LEISURE TIME IN THE 1920s
After World War I, research and development propelled the United States and other industrial countries into the
age of modern technology. Advances in transportation, communication, and manufacturing allowed middle-class
consumers to buy cars, radios, and home appliances, which they saw advertised in magazines and newspapers.
Mass-circulations magazines like Reader’s Digest and Time (established 1923) enjoyed enormous success. In their
leisure time, people crowded into palatial movie theaters to gaze at films featuring their favorite stars. Near the end
of the decade, the Great Depression would cause consumer spending to drop precipitously. It would not return to
its 1920s levels until the economic boom following World War II.
Wartime innovations like electric starters and air-filled tires made modern automobiles possible. No longer
resembling boxes on wheels, cars now became sleek vehicles graced with chrome-plated bumpers. Before the war,
only the rich could afford such cars. But when prices dropped after the war, demand skyrocketed and
manufacturers increased production. Now car ownership came within range for middle-class buyers. The
popularity of the automobile fueled lifestyle changes. In Europe and the United States, roads were built and new
businesses opened. People began to move to the suburbs and commute to work.
Guglielmo Marconi had conducted the first successful experiments with radio in
1895. But only during World War I did developed countries fully begin to exploit
the advantages of wireless communication. The world's first commercial radio
station, KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, began broadcasting in 1920. NBC was
founded in 1926 and CBS a year later. Within a few years, almost every major city
the United States was broadcasting news, plays, music, and sporting events. Just as
during the 1950s large numbers of families began buying television sets, in the
1920s most families bought their first radio.
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Outside the home, popular entertainment in the 1920s meant going to the movies. Movies
were the most popular leisure attraction of the times, making stars out of Charlie Chaplin,
Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, and Mary Pickford. In 1927, with The Jazz Singer,
movies began to include sound, and 1928 saw the first animated sound film, Steamboat
Willy. In the 1920s, an average Indiana town of 35,000 boasted nine movie theaters.
These movies stayed open from 1 P.M. to 11 P.M. every day of the year. In addition to
the United States, countries from Cuba to Japan also produced movies. But 90 percent of
all movies came out of the Los Angeles suburb of Hollywood.
Professional sports gained a new popularity, as well. Baseball star Babe Ruth enjoyed massive
fame, as did boxers such as Jack Dempsey. College sports rose to national attention, as
demonstrated by the fame of the Notre Dame football team’s “four horsemen.”
How did Americans in the 1920s find the time to enjoy these new forms of entertainment?
During this period, machines, such as vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and refrigerators,
increased leisure time by reducing the time it took to do housework.