Explain the main features of the roaring twenties in America during the 1920's.

Explain the main features of the roaring twenties in America during the 1920’s.

By the end of the First World War America was regarded as the most powerful and richest country in the world. In the 1920’s the United States economy was booming. This is a period of prosperity, when the country’s economy is doing well and the people are sharing in it. This period was known as the ‘roaring twenties’. In this period many jobs were made more secure, many families had more to eat, electricity was widespread, many people had more leisure time and most had more money to spend. It changed the way people thought and lived their lives and was a great difference to suffering that World War 1 brought Cities were expanding outwards, and more and more people took advantage of this. Normal citizens started up new businesses in entertainment industry, which was proving to be very successful.

During the 1920’s, more Americans lived in towns and cities for the first time in the history of its country. New York was a popular choice because of its huge skyscrapers, which became possible because of the large number of people moving to cities to look for jobs. This imposed a powerful symbol at that time. Many cities wanted to be just like New York to show they were also sharing in Americas boom. Many rural areas did not like this idea. They thought the ‘boom’ cities were not following the prohibition laws and therefore they were corrupt and full of drink and crime.

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Entertainment played a huge roll for many people at the time. Workers wages increased and the average number of hours worked a week dropped. This meant there was a lot of people with extra spare time which was channelled into the entertainment industry, benefiting the industry in 2 ways; creating more jobs which is what people from urban areas were looking for, and creating a good profit for themselves This was a key feature in influencing people into starting new business with new ideas and thoughts being used and also attracted people into the cities with an idea that they would be a huge fortune for themselves. Radio was among a favourite. Most households now owned one. In one-year (1921) radio stations grew from 1 to 508. NBC were making profits of $150 a year. Jazz, was a popular type of music among many young people. To them and many others, the 1920’s became known as the ‘Jazz Age’. New images became known and like cinema, new idols became recognised.

Cinema was devolving large industries around a city called Hollywood. Films were produced all year round and new stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton became comedy heroes. The economic boom brought something for people to look forward to and gave children and adults idols. It was estimated that movies became multi million dollar businesses and that 100million tickets were being sold a week! It wasn’t long before producers and people alike were taking one step ahead to modernise the industry as much as they could and to gain even more profit to keep up in the boom as cities expanded. Sex became a no longer taboo subject and it was becoming widely mentioned in newspapers, film and everyday conversation.

Cinemas were the first to recognise that ‘sex sells’. It did well. Dozens of films a month were being produced about sex, and would certainly lead into newspapers and radio to catch on to a trend that was bringing in the dollars.

Many films about sex were seen to be daring, and soon stars like Thedra Bara was labelled the ‘it’ girl (‘it’ mean sex…obviously)

Many people were attracted to the cities challenging their traditional values. The cities were seen as sinful, and as previous mentioned full of crime and drink, but most Americans felt they had a right a right to prosperity. They felt that certain aims should be fulfilled in order for their life to be enjoyed; to live in a nice house, have a job, plenty to eat and drink and to have many of the latest consumer goods in the market. To add to this, previously many people thought that saving their money for a ‘rainy day’ but belief that spending their money on consumer goods was seen as for more of an attractive idea.

During the 1920’s, women were still being paid less than men even if they had the same job. Women’s employment increased but only because they were seen as cheaper to employ and in some cases could match the job of a man. Before the 20’s, women were seen to be polite and wear respectable clothes, but now there were also a percentage of women known as ‘flappers’, brought about at the time. Flappers were known to smoke cigarettes in public, to wear short skirts, backless gowns and anything else that would shock parents and other older people. After world war one, women just wanted to enjoy the time of the boom, and Anti-Flirt leagues designed to stop the behaviour of flappers did not succeed.

Overall, the roaring twenties can be seen as a time of freedom for many people and time when people could express their thoughts. It provided many great opportunities for companies to make money, and subsequently for many people to get jobs that gave them money they deserved. It brought out new stars for people to idol, and was such as change for the way people lived their lives since the tragedy of World War One.