Tracking 1924

Arts and Culture
On February 12, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was performed for the first time at the Aeolian Hall in New York City. The composition combined elements of classical music with jazz and secured Gershwin’s a reputation as a serious composer. Rhapsody in Blue has since come to be regarded one of the most popular of American concert works.

War, Politics, Nature
On May 24, The Immigration Act of 1924 was signed into law. It reduced the amount of immigrants allowed to enter the United States from 3% of the number of people from that country already living in the US to 2%. It was designed to limit the amount of Southern and Eastern European immigrants, particularly those of Jewish descent, as well as Middle Easterners, East Asians and Indians. The U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian purposed the act as preserving the ideal of American homogeneity. The act experienced very little opposition in Congress.

Social Change
On November 4, Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming was elected as the first female United States governor. She was nominated for office in a special election after the death of her husband, William Ross, who had served as governor from died suddenly from complications during surgery. Although she refused to campaign, Ross easily won the election. While in office, she continued her husband’s policies of tax cuts, banking reform, prohibition of child labor and prohibition of alcohol.

Science, Technology, Ideas
On December 30, Edwin Hubble settled the Great Debate in astronomy, and announced that Andromeda was not a nebula as previously believed, but another galaxy. Along with this discovery, Hubble posited that the Milky Way was only one of many galaxies in the universe. The Andromeda galaxy has grown to be of great import to galactic studies as it is the nearest spiral galaxy.