“Roaring Twenties”
Fast Facts
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1929 contained the stock market crash that lead into the Great Depression.
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Wages increased, in 1927 the average person had 50 percent more buying power than they did in 1913
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1921 to 1929 saw the Gross national product rise from $74 billion to $104 billion
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Big name stores like J.C. Penney opened up all around the United States
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There was an increase production of goods and stores were seeing record sales
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Part of the reason for this was because many stores created a system that allowed customers to pay for purchases in installments
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Prohibition began in 1920. Illegal drinking was so rampant at the time that police often turned a blind eye. The law was repealed in 1933.
The prohibition allowed for a huge black market for alcohol. The most notorious of these was run by Al Capone in Chicago. So many authority figures were under his control that he had free reign of the city. Capone earned up to $60 million a year in his peak years.
The easy going attitude of the 20s was common in part because of World War 1. So many young men had been killed or wounded because of a war that many saw as useless. Many saw the war as dealing with European issues that did not involve the U.S.
1919 became the “red scare” which set the tone for the decade. Russia became a communist country so quickly that many were scared. Officials would round up people- often innocent citizens- and try them as communists.
The KKK had new success now because Americans vented their dislike for minorities and foreigners. The group had an astounding 4 million members by the middle of the decade.
Social justice started making way with groups like the NAACP and UNIA. Culture also bloomed with the Harlem Renaissance centered in New York City. Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith and Paul Robeson were a part of this growing era. Women also made great strides with gaining the right to vote in 1920. Since the war has forced many women to take jobs, women were now more accepted into fields like publishing, and sales. Freedom also came to women as they were able to dress and act in ways that would previously have been considered improper. Big names like Joan Crawford, Mary Pickford, and Clara Bow became the images for the time.
Movies became the fourth largest industry in America by 1925. Characters like Charlie Chaplin and the Keystone Kops were huge. The first movie with sound came out in 1927 called The Jazz Singer which quickly pushed silent films out of theatres. Walt Disney introduced Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie in the first cartoon to use sound.
Babe Ruth was one name that dominated sports of the era. He led the Yankees to a World Series Championship. Football and gold were gaining popularity. Jack Dempsey was the reigning boxing champ and Gertrude Ederle swam the English Channel.
Technology boomed in the 20s as well. Radio, flight, and more. National Broadcasting Corporation became the first radio network in 1926. Ford began mass production that made cars easily accessible to most Americans. Roads, restaurants, and motels improved because of this. Charles Lindbergh made his famous flight across the Atlantic in his plane The Spirit of St. Louis.
The stock market crash happened on October 29, 1929. 700 banks closed, 85,000 business went bankrupt between 1929 and 1932. Herbert Hoover was the president at that time, he believed in limiting government intervention in the economy and that governmental welfare made the nation weak. He made a few good programs but Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal made a true significant impact on the economy in the 1930s
