THE 1920s

A CDS Guide to Library Resources

Biographical and Background Information Reference Books:

American Women's History: A Student Companion.  REF 305.4 Mat

-> Encyclopedia of World Biography.  REF 920 ENC

->Dictionary of American Biography.  REF 920.003 DIC

Multi-volume set; contains information on many of the people in your assignment

->-> American National Biography.  REF 920.073 Ame 1999

The place to look for Americans of times past.  

Who Was Who in American Politics.REF 329.0092 Mor 1974

Webster's American Biographies.  REF 920.003 VAN

Biographical Dictionary.  REF 920.02 MER

Notable American Women , 1607-1950.   REF 920.03 NOT

Annals of America.  REF 973 ANN

Check the paperback index volume for your character.   Set contains letters, speeches, diary entries, and other primary documents.

Modern America: 1914-1945 .   REF 973.9 Gre 1995

Chapter 13 has short biographies of prominent people of the time.   See The Twenties section below for a description of the rest of this fabulous book's contents.

US History:

General encyclopedias:   Britannica and The World Book.  REF 031

World Almanac.   REF 031 WOR 2004   - begin on page 532.

and

Time Almanac.   REF 031 TIM   - begin on page 686.

What were the really big stories of every year?   Both these almanacs have a concise chronology of "headline news" year by year.   World's is a bit more detailed, but Time does have some stories World doesn't have.  

Encyclopedia of American Social History , 3 volumes.   REF 301.0973 Cay

"The Progressive Age through the 1920s" article, v I, 173-188.   There are also specialized articles such as "Labor: The Gilded Age through the 1920s, "The Rise and Consolidation of Bourgeois Culture," "Social Class," "The Culture of Consumption," and so on.   Browse the list of articles in the front of each volume.   Check the index for your character's name or major interests.  

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970.  REF 317.3 HIS

Numbers, numbers, numbers from every aspect of US life, commerce, education, trade, migration, health, religion, work, crime, climate, land use, productivity, farming… Brought to you by the US Bureau of the Census, collecting data for over 200 years and loving it!

Reader's Companion to American History.  REF 973 FON

Witness to America.  REF 973 Wit

Primary documents and eyewitness accounts of events in US history.

-> Dictionary of American History , 10 volumes.   REF 973.03 Dic 2003

The "Learning Guide" in Volume 10 has a section listing the articles that deal with 1921-1945 beginning on page 77 (sorry, that's as narrow as it gets).   Glance down the list to see what articles might appeal to you, such as "The Lost Generation" article.   For very specific topics, check the index to the set in the same volume.

The Twenties and Nuthin' But the Twenties!

Magill's History of North America .   REF 970 MAG

Volume 7 covers 1909-1930.    The format is short articles on areas such as "The Scandals of the Harding Administration," "The Scopes Trial," and so on.   The list of articles begins on page lxi.

The Annals of America .   REF 973 ANN

Vol. 14 covers 1916-1928 and Vol. 15 covers 1929- 1939.   Reprints of primary documents such as press conference transcripts, speeches, proceedings from The Congressional Record, and so on.  

-> The American Years: A Chronology of US History.  REF 973 GRO

Year by year, what happened in various aspects of American life, such as international and national events, business, science, arts, religions, entertainment, sports, journalism, etc.

-> Modern America: 1914-1945.  REF 973.9 Gre 1995

Facts, statistics, tables, and text on all aspects of American life, including   the economy, religion, transportation, science, weather, cities, communication, politics, education, technology, crime, art, entertainment, sports, etc.   The last section has a selection of primary documents for your reading pleasure.

->-> American Decades: 1920 - 1929.  REF 973.92 Ame 1996

A timeline of international events during the decade begins the volume.   Following are chapters on arts, business and economy, education, fashion, government and politics, law and justice, lifestyles and social trends, media, medicine and health, religion, science and technology, and sports    Each chapter begins with a chronology of US events and an overview of the decade for that area of study.   Next is a series of short articles on topics in the news, some short biographies of people in the area and notes on people who made news, followed by a list of   deaths during the decade and important publications.  

