Changing American Culture In The 1920's

As a nation coming out of a devastating war, America faced many changes in the 1920s. It was a decade of growth and improvements. As immigrants fled from Europe, the economy improved, and new machines offered convenience and luxury from the kitchen to the streets. However, with all change comes opposition. The 1920s revealed a conflict between traditional America and the new attitude and lifestyle through the changing role of women, continued dominance of Christian values, and racism.

Technology was booming and created opportunities for both men and women and aided the everyday household with what we call today, necessities. “In 1912, only 16 percent of American households had electricity; by the mid-20s, almost two-thirds did. Overnight, the electric vacuum cleaner, the electric refrigerator and freezer, and the automatic washing machine became staples in middle-class homes”

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.

The nineteen twenties can be summed up as one of the most important improvements on theatre, paintings, music, building, and culture.

In the 1920s, the United States was in the middle of a revolution in the area of production. With a 64 percent increase in manufacturing; outputting per work hour around 40 percent. The most difficult to grasp was the sale of electricity and the consumption of fuel oil doubled. Americans were spread to their limits. Around 1922 and 1927, the economy grew by at least 7 percent a year.

The 1920's also saw the growth of the motion picture industry. It was highly influential and helped shape popular culture by promoting the diffusion of common values and attitudes nationwide. Soon movie studios began building elaborate movie palaces in cities, and by 1930, the movie attendance grew to about 115 million. Movies performed many purposes. It created national trends in clothing and hairstyles and even served as a form of sex education.

Mass media allowed Americans to hear news as it was occurring and to hear news from across the country. “Radio drew the nation together by bringing news, entertainment, and advertisements to more than 10 million households by 1929. Radio blunted regional differences and imposed similar tastes and lifestyles. No other media had the power to create heroes and villains so quickly.” (Digital History). Another aspect of American culture that radios allowed to grow was the rise of celebrities and heroes. People were able to hear about the events that were occurring all over the nation involving famous individuals. It was the first time in American history where the most famous and well-known citizens were not politicians or war heroes. “One way to measure America’s shift away from a hero-oriented stance to an embrace of celebrity was...to survey the biographical articles that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post and Collier… after 1922 over half came from the world of entertainment: sports figures like Joe Louis and Babe Ruth, and movie stars such as Gloria Swanson and Charlie Chaplin.” (OAH Magazine of History). Because these rising stars were not famous for their role in politics or war, they inspired Americans to work hard to achieve their dreams. This created a society of hardworking determined

The 1920s was often referred to as the "Jazz age", or the "Roaring Twenties". Not only was American culture 'roaring' in terms of social trends and style, but the economy was 'roaring' as well. This related to the economic booming period of rapid expansion and changed social attitudes. The 1920s impacted American Society and economy because of Laissez-Faire, farm crisis, and consumer credit/installment plan. Society was discovering new found freedoms and becoming less regimented. This lead to new technologies disasters and a booming economy. However, hidden behind the optimistic views on the economy, there were significant structural problems, which led to the Great Depression of the 1930s and the notorious stock market crash of 1929.

The Roaring Twenties was a time of change and innovation with the rise in new technology. Even though electricity was available to Americans before the 1920s only a small percentage of American household had electricity. By the height of the Roaring Twenties about two thirds of American households had electricity. With the rise of electricity came the popular household items such as the electric vacuum cleaner and the automatic washing machine. As the twenties proceeded the automobile because extremely popular. The young generation used the automobile to escape from the watchful eye of the older generations. Often, the automobile was used for scandalous meetings between lovers. Another innovation of the Roaring Twenties is film. Film became one of the main sources of entertainment for Americans during the 1920s. “By the mid-1920s movie theatres were selling 50 million tickets each week, a sum equal to roughly half the US population” (Zeitz). The movies theatre not only served as a source of entertainment, but the theaters also served as a classroom for the young generation. The young adults learned about love and sex is scandalous movies such as Flaming Youth. Movie theatres also served as a source of news and a place for propaganda and advertisements. Radio also experienced a vast expansion during the 1920s. Radio sparked a radical change the country’s awareness. News such as election results could be broadcasted live across the nation so that citizens could be more aware of what was going on in the country. Radio also provided a source of entertainment by broadcasting sporting events like the World Series. Radio contributed to liberalism by broadcasting “‘race music’, ‘hillbilly’ sounds, and ethnic recordings” into

Life in America dramatically changed during the decade of the 1920s, which marks a turning point in American history. Among these changes included the creation of new laws, which controlled major aspects of society. To continue, not only did the creation of these new laws contribute to the dramatic changes of life in America, but the changes in music, the roles and views of women in society, and entertainment had a big impact, as well. As a result, everyone living during this time period was affected in one way or another. The wide range of changes that took place in America’s society during the 1920s, has ultimately made this decade notorious for influencing culture in America because of the “anything goes” attitude the people developed.

The 1920s was a breeding ground for racial violence and cultural wars. These social issues impacted many different people groups. Racial violence was a bad issue in the 1920s because it lead to many deaths and injuries. An example of this is the Tulsa race riot killing 39 and injuring over 800 people. The cultural wars in the 1920s were a result of the conflict between conservative ideas and liberal ideas.

During the 1920’s many parts of American culture were rapidly changing. The advent of the affordable car made individual transportation much faster and efficient and helped to reinforce the idea of individualism. Factories and womens labor changed the way the sexes interacted in public as well as how recreation was made to be more commercial over time with the creation of places like dance halls, amusement parks, and other commercial venues. Colleges changed from being institutions devoted to religions to focus on business and over time created the modern sport of American football. The 1920’s saw many large changes to the American culture that created the culture that is known today.

Life Changes of Americans in the 1920's In the 1920's many American lives were improved greatly, but some lives were as bad as they had been before. The economy was booming, with cars being mass produced, and many other consumer goods such as radios, were widely available. Also more jobs became available, and many people recieved a par rise. However there were bad things such as racism about.

The 1920s was involved in an era that was undergoing culture change. The americans were surrounded by different types of culture when some states allowed different races to express themselves. The 1920s was not just known for its culture change,it was also found that the 1920s were going through social change as well. Jazz Age was a post World War l movement in the 1920s.it was founded in New Orleans,Louisiana and created by Buddy Bolden and Nick LaRocca in 1917 ,Around that time New Orleans was home to both white and black and became a great influence throughout the country.

The roaring twenties also known as the Jazz Age, The Age of Wonderful Nonsense, and The Age of Intolerance was an era that marked the beginning of modern America. It was a period of change for everyone, but was it only for good? Although the United States gained political and social welfare The Roaring Twenties brought more conflict rather than celebration.