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Roaring Twenties

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Roaring Twenties , colloquial term for the 1920s, especially within the United States and other Western countries where the decade was characterized by economic prosperity, rapid social and cultural change, and a mood of exuberant optimism. The liveliness of the period stands in marked contrast to the historical crises on either side of it: World War I (1914–18) and the Great Depression (1929–c. 1939). The name may have originated as a play on the nautical term roaring forties , referring to latitudes with strong ocean winds.

By the dawn of the 1920s, the second Industrial Revolution had transformed the United States into a global economic power and drawn millions of Americans to cities. With a concurrent rise in immigration, the 1920 U.S. census was the first in which the majority of the population lived in urban areas. Although World War I had strained the country’s finances, the fact that the United States had entered the war late and that the fighting took place overseas helped it secure a more dominant economic position relative to its European allies.

During the 1920s, the American economy continued to accelerate. One reason was the growing electrification of the country. The portion of U.S. households with electricity rose from 12 percent in 1916 to 63 percent in 1927, and its widening use in factories led to increased productivity. Also contributing to the economic boom was the advent of mass-production methods such as the assembly line , which spurred the growth of the automobile industry. The decade saw the number of passenger cars more than triple, which in turn stimulated the expansion of transportation infrastructure and the oil and gas industries. In addition, the overall business sector benefited from the laissez-faire economic policies of U.S. presidents Warren G. Harding (1921–23) and Calvin Coolidge (1923–29). Between 1922 and 1929, the country’s real gross national product increased by nearly 40 percent, and the unemployment rate remained low.

The technological and manufacturing boom ushered in a modern consumer culture . With electricity came a range of new household appliances, such as the refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, and washing machine, and the increased availability of credit made it possible for many Americans to afford them. The growth of the advertising industry and the development of sophisticated marketing techniques also helped create demand for these and other products in an expanding mass-media landscape. Not only was the radio one of the most popular new electric devices, installed in 40 percent of homes by 1930, but the airwaves became an effective advertising medium. As labour-saving technologies created more opportunities for leisure, a plethora of popular entertainment arose from new media. Moviegoing became an American pastime, especially after the emergence of “ talkies .” By the decade’s end, 80 million people flocked to cinemas weekly, with radio and magazines boosting interest in the stars on the screen.

The 1920s also brought about social changes for women in the United States. Women had entered the workforce in significant numbers during World War I, filling jobs that had been vacated by men sent to war and taking new jobs that aided the war effort. Their contributions galvanized support for the suffrage movement, which culminated in the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Many women remained in the workforce after the war, especially as growing industrialization provided greater opportunities. Young women who were employed in cities enjoyed unprecedented economic independence, and the increased use of contraception (the country’s first birth control clinic was opened in 1916) provided sexual freedom as well. Perhaps the most enduring symbol of the Roaring Twenties is that of the flapper , the emancipated “New Woman” who bobbed her hair, wore loose, knee-length dresses, smoked and drank in public, and was more open about sex.

In a rapidly modernizing world, young people guided creative movements that often defied convention. Jazz music, which had developed into an exciting style defined by improvisation and swinging rhythms, became the dominant sound of the new generation. (Its prominence earned the era another nickname, the Jazz Age, popularized by the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald .) The vitality of jazz was part of a broader flourishing of African American art and culture known as the Harlem Renaissance , which was centred in New York City but reverberated far beyond it. Fitzgerald himself was a leading figure of the Lost Generation , a group of writers whose work captured the era’s decadence and spoke to the disillusionment of many who came of age during World War I.

Although postwar economic conditions were less robust in western Europe than in the United States, the social and cultural milieus were similarly dynamic . In France the 1920s were known as “Les Années Folles” (“The Crazy Years”). In Germany’s Weimar Republic , which produced an explosion of intellectual and artistic activity, they were the “Goldene Zwanziger Jahre” (“Golden Twenties”). The British public was scandalized by the exploits of a set of affluent youth dubbed the Bright Young Things. In the art world, Surrealism grew out of the Dada movement that had developed in Zürich during the war, while Art Deco , promoted by a 1925 exposition in Paris , became highly influential in international architecture and design.

Nevertheless, the popular image of the 1920s as a prosperous, progressive, and jubilant era obscures some realities. In the United States, the decade began with the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment , under which the manufacture and sale of alcohol was prohibited. Despite the emergence of bootleggers and speakeasies , and the glamour associated with drinking illegally, the temperance movement did succeed in significantly reducing Americans’ consumption of alcohol. In addition, while the Great Migration provided a path for African Americans to pursue greater economic and educational opportunities, and the influence of African American culture spread, the 1920s also saw a revival of the Ku Klux Klan . Growing anti-foreign sentiment (also espoused by the new Klan) led to the Immigration Act of 1924, which severely restricted the number of immigrants arriving in the United States.

More generally, not all Americans shared in the spoils of the roaring national economy. In the late 1920s, the wealthiest 1 percent received nearly one-quarter of all pretax income, and 60 percent of families earned less than $2,000 a year, a benchmark that economists regarded as “sufficient to supply only basic necessities.” Rural, nonwhite, and immigrant Americans were among the groups less likely to benefit from the boom. Inequality was one of several factors that contributed to the collapse of the economy in 1929, as the stock market crash in October signaled the end of the Roaring Twenties and the start of the Great Depression.

