Why Is The Roaring Twenties So Important In The 1920s
The Roaring Twenties
The 1920s were a period of great change; large populations moved from the country-side to the city, there became a strong emphasis on art and expression, and people’s daily lives were greatly impacted. The ‘20s led to a rise in popularity of movies and music, renowned classical literature, and respected republican leadership. Innovations and creativity flooded the era, and inventions such as traffic lights, instant cameras, and lie detectors were patented. The 1920 Census displayed the mass migration from rural country-side to urban cities. Prohibition throughout 1920 and 1933 led some Americans to visit illegal speakeasies on a regular basis. The 19th Amendment allowed for women to explore their newfound political and …show more content…
social freedoms. The decade following World War 1 was full of promise and energy; and while a compromise, it had a grandiose influence on the way Americans lived, acted, and thought.
The 20s were a blended time of moral decay and progression. They began with the end of the first World War, a four-year trauma that affected countless people, in the year 1918. The Red Scare held a great influence over people; while Russia had experienced revolution at the beginning of the War, Americans were afraid that communism was going to bring a revolution to the United States. Threats of violence held a presence; “In April of 1919, the U.S. Post Office intercepted some 40 bombs addressed to prominent Americans” (David Lobb.) Many US citizens were concerned about a hostile take-over and increased radicalism. The end of the War, however, led to an economic boom and expansion, making US citizens richer and encouraging the masses to move from the rural country-side to the buzzing city; this was revealed during a census taken in 1920. The 18th Amendment, ratified in 1919 and went into effect a year later, banned the production and sale of alcohol as well as illegal drinking spots called speakeasies. Other illegal activities flourished, and gangsters such as Al Capone made large sums of money and infamy for bootlegging. The formal ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, allowing for women’s suffrage; women explored their newfound political and social freedom in expressive ways. Flapper girls, a popular icon of the Twenties, wore short dresses and danced to jazz music in dance halls. Women everywhere held the jobs of men and proved their equality, exploring their newfound acceptance and freedoms. The energy and excitement caused by the newfound freedom was also expressed in emerging pop culture.
The 1920s led to an expansion in the popularity and production of Jazz, the blues, and swing music.
Renowned musicians such as Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Duke Ellington, Johnny Dobbs, and the Memphis Jug Band represented energetic, lively rhythms that echoed throughout dance halls. Radios became a feature of 12 million households, and 100 million phonograph records were sold in the year 1927 alone. People visited the movie theaters as if it were an epidemic; nearly ¾ of the population visited the theaters weekly. The emphasis on music, movies, and dancing shaped the generations to come, and expressed the inner thoughts and feelings of the individuals during that time. However, pop culture was not the only expression during the Roaring Twenties. Amazing accomplishments in literature and art defined the …show more content…
decade.
Classical literature written during the ‘20s is still widely popular and respected today. Works such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot, and The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway are just a few examples of well-known works. “The Great Gatsby was thought of as the epitome of the Roaring Twenties. It deals with such topics as gender interaction in a mundane society” (Boundless). A. A. Milne created a classic detective novel, The Red House Mystery, in 1922 as well as Winnie the Pooh in 1926, a work created into a television show in the 1980s and into a television show in 2011. The art world progressed and changed rapidly, keeping pace with everyone else. Walt Disney began as a cartoon studio during this time, releasing Steamboat Willie in the year 1928. The fine arts experienced wild changes during this period; surrealism and art deco quickly dominated the artists’ world. One particularly popular art group was called the Group of Seven. The Harlem Renaissance, while not directly caused by the Twenties, overlapped this time period, and visual art was a popular style. One signature artist of the time, Aaron Douglas, was inspired by Art Deco and created his personal style of geometric art. Fine art of the time is still cherished today; and the Museum of Modern Art, founded in 1929, displayed many of these works. Perhaps the art of the time reflected the changing inner desires of Americans, or the art was merely observations and reflections of the changes that took place.
