Teacher's notes
Curriculum relevance
England
The programme will have relevance to the KS3 History Study Unit "A World Study after 1900". It will also be of use in GCSE Modern World History courses
Wales
The programme may be relevant to the KS3 History Study Unit "A World Study after 1900". It will also be of use in GCSE Modern World History courses
Scotland
The programme may be relevant to aspects of the 5-14 curriculum, particularly The Twentieth Century. It is relevant to S Grade History Unit II, International Cooperation and Conflict (Context B, 1890s-1920s)
Northern Ireland
The programme may be relevant to the KS3 History Study Unit "A World Study after 1900". It will also be of use in GCSE Modern World History Syllabuses
Aims of the programme
This programme has a purpose and structure which is slightly different to the majority of narrative-based schools history TV programmes. Its primary focus is to get students to look at original archive film in the same way that they would read an extract from a document written at the time, or study a photograph, painting or cartoon published at the time. The programme directs them to use skills of careful observation, inference and deduction to try and reach reasoned and supported judgements about the events they are studying but also about the way our perception of those events is shaped by moving image sources.
Using the programme
The programme is designed to be as flexible as possible. It should be easy to fit it into any programme of work which covers the USA in the 1920s. Teachers need to decide on the emphasis they wish to give:
- It can be used as a quarry for interesting clips to exemplify teaching points or to introduce a lesson.
- It can be used to help students grasp the process of source analysis in one format (moving image) which sometimes makes it easier for many students to transfer the same processes to different types of sources – print, photograph etc.
- It can be used to provide the stimulus to explore historical interpretation and representation by getting students to script voice overs for clips or sequences in different styles or with different emphases.
Programme outline and commentary
Introduction and titles
This programme is designed to help teachers to help students make effective use of archive film as an historical source. One of the biggest problems with this is that early archive film was not generally seen as an historical document at the time it was shot and placed in the can. As a result, we do not always know as much about the clips we see as we would like. You will see this problem as the programme progresses. Where we have detailed ‘biographical’ information about a clip we provide it in the titles. Otherwise we simply provide any information we have.
There are some features of the introduction which need to be made clear to teachers, and then the teacher needs to decide what to share with students. The titles are not original, but they are clearly designed to look as though they are from the period in order to add atmosphere. This is also true of the music. The music is very much in the style of the 1920s and might reasonably be regarded as authentic reconstruction.
So, before the programme even starts you have a potential issue to explore and discuss with students – should we ignore the titles and turn off the sound because the footage is ‘genuine’ while the music and titles are not.
Section 1: The Jazz Age
Time / 1.00 – 1.40Commentary / Americans often refer to the 1920s as the Jazz Age – a time of achievement, prosperity and just plain fun.
Clip 1 / Clip 1.1 Retail boom
Clip 1.2 Ticker tap parade for aviator Charles Lindbergh New York 1927
Clip 1.3 Jazz Club in the 1920s
Key features of clip(s) / These three sequences show us tills ringing, followed quickly by a blizzard of ticker tapes in Central New York and a parade in an open car for Linbergh. Finally we see flappers and young gentlemen living it up in a jazz club.
Activity ideas / One way to use this sequence is to ask students to use this it as a moving image definition of the term ‘Roaring Twenties’. Ask them to observe as many features as possible which show why this was such an exciting and vibrant time. You could also turn off the sound and ask them to assess its impact on their reaction to the clip. Finally, they could script a voice over for the sequence following on from the presenter’s introduction.
Section 2: Life in 1920s America
Time / 1.40 – 4.38Commentary / We’re lucky because it was also the age of the movie camera. Hollywood studios were turning out movies, but other film makers were recording the daily lives of ordinary Americans, leaving us with a unique record of the period.
Clip 2 / Everyday life in 1920s America
Key features of clip(s) / Typical street scenes in small town America. Motor cars in the high street, and a town looking not that different from a set from a Wild West movie (architecturally). A restaurateur stands outside his business and then we get a shot of the street from a balcony. We then see men and women getting haircuts and styling.
Activity ideas / This clip is perfect for an activity which might be called ‘attentive observation’. Get the students to watch the clip and then ask some questions afterwards:
- How many cars did you see in the first scene?
- How many men were smoking?
- How much were the meals?
- How many men were having their hair cut?
- How many women?
Commentary / In the 1920s America was ready to party. The country emerged from the First World War as the strongest and richest nation in the world. And the troops were coming home!
