1920s

File:1920s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Seán Hogan during the Irish War of Independence; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States throughout the entire decade; In 1927, Charles Lindbergh embarks on the first solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris on the Spirit of St. Louis; A crowd gathering on Wall Street after the 1929 stock market crash, which led to the Great Depression; Benito Mussolini and Fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome in 1922; the People's Liberation Army attacking government defensive positions in Shandong, during the Chinese Civil War; The Women's suffrage campaign leads to numerous countries granting women the right to vote and be elected; Babe Ruth becomes the most famous baseball player of the time., 420px, thumb
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rect 302 1 572 178 Prohibition in the United States
rect 1 181 194 400 Women's suffrage
rect 198 181 395 399 Babe Ruth
rect 399 182 572 401 Spirit of St. Louis
rect 1 405 250 599 Chinese Civil War
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rect 419 405 572 598 1929 stock market crash

The 1920s (pronounced "nineteen-twenties" often shortened to the "20s" or the "Twenties") was a decade that began on January 1, 1920, and ended on December 31, 1929. In America, it is frequently referred to as the "Roaring Twenties" or the " Jazz Age", while in Europe the period is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Twenties" because of the economic boom following World War I (1914-1918). French speakers refer to the period as the ''"Années folles"'' ("Crazy Years"), emphasizing the era's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism.

The 1920s saw foreign oil companies begin operations in Venezuela, which became the world's second-largest oil-producing nation. The devastating Wall Street Crash in October 1929 is generally viewed as a harbinger of the end of 1920s prosperity in North America and Europe. In the Soviet Union, the New Economic Policy was created by the Bolsheviks in 1921, to be replaced by the first five-year plan in 1928. The 1920s saw the rise of radical political movements, with the Red Army triumphing against White movement forces in the Russian Civil War, and the emergence of far right political movements in Europe. In 1922, the fascist leader Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy. Other dictators that emerged included Józef Piłsudski in Poland, and Peter and Alexander Karađorđević in Yugoslavia. First-wave feminism made advances, with women gaining the right to vote in the United States (1920), Albania (1920), Ireland (1921), and with suffrage being expanded in Britain to all women over 21 years old (1928).

In Turkey, nationalist forces defeated Greece, France, Armenia and Britain in the Turkish War of Independence, leading to the Treaty of Lausanne (July 1923), a treaty more favorable to Turkey than the earlier proposed Treaty of Sèvres. The war also led to the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate. Nationalist revolts also occurred in Ireland (1919–1921) and Syria (1925–1927). Under Mussolini, Italy pursued a more aggressive domestic and foreign policy, leading to the nigh-eradication of the Sicilian Mafia and the Second Italo-Senussi War in Libya respectively. In 1927, China erupted into a civil war between the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China (ROC) and forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Civil wars also occurred in Paraguay (1922–1923), Ireland (1922–1923), Honduras (1924), Nicaragua (1926–1927), and Afghanistan (1928–1929). Saudi forces conquered Jabal Shammar and subsequently, Hejaz.

A severe famine occurred in Russia in 1921–1922 due to the combined effects of economic disturbance because of the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War, exacerbated by rail systems that could not distribute food efficiently, leading to 5 million deaths. Another severe famine occurred in China in 1928–1930, leading to 6 million deaths. The Spanish flu (1918–1920) and the 1918–1922 Russia typhus epidemic, which had begun in the previous decade, caused 25–50 million and 2–3 million deaths respectively. Major natural disasters of this decade include the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake (258,707~273,407 deaths), the 1922 Swatow typhoon (50,000–100,000 deaths), the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake (105,385–142,800 deaths), and the 1927 Gulang earthquake (40,912 deaths).

Silent films were popular in this decade, with the 1925 American silent epic adventure-drama film '' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'' being the highest-grossing film of this decade, grossing $9,386,000 worldwide. Other high-grossing films included ''The Big Parade'' and ''The Singing Fool''. Sinclair Lewis was a popular author in the United States in the 1920s, with his books '' Main Street'' and ''Elmer Gantry'' becoming best-sellers. Best-selling books outside the US included the Czech book ''The Good Soldier Švejk'', which sold 20 million copies. Songs of this decade included " Are You Lonesome Tonight?" and " Stardust".

