As with all cultures, the philosophies, politics, and ideas that provoke the hearts of individuals find their way to the pens of authors, brushes of painters, and notes of musicians. The 1920s were no different. But, what influenced the themes, philosophies, and politics of this time and how were they expressed? America in the 1920s was a time of economic growth and cultural upheaval. World War l had just ended and millions of young lives had been lost or painfully impacted.
During the 1920s, America experienced a period of mass affluence that changed the country and its culture. The consumption ethic reached its peak during this time and has had an indirect impact on the American economy. Invention, spending, and investing influenced the 1920s. As the 1920s became an economic prosperity in the United State, people started to desire more convenience and free time.
The 1920’s in America was a time of huge economic prosperity. Post-war optimism was at its peak and anyone who could afford it was enjoying the fruits of American capitalism. It was a time to get rich quick and thanks to things like the invention of the production line, the American culture of consumerism skyrocketed forward in one of the biggest economic booms the country has ever seen. For many Americans, looking forward there was nothing but more prosperity to come.
The 1920s was a decade marked by innovation, inspiration, and progress. From monumental changes in everyday life, to the brand new youth culture that emerged as the years progressed, the 20s changed the way Americans thought, acted, and lived. However, this growth masked the issues that the decade brought. More and more people became involved in criminal activities, and discrimination against foreigners and Americans alike became a problem.
The 1920s were a time of dramatic change in the United States after the end of WWI. There was a boom in culture, the economy, and the morality of the country. One business that was booming was the oil industry. The demand for oil was increasing because of the use of new transportation methods being used in WWI. The oil companies were trying to keep up with the demand and were always on the search for new reserves for oil wells.
The 1920s carried much change in society. Some of these changes were more rights for women, jazz music, and prohibition. The people of the 1920s were disillusioned by society lacking in idealism and vision, sense of personal alienation, and Americans were obsessed with materialism and outmoded moral values (The Roaring Twenties).Cultural changes were strongly influenced by the destruction of World War I ending 1918. America needed to recover and with it youth rebelled against the norms of the older generations.
People are partying. The word of money fills in the air. People being miserable everywhere. These events were the daily lifestyle of people living in the 1920’s. The 1920’s was a prosperous time for America after World War I because after the war, the economy raised people’s hopes of being in the upper class.
Breaking Social Boundaries The era of the 1920s was a pinnacle time in American History and the literature that was produced from this era showcases the social change happening. This was the time of social upheaval where the people were challenging social boundaries. The values that had been sought after in the period before this were becoming less and else prevalent in the new society. There are many viewpoints of this time period so the literature of this time was very diverse and many works showed the changing cultures.
The 1920s were the first years of the new, modern America, with a growing consumer society and new ideas and rules. America saw many changes throughout this decade, including but not limited to social, economic and political changes. Throughout this time, new values were made with the growth of new forms of entertainment and education. After the Progressive Era, the ideas of political figures changed with a new focus on conservative politics and less labor issues. With the new ability for people to buy other products than basic needs, their money went to new inventions, causing new industries to grow.
The jazz age was a cultural period and movement that took place in america during the 1920s from which both new styles of music and dance emerged.the jazz age in the 1920s was marked by the history of jazz, jazz musicians, and jazz instrument . these people,places, and things changed jazz history forever. Older generations considered the music sinful and threatening to their cultural values. Jazz was the soundtrack that displayed the freedom of the roaring twenties. By the late 1920s motion pictures had gone from silent to sound creating another medium for the sale of sheet music had originated in new orleans in the early 1900s and began to spread throughout the country by the late teens.
The United States in the early 1920’s, had different movements in the areas of politics, economics, society, culture, and foreign policy. The 1920s began shortly after World War I. The United States and the Allies defeated the Germans. President Harding died in the middle of his presidency and Vice President Calvin Coolidge took his place. He conveyed the virtues of morality, honesty, and economy to the presidency address.
Fashion in the 1920s The 1920s was a revolutionary decade for women. In the midst of recovering from a war and preparing for the next one, women were having to save resources and take the place of men who were gone. This influenced women’s fashion and started a new way of thinking in the United States. Because of this new change, everyday women’s clothing became more practical and less showy.
American way of life. The popular image of the 1920’s as a care-free, frivolous, even anarchic “Jazz age, is partly colored by the popular image of the American 1920’s when America began to exert a strong influence on British and European popular culture (Popalwski, 2008: 542-543). In fact, that was a decade when the popular culture began to take on its typically modern forms, with the rapid growth in popularity of cinema especially spreading other popular fashion, for instance, clothes, hair, speech and manners, interior decoration and music. There were hedonistic modes of ‘living for the day’, among the middle and leisured classes.
The search for authenticity and meaning on the part of many people throughout the past has been different and similar at the same time for 1920s, 1950s and 1960s decades in American culture. Depending on the point in time and social, political, economic as well as moral, internal factors, the search has culminated in the variety of consequences for generations to come which are still felt and lived through nowadays. Each decade had its own special circumstances which shaped its historical significance and magnitude. To better understand what was behind each decade in question we need to compare and view the decades through the historical, cultural and social lens. 1920s was a complex and ambivalent decade.
The 1920s were a very upbeat, celebratory time for the American people. There were wild parties, bootleggers sneaking alcohol around due to Prohibition, and an elevated sense of materialism. People were enjoying the finer things in life, seemingly going through everyday life without a care in the world. This period of time can be referred to as the Roaring Twenties, as well as the Jazz Age. In The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald displayed both positive and negative aspects of the Jazz Age through several characters, symbols, and events.
