Honors-The Roaring Twenties

In the 1920's the United States was on the rise in industrialization, technology, the economy and the overall moral of the American people. Between 1922 and 1927, the economy grew 7 percent a year which was “the largest peacetime rate ever.” The times were named the roaring twenties, and “If anything roared in the “Roaring Twenties,” it was the industry and commerce.” America was in the going through a large change that would have a lasting effect on the country.

One of the most significant changes was the development of technology. New machines were being created and were being widely used in factories and business places. Some of the new machines included steam turbines, electric motors, belt conveyors, and many others. The radio was also created in the twenties, and it ended up being one of the most important technologies of the time to the American people. Other things being manufactured at this time include; wristwatches, cigarette lighters, film and frozen food. More and more things were being invented at this time, so the labor force was growing to keep up with demand, despite the new term “technological unemployment”.

Another important change was prohibition, the banning of making and selling liquor. In 1920, this law went into effect after reformers had been trying to reduce the consumption of alcohol. Citizens were still allowed to drink, just not make, sell, transport or import any kind of “intoxicating beverage”. It was widely backed by Catholics, Protestants, corporate executives and labor leaders because people during that time they firmly believed that “it corroded family life and weakened society.” This did not stop most people from drinking, even though some estimates said that consumption was down by as much as fifty percent. A new industry was created from prohibition, there was a lot of profit to be made in the alcohol bootlegging business. “Thousands of poor immigrants looked to illegal bootlegging to move them out of the slums.” The flow of money and making a living became more prominent and people of all classes were benefiting.

An additional change that had a lasting effect on the United States, was the amount of time people spent working versus how much time people spent doing recreational things. In 1920, the average hours a person would work a week was 47.2, and by 1930 it had decreased to 42. The time spent on amusement and recreation went up an overwhelming 300 percent. Spectator sports became a favorite American pass time, from wrestling to college football. Sports stars like Jack Dempsey in wrestling, or Babe Ruth in baseball had Americans paying millions of dollars to watch them do their sport. Also at this time, Hollywood started making motion pictures regularly, and almost all Americans went to the movies. Additionally, dancing became popular at parties, which put the jazz age in full swing. Americans were focusing less on work, and more on spending money and having a good time and seemingly nothing could bring them down.

The roaring twenties were times filled with materialism, new technological advances, bootlegging, having a good time and economic growth. Industries were growing, and everyone was expanding and buying more. The automobile and construction industries were two of the biggest “boom industries”. By 1929, there were 26 million cars, one for every five people. But it was not just these industries on the rise, everyone was thriving. People spent less time working and more time watching movies and sports, dancing and listening to the radio. Things like celebrities and sports stars became popular because media was also starting to become more widespread. The enormous changes of the roaring twenties sent the United States in a direction of forward progress economically and socially. Some of the inventions, machines, and mentalities still have an American culture today.

Source of information and statistics:

James West Davidson, William Gienapp, Christine Leigh Heyrman, Mark Lytle, Michael Stoff. "Chapter 24- The New Era." Nation of Nations. McGraw-Hill:Boston, 2006.