The Twenties were a period of consecutive republican leadership, after the eight-year democratic leadership of Woodrow Wilson. Warren G. Harding of Ohio, a former state senator and lieutenant governor, was the 29th president of the US. His term began in 1921 and extended until 1923. His presidential candidate was famous for promising a return to normalcy after the tragic events of World War 1. Under his leadership, taxes were lowered, the high productive tariff was brought back to life, and a Federal budget system was set up. Harding suffered a cardiac arrest and was the sixth of eight presidents to die in office. Calvin Coolidge, Harding’s vice president, served as the 30th president and Harding’s replacement from 1923 until 1929. Coolidge was a republican lawyer from Vermont, and his reputation was attempting to preserve traditional morals and values prior to the ‘20s, despite the luxurious lifestyles and carefree attitudes that had become fixtures of normal life. Herbert Hoover, yet another republican leader, began his presidency in 1929 and carried the United States through the Wall Street crash of 1929 and through the beginning of the Great Depression, until the end of his term in 1933. He was dubbed “The Great Humanitarian,” and had served in the Cabinets of both Coolidge and Harding. “In November of 1920, Hoover began a series of meetings with business, labor, and government leaders called the Conference for Continued Industrial Progress, in which he secured pledges to maintain current employment and wage levels” (Hoover Archives). Creativity and imagination led to a growth in innovation, a kind that still impacts our modern-day culture. For example, Christian Nelson created the first Eskimo Pie dessert in 1920, and Nestle continues to manufacture Eskimo Pie ice creams today. Sebastian Hinton designed the first jungle gym the same year, and his invention is a staple at children’s playgrounds all over the country. Ernst Alexanderson engineered modern-day radio transmission, and William Potts created multi-colored traffic lights in 1920. In 1921, Benjamin Katz invented the vehicle headrest and John A. Larson created the basic polygraph (commonly used in detective work). That same year, the audiometer was created by a physicist, Dr. Harvey Fletcher, in order to test and record hearing loss. City Center Bank was accredited to being the first bank to open up a drive-through during 1921. In 1923, Marconi Company created the rudimentary hearing aid using a carbon microphone. Penicillin, a very well-known antibiotic, was created by Alexander Fleming by accident prior to World War 1 and became popular in 1928. Reader’s Digest was founded in 1922 by Dewitt and Lila Wallace, Time Magazine was published in 1923 in New York City. The NBC radio network was founded in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America, and remains one of the oldest broadcast networks in America. The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated by William Howard Taft in Washington DC in 1922. The official construction of Mount Rushmore National Memorial began in 1927. Henry Ford, one of the most famous men of the 21st century, mass produced automobiles on motorized assembly lines all throughout the 1920s. He started in 1914, and by 1927, he had manufactured over 15 million Model T’s. Henry Ford, however, was not the only industrial genius; hundreds of inventions were patented during the time period. Inventions of the 1920s encouraged luxury and easy life, and set the stage for improvements on basic inventions in later decades. Inventions that minimized the amount of effort required to complete daily tasks had a strong impact on the generations to come. The Roaring Twenties led to a rather disappointing end. The stock market crash of October 29th, 1929, led to a great economic decline known as the Great Depression. The snow-ball effect made matters worse, and a period of feast suddenly ended, sneaking into the country at a vulnerable time. People were doing well financially and in the job market; to lose so much in so little time was staggering. It is possible that US citizens had become too comfortable with their luxuries and unwisely invested too much in an unreliable system. The Dust Bowl started in 1931 and lasted eight years. The Dust Bowl was caused by a long drought, and it worsened the debt of agriculturalists that had been created during the ‘20s. Families of farmers were faced with great challenges and overwhelming debt; it was a shocking way to end an era of such progress. The 1920s were a collective period of innovation, creativity, energy, and financial wellness. It was a time that brought powerful changes to the way Americans lived, acted, and thought. The 1920 Census revealed that the majority of people lived in urban areas versus rural agricultural areas. Common items that may be taken advantage of today, such as penicillin or traffic lights, shaped the way generations during and after the ‘20s lived. Defining characteristics of the nation, such as Mount Rushmore National Memorial or the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, were constructed and dedicated during the ‘20s. Famous musicians, dance halls, and movie theaters played strong roles in the emerging generations and marked that period of history with a sense of style and uniqueness. Americans invested their newfound financial, political, and social freedoms and reveled in their newfound independence. Women’s suffrage was finally fully accepted after many years’ hard work, and women filled important and influential roles in society. Experimentation, such as flapper girls or the Era of Prohibition, marked the decade and made it particularly special. The 1920’s were a very influential time, and played a crucial role in United States history.
Works Cited
"America's Best History - U.S.
History Timeline 1920 to 1929." America's Best History - U.S. History Timeline 1920 to 1929. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.
"Calvin Coolidge." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
"Disney History | The Walt Disney Company." Disney History | The Walt Disney Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.
"Hoover Timeline." - The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.
"Inventions in the 1920s." Timetoast. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
Kokemuller, Neil. "What Event in American History Brought the Roaring '20s to an End?" Education. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
Lobb, David. "The Red Scare of the 1920s: Definition, Summary & Causes - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com."Study.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.
"The Roaring Twenties." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
""Roaring Twenties"" PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "The 1920s Summary & Analysis." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
"The Unexpected Death of President Harding, 90 Years Ago." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 02 Aug. 2013. Web. 15 Mar.
