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1920s America culture
1920s american society
1920s America culture
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More handpicked essays just for you.
1920s America culture
1920s american society
1920s America culture
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
While reading this, I was surprised to learn that during the Roaring Twenties, baseball became a popular sport. At the end of WWI, there was a new lifestyle for Americans. They began to enjoy themselves and we saw many social, political, and economic changes. Also during this time alcohol became really popular. Efforts to stop alcohol consumption were attempted.
The Roaring 20s brought a lot of daily excitement and change as United States saw new developments in industry. The stock market was high and all seemed well. America was changing drastically in a good way but little did they know one event would change millions of lives for the worse. While everything seemed amazing to the unknowing eye, the change in economy, government, and social life had a lot of bad moments.
Ara Hajinlian Mr. Rodriguez American Literature May 25th, 2023 The Roaring Twenties The 1920s, also known famously as ‘The Roaring Twenties’, was an era of American society that brought about waves of new modernity and dynamism to the country due to the materialism and rapid economic growth brought along by the aftermath of WWI. Consumer goods, such as automobiles, radios, cinemas, and sound movies, brought waves of entertainment and modernity to people across the United States, allowing the influence of many popular social norms to spread rapidly among consumers. Consumerism would grow rapidly in the 1920s as a result, and the economy experienced rapid and unprecedented growth.
The 1920s, known as the Roaring Twenties, was a time of economic distinction for the United States. An average of 95% of the population had jobs, giving them the freedom to own homes and cars with enough money leftover to enjoy a ballgame or a movie. Factories were in full swing, using the assembly line to produce goods at an all time high for a price lower than ever. However, the economic boom came to a halt. Factories began producing more than people were buying, creating an overproduction of goods.
Since early ages, mothers have always criticized the ways their daughters acted. In the 1920s criticisms were taken a step further by the flappers, who completely revolutionized the view on females. Flappers in the 1920s had an impact on women for the future. Who they were, what they wore, and what their morals were was how their impacts changed the future for all the females. “The term "flapper" originated in the 1920s and refers to the fashion trend for unfastened rubber galoshes that "flapped" when walking, an attribution reinforced by the image of the free-wheeling flapper in popular culture.”
The spark to challenge traditional values lit an undying flame that defined the decade. The 1920s was established as one of the greatest transition periods in the United States’ cultural history due to the shifts in societal norms, artistic expressions, and economic lifestyles. The change in gender roles, the impact of prohibition, and the cultural expressions exhibited created strong social tensions that acclaimed the decade’s symbolism. The increase of consumerism across the United States into the early 1920s allowed for a great economic flourish. Following the First World War, immigration and urbanization created a consumer-based society.
The roaring 1920's was a time when most Americans were living a prosperous life filled with wealth and achieving the “American Dream”. Many people called it the “Prosperity Decade” because it was the first time in American history that people were overwhelmed with wealth and could afford to purchase anything they pleased. The change of America's economy from a wartime economy back to a normal economy had the manufacturing industry in overdrive. So many American luxuries were developed, like the invention of the first automobile, the Ford Model T, and many sports became very popular. The Prohibition also affected the 1920's, this brought about higher crime rates, and the emergence of organized crime.
Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian inventor and electrical engineer, was the first to discover radio waves. In addition he discovered, developed, and sold the first long-distance telegraph. Resulting from his discoveries, the distance across oceans and between borders became smaller. The sending of data became faster and many lives were saved. For example the surviving passengers of the titanic were able to be rescued because of Marconi’s inventions.
The 1920s were the first years of the new, modern America, with a growing consumer society and new ideas and rules. America saw many changes throughout this decade, including but not limited to social, economic and political changes. Throughout this time, new values were made with the growth of new forms of entertainment and education. After the Progressive Era, the ideas of political figures changed with a new focus on conservative politics and less labor issues. With the new ability for people to buy other products than basic needs, their money went to new inventions, causing new industries to grow.
Over the coming decades, radio technology has started to become more and more advanced and used for important aspects of our lives. Endorsed by the United States Navy to communicate between ships, the radio became a very effective tool. In the late 19th century, inventors such as Guglielmo Marconi, Nikola Tesla, and Thomas Edison made significant advancements in wireless telegraphy, which would allow for the future advancement of the technology. This charge would be the beginning of an era where the radio started appearing in the houses of Americans. Soon companies started to create content that was interesting to almost every American, which led to a boom in the amount of houses that had radios.
The Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression of 1930 ensured that the hedonism and excess of flappers were abruptly and instantly snuffed out (Flappers and the Roaring 20s). It was also a time of new inventions. The most significant was the automobile. The automobile in particular revolutionized the way that American youth socialized, bestowing youth both “mobility and privacy” (How the Youth Culture of the 1920s Reinvigorated America). Youth were able to get out of the house away from the older generation.
“The 1920s heralded a dramatic break between America’s past and future” (Zeitz). The 1920s also known as the “Roaring Twenties” is a time period in American history of success and new opportunities. The 1920s was a period of booming economic growth, empowerment for women, mass production of media, and technological discoveries. The economic growth led to more available income for people to spend on entertainment and leisure. This led to an energetic and thriving arts and entertainment industry and general societal exuberance which defined the 1920s as the “Roaring Twenties”.
The Roaring Twenties was recognized as a Golden Age for its’ mass culture that shaped the new beliefs of those across the United States during the 1920s. This period was known for its’ thriving economy and political changes. New forms of leisure appeared because everyone had a fair amount of spare cash caused by the consumer society developing. Radios were bought, cinemas were opened, newspapers and magazines were sold; all sorts of mass media were methods of communication that emerged during this glorious era. They were not only tools of amusement, but also had the effect of spreading popular culture.
The Roaring Twenties were full of dramatic, social, political, and economic changes ("The Roaring Twenties,1). Post World War I, the era marked the beginning of modern times with new and worthy developments. More and more people were abetted to live in the cities, most people had jobs, therefore money to spend, and they spend it by “having a good time” (McNeese,88). While the society got rid of their miseries; sciences, arts, and businesses renewed themselves by evolving. This research paper briefly gives examples from advances in technology, transportation, and entertainment while discussing their benefits to the United States.
The Roaring Twenties had its ups and downs. During this time period, consumerism skyrocketed and many people felt free. Women were breaking the “standards'', African American singers and their culture were being seen by others, and Prohibition was causing problems. For instance, since people were not allowed to drink or use alcohol, this caused people to use and sell alcohol illegally. Crime rates rose and gangs formed.