The 1920's was a time of major change in every area of life for people in the United States. America's once conservative society started to become more and more liberal as political and economic changes were being made. The dramatic switch from one way of living to another caused most people to experience what felt like culture shock, while some people celebrated the new ways. The types of music, dancing, and other forms of entertainment were much different than what they had ever been. The major shifts in economics, politics, and social norms were revolutionary. American's had a difficult time adjusting to the new ways, causing an eruption of chaos and conflict and only some conformity. Between 1920 and 1929, there were three different …show more content…
presidents from the Republican party that led our country. Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover were all fairly conservative. They believed in the idea that the government should be uninvolved with the economy and wanted to take a more hands-off approach, so they all adopted and followed the laissez-faire policy, which was basically a free market policy. This decade happened to be during a gap time between WWI and WWII, which also brought on a number of major political movements and changes. After WWI, American's were living in fear of becoming a communist country, which caused an uproar of conflict. There were also major issues with illegal immigrants coming into the country for a better life and most American citizens were not too happy about it. There were soon major policies put into place in order to limit the number of illegal immigrants entering the country. American was concerned with the economic situation at that time and thought that the new immigration policies would help greatly. The 1920's are historically popular for the adoption of the 18th amendment. "The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect, prohibiting the making, selling, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages ("The Rise of Communism and Socialism"). This political movement was very troublesome and was considered a noble experiment to solve social and economic issues, but people failed to follow the laws put in place so the amendment was repealed in the following years. The 1920's was a big time of change for women. At this point, they were gaining equality and major changes in societal norms. Women were under less pressure to be stay-at-home mothers and housewives. They were gaining freedom and began to take advantage of it during this time, and the flapper style was edgy enough to make that clear. The most familiar symbol of the "Roaring Twenties" is probably the flapper: a young woman with bobbed hair and short skirts who drank smoked and said what might be termed "unladylike" things, in addition to being more sexually "free" than previous generations. ("The Roaring Twenties"). They used fashion and style to prove their freedom to live the way that they wanted to.
They put their actions on display and exhibited their sexuality more publicly to show that they were liberated and no longer going to live the lifestyle that they were originally expected to live. In these years, the 19th amendment was passed and women also gained the right to vote in the presidential elections. Even though the majority of women chose to live more conventionally as housewives and stay-at-home mothers, many women took advantage of their new rights and chose to follow their own dreams instead of conforming to the norms at that time. Women no longer had to go through as much trouble to get a divorce, even though it was still highly looked down upon. The "New Woman" was able to attend college and graduate with a degree of their choosing, which resulted in many women making a name for themselves in many fields, such as in medicine and law. They were typically worked white collar jobs, but started to work their way up in the workforce and began receiving better pay than ever before. These changes were just the beginning for women working towards equality and women are unfortunately still having to fight for …show more content…
it. An economic boom in America during the 1920's is partially why the decade is described as the "roaring twenties." The economy grew massively due to consumer growth. Manufacturing became much easier, causing industries to begin mass production of products, costing manufacturers less money to produce more product. This meant that the consumer price was also much less than before, resulting in a lot more product being sold. This has a major effect on the economic growth in the 20's. This economic boost changed the U.S. economy for the better. The consumer economy grew a large percent right after WWI victory, causing America to feel more powerful than ever before. Life in American began to change drastically because of this. The technology was more advanced than ever and even more was being produced. "Mass production spread new consumer goods into every household. The modern auto and airline industries were born." (Amadeo, "What Was the Economy Like in the 1920s?"). This changed the way transportation was used in America forever. There were vacuum cleaners, telephones, radios, air conditioners, and even more. Life in the 1920's was changed as they know it and it was all thanks to the massive economic growth that the U.S. was experiencing at that time. The "Jazz Age" was a term that was coined to describe the style of entertainment in the 1920's.
