The Roaring 20s (1920s)
World War 1 was such a tough time for
people, that when it was over, all they
wanted to do was have fun. Everybody
wanted to be crazy.
Technology
New technology was developed in
World War 1. This new technology
could now be used to help consumerism.
For example, the assembly line was
started. This meant that factories could
produce goods much faster. Since
factories were making goods much faster,
they could sell goods much faster too.
This was called mass production, and
mass consumerism.
To sell all of these things, they needed to
advertise. They advertised in the mass
media. Radio became very popular in
the 1920s. The radio was telling people
they needed more and more things.
People all had good jobs, so they had
enough money to go buy more and more
things.
Also, new developments meant that less
people were needed for farming. Many
people moved from the farms to cities.
This was called urbanization.
Culture
People played a lot of games in this time
period. One thing they played was called
mahjong, which was really 麻将.
Another popular activity was crossword
puzzles.
Fashion changed a lot during this time.
There was a kind of people called
flappers. These were women who cut
their hair short, into a bob. They wore
very short skirts and exposed their
ankles. All of these behaviours were
very strange at that time.
Jazz music also started in the 1920s.
This was a type of music that was
invented by black people in America. It
was seen as immoral and promoting the
values of the 1920s instead of traditional
values.
Prohibition meant that restaurants and
bars could not serve alcohol. Prohibition
lasted only a few years in Canada, but
much longer in the US. When alcohol
was legal in Canada but illegal in the US,
rum-running began. People smuggled
alcohol from Canada to the US.
In Canada, the Group of Seven was a
group of artists who were doing new
kinds of paintings that had never been
done before. They painted Canadian
landscapes.
Economy
The economy was doing very well in the
1920s. Almost everybody had a job and
everybody had money to spend.
Manufacturing industries expanded,
and so did natural resource industries.
American investment in Canadian
branch plants increased. This was so
US companies could avoid Canadian
tariffs. Many car companies opened
factories in Canada.
Not everyone was doing well though. In
1920, the Winnipeg General Strike
happened. A strike is when workers
refuse to work. The workers wanted
more money and better working
conditions. There was violence between
workers and the police. Eventually, the
police won and the workers returned to
work. But this strike showed everybody
how bad the conditions were. Eventually,
government passed laws about working
conditions.
Women
Women got suffrage during and right
after World War 1, depending on what
province they lived in. This was a big
step towards women’s rights.
Another big step was the Persons Case.
Emily Murphy was a woman. They
wanted to make her a judge in Alberta.
In Canada, judges can only be qualified
person. This means the judge must be a
person with enough education,
experience and skills to do a good job.
Emily Murphy was qualified. But she
wasn’t a person! It went to the courts to
decide if women were people. The
Canadian Supreme Court said that
women were not people. Emily Murphy
appealed to the higher court, the British
Privy Council. The British Privy Council
said that women were people. So Emily
Murphy won the Persons Case. Women
could be judges or senators.