Jazz Age Essay

1293 Words3 Pages

The Jazz Age was one of the many highlights of the 1920’s before the stock market crash that triggered the start of the Great Depression in 1929. Because of the distress that the American soldiers faced during World War 1, many of them returned questioning the true meaning of life. Their solution was to recklessly enjoy their lives since you only live once. A completely new culture bloomed during the decade through it’s new music, crazy dancing and brand new atmosphere. While the country seemed to be rather optimistic as a whole during the 1920’s, this decade actually had quite a few issues. Although the United States demonstrated confidence throughout the decade, there were many situations in which the country experienced disillusionment and isolation. The rapid economic expansion and changing social attitudes both contributed to the growing sense of confidence shown in the 1920’s. Due to new ideas and better working conditions, the economy was booming. More people were able to afford goods due to the fact that they could be produced in greater numbers allowing the prices to decrease. This led to significant increases in the sales of products such as cars, refrigerators, radios and cookers. A man by the name of John R. Lee mentioned that companies successfully lowered the prices of the convenient car in order to make it affordable for more people to purchase their products. Also, there were plenty of jobs with better working conditions than before the war that allowed people to step into the middle class (D). Hoover also stated that to keep the economy going, the companies would have to maintain their moral values and treat the workers well, but the workers should not try to ask for too much. The balance that he spoke of was se... ... middle of paper ... ...hey did commit, but were punished much more harshly because of their ethnicity. One of the men comes to the conclusion that, although they are in fact guilty, they are not being tried based on their crime, but their beliefs and because of their roots (B). Immigrants were unfairly and bitterly judged for things that they didn’t do because of people’s own fear and ignorance leaving them isolated within the country during this period. The Roaring Twenties, with all of its abundance and new freedoms, can certainly be described as a break from tradition of every sort. Womanhood was being redefined, music was undergoing a jazzy revolution, and new inventions were transforming day to day life. This break from tradition represented the ideals of the 1920s, but the grave experiences such as the “red scare” and the disillusioned culture also played a huge role in this era.

More about Jazz Age Essay

Open Document