The Roaring 20s
The Jazz Age
From a cultural
and historical
perspective,
the 1910s and
1920s were
marked by a
deep clash of
cultures.
During the
previous 50
years the U.S.
had changed
from agrarian to
industrial
From town to city
From Victorian
to modern
As usual the
division was
between those
who embraced
change and
looked to the
future with
hope..
and those
who
idealized
the past
and
resisted
change.
In an
increasingly
consumerbased society,
leisure and
pleasure were
prized over
hard work and
self-denial.
Automobiles
and radios
became
“must have”
items in
American
homes.
By 1925, there was
one automobile for every
six persons in the country
(as compared to one for every
one hundred in
Great Britain),
…and
by 1930
this had
increased
to one
for every
four
people!
With
America’s
love of cars
came
growth
in related
industries…
The price of automobiles
declined steadily
until the mid-1920s
so that many well-paid
working families could now
afford to purchase a car.
And for the
first time
in history,
large
consumer
items,
like cars,
could be
bought on
credit!
America fell in love with
the radio, as well.
The first commercial
radio station went on
the air in 1921.
By 1922, 3 million
American households
had radios!
By the end
of the
decade, an
estimated
40 percent
of American
families
owned
radios.
Both these
products
served to
connect
remote
communities,
especially in
rural areas;
Automobiles brought
mobility to both urban
and rural consumers
and radios provided
access to information
and opportunities.
The automobile
made stores
accessible,
and radios
provided a means
for businesses
to advertise their products
and their services.
In the 1920s, the ability to
produce and distribute
goods on a mass scale…
…aided by
technological
development and
federal policies
favoring industry,
brought about a
stabilization of the
economy that led to
wide prosperity.
The historian Ellis Hawley,
in his book
The Great War and the
Search for a Modern Order,
notes that from 1922 to
1928 the index of industrial
production climbed
70 percent!
These
factors
created a
selfperpetuating
cycle:
standardized
mass production
led to
better machinery
in factories,
which led to
higher production & higher
wages,
which led to
more demand for
consumer goods.
Working
people
at many
income levels
experienced
a rise in
their
standard
of living.
The popularity of automobiles and
radios also encouraged the spread
of chain stores around the country.
The 1920s saw a
proliferation of chain
stores and
department stores
for consumers at all
levels of income.
Well-known chains that took
advantage of the new market
conditions included
Sears & Roebuck,
Woolworth's,
Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea
Company (A&P),
Kroger's, J. C. Penney's.
and Walgreen Drug.
Among the most
successful
department stores
were Macy's
in New York
and Wanamaker's
in Philadelphia.
Many companies organized
extravagant advertising
spectacles
and other enterprises
to attract consumers.
The Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade,
a pitch for the
children's toy market,
was one example
of popular merchandising.
Businesses
also
enlisted the
expertise
of publicrelations
agents.
Every
product was
targeted
for mass
marketing
techniques…
Even previously unused
enticements,
like appealing to sex,
became common
in consumer
advertising…
Advertisers
made the
average citizen
feel like the
luxuries once
reserved for
the wealthy
could now be
obtained by
everyone.
Advertisers
soon
realized
that the
primary
purchasers
of consumer
items were
women!
It was the
woman of
the house
who sought
products
to make
housework
easier and
more
effective…
The economic
growth of the 1920s
spurred the rise of
consumer-advocate
organizations
and
consumer-safety
campaigns,
as well...
…like the Truth-in-Advertising
Movement…
… which
pursued
ethics
in
advertising.
Others sought
to educate consumers.
The Better Homes Movement
celebrated home ownership,
home maintenance and
improvement,
while the Thrift Movement
sought to teach children and
citizens how to spend wisely.
The National Consumers League
sought to expose goods
produced under exploitative,
or unsafe
working conditions,
especially children.
The culture
of consumerism
of the 1920s
changed the
politics of
American
society…
… and set the tone for
American attitudes about
money in coming decades.
Advertising was a
new field, which
encouraged
people to “buy,
buy, buy”
Some of the major
conflicts were over
the role women would
play in the new
society…
there was
conflict over
prohibition…
and, of course, there was conflict over
race and ethnic differences.
With the end of The Great War, the
U.S. entered a period of excess with
the sacrifices of the past put firmly
behind them.
There was also a
mood of discontent
and fear, which led
people to turn to the
Republican party for
security.
Warren G. Harding
was elected President
using the slogan
“Return to Normalcy”
President Harding
died suddenly in
1923, making Calvin
Coolidge the new
president.
During the war, the
18th amendment was
passed, outlawing the
manufacture, sale
and transportation of
alcoholic beverages.
The Volstead Act,
passed to enforce
prohibition was
violated in a lot of the
U.S. but statistics
show that overall the
consumption of
alcohol did decline.
While
Temperance
.
groups
led “the
Great
Experiment”
“bootleggers and
speakeasies”
were rampant in
the cities. This
was another
example of the
great divide
between
traditional values
and new morals.
The Twenties
became known as
a time of
lawlessness, with
gangsters like Al
Capone
becoming
“celebrities” in
their own right.
Other “celebrity” outlaws
were Bonnie and Clyde,
Machinegun Kelly, and
Pretty Boy Floyd
Mama may have been
a Gibson girl, but
daughter
was a freer soul.
Women insisted
on a new role in
the 1920s. Girls
became “co-eds”,
bobbed their hair,
shortened their
skirts, powdered
their knees, wore
make-up, smoked
and drank.
Women wanted to
be like the “It”
girl, and wanted
their men to be
“Sheiks” like
Rudolf Valentino
The Scopes Trial
was just a
symptom of the
challenges to the
religious beliefs
of the “old
morality”
Pitting the
country’s two
greatest lawyers,
William Jennings
Bryan and
Clarence Darrow,
against each
other, the trial
was over
teaching
evolution in
public schools.
Racial tensions
were high in the
1920s, there were
several major
race riots across
the nation and the
KKK had a
resurgence in
power and
numbers.
The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 was
one of the worst in American
history…
but it was
certainly not the
only one. There
were 25 such
riots in 1919.
Omaha
Chicago
Much like the later
1950s, the 1920s
had two definite
sides, one fun
and frivolous, and
one darker which
would lead to
difficult times in
the future.