Quite obviously, jazz music was hugely popular during the 20's and influenced a lot of the ways that people entertained themselves during this time. Because of the technological advancements that had taken place in the 20's, music was much easier to access and listen to. They were now able to tune in to their favorite music station on the radio and listen to whatever music they would like. The black culture introduced to jazz music to America, which meant that there were a large number of black jazz artists. Some of the most famous jazz musicians, such as Louis Armstrong, were black, which was a big pill to swallow at such time of discrimination. The fact that there were people of color gaining recognition for their music and making the style popular was pretty much unheard of before the 1920's. This sensual style of music created a speakeasy culture and new way of dance. America's well-known dances like the "Charleston," were made popular at this time. A lot of people were offended by this style of entertainment because they thought it looked and sounded vulgar and was much too sexual to be appropriate. This meant that all of the people who enjoyed this style of music and dance were labeled as trashy and said to have not class. Even though those claims are far from true about jazz lovers, it took time for the conventional American's to see this style of entertainment as
acceptable. Another form of entertainment that grained popularity very rapidly in the 1920's was the production of movies and attending screenings at movie theaters. Before the twenties, going to the movie theater to see a newer movie was a very special occasion and didn't happen all that often. Most of the time, reading was used as a form of entertainment for the adults and children in the family, which was obviously a lot less fun than attending a movie at the movie theater with family and friends. In the 1920's, this was the preferred type of entertainment among Americans. It became so much more common to attend movies as a way of entertainment and a lot more people began to do this. Because of that, movies began to gain a lot of popularity, along with the actors and actresses who played roles in these movies. The fame and fortune that the actors and actresses gained were more intense than ever before, making Hollywood much more of a production as a whole. Sports started to become more and more popular during the 1920's, with Babe Ruth being the big name in sports at this time. Baseball was the most popular and well-known sport during this time, with Babe Ruth making it boom in popularity more than ever. Boxing, basketball, golf, and a few other sports started to gain attention, also. Organized sports were a lot less common before this decade, which caused them not to all that excited when they first started becoming more common. After a while, organized sports, such as baseball, started gaining an abundance of viewers and fans. Baseball continued to draw in die-hard fans and avid views over the years to get to the point that they are today. Baseball is still one of the most popular sports in America after all of these years, but sports like football and basketball have become just as popular or even more popular at this point in time. The "roaring twenties" gained its name due to the exciting social and political changes that were taking place, along with the economic "roar" that was happening at this time. These major changes in society, politics, and economics were the start of transforming to a much more liberal country, which has continued to progress in this direction until now and will continue moving in this direction for years to come. The way of life before the 1920's was no longer necessary. Conventional living was no longer pushed upon Americans, even though some chose to continue living conventionally. Women had more freedom than ever before and were able to break out of the typical housewife mold. The economy grew massively and the mass production of products was to credit for that. The unbelievable and highly advanced developments in technology changed the way that American's were able to live and how they could transport themselves. Radios and televisions were among these developments, providing people new and exciting forms of entertainment that they had never experience before this time. All of these major changed set the pace for the developments that are continuously being made in the United States today, and we will continue to advance because of it.
The 1920’s is a period that defines the United States. Conflict and opposing values were increasingly prevalent in the American society. The country was torn between new political practices, views on the role of women, religion, social and artistic trends, science and more traditional beliefs. These were ideologies that were surfacing during the 1920’s. Much tension between the 'new America' and the 'old America' was caused by a number of wars and outbreaks (Lyndon).
As a nation coming out of a devastating war, America faced many changes in the 1920s. It was a decade of growth and improvements. It was also a decade of great economic and political confidence. However, with all the changes comes opposition. Social and cultural fears still caused dichotomous rifts in American society.
The 1920s was a vast change and movement for African Americans. As the great migration took place, blacks became popular for jazz music and singing. This period was not always easy for the African community as it still faced prejudice and segregated clubs that rejected them.
After the war, the American people made the change from "old" ways to "new" ways. Many factors, such as new technology, fundamentalism, new looks and church led to tension between the old and the new. The 1920s were a time of conflicting viewpoints between traditional behaviors and new and changing attitudes.
