As we have seen in recent programs, the administrations of President Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge were a time of economic progress for most Americans. Many companies grew larger during the 1920s, creating many new jobs. Wages for most Americans increased. Many people began to have enough money to buy new kinds of products.
The strong economy also created the right environment for many important changes in the day-to-day social life of the American people. The 1920s are remembered now as an exciting time that historians call the "roaring twenties”. The 1920s brought a feeling of freedom and independence to millions of Americans, especially young Americans. Young soldiers returned from the world war with new ideas. They had seen a different world in Europe. They had faced death and learned to enjoy the pleasures that each day offered.
Many of these young soldiers were not willing to quietly accept the old traditions of their families and villages when they returned home. Instead, they wanted to try new ways of living. Many young Americans, both men and women, began to challenge some of the traditions of their parents and grandparents. For example, some young women began to experiment with new kinds of clothes. They no longer wore dresses that hid the shape of their bodies. Instead, they wore thinner dresses that uncovered part of their legs.
Many young women began to smoke cigarettes. Many women also began to drink alcohol with men in public for the first time. And they listened together to a popular new kind of music: jazz. Young people danced the Fox