jr., Harold. "Great Crash of 1929." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2010. Grolier Online. 21 Feb. 2010 . * This database source gives a brief overview of the Great Crash of 1929, its causes, its effects and the various statistics and figures associated with the Great Crash. This is a secondary source and is reliable as it is written by a professor of Business Administration at Cornell University who has cited credible sources. The source has a non-partisan view point as it details more facts than individual perspective; however any biases that existed would eventually be counterbalanced by other sources. The main limitation of this source is that it is a brief overview of the causes of the Great Crash. The facts presented in this source which will further substantiate my argument in the research paper. 2. Coolidge, Calvin. Address. State of the Union. Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. 4 Dec. 1928. State of the Union Address Library. 4 Mar. 2009. Web. 16 Mar. 2010. . * This speech was given by President Calvin Coolidge on Dec 5, 1928. This speech almost a year before the Great Crash of 1929. He addresses the American public and praises them for their virtues and also glorifies the extent of prosperity in America by claiming that it is something...
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...time for European living in America was American dream, and originally any discovery which gave them happiness was American dream, but in the ear of 20s mean for American dream has become perverted into desire for wealth by whatever means; thinking that money will bring happiness. The Great Gatsby, was published in this era; therefore; it gives us a vivid portrayal of that time by demonstrating symbols and character behavior the impossibility of American dream. The characters that Fitzgerald describes in his novel all tie in with many aspect of the 1920s lifestyle. The Jazz Age was a tendency toward materialism, and characters are described in the way that shows materialistic tendency. Callahan says “Critics from several different generations have noted how Fitzgerald used his conflicts to explore the origins and fate of the American dream and the related idea of the nation.” (Callahan). Fitzgerald describes Gatsby, the main character in the novel, as a dream achiever, who is looking for wealth and property even he compare Daisy as an object of wealth. He had dreamed since childhood to become rich and change his contemporary life during his childhood, thus he left his family and start looking for businesses. Gatsby ambition and enthusiasm for the wealth and property even led him to change his name from James Gatz to Gatsby to find a new identity for him. To reach his dreams and goals he start doing...
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...The Great Depression of 1929 which originated in the United States of America was one of the worst times for the history of the USA’s economy.It started by the end of 1929 and lasted till 1933. It started as a recession which was getting worse and industrial output in the USA decreased by 47% and Gross Domestic Product fell by 30%(Duignan3 ). Unemployment had increased more than 20% at the worst times of the depression that lasted until 1933. The Great depression spread to almost every country in the world, ranging from Europe to Latin America and Asia. The causes of the great depression had been very controversial among scholars who studied that period. Ben Bernanke has said before, “to understand the Great Depression is the Holy Grail of...
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