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The 1920s was an exciting decade for America. New things were being made constantly, people were happy, and investors were wealthy from the booming stock market. This decade was also known as the Jazz Era. Before the twenties, music was flourishing in the Crescent City, New Orleans. Musicians were innovating new styles and forms all the time. It is in New Orleans that many people claim that Jazz was born. However, On November 12, 1917, Storyville, an area of New Orleans known for its music, was forced to shut down on orders from the War and Navy Department (“Jazz in Chicago”). America had entered World War I and they were closing the port in New Orleans. This event caused a general exodus of musicians from New Orleans to the north. On their journey northward, some musicians lingered in Memphis and St. Louis, but it was Chicago and New York that experienced the biggest immigration of musicians and it was these two cities that would have the most influence on Jazz in this new Jazz Era. Chicago created a good home for these migrating musicians for several reasons. In Chicago, there was a growing African-American population due to good paying stockyard and steel mill jobs. Also, with Prohibition in full swing, Chicago