July 15th , 2010
Andy Lee
1920s Good Times or Bad Times?
For many decades, there were numerous arguments stating whether the “Roaring 20s”
were good times or bad times in Canadian history. Although there were many clear reasons
that supported both sides of the argument, I believe that the 1920s were good times. The
“Roaring 20s” were times of economic and social boom. New inventions which are still effective
part of our lives in 21st century, growing power of multimedia and entertainment, and modern
form of industrial revolution with mass production all originated from 1920s. Moreover, the
entrepreneurs and industrializing businesses especially in the central Canada or in the cities
were successful. Lastly, stock market was rising gradually until the very late 1920s, until it
collapsed. The 1920s were surely the golden era of Canadian history.
First of all, great inventions and discoveries were made during 1920s. These fascinating
discoveries and inventions had made significant impacts and brought changes in people’s
everyday lives. Some of the essential items that we use every day were inventions made in the
1920s, such as vacuums and dishwashers. The three major discoveries and inventions that I
believe were the greatest out of all which still are being used today are insulin, private
automobiles, and radio. Insulin was the first effective medical treatment towards diabetes.
Diabetes was one of the major diseases that had killed many people around the world during
1920s. Proper and effective treatments towards diabetes were needed as soon as possible. In
1921 at University of Toronto’s labratory, Dr. Fredrick Banting with help of his co-leagues and
students succeeded isolating insulin which is a hormone from the dog. Banting’s idea was to
inject the isolated insulin to the patient’s body since the reason diabetes is being caused is
because of the scarcity of the insulin in one’s body. The results of insulin were astonishing!
Banting and his colleagues had successfully created new treatment for diabetes. Fredrick
Banting was therefore rewarded with highest praise, the Nobel Prize in physiology, and became
the first Canadian to ever receive the Nobel Prize in physiology. Insulin is still the best medicine
available towards diabetes in modern days.
Private automobiles, such as Model T was produced in large quantities by mass
production which was caused by modern industrial revolution during 1920s. The method of
assembly line made this mass production possible. With private automobiles, distant families
could easily connect with each other. Private automobiles had have brought new era of
transportation system. In addition, the price of the private automobiles was reasonable.
Therefore every average Canadian family had enough money to afford an automobile if they
wanted to. The cars, highways, traffic lights, and so on that we see every day had originated
from the 1920s.
The invention of the radio was fascinating. It allowed people to connect with the world
even in remote regions, allowed important messages to be set out to big population in short
amount of time, and lastly made the gap between the cities and the countryside smaller. Radio
was the tool that allowed people in remote regions, such as farmers to be connected to the
world, issues, and so on. It has helped many Canadians to be less isolated and lonely. Radio also
marked the beginning of the mass media revolution. It was the radio which influenced
televisions, computers, and phones, and so on to be created. All of these great discoveries and
inventions I have mentioned were created in 1920s, and they are still very effective part of our
lives in modern days. 1920s surely was a very productive decade and was essential towards the
development of the World including Canada.
The 1920s were the starting point of the Mass Media Revolution. Mass media brought
fashion trends, music, games, etc. along with them. Canadians were still in despair and in
depression during the 1910s after WWI. Canadians faced high unemployment rates as many
soldiers came back from the war, and they were also faced with the sorrow due the loss of the
loved ones through the war. It was the mass media and the entertainment which helped
Canada to forget about the hard times and to recover. Multimedia such as live broadcasts from
new invention “radio” fascinated the Canadians. They could tune in to different channels in
order to listen to many different types of programs. They could hear the music, live broadcast
of the hockey game, live entertainment session with the comedian, and so on. The farmers in
remote regions in prairies could even hear the live broadcast of the Maple Leaf’s match! Radio
therefore has contributed a lot towards the society such as connecting the nation together,
sending out information, entertainment, and so on.
