The Roaring Twenties The 1920s were the beginning of remarkable social and political changes. The nation’s total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, and the economic growth drew many Americans into a prosperous but unfamiliar “consumer society.” With the rise in nationwide advertising, and the start of chain stores, people everywhere where buying the same clothes, shoes, listened to the same music danced the same and even used the same slang. Due to the sometimes racy “mass culture”, many Americans were uncomfortable. In United States, the 1920s brought more confrontation than happiness. The most familiar symbol of the “Roaring Twenties” for women was the flapper. According to A&E History, “the flapper was a young woman with hair cut to her chin, wore short skirts, drank, smoked and said ‘unladylike’ things” (2010). The flapper woman was considered more sexually “free” than previous generations. Although the flapper was an iconic symbol, the majority of young women did not do any of the things as described. Many young women did follow the fashion of a flapper, but even women who were not flappers gained some extraordinary freedoms. “Due to the 19th Amendment, the Constitution had guaranteed the right for women to vote that began in the 1920s” (A&E History, 2010). The 19th Amendment opened the corporate doors for millions of women to work in white-collar jobs. This new-found freedom allowed women to participate in the expanding consumer economy. Another
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 1920’s was a decade of reform in almost every aspect of society. Things were becoming modernized, and despite many objections to progression, Women’s rights to new music genres and to sports being better than ever, and new cars such as the model t being in production. The 1920s brought alot of high social and cultural trends. By the end of the decade there was almost one car per family in the united states.s and comportment, the new consumer’s society, the Harlem Renaissance and the new principles of this decade paved the road for Henry Ford’s new Model T, and a whole new America’(Weinberg). The 1920s was a good decade for people back then.with everthing to new music genre and to sports being
The 1920’s which was also called the Roaring Twenties was a era of economic prosperity and dramatic social change. The 19 amendment that was ratified on August 1920 gave the right of women to vote and the impact of World War I resulted in women questioning traditional morals and values, becoming rebellious. When men left for the war it caused women to have new jobs such as working in factories. Also, “the number of women attending college rose to 10% of the population by the end of the 1920's." Due to women having the opportunity to have jobs and go to college women became more mobile. The corset limited women to be mobile in this era which caused the production of coresets to quickly decline. Less women wearing corset made their figure to be more boyish and straight. The women of this era was called the Flappers, free spirited women, representing the new change of how women looked. The Flappers “lacked hips, breasts, and a defined waist”. They would dress in dresses above their knee and ankle showing more legs and having bare arms. They would also stray away from having long hair and cut their hair into a bob to symbolize freedom and independency. As a reason of women questioning traditional values they began to drink, smoke and be more sexual in this era. The 1920’s was also the age of Jazz which influenced women to go out and dance and women having more flamboyant and exuberant moves. In the 1920’s to be equal among men they had to have a figure of men,
The Roaring Twenties also know as a new era which was a great time for a revolution.We think of this “New Era” as a freedom for women. Now women were “breaking down the spheres of Victorian values (Zeitz). ” In 1920, the powerful women 's rights movement gave the women right to vote after so many years. Now they started to become more independent and had less restriction put into them.This time period gave rise to the flapper girls who smoke, drank, and had sex as they pleased.Many women became rebels, where they started to wear short dresses and tight bathing suits which exposed their skin, and put makeup on. All these actions taken were considered immoral and disrespectful. The early 20th century was a battle between modernism and
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, also known as the “Roaring Twenties”, was a time period of great prosperity. During the 1920s, major changes occurred. The Twenties marked the start of a new lifestyle for the world, in which styles such as appearances were different, the system of money changed, and things were viewed much differently than they were in past generations. There was a major shift in living conditions when people went from living in rural areas to urban areas, in which the “big city” became the center of affairs. Although the 1920s were a new and exciting time period, they caused much conflict for the people of past generations who were not used to this great change.
