Primary Resources

The Roaring Twenties

Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration

"Indicted"
by Marion E. Sproule – originally published in The Worker [Boston], v.1, no. 3 (Nov. 15, 1919) p.5.
Sproule gives an account of a speech where she stated that the true spirit of Americanism is found in Communist ideals. Sproule was arrested because of the ideals embodied in the speech. This document is an account of her arrest.

"America or Anarchy:An Appeal to Red-Blooded Americans to Strike an Effective Blow for the P rotection of the Countr y We Love from the Red Menace Which Shows Its Ugly Head on Every Hand.
As Wilson’s Attorney General, Palmer often used extra-legal measures to round up suspected “Reds.” Palmer’s activities were referred to as “Palmer Raids.”

"The Red Raids"
An unsigned leaflet published by the Communist Labor Party, New York, circa Jan. 1920. This is the text of a Communist document denouncing the Red Scare.

1920 Census Breakdown – Courtesy of Newburyport Library and Archival Center
This Massachusetts breakdown of the 1920 census includes general state information and specific town and county breakdowns of immigrant populations, education levels, gender, race, occupation, and citizenship. Every town in Massachusetts is represented on the census.

“Believed to be Italian Nationals in a U.S. Detention Camp” [Two Photos] Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (NLFDR), 4079 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538-1999 PHONE: 845-486-7770, FAX: 845-486-1147, EMAIL: roosevelt.library@nara.gov






Sacco and Vanzetti Trial Material Culture Artifacts – courtesy of the Boston Public Library
The 1921 trial and execution (in 1927) of anarchists Nicola Sacca and Bartolomeo Vanzetti for the murder of a shoe factory executive is one of the most famous examples of Red Scare extremism. Even at the time, many viewed the arrests as politically motivated. The following material culture artifacts, from the collection of the Boston Public Library, indicate some of the support for Sacco and Vanzetti that existed in the Boston area.







Links

The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas
The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas last year had an exhibit on the 1920s for which they prepared a wonderful Teaching the American Twenties website with much information, and documents from their archives, and links to many related sites.

The University of Virginia – Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Birth of a Nation
The University of Virginia’s website, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and American Culture, includes a comparison of Stowe’s novel with Birth of a Nation. The site includes movie clips that can be easily downloaded for use in the classroom.

The Nineteenth Amendment
The National Archives and Records Administration website on America’s Historical Documents features an image and discussion of the nineteenth amendment granting women’s suffrage. This site can be augmented by information from ourdocuments.gov which also features a discussion of the 19th amendment.


“’Art [and History] by Lightning Flash’: The Birth of a Nation and Black Protest”
The website of the Center for History and New Media offers this resource on the black response to The Birth of a Nation.

“Clash of Cultures in the 1910s and 1920s”
Ohio State University’s e-history website features analysis and primary resources about Prohibition, The Scopes Trial, The New Woman and Anti-Immigration and the KKK. This site should be the first stop for online resources about this topic.

“Red Scare”
The City University of New York hosts this website about the Red Scare. The site is a great resource for texts and images about the 1920s. It is easily searchable by subject headings and includes resources that extend beyond the Red Scare. Included are resources about prohibition, women’s suffrage, and foreign policy. Political cartoons are well-represented in their image collection.


Herbert Hoover Presidential Library – The Roaring Twenties
The Hoover Presidential Library offers an interpretation of the 1920s based on their gallery exhibit on the period.

Ad*Access
Duke University’s John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising, and Marketing History offers this searchable website of advertising images. The Ad*Access project features ads from five categories, Beauty and Hygiene, Radio, Television, Transportation, and World War Two. This is a great website for the study of consumer culture and the new woman.

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