2015.
"Warren G. Harding." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
The 1920s were a period of great change; large populations moved from the country-side to the city, there became a strong emphasis on art and expression, and people’s daily lives were greatly impacted. The ‘20s led to a rise in popularity of movies and music, renowned classical literature, and respected republican leadership. Innovations and creativity flooded the era, and inventions such as traffic lights, instant cameras, and lie detectors were patented. The 1920 Census displayed the mass migration from rural country-side to urban cities. Prohibition throughout 1920 and 1933 led some Americans to visit illegal speakeasies on a regular basis. The 19th Amendment allowed for women to explore their newfound political and …show more content…
social freedoms. The decade following World War 1 was full of promise and energy; and while a compromise, it had a grandiose influence on the way Americans lived, acted, and thought.
The 20s were a blended time of moral decay and progression. They began with the end of the first World War, a four-year trauma that affected countless people, in the year 1918. The Red Scare held a great influence over people; while Russia had experienced revolution at the beginning of the War, Americans were afraid that communism was going to bring a revolution to the United States. Threats of violence held a presence; “In April of 1919, the U.S. Post Office intercepted some 40 bombs addressed to prominent Americans” (David Lobb.) Many US citizens were concerned about a hostile take-over and increased radicalism. The end of the War, however, led to an economic boom and expansion, making US citizens richer and encouraging the masses to move from the rural country-side to the buzzing city; this was revealed during a census taken in 1920. The 18th Amendment, ratified in 1919 and went into effect a year later, banned the production and sale of alcohol as well as illegal drinking spots called speakeasies. Other illegal activities flourished, and gangsters such as Al Capone made large sums of money and infamy for bootlegging. The formal ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, allowing for women’s suffrage; women explored their newfound political and social freedom in expressive ways. Flapper girls, a popular icon of the Twenties, wore short dresses and danced to jazz music in dance halls. Women everywhere held the jobs of men and proved their equality, exploring their newfound acceptance and freedoms. The energy and excitement caused by the newfound freedom was also expressed in emerging pop culture.
The 1920s led to an expansion in the popularity and production of Jazz, the blues, and swing music.
Renowned musicians such as Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Duke Ellington, Johnny Dobbs, and the Memphis Jug Band represented energetic, lively rhythms that echoed throughout dance halls. Radios became a feature of 12 million households, and 100 million phonograph records were sold in the year 1927 alone. People visited the movie theaters as if it were an epidemic; nearly ¾ of the population visited the theaters weekly. The emphasis on music, movies, and dancing shaped the generations to come, and expressed the inner thoughts and feelings of the individuals during that time. However, pop culture was not the only expression during the Roaring Twenties. Amazing accomplishments in literature and art defined the …show more content…
decade.
Classical literature written during the ‘20s is still widely popular and respected today. Works such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot, and The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway are just a few examples of well-known works. “The Great Gatsby was thought of as the epitome of the Roaring Twenties. It deals with such topics as gender interaction in a mundane society” (Boundless). A. A. Milne created a classic detective novel, The Red House Mystery, in 1922 as well as Winnie the Pooh in 1926, a work created into a television show in the 1980s and into a television show in 2011. The art world progressed and changed rapidly, keeping pace with everyone else. Walt Disney began as a cartoon studio during this time, releasing Steamboat Willie in the year 1928. The fine arts experienced wild changes during this period; surrealism and art deco quickly dominated the artists’ world. One particularly popular art group was called the Group of Seven. The Harlem Renaissance, while not directly caused by the Twenties, overlapped this time period, and visual art was a popular style. One signature artist of the time, Aaron Douglas, was inspired by Art Deco and created his personal style of geometric art. Fine art of the time is still cherished today; and the Museum of Modern Art, founded in 1929, displayed many of these works. Perhaps the art of the time reflected the changing inner desires of Americans, or the art was merely observations and reflections of the changes that took place.
