During this time a horrible government crusade took full effect: Prohibition. [[Gasp!]]
Prohibition was the period of time, 1920 to 1933, during which the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption were banned throughout the U.S. [[A perfect example of the government sticking its nose where it isn't needed]].
In retaliation organized crime lords, like Al Capone [[the times biggest cheese]], for example, made a hefty profit off the bootlegging and smuggling of alcohol. Places, commonly refereed to as "Speakeasies" are born and Capone was said to control every speakeasy in the Chicago area. He was also rumored to have control over every smuggling and bootlegging transaction between Canada and Florida.
A "Speakeasy" is a hidden club where the selling and consumption of alcohol took place. Speakeasies received their names from the way patrons had to "speak easy" the password to enter. Raids were common and so the location of many of these places were kept secret.
The "Dry Season," as I like to call it, brought upon the people a sense of rebellion. That's the only reason I can think of for the hicks actually wanting to join the KKK. During this time the KKK grew in numbers and were generally accepted in the United States. [[Don't look at me! I hate these white supremacist rag-a-muffins and I think they need a better education, the ignorant fucks. This is all I'm going to say about this topic. I don't promote a thing they did and I don't want anymore of it on my blog.]]
Music of the 20s was really the Bee's Knees! Jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong and his wife Lillian Hardin-Armstrong, Joe Oliver, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington and the colorful Ferdinand Morton were some of the most popular musicians of the time. The Fox Trot and the Charleston were the names of popular dances at the time and, contrary to popular belief, Swing dancing is a thing of the 30s.
So who better to listen to this New Orleans born music then the flappers, hoofer, Janes, swells, molls, hoods, and daddies of the time?
A flapper was a hedonistic young woman of the 20s who wore short dresses and had even shorter hair.
This was in response to the woman's suffrage movement, the idea that women have the right to vote on an equal basis with men[[damn straight]], without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or marital status. She usually wore a loose fitting dress that dropped down to right about her knees. A direct contrast to the clothes of the 1900s where women usually wore long dresses with much fabric and cinched waists. Corsets in the 20s? Don't make me laugh. A woman of the 20s would rather poor all the juice in her hip flask over you and light you on fire with her ciggy. She wore beaded and bejeweled headbands. Her eyes were lined heavily in black, her skin was pale, and her lips redder then blood. Her hair was short, usually curled or waved, and she had a no bullshit attitude. She ran with the men and gave as good as she got. She was what the women of the time represented: freedom to do what she pleased whenever she pleased regardless of "the man", or men in general, trying to put her down.A swell was a stand-up gentleman with money. A hood was the short term for hoodlum and a moll was his girl [[Take Bonnie for example, though she reigned in the early 30s]]. A daddy was a woman's man, her boyfriend or lover, and if he had $$$ you could punctuate it: Daddy! A man's station could be told at a glance by the hat he wore. A flat cap or no hat meant a lower-class man, a worker. A fedora was middle-class and a homburg hat was upper-class. Suits were all the rage and trousers were tailored to be short, so as to show off a man's socks. Jackets were usually worn with a fitted shirt and some type of vest.
As bad as things were, as good as things were, I'm sure the people of the 20s wouldn't have it any other way. Everything was copacetic!
Love,
Ariday
"Jazz is open-ended music designed for open minds." -- Unknown
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