The 1920's was a time of great social change with new prosperity, new ideas but most importantly a time of heroes. These so called heroes defined the era and were the role models for the people of this time period. They brought on hope and enlightenment after the horrific times that they had gone through with the depression and the war. The role of women changed, sports and entertainment stars were celebrated and modern technology changed America's landscape. The twenties were a time when people laughed more often than cried, partied more often than worked, and dreamed more often than faced reality.
The 1920s was a time of conservatism and it was a time of great social change. From the world of fashion to the world of politics, forces clashed to produce the most explosive decade of the century. It was the age of prohibition, it was the age of prosperity, and it was the age of downfall.
Americans felt a need to rise in social status in the 1920's. Things like art and religion did not even make it in the maybe pile. Money and social acceptance was number one in every household.
The 1920's was a time of change in the United States. For the first time in history, more people were living in cities than in the country. The United States was also wealthier than it had ever been. New methods of transport have been introduced. A lot more technology was also introduced, such as radios.
In the 1920's women's roles were soon starting to change. After World War One it was called the "Jazz Age", known for new music and dancing styles. It was also known as the "Golden Twenties" or "Roaring Twenties" and everyone seemed to have money. Both single and married women we earning higher- paying jobs. Women were much more than just staying home with their kids and doing house work. They become independent both financially and literally. Women also earned the right to vote in 1920 after the Nineteenth Amendment was adopted. They worked hard for the same or greater equality as men and while all this was going on they also brought out a new style known as the flapper. All this brought them much much closer to their goal.
What comes to mind when thinking of the 1920’s? Most people think of the freedom the United States felt after World War I and that is exactly what jazz and the Charleston symbolize (Boundless.com par. 1). Jazz and the Charleston were extremely controversial in the 1920’s because they promoted a new way of thinking, which outraged the older generations (Knowles 160). Older generations did not like the fact that young people were becoming more and more daring with their actions just by playing music and dancing (Boundless.com par. 6). Today, jazz and the Charleston are thought of as out of date, but without them, music today would be completely different. Jazz and the Charleston revolutionized modern music and dance by altering the rhythm of classical music, changing the culture of American society (Boundless.com par. 1).
The 1920's was a time of change in the United States. “The Roaring Twenties” had an outstanding impact on the economy, social standards and everyday life. It was a time for positive results in the consumer goods industry and American families, because of higher wages, shorter working hours, and manufacturing was up 60% in consumer goods. But it was also a time of adversity and opposition for others, such as immigrants and farmers. Immigrants had lots of competition when they were looking for work and they weren't treated fairly by Americans, depending on where they came from and what they believed.
Instead of being confined at home, the women joined labor forces, worked with wages, and experimented with different types of behavior that would have been unreasonable a few years back. Along with these dramatic changes were their fashion styles. This style changed their rights and relationships with others completely. With that change, a new woman was born. There were not many ways for women to stand up for themselves and what they believed in.
The 1920s in America, known as the "Roaring Twenties", was a time of celebration after a devastating war. It was a period of time in America characterised by prosperity and optimism. There was a general feeling of discontinuity associated with modernity and a break with traditions.
Now a days, many believe that jazz is not that important of music genre, but with our history, jazz plays a big role. “Jazz does not belong to one race or culture, but it is a gift that America has given to the world.”, quoted by Ahmad Alaadeen. Jazz in the 1920’s opened the eyes of whites and invited them into African American culture; it evolved Americans to where we are today since it brought a change to the music scene, an acceptance of African Americans, and a change of lifestyles.
The revolution blew the minds of older generations. After World War 1, foreign propaganda spread over to the United States. Many women's husbands were being sent out for war and were left at home, resulting in many economical changes. With all of the changes, their began to be a cultural shift. The 1920’s was the beginning of the Jazz Age and a new renaissance of rebellion, new thinking, and new norms.