The Culture of the 1920's

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The Culture of the 1920s

The Roaring Twenties started in North America and spread to Europe as the effects of World War I diminished. In Europe, the years following the First World War (1919-1923) were marked by a deep recession. Europe spent these years in rebuilding and coming to terms with the vast human cost of the conflict. Unlike in the aftermath of World War II, the United States did little to try to rebuild Europe. Instead, it took an increasingly isolationist stance (Answers, 2006).

In Canada, an important economic transformation accelerated as Britain was wholly supplanted by the United States as Canada's main economic partner. By the middle of the decade, economic development started to soar in Europe and the Roaring Twenties broke out in Germany, Britain and France, where the second half of this decade was termed "The Golden Twenties". In France and Canada, they were also called the "Crazy Years" (années folles) (Answers, 2006).

The spirit of the Roaring Twenties was marked by a general feeling of discontinuity associated with modernity, and a break with traditions. A new and different era was felt to be coming up. Everything seemed to be feasible through modern technology; the limits that ecology and sustainability pose to economic and technological growth were yet unknown. Technologies, such as trains, cars and mass communication by radio and telephone, spread the idea of modernity to a large part of the population. Formal decorative frills were shed in favor of practicality, in architecture as well as in daily life. At the same time, amusement, fun and lightness were cultivated in jazz and dancing, in defiance of the horrors of World War I, which were still present in people's minds. The period is often calle...

... middle of paper ...

... January 20, 2007

Harlem Renaissance. (2006). The History Channel website. Retrieved January 20, 2007

from http://www.history.com

Hartman, J., (1999) Advertisements of the 1920s. Duke University Rare Book,

Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.

Retrieved January 20, 2007 http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/

Infrastructure. (2006). The History Channel website.

Retrieved January 20, 2007, from http://www.history.com

The Roaring Twenties. (2006). The History Channel website.

Retrieved January 20, 2007, from http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.

Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. (2006). Roaring Twenties.

Retrieved January 20, 2007 from http://www.wikipedia.com

Women's Rights Movement in the U.S.: Timeline. (2007)

Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease.

Retrieved January 21, 2007 from http://www.infoplease.com

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