The Roaring Twenties is the name given to the era of the early 20th century. During this time, many transformative changes in life in US history. This era was a great time for social, cultural and economic development. As the economy expanded, people started to thrive and enjoy increased employment and opportunities. Many time-saving inventions were made that became popular among the people.
Not only this, women also took an active role in their empowerment and liberation. They adopted a more modern lifestyle and embraced freedom. Cars and all the new luxurious things were affordable and attractive for the young and rich people of the 1920s. The upheaval of jazz music and clubs started that brought many people together and caused a revival of music and entertainment.
However, where there was increased transformation in this era, it also had a darker side. It’s absurd to think that every progressive and transformative society can only have the good side of life and not the darker aspects. In this era, lawlessness increased and organized crime gangs were formed. Violence and chaos were also rampant in the capital. These darker aspects threatened the social society and revived many nativist sentiments.
Let’s take a look at ten such events that contributed to the darker side of the 1920s:
10) Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb:
Source: Wikipedia
This thrilling story of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb takes us through the darker moments of history. Leopold and Loeb were two young men belonging to a wealthy background. Both of the youngsters were considered intellectuals and met at the University of Chicago, where they became best friends and finally progressed into a sexual relationship. Loeb was obsessed and fascinated with crimes and fantasized about being a mastermind criminal. This made him inclined towards committing burglaries, stealing cars and all other minor offenses. He would often force Leopold to join him and later returned the favor.
However, Loeb was not satisfied with these minor crimes. To seek public attention, he committed a great crime i.e. he kidnapped and then murdered the child mercilessly. It’s interesting to note that the obsession of Loeb was so strong that he kidnapped his cousin and killed him. During the investigations, Leopold’s glasses were traced near the body. This made it easier for the investigators to track the criminals. Both of the partners were caught and confessed to their crimes. They were spared with death sentence and received a life sentence of 99 years in prison.
9) Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti:
Source: Wikipedia
In 1921, a tale of injustice was sparked as Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were put on trial in Massachusetts. They were convicted of the murder of Frederick Parmenter and Alessandro Berardelli. This trial was highly publicized, sparking many controversies against the case. The two of them, Sacco and Vanzetti were put into a metal cage in the center of the courtroom, to depict them as “dangerous” for the public.
There was a substantial lack of evidence against Sacco and Vanzetti. There were no eyewitnesses and no evidence that could make them guilty. Despite all that, Sacco and Vanzetti were unjustifiably acquitted of the murder charges and were claimed to be innocent. After four years, a Portuguese immigrant confessed to the crimes that Sacco and Vanzetti were falsely convicted of. The prosecution denied the confession and Sacco and Vanzetti were sentenced to death.
This case caused public outrage as it was a baseless accusation against these two innocent men. Not only this, the riots were held across the countries and the US pleading for justice. Unfortunately, in 1927, the two innocent men were executed. After 50 years of this execution, it was revealed that Sacco and Vanzetti were wrongly executed as the trial was unfair.
8) Ruth Snyder and Henry Gray:
Source: Wikipedia
This sinister tale reveals Ruth Snyder’s tragic life with her former husband, Albert Snyder. She married him but later she found him to be abusive and drunk. Their marriage was not very happy so, Ruth started an extra-marital affair with a salesman, Henry. They both planned a murder to get rid of Albert and collect the life insurance money. They planned to hit Albert on his head while he was drunk and vanished from the scene. The police caught Ruth and Henry and made them confess to their crimes. Ruth and Henry were executed and the outrage was spread across when a picture of Ruth in an electric chair was published.
This case caused a lot of controversy and outrage because, during the Roaring Twenties, it was extremely rare to have a woman involved in heinous crimes.
7) Hall-Mills Case:

Source: Wikipedia
This eye-opening story of Hall Mills Case, reveals a couple found under a crab tree where the man was shot in the head and the lady’s throat was slashed. The bodies were identified as Reverend Hall and Mrs. Eleanor Mills. A thorough police investigation took place but no one was convicted of charges for almost four years. Years later, a local newspaper revealed the case again and the police arrested the family of Reverend. The witnesses denied their involvement in crime and they were found to be innocent. The case remains unsolved to date, according to a few sources the nativist group or gang might have been involved.
6) Virginia Rappe and Fatty Arbuckle:
Source: Wikipedia
A tragic turn of events took place on Labour Day when Fatty Arbuckle booked connecting rooms at the Hotel St. Francis. Fatty Arbuckle was a famous silent film star and during those times he was at the pinnacle of his career. He was famously known for his comedy roles and an extravagant lifestyle. Things turned dark when he booked three connecting rooms on Labour Day, to enjoy the day with friends.
The weekend was going great but on the next weekday, an impromptu party began in his rooms. At the party, a woman named Virginia Rappe appeared. She had no connection with Fatty but her moans echoed around the corridors and one of her friends opened the door to help her. She was in critical condition and died eventually.
According to the autopsy, she died of a ruptured bladder. This caused a scandal and Arbuckle was charged for her death. However, no evidence was found against him. Despite all that, Arbuckle’s career went into decline and he died in 1933.
5) The Scopes Monkey Trial:
Source: Wikipedia
When the Roaring Twenties was evolving in the country, many people were against the new ideas and thought it was against the Bible. So, John Scopes, an intellectual professor who taught evolution in school, said that humans came from early monkeys and their species and got into trouble as it was against the law. There were two schools of thought on evolution, on one side people opposed it while others said it was important to learn evolution. This put Scotes in trouble but he was freed by paying a hefty fine.
4) Trial of Dr. Ossian Sweet:
Source: Wikipedia
This tale tells us the story of Dr.Ossian Sweet, a doctor who lived a happy life with his wife and child. Very soon, he faced racial violence because of his dark skin tone. He was aware of the upheaval of racism in the country and hoped that his profession would somehow help him and protect him but sadly, it didn’t. A crowd gathered outside of Dr.Sweet and started throwing stones, and rocks and shouting. This caused chaos and one man died eventually. The authorities arrested Dr.Sweet and his friends under this conviction.
In between the trials, sometimes there was a verdict and sometimes no verdict. Dr.Sweet lost his child and wife and was left alone. He kept working with this pain and later took his life due to injustice and racism.
3) Stock Market Crash of 1929:
Source: Wikipedia
This unpredictable event that took place in 1929 in the US, is remembered as “Black Tuesday”. Many people had invested their money in the stock market and were anxious to make more money. Unfortunately, the market crashed and people lost billions of dollars. The banks and investment companies tried to help, but nothing worked. It devastated the economic conditions and it took almost ten years to recover from this loss also known as the “Great Depression”.
2) The Temperance Movement and Prohibition:
Source: Wikipedia
In the 18th century, a Prohibition and The Temperance Movement was launched which was a fight against alcoholism, which had devastated the country and society. Many women faced abuse and violence by men due to the consumption of alcohol so, The Women’s Christian Temperance Union was formed to fight against drinking, calling for regulations and banning alcohol. Despite the ban, people resisted and bootleggers and secret bars emerged that provided alcoholism. So, this movement was failed.
1) Organised Crime and Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre:
Source: Wikipedia
In the 1920s, when organized crimes were at their peak and rose to power the mafia became experts in many crimes. Al Capone took over Chicago and spread his violence across the state. He aimed to eliminate all the rivals and morans. On St. Valentine’s Day, several men disguised in police uniforms entered Moran’s home lined up seven men and shot them more than seventy times. Six of them died while one survived but was critically injured. This incident was blamed on Al Capone but he was never linked to this crime. Al Capone served a prison sentence for 11 years and died in 1947.