Clubs were becoming more and more popular. Clubs gave jazz the opportunity to have an impact. Clubs had also helped the sexual attitude in the twenties to change.
In the 1920s there was a change towards the sexual attitude. Sex outside marriage was becoming more and more common. Contraceptives and contraceptive advice was being given out for the first time. Sexual attitudes were being broken down by cinema. This links to cinema.
Cinema had a huge impact on young people especially. People were inspired by the stars, they wanted to follow them. Cinema especially had an impact on young people. Therefore the 1920s were roaring for some young people.
In the 1920s women were getting employed more. There were new labour saving devices that helped women who were housewives. The style of fashion and hair had changed for women. Sales boomed led by advertisements of make-up. Also ‘Flappers’ were new in the twenties. Flappers were white liberated urban women. They were an extreme example of the changes affecting women. Many things changed for women for example, Henry Ford’s black cars were changed to coloured cars because women wanted them. Women were also a major part of the audience for cinema and radio. However, this was still rare. Not all women benefited from the twenties. Not all women got jobs. The new labour saving devices, for example vacuum cleaners, were expensive. Therefore only middle-classed women could only afford them. There were only a small number of Flappers. Therefore the 1920s were roaring for some women mostly white, middle-classed women.
The 1920s were not roaring for immigrants. Immigrants suffered discrimination. Many Americans distrusted immigrants. Immigrants were blamed for the problems in society. Immigrants that were particularly from Eastern Europe suffered due to Communism. America was paranoid about Communism. Immigrants from Eastern Europe were victims of the fear Americans had. Many immigrants had to live in ghettos. Ghettos are socially deprived areas of a city. Immigrants found it hard to get jobs and when they did they were abused by their employers. An example of why the 1920s were not roaring for many immigrants is the case of Sacco and Vanzetti.
There were Americans who resisted the idea of change. They were mostly Fundamentalists. Therefore it did not matter if you were middle class or any other class if you were a Traditionalist the 1920s would not be roaring for you. The fact that there were these groups it shows that the 1920s were not roaring for everyone in America. An example of the 1920s not being roaring for Traditionalists is the Monkey Trial. Another group that did not benefit from the roaring twenties were Black Americans. This links to why the 1920s were not roaring for Black Americans.
The vast increase in number of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s says the 1920s were not roaring for Black Americans. The Ku Klux Klan included teachers, doctors, lawyers, judges, etc. There were many victims. There was lynching, murder, rape, etc of Black Americans By 1925 the Ku Klux Klan had declined, however they were not near to come to a close. Another example to why Black Americans did not benefit from the roaring twenties were the Jim Crow Laws. These were laws that passed on segregation due to skin colour. In the south most jobs were given to white people, so black people decided to migrate to the north. However, this did not solve the problem. Cites in the North were becoming overcrowded, so jobs were becoming hard to get. Therefore blacks and others suffered poverty. Many immigrants were not treated fairly they were looking for a better life. Therefore this brought on competition because all immigrants wanted a better life. This did not help it brought on more problems. A positive sign for black people was the Black Renaissance. Black people would express their feelings in poems, songs etc. They did capture a fair audience. However, it showed how they were discriminated. Therefore to capture an audience they had to talk about how they were being discriminated. The 1920s were not roaring for most Black Americans due to discrimination. However the Black Renaissance did help them, but not enough as they were still being discriminated.
In 1920s America was paranoid about Communism and anarchists. Communists and anarchists were named as ‘Reds’. Due to the paranoia communists and anarchists were victims of the fear that Americans had. Therefore the 1920s were not roaring for communists and anarchists due to discrimination.
The 1920s were not roaring for all women. Whilst war was being fought women were needed to satisfy the high demands. However, when the war had ended the need to employ women was reduced. Also, many of these jobs were unskilled. This gave women false hopes. Making the 1920s not roaring for some women. For women it was also a confusing time as they were being bombarded with adverts of labour saving devices, for example fridges, vacuum cleaners, etc. This reminded them of their poverty, as they could not afford these things. It was only middle class women who could afford these things. It was particularly hard for women who worked in agriculture. The women who were wives of miners and steel workers had to go to work as well as looking after the children in order to keep the family going. Therefore in summary the 1920s were only roaring for middle-classed women.
Prohibition is the last factor to why the 1920s were not roaring for everyone in America. Prohibition was the banning of manufacturing, distributing and the selling of alcohol. Prohibition led to ordinary people becoming criminals because they wanted to drink alcohol. If Prohibition had not failed the 1920s may have been roaring slightly more. Due to prohibition bootlegging was introduced. Bootlegging was an illegal liquor trade. It brought big business; therefore more and more people were encouraged in bootlegging. Bootleggers would sell the alcohol to speak-easys. Speakeasys were basement bars which were behind locked doors. Moonshine was illegal alcohol that was home made. This caused serious poisoning. However, the Government made it was worse by adding poison to the alcohol to stop people drinking. However it did not help and the number of deaths increased due to alcohol poisoning. Therefore the 1920s were not roaring for the people whose relatives had died due to alcohol poisoning. Prohibition was impossible to enforce because there were not enough agents to stop the trade, also they were bribed by bootleggers. Therefore if there were enough agents and if bootleggers did not bribe them then the 1920s may have been roaring for the people who were becoming criminals just because they wanted to drink alcohol. Prohibition created a problem with gangsters as well. The problem with gangsters had worsened. An example of this is Al Capone. Crime was increasing.. Therefore the 1920s were not roaring for the victims of gangsters. Another reason why prohibition failed is corruption. Corruption threw out all levels of society. Judges, lawyers, police, etc as gangsters were bribing them. Once they had been bribed they could not get out of it. Therefore the 1920s were not roaring for police, judges, lawyers who were bribed by gangsters due to prohibition. St.Valentine’s Day Massacre had led to the end of Prohibition. People had had enough. This was when seven members of a gang were shot down by rivals. Al Capone was behind the killing. Prohibition was a reason why the 1920s were not roaring for all in America because it had caused so much violence and crime especially violence between gangs. The twenties were not roaring for the families whose relatives had been victims of crime and violence due to Prohibition.
The 1920s were roaring for some people in America but not for all. It was mostly roaring for white, middle class, urban dwelling Americans. It was mainly immigrants, traditionalists and women who did not find the 1920s roaring. However, Prohibition had affected most people making the 1920s not roaring for them. The 1920s were roaring for some but for most people it was not roaring.