The 1920s, or better known as the roaring twenties changed the lives of women in America politically, physically and mentally. Women were granted more freedom, the right to vote, changed their physical appearance, and focused on materialistic goals instead of moral values. Before World War I, women would wear a high collar, long straight skirts below the knee and long hair that was tied loosely. The roaring twenties brought along swing dancing and jazz which changed the way women dressed and danced. Not only did the roaring twenties bring along flourishing taste in music, but flappers came into play. Flappers were women who wore short sparkly dresses, cut their hair into a bob, wore heavy make-up, drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes and partied all night.
The 1920’s were a period of tension between new and changing attitudes on one hand and traditional values and nostalgia on the other. Following WWI it was a transitional time period to modernization, and the old America was being forgotten. From the old and new to urban and rural, generations were feuding over the advancement of American Society. To a great extent social, economic, and cultural changes affected the leading tensions between the old and the new and was manifested greatly by those. Although political changes are usually the cause of disagreements, the tensions in the 1920’s were manifested by social, economic, and cultural changes.
J. Paul Getty describes the 1920s as “ … the period of that Great American Prosperity which was built on shaky foundations.” The 1920s was an age that consisted of many social and political changes throughout America. The changes occured dramatically in these three different topics: economics, racism, and women’s suffrage. It created more jobs and more opportunities for the American people, fixed the major problems of racism against African Americans, and changed women's norms by making the “housewife” perspective less common, and driving more women towards a rebellious era. These three changes of the 1920s made it to become famously known as “The Roaring ‘20s.”
The 1920’s brought mass culture to almost everyone through radio, movies, advertising, sports, cars, and the influence of Hollywood. These influences sold a new way of life to the people and created demands for things so that consumers felt as if they needed these products to succeed in life. For example, Listerine mouth wash was taken from an antiseptic into something that should be used in every home. The advertising for this product would show sad people with unsuccessful love lives due to bad breath, though with the help of Listerine they could find love; it was made into an essential for having romantic love. Though, these products were mainly targeted and applicable to the white consumer who had the ability and desire to move upward in status, unlike many immigrants and people of color who did not have that luxury. Overall, the wave of advertising and mass culture brought the United States a new model of life that was dependent on consumerism and is a significant concept to the image of the “roaring”
Lucy Burnhams 15 April 2015 APUSH 1B 1920’s DBQ The 1920’s was a time of riches and brought a new age of commercialization to the United States. Traditional views clashed against the modern views the twenties inherited and therefore caused tensions between new and old ideas. The 1920’s tensions lied under religious, social, and political issues that sparked reform and advanced technology.
At that time, the American women changes in physical, emotional such as more fashionable, educated, courage and operated with men. According to the document 4, it compared with the women in the 1890’s who wore like a house helper needed to tie back their long hair and stayed home all day with doing the housework, cooked for their husbands however the women in the 1920’s who smoked, drank, danced and voted. Moreover they cut their hair, wore make-up and went to petting parties. Therefore we can called the 1920’s women as a flapper also known as younger generation of new women. Although the women got the right to vote, there was a feminists issues in the 1920’s which would outlaw discrimination based on sex.
The Roaring Twenties also know as a new era which was a great time for a revolution.We think of this “New Era” as a freedom for women. Now women were “breaking down the spheres of Victorian values (Zeitz). ” In 1920, the powerful women's rights movement gave the women right to vote after so many years. Now they started to become more independent and had less restriction put into them.This time period gave rise to the flapper girls who smoke, drank, and had sex as they pleased.Many women became rebels, where they started to wear short dresses and tight bathing suits which exposed their skin, and put makeup on. All these actions taken were considered immoral and disrespectful. The early 20th century was a battle between modernism and
The 1920’s was a great and important decade for the United States. After World War I, the United States went through events and changes that, overall, made the United States a much better place to live. New advances in technology and industry improved American life in more ways than just one. Americans had better wages during this time, more leisure time, and overall, had a better life than ever before. In addition, the 1920’s advocated social and cultural change as well. During this time period, the United States did not return to Normalcy, and instead developed attitudes that changed the life of the people of the United States forever thanks to social changes, cultural changes and changes in technology.
"The 1920s: Lifestyles and Social Trends: Overview." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 3: 1920-1929. Detroit: Gale, 2001. U.S. History in Context. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.