Secondly, the new fast pace and grooves of the jazz music and new trends of dances
were appealing towards the younger generations, and were very popular. These types of music
could also have been easily accessed through the multimedia such as radio. Thirdly, the
younger generations were also fascinated by the new fashion trends from New York, and other
regions in United States. Woman who were extremely in to these fashion trends were called
flappers. They have cut their hair short, rolled down their silk stockings, rose the hem- lines,
and so on. Flappers believed in the unique characteristics of them and admired the new fashion
trends. Lastly, new games such as Mah-Jong from China, and Crossword puzzles from U.S. were
also very popular since they could be easily played by anyone. Without these entertainments
and power of multimedia, the variety of multimedia we see everyday perhaps might not have
existed. Moreover, these entertainments, and new trends has helped Canada get over the
hardships of the post war economy and its effects. Entertainments and multimedia played big
role in encouraging the people, which helped the economy to boom.
During the 1920s, the modern industrial revolution began. The idea of mass production
was made possible due to the new assembly line system. Industrial revolution affected almost
every aspect of people’s lives in 1920s. Private automobiles like model Ts were made on
assembly lines at Ford Factories. The stock market of the industries has boomed and reached
the highest points. The prices of the stocks during 1920s were considered impossible just a
decade before, which proves how high the quality of the economy in Canada would have been
during the 1920s. Canada’s economy has increased significantly and great parts of the central
Canada had developed gradually in 1920s as well. It was said to be the golden years for the
people in the cities, especially to the entrepreneurs and business men. As more money was
gained, more money was spent and the development and enhancements were possible. This is
how Canada has developed so much in 1920s, despite the depressing years they had faced
earlier, which were 1910s due to the World War I.
It was true that not everyone was happy during 1920s. Almost every farmer in remote
regions has suffered greatly during the 1920s. The grain prices has dropped 50% after the WWI,
and the new laws made by the government such as tariffs were only focused towards the
workers in the cities, therefore farmers faced economical hardship. However I still believe that
the 1920s were golden years to Canada. First of all, the majority of the Canadians were living in
major cities, and was involved with the major industrializing economy and services. The farmers
in Canada were the minority group. Therefore I believe that it was fair for government to set
their focus on majority and support them as much as they could since the majorities were
growing with gradual speed. Secondly, the farmers had their golden years during the 1910s, for
example, the productivity of the grain industry, fishery, and forestry has grown almost twice in
sizes and the prices of these products has also greatly increased during 1910s, or WWI. This
decade was also a devastating decade towards the industrial economy due to the WWI.
Therefore, I believe that the farmers should be able to accept the fact that it was the other part
of the economy’s turn to grow. Lastly, some good came out towards the farmers during 1920s
as well. Although farmers were facing hardship, they still appreciated the new inventions, such
as radio and private automobiles because they were very helpful. These inventions allowed
farmers in remote regions to be connected with the world. All the new forms of entertainments
were also appealing to farmers as well, such as Jazz music, talkies which were talking movies,
and so on. Therefore I believe that the 1920s weren’t so bad for farmers as well since they have
gained a lot during 1910s, and farmers also were influenced positively with the new inventions,
trends and entertainments.
The “Roaring 20s” were golden times, especially when compared with the war times
during 1910s, and the great depression, “Dirty Thirties” which the Canadians would soon face.
The new fascinating and significant discoveries and inventions, multimedia revolution, new
forms of entertainment, and lastly gradual increase in the industrialization economy and
services made the 1920s to be successful. Although some visible minorities has faced hardship,
it was their sacrifice which made the boom of the economy possible. It was reasonable for the
government to support the majority if they had to choose only one group to set their focus in
order to develop the country’s economy. I believe that 1920s were a lot more than just a
golden era. I believe that 1920s were the cornerstone of the revolutionary development which
has helped us reach the society which we currently live in. We should never forget about the
efforts and sacrifices that people had contributed for us, and we should also contribute with
our best effort to create better society for our future generations.
Sources
Cruxton,Bradly J.. Spotlight Canada. 4 ed. Canada: Oxford, 2000
http://www.discoveryofinsulin.com/ (accessed 07/15/10).
http://www.1920-30.com/ (accessed 07/15/10).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Twenties (accessed 07/15/10).