Describe the main aspects of the economic boom in the 1920s.

dropped from 11.9% in 1921 to 3.9% 1929. Furthermore, as more people began to drive cars, more roads were paved which led to further jobs on construction opening up and this meant more people had money to spend. This was a cycle of prosperity. Additionally, people spent money on new technologies such as the ‘Hoover’, cookers and radios as 70% of towns and cities in 1929 had lighting and electricity in homes. Skyscrapers were built which implied the great wealth and prosperity of the nation at that time. Consequently, with this huge industrialisation due to the wealth of the boom came many changes in society.          With the economic boom, came a great change in society. As more money was made, industries began to boom. Hollywood became very popular in the 1920s and produced many films which were viewed by thousands in cinemas. It soon became very famous in which movie stars were idolized by fans and the film industry became more sexual, for example a huge sex symbol was Rudolf Valentino. This meant that sex before marriage became more common. Hence, this contributed to the economy as more people spent money in cinemas because of the high employment levels. Moreover, this was the era of the Jazz age in which many young people listened to jazz music on their new radios. This new type of music changed society as people began to stop listening to classical music and began to listen to jazz which was faster and raunchier. However, many older people thought it to be corrupting morals of the younger generation.  As a result, the entertainment industry boomed with the economy which led to society changing as the growth of leisure was generally due to people having more money to spend as there was more employment.         Furthermore, the women’s and teenagers’ attitudes changed dramatically with the economic boom. As the war had ended, women were already more independent as they worked rather than stayed at home when the men were fighting. When the war was over, women demanded to work and live a more liberal life to show themselves as equals toward men. Moreover, women were soon given the right to vote which boosted confidence and equality between genders. When electrical appliances were invented, working women could get cleaning and housework done faster and then used their free time to go out in their new cars and spend the money they had earned, which associates with the cycle of prosperity. The normal tradition of being a housewife was neglected and women began to become more adventurous and daring. For example, ‘flapper girls’ wore trousers, drove motorcycles and smoked in public, which would have been frowned upon before, to demonstrate their freedom. Teenagers were also influenced by this movement and became more rebellious. They grew up with new technologies for example; many teens learnt how to drive the car and this meant that they could go out to popular jazz clubs and cinemas without their parents. They also expressed their personality by the new flapper girl fashion like knee- length skirts and short cropped hair. This changed sexual morals and values as women and teenagers as they began to idolise Hollywood stars which links to the new use of sex appeal in film industries. As a consequence women and teenagers became more promiscuous as their values changed from obedient and formal to daring and independent. Overall, women and teenagers benefited from the economic boom.        However, some people did not benefit from the economic boom. As the nation was industrialising rapidly and mechanization of industries meant that workers would lose jobs as machines were far more efficient. Mostly farming and coal industries were affected and resulted to minor unemployment. Furthermore, some sectors of society did not benefit from the economic boom. Immigrants such as black people still suffered from segregation and were treated as the inferior members of society. This would include the lower jobs and racial discrimination from white people. Therefore many immigrants and poorer people working in the primary field of employment did not gain from the economic boom.        Overall, the economic boom changed society dramatically as it meant that there was a rise of new and old industries which influenced many groups in society including women and teenagers. The overall change made the society promiscuous and boosted the confidence of many. Furthermore, the nation became more industrialised which opened new jobs however it caused unemployment for some sectors of society. The economic boom had been, overall a beneficial era in American history as it brought prosperity into the country.