Clip 3 / The signing of the Treaty of Versailles, Paris 1919
Key features of clip(s) / Leaders stand outside the Versailles palace and then there is a shot of the Treaty document.
Activity ideas / This is an ideal example to try out the basic principles of getting students to script a voice over. It is a very short clip – get them to experiment with perspective – make the voice over upbeat or dubious.
Commentary / As this clip shows, wealthy Americans went on cruises, bought cars and generally spent their money on having a good time. Watch carefully and look for other examples of wealth and enjoyment.
Clip 4 / Cruise liner in New York Harbour 1925
Key features of clip(s) / Well dressed Americans play deck games, enjoy the bar and restaurant.
Activity ideas / This is another opportunity for attentive observation and the writing of a commentary. Ask students who did not get the chance to read out their voice over for previous clip to do the honours for this one.
Commentary / Ordinary Americans were also able to enjoy themselves. Sport was hugely popular, but so were movies. Radio programmes also attracted big audiences.
Clip 5 / 5.1 Motor racing
5.2 Baseball featuring Babe Ruth
5.3 NFL Football including ‘Red Grange’
Key features of clip(s) / Range of sporting scenes, but perhaps the most interesting feature is the numerous crowd shots. These crowds are enormous, giving some sense of the disposable income available in the USA and also the wealth of these sports.
Activity ideas / Put the proposition to the students that the 1920s in the USA were not that different from today. Ask them to watch the clips and then compare with modern coverage of sports and sports stars such as David Beckham or Andrew Flintoff. A web link to a sports web site or two culd be very illuminating here.
Section 3: Boom Time USA
Time / 4.40 – 7.50Commentary / Who or what was paying for all of this fun? The use of modern technology like the Ford motor assembly line put US industry ahead of the world.
Clip 6 / Ford Motor assembly line at Detroit
Key features of clip(s) / Shots of the detail of the process of car making in Detroit. A number of key features can be identified such as the moving assembly line, the specialised jobs of each worker and the use of technology.
Activity ideas / Ask students to see how many different jobs they can see being done. If possible, show students clips of a modern assembly line and ask them to compare the two. The fact that they are basically similar should help them see how far ahead of the rest of the world the US companies were in the 1920s.
Commentary / At the same time, the US stock market allowed rich and poor Americans could buy and sell shares in booming US companies and share in their profits.
Clip 7 / Traders on Wall Street, New York 1928
Key features of clip(s) / Shots of high rise buildings and impressive frontages of Wall Street. This is followed by shots of the trading floor and frantic activity therein.
Activity ideas / Ask students to describe the scenes shown here as though they are commenting for a radio programme. They will need to add extra points of information beyond what they can actually see, so get them to think about how they have added points to the basic points they can see.
Commentary / Not all Americans were enjoying the high life of the Jazz Age. What impression do you get from this next clip of daily life for ordinary Americans?
Clip 8 / Everyday life in 1920s America
Key features of clip(s) / Street scenes followed by work at a garage, a wedding and then people milling about on street corners outside shops. Concludes wit a man returning home after work.
Activity ideas / Try and focus students’ minds on the ordinariness or even drudgery of the daily grind revealed by this clip.
Commentary / Try watching that clip again. Compared to the living standards of other countries Americans were prosperous and comfortable. Look for examples of prosperity in the clip.
Clip 9 / Everyday life in 1920s America
Key features of clip(s) / As above
Activity ideas / Now get students to look for evidence which may have looked humdrum but in the 1920s would have marked out America from the rest of the world. The number of cars is an obvious point.
Finally, raise the point about the different music in each clip – did it influence their reaction to the clip? You could even try playing the clips in different orders to different classes and see what difference this makes to their perception of the scenes shown.
Commentary / So was all of America sharing in the fun and prosperity? Watch these scenes of US troops guarding American streets with machine guns. Are we looking at American soldiers in the First World War? Or are we watching something else?
Clip 10 / US soldiers on guard duties
Key features of clip(s) / US troops in guard positions on buildings
Activity ideas / Get students to suggest what the US troops are actually doing. If you get no responses, try some prompts such as:
Are they guarding something?
Is it valuable?
What or who might they be guarding against?
Are they in America or Europe?
Commentary / Actually, these troops are here to crush striking American workers protesting about low wages and job losses in the early 1920s.
Clip 10 / No caption, clip as previous
Key features of clip(s) / Laid off or striking workers lying around with troops in attendance. Machine gun pans in threatening fashion.
