20’s Lost Generation Persuasive Speech

Guiding Question: “Did the ‘Lost Generation’ of the 20’s make a significant contribution to American culture and the positive development and progression of American society?”

Task:Consider the areas of politics, culture, economics, art/music/sports, technology, morality, and race/gender/ethnic issues. Each member of the group should choose a different topic from the list below, or come up with your own to focus on. Your group will also write an opening statement and a rebuttal/conclusion.

You must use a minimum of three sources and you will be required to turn in a list of works cited when you give your speech. Use the note taking guide to collect your source information and take notes. The 2-3 minute persuasive speech will be delivered in outline format. Each member will also create a visual aid on the group mural to be presented as part of your group’s debate argument.

Process:

  1. Groups will meet to choose/assign topics to research. Try to select the best topics that will help your group argue either for or against the question.
  2. Groups need to decide whether to argue for or against the Lost Generation’s contribution.
  3. In your group, begin to discuss how you might begin to make your persuasive argument.
  4. Research your topic. Learn everything you can about your topic. Begin to formulate how you will persuade that your topic (ex. Prohibition), or the results of your topic, had a positive or negative impact on our culture and society.
  5. Keep track of your sources and take notes using the “Note Taking Guide”. Make sure your sources are credible and that you are collecting as much publication information as possible. When using web sources be sure to write down the publication date and the date of access.
  6. Organize your notes. Look for common topics/main ideas in your articles. Ask yourself: how does this information support how your topic (Prohibition) made a positive/negative impact on our society. Begin to craft your persuasive argument. If you notice any holes in your argument or lack of evidence, find more information to fill the gaps
  7. Anticipate what the opposing side may argue. If you are arguing that Prohibition had a positive impact on society, try to put yourself in your opposition’s shoes and figure out how they may argue that Prohibition had a negative impact on society. Then, come up with evidence and reasons why the audience should agree with your perspective rather than your opposition’s. This, in debate terms is called a rebuttal. Your rebuttal will be incorporated into your speech.
  8. Create an MLA outline for your speech. It should contain a brief introduction where you identify your topic, several (3?) points that support your argument, a discussion of your visual aid (mural drawing), and a brief conclusion that summarizes why the audience should agree with your perspective.
  9. Prepare your speech. Focus on the persuasive portion of your speech. If your speech is two minutes, 30 seconds should be your introduction and background of your topic, and the remainder should be your persuasive argument and discussion of your visual aid.
  10. Create a visual aid that represents, perhaps symbolically or abstractly, the argument you are making in your speech. Think of how you may visually represent the positive/negative impacts of your topic (Prohibition) on society.
  11. Create a typed MLA Works Cited page with all of your sources to be turned in the day of your speech.

You will complete and turn in the following:

  1. MLA list of Works Cited (typed) 20pts.
  2. MLA Outline (typed) 20 pts.
  3. Mural Drawing (not typed) 10 pts.
  4. Note Taking Sheets (not typed) 10 pts.

Your speech will be graded using the Persuasive Speech Rubric in our speech book and is 40pts

Name
  1. Between 1920 and 1929, automobile registrations rose from eight million to twenty-three million. What effects have automobiles had on the lives of American people (pollution, gas use, industry, roads, car accidents)? What contribution did Ford make to the automobile industry?
  2. Research Marcus Garvey and his “back to Africa” movement to resettle African Americans in Africa during the 1920's. Who was receptive to his message, and why? Research his newspaper "Negro World".
  3. How did women's fashions change in the twenties? Have these styles survived or ever been revived? How do they reflect the new freedoms many women were enjoying in the twenties?
  4. Research the case of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italians convicted in the 1920 murder of a Massachusetts paymaster and his guard. Explain why the case was so controversial. What was the general feeling towards immigrants at the time and how might that have affected the trial's outcome?
  5. Immigrants began to come into the United States in large numbers after WWI. Research the history of immigration to the U.S., particularly during the 1920's. What legislation was passed by Congress concerning immigration in the 1920's (see the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, and the Immigration Act of 1924)?
  6. In The Great Gatsby there are many references to illegal activity—A) world series fixing, B) bootlegging,C) police complicity in crime. Research criminal activity in the 1920's, including the D) Harding Administration scandal and the E) Teapot Dome scandal.
  7. Discuss the stock Market crash of 1929. Why did it happen and what was its aftermath? How did it lead to the Great Depression?
  8. The Eighteenth Amendment, the Prohibition Act, was passed in 1919. How and why did the temperance movement win this battle? How did it affect the country? When and why was it repealed?
  9. Charles A. Lindbergh was a very important figure in the 1920's. In 1927 he made the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight. How did this flight affect Americans? And what other parts of Lindbergh's life became important in the psyche of the American people?
  10. The Nineteenth Amendment was made effective in 1920. Trace the history of the women's suffrage movement. What arguments were made for and against women's suffrage. Were any of these ideals or worries realized? How has women's right to vote changed the United States?
  11. The Harlem Renaissance was a period of literary and intellectual flowering that fostered a new black cultural identity in the 1920's and 1930's. Report on the variety of arts and people that were involved in the Harlem Renaissance. Why would it have happened in such a specific place and at such a specific time?
  12. Research a few of the major literary figures of the 1920's discuss their contributions to American literature. Some of these writers include: F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Weldon Johnson, Ernest Hemingway, Sherwood Anderson, Robert Frost, Eugene O'Neill, Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston, Claude McKay, Carl Sandburg.
  13. The 1920's is often called the Golden Age of Sports. What accomplishments were made in sport in the twenties? Who was involved in these accomplishments? A) Baseball B) Boxing C) Horse Racing
  14. During the 1920’s Jazz music was popular. What effect did it have on American society and popular culture.
  15. Dance marathons were a fad during the 20’s. Research this topic and explain why they were so popular during this time.
  16. Popular Dances of the 20’s. What dances were people doing?
  17. The Ku Klux Klan’s following grew during the 1920’s, especially in Indiana. Explain why it might have gained such momentum at this time.
  18. Research economic and social conditions for African Americans during the 1920’s. Focus on their role in urban American society.
  19. Explain the “Flapper” culture in America during the 20’s.
  20. Explore Blues music of the 1920’s. Where was it most popular, and why was it confined to this area?
  21. What was America’s political and military role in the world after WWI? Explore our international policies at the time with regards to world politics and military influence.
  22. Research the world of organized crime and the mafia during the 1920’s. How did it affect society? Who were the major mafia characters of the time?
  23. Expatriates in Paris. Who was going to Europe, and why? What was life like for them?
  24. 1920’s Films. What was going on in the film industry in the 1920’s? What movies were made and who were the stars?
  25. Age of Innovation. What were the most important inventions of this decade, and how did they change life at this time?
  26. Language of the 20’s. This is the generation that first made slang popular. What words and phrases became in use, and how did this change life in America in the 20’s?