The 'Roaring twenties' - Social Changes

ENTERTAINMENT
1. The 1920s are often called the 'roaring twenties' - a time of riotous fun, loud music and entertainment. While perhaps not true for everyone, this was an important period of social change - cities grew and developed and the way Americans lived changed forever.
2. The growing prosperity meant that Americans had more money and spare time to go and enjoy themselves. One obviously extension of this was the growth of entertainment.
3. Wages for the average worker grew by 11%, while the hours people worked decreased from 47.2 to 44.2.
4. RADIO
  1. Almost everyone listened to the radio. Hire purchase allowed people to pay for their radio instalments. In 2921 there was only 1 licensed radio station. By 1922 there were 508.
  2. By 1929 NBC, a new radio network, was making $150 million a year.
5. JAZZ
  1. Radio allowed new music to be listened too - Jazz became an obsession with young people.
  2. African Americans moving from the countryside had brought jazz and blues with them. Jazz and new dances such as the Charleston, were hugely popular with the young. Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.
  3. Older generations saw jazz as associated with drink, African Americans and bars. They saw it as corrupting the young.
6. HOLLYWOOD
  1. As wealth increased so did for entertainment. In 1920s America, more and more cinema tickets were being sold every week. It is estimated that 100 million cinema tickets were being sold a week.
  2. The film industry, based in Hollywood, became much larger and with the continuous sunshine, many movies could be made in a year. In the early 1920s, all films were silent. In 1927, the first talkie was made called 'The Jazz Singer' starring Al Jolson.
  3. Stars like Charlie Chaplin became Household names.
7. SPORTS (baseball and boxing
  1. Teams like the Chicago cubs, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox drew huge crowds to their games; Babe Ruth was a huge star. He was involved in advertising too, using his fame to promote products. Jack Dempsey was a boxer.
8. THE CAR
  1. Revolutionary. Not only did it allow people to commute to work and live in the nice suburbs. The car also took people to witness their new entertainment. It took people to the ballpark, beaches, shopping trips and picnics in country parks.
  2. It also allowed young people to escape the moral gaze (watchful eye) of parents
WOMEN
1. TRADITIONAL 1900S AMERICAN WOMEN
  1. Before the war, middle class women wore restrictive clothes and were expected to behave politely.
  2. Most women were expected to marry and then become housewives.
  3. Very few women were in employment and those that were often in low paid such as secretaries or cleaners.
  4. Women were not supposed to wear make-up and men strictly controlled their lives. No dates without a chaperone, no participation in sports and no smoking in public.
2. THINGS BEGAN TO CHANGE
  1. When the USA joined the war in 1917, women were taken into war industries, giving them experience of factory for the first time.
  2. They were paid and had a new found level of freedom. They were further liberated by the car and new electrical devices that saved time.
  3. This liberation was cemented in 1920, when women were given the right to vote
3. FLAPPERS
  1. Women in urban areas began to push the traditional rules of behaviour. They were known as Flappers.
  2. Flappers wore make up, had short hair, wore short skirts, beads, low cut tops, stocking and high heels. They went dancing, drinking and smoked in public.
  3. Women in cities took on more jobs, typically in new industries. By 1929, 10 million women were in jobs, around 25% more than in 1920.
  4. Women were also exposed to role models in the cinema and magazines.
  5. Sex sold, and many women were depicted as sexy heroines doing more than their traditional role as wife and mother.
4. THINGS DIDN'T CHANGE FOR MOST WOMEN
  1. RURAL AREAS
    1. Flappers and women's liberation was very much a city phenomenon.
    2. Women in the countryside did lots of work, cooking, caring for children, working on the farm ect.
    3. They didn't live the urban lifestyle of their city sisters
  2. ONLY A PARTIAL CHANGE
    1. Some elements of society still held traditional values.
    2. In employment, women were still paid less than men, even when performing the same task.
    3. Women may have had the power to vote, however, parties didn't really want women as candidates and only a handful of women were elected in 1929.
    4. Some Americans even formed an 'Anti-Flirt League' to protest against the behaviour of flappers.
PROHIBITION - SOCIAL CHANGE
1. WHY WAS IT INTRODUCED?
  1. Dries (those against alcohol) claimed that 3,000 infants were smothered a year in bed by drunken family members.
  2. Many breweries were German owned - after the USA went to war with Germany, in WW1, drinking was seen as unpatriotic.

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The 'Roaring twenties' - Social Changes

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