Circulating Books on the 1920s from the Library Collection:

Terrible Honesty : Mongrel Manhattan In The 1920s.974.7 DOU

The Culture Of The Twenties.309.173 BAR

Another Part Of The Twenties.  973.91 CAR

The Twenties.973.915 JEN

The Twenties: From Notebooks And Diaries Of The Period.973.91 WIL

Library Subscription Databases:

Available from the library home page: Library Homepage

Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Oxford Reference Online

Student Resource Center

•  Essays and background information on people and topics

•  Access from the library web site at school or at home!   Ask the librarian for the passwords.

Internet Resources:

WWW-Virtual Library 1920s Links . http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/ERAS/20TH/1920s.html

Extensive set of 1920s links brought to you by the University of Kansas History Dept. Wonderfully organized.

American Memory. http://memory.loc.gov/

Available from the CDS Library's web page.   Fabulous Library of Congress collections of primary source and archival material relating to American culture and history.   Go to the “Collection Finder” for a list of topics and historical time periods.

Here's something from American Memory :

Prosperity and Thrift: The Coolidge Era and the Consumer Economy 1921-1929. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/coolhtml/coolhome.html

"Assembles a wide array of Library of Congress source materials from the 1920s that document the widespread prosperity of the [Calvin] Coolidge years, the nation's transition to a mass consumer economy, and the role of government in this transition." Contains materials related to merchandising, advertising, consumer activism, African Americans and consumerism, wealth, and poverty. Searchable by keyword and browsable by subject and title. From the American Memory Project of the Library of Congress.

Mr. Horwitz' The Roaring Twenties Links. http://cvip.fresno.com/~jsh33/roar.html

Nice set of links from a California history teacher .

American Cultural History: The Twentieth Century. http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decades.html

Organized by decade through the 1990's, this guide offers a broad perspective on the twentieth century. Each decade is broken down into subjects, such as: art and architecture, music, fashion, and historic events. To further explore different subjects, there are lists of Web links which take you off site. There are also recommended books for further research. Try the Internet Quiz to test your history knowledge. (It is not interactive, but the answers are provided on another page). The information was brought together by reference librarians at Kingwood College Library in Texas. A useful resource in spite of many outdated links.

Decades in 20th Century America. http://www.aclibrary.org/teenroom/decades.asp

Students, or anyone else interested in American history and culture, will find a serviceable collection of print and online sources for each of the century's decades, as well as several that cover more than one decade. Annotated and regularly updated by librarians at the Alameda County (CA) Library put together this site with that assignment in mind.

California in the 20's. http://www.lapl.org/photo/ca_in20s/

A collection of annotated photographs, including "images of marathon dancing, state society picnics, silent films and junk car races," taken in Southern California during the 1920s. From the Los Angeles Public Library.

The Lawless Decade by Paul Sann.  http://www.paulsann.org/thelawlessdecade/index.html

Provides an online version of The Lawless Decade (1957 Crown) by Paul Sann (1914-1986).   Explores and highlights each year of the 1920's beginning with the end of World War I and concluding with an introduction to the Great Depression, complete with a sound file of "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"   Includes vintage photographs, sound files, and scanned images.   Gives an excellent pictorial history of the nineteen twenties.

American Cultural History; 1920-1929. http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade20.html

An overview of the 1920's covers topics on fashion and fads; music; events and people; books and literature; theater, film, and radio; and art and architecture.   Described as a bibliographic essay, it provides a guide to the culture and history of the United States from 1920 to 1929.   Useful, though many links are outdated.

For biographical material:

-> Oxford Reference Online.Available from the library home page: ../libraryhomepage.php

Biography.com .  http://biography.com/

The A & E network brings you this database containing biographies of people through the ages.