During the 1920s, the world population increased from 1.87 to 2.05 billion, with approximately 700 million births and 525 million deaths in total.

Social history

The Roaring Twenties brought about several novel and highly visible social and cultural trends. These trends, made possible by sustained economic prosperity, were most visible in major cities like New York, Chicago, Paris, Berlin and London. "Normalcy" returned to politics in the wake of hyper-emotional patriotism during World War I, jazz blossomed, and Art Deco peaked. For women, knee-length skirts and dresses became socially acceptable, as did bobbed hair with a finger wave or marcel wave. The women who pioneered these trends were frequently referred to as flappers.

The era saw the large-scale adoption of automobiles, telephones, motion pictures, radio and household electricity, as well as unprecedented industrial growth, accelerated consumer demand and aspirations, and significant changes in lifestyle and culture. The media began to focus on celebrities, especially sports heroes and movie stars. Large baseball stadiums were built in major U.S. cities, in addition to palatial cinemas.

Most independent countries passed women's suffrage after 1918, especially as a reward for women's support of the war effort and endurance of its deaths and hardships.

Politics and wars

Wars

* Turkish War of Independence
** Greco-Turkish War (May 1919 – October 1922)
** Turkish–Armenian War (September–December 1920)
** Franco-Turkish War (December 1918 – October 1921)
** Royalist and separatist revolts (1919–1923)
* Unification of Saudi Arabia
** Rashidi–Saudi War (1903–1921)
** Kuwait–Saudi War (1919–1920)
** Hejaz–Saudi War (1919–1925)
** Transjordan-Saudi War (1922–1924)
* Polish–Soviet War (February 1919 – March 1922)
* Irish War of Independence (January 1919 – July 1921)
* Iraqi Revolt (1920)
* Rif War (1920–1927)
* Second Italo-Senussi War (1923–1932)
* Great Syrian Revolt (1925–1927)
* United States occupation of Nicaragua (1912–1933)
* United States occupation of Haiti (1915–1934)
* United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–1924)

Internal conflicts

* Russian Civil War (November 1917 – October 1922)
** Tambov Rebellion (August 1920 – June 1921)
** Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War (1918 – 1925)
* Patagonia Rebelde (1920–1922)
* Mahmud Barzanji revolts (1920–1922)
* Irish Civil War (June 28, 1922 – May 24, 1923)
* Chinese Civil War (first phase 1927–1936)
* Ararat rebellion (1927–1930)
* Kongo-Wara rebellion (1928–1931)
* Afghan Civil War (November 14, 1928 – October 13, 1929)

Major political changes

* Rise of radical political movements such as communism and fascism, amid the economic and political turmoil after World War I and after the stock market crash
* The rise in the use of radio technology meant political campaigning no longer had to be done in person.

Decolonization and independence

* Irish Free State gains independence from the United Kingdom in 1922.
* Egypt officially becomes an independent country through the Declaration of 1922, though it still remains under the military and political influence of the British Empire.

Prominent political events

Peace and disarmament

* Washington Naval Conference of 1922
** followup treaties for the Limitation of Naval Armament
* Geneva Protocol 1925, outlaws poison gas
* Geneva Naval Conference 1927
* Kellogg–Briand Pact (1928) signed by most nations promising not to declare war.
* London Naval Treaty, 1930
* Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments 1932-1934

Women's suffrage

* Women's suffrage movement continues to make gains as women obtain full voting rights in the United Kingdom in 1918 (women over 30) and in 1928 (full enfranchisement), in the United States in 1920. Also : full or partial gains in Uruguay 1917; Canada, 1917–1925 except Quebec (1940); Czechoslovakia 1920; Irish Free State, 1922; Burma, 1922; Italy, 1925 (partial); Ecuador 1929.