Activity ideas / Ask students whether you think the music on this clip was the best choice. Replay some of the earlier clips and see which clips they think might be more appropriate and why.
Section 4: The Melting Pot
Time / 7.50 – 10.22Commentary / America was a country of immigrants, but if you held the wrong political views, or simply came from the wrong part of the world, you could find that America was not always the land of opportunity. In the early 1920s there was a Red Scare. Many immigrants found themselves accused of holding views which threatened the United States. What does this clip reveal about how they were treated?
Clip 11 / Immigrants rounded up during the Palmer Raids 1920
Key features of clip(s) / Violent scenes as police arrest suspects and drag them from their homes. Suspects loaded on to vans. Shots of luggage piled up. Suspects then file past camera and on to Ellis Island via ferry. From here they will be deported.
Activity ideas / Ask students to write more sensational titles than the rather sober one which precedes this clip in this programme. The titles could be hostile or sympathetic towards the immigrants. Students could script and add voice overs to the clip as well, of course.
Commentary / Jewish, Catholic but above all black Americans also had many reasons not to celebrate the 1920s. Watch this next clip Try playing this clip without sound and see what it reveals about the power and the threat posed by the Ku Klux Klan.
Clip 12 / Ku Klux Klan – initiation ceremony and rallies
Key features of clip(s) / Klansmen marching through woods and then assembling – including child in Klan uniform. Leader performs ceremony with US flag. Scenes of burning cross and large number of men joining the Klan. Camera pulls back and shows huge scale of event. Concludes with huge rally in the centre of Washington DC
Activity ideas / Ask students to use the evidence before them to decide how powerful they think the threat of the Klan was. Encourage them to use the visual evidence before them rather than background knowledge. The scenes in Washington are particularly important – not just the numbers but the fact they were marching down the centre of the nation’s capital.
The music in this clip creates a threatening feel to the clip. Try playing it without sound and then with, and get students to judge on its effect on them as they try and answer the question.
Section 5: Freedom & Prohibition
Time / 10.23-12.48Commentary / We don’t always notice the changes happening around us, it’s often historians who point them out long afterwards. One was the new freedom enjoyed by many young people, especially young women, in the cities. They were a relatively small group, but they symbolised the new, free, fun age. Watch this next clip and see what evidence you can find of these new freedoms.
Clip 13 / 1920s night club scenes
Key features of clip(s) / A range of fairly riotous scenes with female dancers, musicians, alcohol and partygoers having a good time.
Activity ideas / Students might be surprised at how racy these images are, given that it is the 1920s. Ask them to compare the scenes shown here with a modern night club. They could draw up a 0-10 scale with the present day at 10 and decide how far up the scale the film suggests the 1920s were. Ask students to then look back on previous clips and see where they would put the mark for the people shown in those clips.
Commentary / In 1919 alcohol became illegal in the USA. Some accounts of Prohibition have been accused of making it seem exciting or even romantic. Do you think this account is guilty of that?
Clip 14 / 14.1 Illicit alcohol clubs
14.2 Bootleg alcohol trade
14.3 Gangsters including Al Capone
Key features of clip(s) / The opening clip shows us fund and frolics similar to the previous clip. We then move to violent scenes including bombing and murder. Finally we see gangsters being rounded up and Al Capone entering a building and then leaving it.
Activity ideas / This sequence is ideally suited for students to write a commentary and read it out as the clip is playing, or perhaps record it.
Alternatively, ask students to take two sides – pro and anti Prohibition, and see what use their side can make of the evidence contained in this film to further their own argument.
Section 6: Boom to Bust
Time / 12.48 - endCommentary / As the 1920s came to a close new President Herbert Hoover declared that the future for America was bright. We now know that disaster was just around the corner, but is there evidence in this next clip that people saw the warning signs?
Clip 15 / Herbert Hoover at the 1928 Republican Convention
Key features of clip(s) / Scenes of campaigning for Hoover in New York. The scene is one of joy and optimism.
Activity ideas / Ask students once again to suggest a voice over for this clip, but for a British audience who might know little about developments in the US. The challenge is to interpret the scenes on screen into a form of words which conveys the optimism shown.
Taking the programme further
The above notes are designed to help make maximum use of the individual clips within the programmes. They could also be used in conjunction with the recommended web sites as a resource for research. For example, students might be asked to play the role of film researchers and assess how useful the clips in this programme might be in a documentary they are making on some feature of the 1920s. Students could watch and discuss the programme in class and then view the programme online to tackle the task as a homework. Here is a suggested framework to help them.