How did life change in the USA in the 1920’s?

After World War I, the American Congress adopted the isolationist policy. This provoked an economic boom during the 1920’s as the American citizens concentrated in producing more goods for their internal market. There were several changes not just in the economic field but also in the political, social and religious aspects. The aim of this essay is to analyse how life changed in the USA in the 1920’s.

Between 1896 and 1915 the American farmers were doing great in business. “They increased their production but saw a general price increase which maintained their sense of well-being”. Furthermore, industries in the 19th century were mostly of coal, iron and steel whereas the economy in the 20’s relied on the new industries. These included chemicals, synthetic textiles and electricity. “Prosperity is around the corner”, this is a famous slogan that became public when the economy was beginning to flourish. It means that confidence is the basis of the economy.

During the 1920’s, the American economy boomed. The automobile industry, launched by Henry Ford, brought prices down and made room to a number of well paid jobs on the production line. Moreover, it led to the arrival of new businesses, such as gas stations, road construction, hotels and roadside diners. Other industries developing fast were the electrical power, the supermarkets and the advertising industry. Some of the new inventions rising up were the refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, cookers and toasters. Also, the government encouraged investment and promoted production, and passed a policy of strict tariff barriers, known as protectionism, which forbade imported products to protect American-produced goods. Other policies were the Laissez-faire, Low taxation and Trusts. However, not everybody benefit from this boom. Women, African Americans, Indians and the elderly remained outside the prosperity. Despite the growth, the American economy was going through in the 1920’s it was not as blooming as it appeared. Farming was in serious trouble. Farming income had seriously dropped in 1928 and soon, the market was exceeded in goods. Prices fell at the same time unemployment was rising up. By 1929, the economy was already failing. Finally the Wall Street stock Market crashed. It can be said that it was mostly caused by speculation, yet there were other causes, such as weaknesses in the banking system, overproduction and maldistribution of the wealth. As a consequence, most banks in the country went bankrupt, people lost their homes. Jobs and poverty increased enormously.

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Furthermore, as a consequence of the boom, social aspects also changed considerably. Before the 1920’s, women lived extremely bounded lives. They had to wear restricted clothes, behave politely, they couldn’t wear make-up, relationships with men were controlled and they couldn’t smoke in public or take part in sports. Moreover, they couldn’t vote. They had very little job opportunities, and very low paid. Plus, although alcohol was still legal, there were already movements to make it illegal.  The Anti-Saloon League and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union campaigned to ban alcohol. By 1916, 21 states had banned saloons.

During the 1920’s, ...

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