The Influence Of American Popular Culture In The 1920's

The Jazz Age was a period of radical behavior and care free living. This new music structure started the crazy decade that would change American life. “In the US during the 1920s, jazz was far more than a new musical style or genre”. A Focus on culture, fashion, and mostly freedom became huge. “The Jazz Age became a touchstone for a wide range of social and cultural issues.”1 Also the freedom during the period allowed for many different ethnicities, including African Americans, to gain freedom within society. This new music

Jazz was a hit in the 1920s, African Americans were given credit for leading the jazz industry, the Jazz industry had an amazing impact on many other popular cultures. Jazz was the favorite type of music among the flappers. The Jazz age was known to be powered by the prohibition of alcohol.

The 1920s, often referred to as the Roaring Twenties, was a time of great change and a time of powerful enthusiasm in many areas of society. The world had just finished the biggest war in history, the First World War, and the United States was left almost unharmed by the war. The United States was able to experience a decade of peace and success following the war. During this decade, America became the wealthiest country in the world (Trueman, 2000). The people in the United States went through a colorful period during the twenties. However, at the same time the 1920s was also a very rebellious and difficult time for many. The culture of the 1920s has influenced the culture of America’s society today.

The 1920s was an age of drastic social and political changes. For the first time in history, more Americans started living in cities rather than on farms. Americans were wealthier than ever before. People from coast to coast bought similar goods, listened to the same music, did the same dances, and even used related slang. Numerous Americans were uncomfortable with this unfamiliar, urban, and occasionally racy “mass culture”. In fact, for a large number of people in the United States, the 1920s brought more conflict than celebration. However, for a minuscule handful of youth in the nation’s larger cities, the 1920s were roaring. Prohibition gave criminals a way to illegally make money; gangsters, young men who worked in criminal gangs, began selling on the black-market alcohol. Young woman emerged during the 1920s with different appearance, attitude, and behavior; with a bobbed haircut and short skirts.

The 1920s was a time of economic growth, inventions, and spending money. During the 1920s, America was renamed as “new society” and “new standard of living” (Foner, 773). Little did society know was that the 1920s was the reason for the Great Depression in the 1929. This time era had a rough start because there was a prohibition on manufacturing and selling alcohol (Foner, 742). There also an awakening of what America was really like for the immigrants, for example, the convictions of two Italians, Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco. Vanzetti and Sacco were accused of partaking in an armed robbery and murder of a security guard (Foner, 768). This raises about the corruption of the government, and how it destabilized basic American freedom because these men were seen as threats to the American Life (Foner, 769). There were no evidence against Sacco and Vanzetti, yet they still got the death penalty (Foner, 769). The 1920s were also famous for the Jazz Age and Roaring Twenties (Foner, 769, 770). The flappers were women who were young and sexually liberated (Foner, 770). The speakeasies were nightclubs

The Jazz Age which is also referred to as the Roaring Twenties began after World War I took place and lasted until 1929, when the Great Depression began. The 1920s opened up a world of change to Americans; some did not approve and others, especially those in the big cities, celebrated with music and dance every day. There were numerous inventions that were being created throughout the 1920s and because of nationwide advertisement; people all over America were able to buy all the same stuff as one another. But unfortunately, times were different for those that lived in Colorado.

During the 1920s there were many culture wars. Some people were upset because others started to work less and have more fun. Others were upset because blacks started to have pride in their own color, instead of trying to fit in with the whites and do as they said. Popular culture started to influence and reform countrymen into people who wanted to have personal enjoyment and work less. Women started to become more like the men because they would drink and smoke, and started to have their own lives. As the culture changed drastically for blacks, women, and the lives of everyone in America in the 1920s, many culture wars were started because sometimes people just don’t like change.

The Roaring Twenties started in North America and spread to Europe as the effects of World War I diminished. In Europe, the years following the First World War (1919-1923) were marked by a deep recession. Europe spent these years in rebuilding and coming to terms with the vast human cost of the conflict. Unlike in the aftermath of World War II, the United States did little to try to rebuild Europe. Instead, it took an increasingly isolationist stance (Answers, 2006).

I. Introduction a. A testament to the United States' unprecedented prosperity in the Roaring Twenties, jazz's growing popularity sparked a grave controversy, with many viewing the appeal of jazz as either an annoyance or a threat. b. Should the testament to the United States’ prosperity in the Roaring Twenties about jazz’s growing popularity be viewed as an annoyance or threat? c. Jazz’s growing popularity in the United States in a time known as the Roaring Twenties, was a dramatic turning point in the American life. The growing of this musical industry meant jazz would be thrived in adversity and come to symbolize a certain kind of American freedom, and would be called upon to lift the spirits and raise the morale of a

The 1920s is notorious for the amount of partying people did at the time. People in the 20s had attitudes that said “yeah, why not?”. The mood of the twenties was energetic because of the parties, dances, and the alcohol. The Great Gatsby painted a perfect picture of the time and really captured what the party life was like. “On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight…” (Fitzgerald). The partying was so relevant that some of the women of this time period were called flappers. Flappers generally had short bob haircuts and revealing clothing. This is a great way to show how accurate popular culture is when looking back.The flapper was a symbol and she accurately represents the mood of the time. This differs so much from the 1930s because that was a time of sadness and loss. The 1930s represents depression and poverty. The 1920s held its head high with a big smirk and full of pride. This is really captured as the spirit of the age because of how social the times were. Blacks and whites would join at the

The counter culture of the 1920’s has affected the way the American lifestyle is today. Counter culture is a culture that primarily consists of younger people, with values and lifestyles opposing those of the original established culture. (Dictionary.com) A need for change. The 1920’s are also known as the “Jazz Age,” which was coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the “Roaring Twenties.” It was a decade of change. (Hakim, 41) The counterculture of the 1920’s resulted from the Age of Jazz, Flappers, and the Harlem Renaissance.

Although the roaring twenties are usually thought of as a time of universal prosperity, the reality is that unless one was Caucasian and well-to-do, society tended to shun the outliers (women, minorities, etc), propelling them out of political affairs and social scenes. Women rebelled, becoming increasingly promiscuous as the decade wore on. In 1920, it would have been unheard of to show an ankle, sport a bob haircut, or darken one’s eyes with what seemed like paint. By 1928, the younger generation was revealed as socially progressive, engaging in previously unthinkable behavior such as smoking, drinking in bars, and sex. Flappers became prevalent, with their flouncy skirts and short hair adorned with a jeweled headband. The decade earned its second nickname, “The Jazz Age”, from the incredible musical talents that emerged out of Harlem and other areas of the United States, leading to a less “restrained” entertainment.

Before the Depression, Americans prospered during the roaring twenties. This was an exuberant era in which traditional values made way for new morals. The 20s were known for the freewheeling spirits of the flapper, new dances like the Charleston, and new and legendary literary writers. Subsequently, “the Works Progress Administration enabled ‘fantastic’ new opportunities for black performers, artists, and writers to mobilize the popular front as an anodyne to the economic hardships of the 1930s,” (Johnson 354).

The 1920s and 1930s were the years of the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance. This period of the Roaring Twenties is said to have begun around the end of the war and lasted well until the Great Depression. Partially due to the migration of more and more African Americans into the north of the United States, the national literature, arts and music movement developed into something, until then, completely new and literary modernism spread further (Perkins and Perkins 212). The 1920s were a time of immense change, with women becoming eligible to vote, alcoholic beverages become prohibited to sell, and later on the crash of the stock market (Perkins and Perkins). With modernism and the invention of new things like the television, Americans

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