United States

* Prohibition of alcohol occurs in the United States. Prohibition in the United States began January 16, 1919, with the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S.Constitution, effective as of January 17, 1920, and it continued throughout the 1920s. Prohibition was finally repealed in 1933. Organized crime turns to smuggling and bootlegging of liquor, led by figures such as Al Capone, boss of the Chicago Outfit.
* The Immigration Act of 1924 places restrictions on immigration. National quotas curbed most Eastern and Southern European nationalities, further enforced the ban on immigration of East Asians, Indians and Africans, and put mild regulations on nationalities from the Western Hemisphere (Latin Americans).
* The major sport was baseball and the most famous player was Babe Ruth.
* The ''Lost Generation'' (which characterized disillusionment), was the name Gertrude Stein gave to American writers, poets, and artists living in Europe during the 1920s. Famous members of the ''Lost Generation'' include Cole Porter, Gerald Murphy, Patrick Henry Bruce, Waldo Peirce, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, John Dos Passos, and Sherwood Anderson.
* A peak in the early 1920s in the membership of the Ku Klux Klan of four to five million members (after its reemergence in 1915), followed by a rapid decline down to an estimated 30,000 members by 1930.
* The Scopes Trial (1925), which declared that John T. Scopes had violated the law by teaching evolution in schools, creating tension between the competing theories of creationism and evolutionism.

Europe

* Polish–Soviet War (1920–21); Poland defeats Soviet expansion; Ukraine and Belarus were divided.
* Major armed conflict in Ireland including Irish War of Independence (1919–1921) resulting in Ireland becoming an independent country in 1922 followed by the Irish Civil War (1922–23).
* Russian famine of 1921–22 claimed up to five million victims.
* The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) is created in 1922.
* Benito Mussolini leader of the National Fascist Party became Prime Minister of Italy, shortly thereafter creating the world's first fascist government. The Fascist regime establishes a totalitarian state led by Mussolini as a dictator. The Fascist regime restores good relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Italy with the Lateran Treaty, which creates Vatican City. The Fascist regime pursues an aggressive expansionist agenda in Europe such as by raiding the Greek island of Corfu in 1923, pressuring Albania to submit to becoming a ''de facto'' Italian protectorate in the mid-1920s, and holding territorial aims on the region of Dalmatia in Yugoslavia.
* In Germany, the Weimar Republic suffers from economic crisis in the early 1920s and hyperinflation of currency in 1923. From 1923 to 1925 the Occupation of the Ruhr takes place. The Ruhr was an industrial region of Germany taken over by the military forces of the French Third Republic and Belgium, in response to the failure of the Weimar Republic under Chancellor Wilhelm Cuno to keep paying the World War I reparations. The recently formed fringe National Socialist German Workers' Party (a.k.a. Nazi Party) led by Adolf Hitler attempts a coup against the Bavarian and German governments in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, which fails, resulting in Hitler being briefly imprisoned for one year in prison where he writes '' Mein Kampf''.
* Turkish War of Independence (1919–23).
* United Kingdom general strike (1926).

Asia

* The Qajar dynasty ended under Ahmad Shah Qajar as Reza Shah Pahlavi founds the Pahlavi Dynasty, which later became the last monarchy of Iran.
* The Northern Expedition (1926-1928)
* The Chinese Civil War begins (1927–1937).
* In the Kingdom of Afghanistan, Amanullah Khan's reforms cause conflict with conservative factions, resulting in the Afghan Civil War.

Africa

* Pan-Africanist supporters of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) are repressed by colonial powers in Africa. Garvey's UNIA-ACL supported the creation of a state led by black people in Africa including African Americans.

Economics

* Economic boom ended by "Black Tuesday" (October 29, 1929); the stock market crashes, leading to the Great Depression. The market actually began to drop on Thursday October 24, 1929, and the fall continued until the huge crash on Tuesday October 29, 1929.
* The New Economic Policy is created by the Bolsheviks in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, to be replaced by the first five-year plan in 1928.
* The Dawes Plan, by which U.S. funded German reparations from 1924 to 1928.
* Average annual inflation for the decade was virtually zero but individual years ranged from a high of 3.47% in 1925 to a deflationary −11% in 1921.

Natural disasters

* The Great Kantō earthquake struck the main Japanese island of Honshū on 1 September, 1923. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale.

Assassinations and attempts

Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:
* Walther Rathenau, Foreign Minister of Germany is assassinated by Ernst Werner Techow, Erwin Kern, and Hermann Willibald Fischer, all members of Organisation Consul on June 24, 1922.
* Francisco "Pancho" Villa

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