The Twenties were a period of consecutive republican leadership, after the eight-year democratic leadership of Woodrow Wilson. Warren G. Harding of Ohio, a former state senator and lieutenant governor, was the 29th president of the US. His term began in 1921 and extended until 1923. His presidential candidate was famous for promising a return to normalcy after the tragic events of World War 1. Under his leadership, taxes were lowered, the high productive tariff was brought back to life, and a Federal budget system was set up. Harding suffered a cardiac arrest and was the sixth of eight presidents to die in office. Calvin Coolidge, Harding’s vice president, served as the 30th president and Harding’s replacement from 1923 until 1929. Coolidge was a republican lawyer from Vermont, and his reputation was attempting to preserve traditional morals and values prior to the ‘20s, despite the luxurious lifestyles and carefree attitudes that had become fixtures of normal life. Herbert Hoover, yet another republican leader, began his presidency in 1929 and carried the United States through the Wall Street crash of 1929 and through the beginning of the Great Depression, until the end of his term in 1933. He was dubbed “The Great Humanitarian,” and had served in the Cabinets of both Coolidge and Harding. “In November of 1920, Hoover began a series of meetings with business, labor, and government leaders called the Conference for Continued Industrial Progress, in which he secured pledges to maintain current employment and wage levels” (Hoover Archives). Creativity and imagination led to a growth in innovation, a kind that still impacts our modern-day culture. For example, Christian Nelson created the first Eskimo Pie dessert in 1920, and Nestle continues to manufacture Eskimo Pie ice creams today. Sebastian Hinton designed the first jungle gym the same year, and his invention is a staple at children’s playgrounds all over the country. Ernst Alexanderson engineered modern-day radio transmission, and William Potts created multi-colored traffic lights in 1920. In 1921, Benjamin Katz invented the vehicle headrest and John A. Larson created the basic polygraph (commonly used in detective work). That same year, the audiometer was created by a physicist, Dr. Harvey Fletcher, in order to test and record hearing loss. City Center Bank was accredited to being the first bank to open up a drive-through during 1921. In 1923, Marconi Company created the rudimentary hearing aid using a carbon microphone. Penicillin, a very well-known antibiotic, was created by Alexander Fleming by accident prior to World War 1 and became popular in 1928. Reader’s Digest was founded in 1922 by Dewitt and Lila Wallace, Time Magazine was published in 1923 in New York City. The NBC radio network was founded in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America, and remains one of the oldest broadcast networks in America. The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated by William Howard Taft in Washington DC in 1922. The official construction of Mount Rushmore National Memorial began in 1927. Henry Ford, one of the most famous men of the 21st century, mass produced automobiles on motorized assembly lines all throughout the 1920s. He started in 1914, and by 1927, he had manufactured over 15 million Model T’s. Henry Ford, however, was not the only industrial genius; hundreds of inventions were patented during the time period. Inventions of the 1920s encouraged luxury and easy life, and set the stage for improvements on basic inventions in later decades. Inventions that minimized the amount of effort required to complete daily tasks had a strong impact on the generations to come. The Roaring Twenties led to a rather disappointing end. The stock market crash of October 29th, 1929, led to a great economic decline known as the Great Depression. The snow-ball effect made matters worse, and a period of feast suddenly ended, sneaking into the country at a vulnerable time. People were doing well financially and in the job market; to lose so much in so little time was staggering. It is possible that US citizens had become too comfortable with their luxuries and unwisely invested too much in an unreliable system. The Dust Bowl started in 1931 and lasted eight years. The Dust Bowl was caused by a long drought, and it worsened the debt of agriculturalists that had been created during the ‘20s. Families of farmers were faced with great challenges and overwhelming debt; it was a shocking way to end an era of such progress. The 1920s were a collective period of innovation, creativity, energy, and financial wellness. It was a time that brought powerful changes to the way Americans lived, acted, and thought. The 1920 Census revealed that the majority of people lived in urban areas versus rural agricultural areas. Common items that may be taken advantage of today, such as penicillin or traffic lights, shaped the way generations during and after the ‘20s lived. Defining characteristics of the nation, such as Mount Rushmore National Memorial or the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, were constructed and dedicated during the ‘20s. Famous musicians, dance halls, and movie theaters played strong roles in the emerging generations and marked that period of history with a sense of style and uniqueness. Americans invested their newfound financial, political, and social freedoms and reveled in their newfound independence. Women’s suffrage was finally fully accepted after many years’ hard work, and women filled important and influential roles in society. Experimentation, such as flapper girls or the Era of Prohibition, marked the decade and made it particularly special. The 1920’s were a very influential time, and played a crucial role in United States history.
Works Cited
"America's Best History - U.S.
History Timeline 1920 to 1929." America's Best History - U.S. History Timeline 1920 to 1929. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.
"Calvin Coolidge." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
"Disney History | The Walt Disney Company." Disney History | The Walt Disney Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.
"Hoover Timeline." - The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.
"Inventions in the 1920s." Timetoast. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
Kokemuller, Neil. "What Event in American History Brought the Roaring '20s to an End?" Education. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
Lobb, David. "The Red Scare of the 1920s: Definition, Summary & Causes - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com."Study.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.
"The Roaring Twenties." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
""Roaring Twenties"" PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "The 1920s Summary & Analysis." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
"The Unexpected Death of President Harding, 90 Years Ago." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 02 Aug. 2013. Web. 15 Mar.
2015.
"Warren G. Harding." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.