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The Roaring Twenties

By: History.com Editors

Updated: March 28, 2023 | Original: April 14, 2010

The Roaring Twenties was a period in American history of dramatic social, economic and political change. For the first time, more Americans lived in cities than on farms. The nation’s total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, and gross national product (GNP) expanded by 40 percent from 1922 to 1929. This economic engine swept many Americans into an affluent “consumer culture” in which people nationwide saw the same advertisements, bought the same goods, listened to the same music and did the same dances. Many Americans, however, were uncomfortable with this racy urban lifestyle, and the decade of Prohibition brought more conflict than celebration. But for some, the Jazz Age of the 1920s roared loud and long, until the excesses of the Roaring Twenties came crashing down as the economy tanked at the decade’s end.

Flappers: The 'New Woman'

Perhaps the most familiar symbol of the “Roaring Twenties” is probably the flapper : a young woman with bobbed hair and short skirts who drank, smoked and said “unladylike” things, in addition to being more sexually “free” than previous generations. In reality, most young women in the 1920s did none of these things (though many did adopt a fashionable flapper wardrobe ), but even those women who were not flappers gained some unprecedented freedoms.

They could vote at last: The 19th Amendment to the Constitution had guaranteed that right in 1920, though it would be decades before Black women in the South could fully exercise their right to vote without Jim Crow segregation laws.

Millions of women worked in blue-collar jobs, as well as white-collar jobs (as stenographers, for example) and could afford to participate in the burgeoning consumer economy. The increased availability of birth-control devices such as the diaphragm made it possible for women to have fewer children.

In 1912, an estimated 16 percent of American households had electricity; by the mid-1920s, more than 60 percent did. And with this electrification came new machines and technologies like the washing machine, the freezer and the vacuum cleaner eliminated some of the drudgeries of household work.

Did you know? Because the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act did not make it illegal to drink alcohol, only to manufacture and sell it, many people stockpiled liquor before the ban went into effect. Rumor had it that the Yale Club in New York City had a 14-year supply of booze in its basement.

Fashion, Fads and Film Stars

During the 1920s, many Americans had extra money to spend—and spend it they did, on movies, fashion and consumer goods such as ready-to-wear clothing and home appliances like electric refrigerators. In particular, they bought radios.

The first commercial radio station in the United States, Pittsburgh’s KDKA , hit the airwaves in 1920. Two years later Warren G. Harding became the first president to address the nation by radio —and three years later there were more than 500 stations in the nation. By the end of the 1920s, there were radios in more than 12 million households.

People also swarmed to see Hollywood movies: Historians estimate that, by the end of the decades, three-quarters of the American population visited a movie theater every week, and actors like Charlie Chaplin , Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino and Tallulah Bankhead became household names.

But the most important consumer product of the 1920s was the automobile . Low prices (the Ford Model T cost just $260 in 1924) and generous credit made cars affordable luxuries at the beginning of the decade; by the end, they were practically necessities.

By 1929 there was one car on the road for every five Americans. Meanwhile, an economy of automobiles was born: Businesses like service stations and motels sprang up to meet drivers’ needs—as did the burgeoning oil industry .

The Jazz Age

Cars also gave young people the freedom to go where they pleased and do what they wanted. (Some pundits called them “bedrooms on wheels.”) What many young people wanted to do was dance: the Charleston, the cake walk, the black bottom and the flea hop were popular dances of the era.

Jazz bands played at venues like the Savoy and the Cotton Club in New York City and the Aragon in Chicago ; radio stations and phonograph records (100 million of which were sold in 1927 alone) carried their tunes to listeners across the nation. Some older people objected to jazz music’s “vulgarity” and “depravity” (and the “moral disasters” it supposedly inspired), but many in the younger generation loved the freedom they felt on the dance floor.

The novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald chronicled the hedonism and excitement of the Jazz Age—Fitzgerald once claimed that the 1920s were “the most expensive orgy in history”—while other writers, artists, musicians and designers ushered in a new era of experimental Art Deco and modernist creativity.

Prohibition Era

During the 1920s, some freedoms were expanded while others were curtailed. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1919, had banned the manufacture and sale of “intoxicating liquors,” and at 12 a.m. on January 16, 1920, the federal Volstead Act closed every tavern, bar and saloon in the United States. From then on, it was illegal to sell any “intoxication beverages” with more than 0.5 percent alcohol.

This drove the liquor trade underground—now, instead of ordinary bars, people simply went to nominally illegal speakeasies, where liquor was controlled by bootleggers, racketeers and other organized crime figures such as Chicago gangster Al Capone . (Capone reportedly had 1,000 gunmen and half of Chicago’s police force on his payroll.)

To many middle-class white Americans, Prohibition was a way to assert some control over the unruly immigrant masses who crowded the nation’s cities. For instance, to the so-called “Drys,” beer was known as “Kaiser brew.” Drinking was a symbol of all they disliked about the modern city, and eliminating alcohol would, they believed, turn back the clock to an earlier and more comfortable time

Immigration and Racism in the 1920s

Prohibition was not the only source of social tension during the 1920s. An anti- Communist “Red Scare” in 1919 and 1920 encouraged a widespread nativist and anti-immigrant hysteria. This led to the passage of an extremely restrictive immigration law, the National Origins Act of 1924 , which set immigration quotas that excluded some people (Eastern Europeans and Asians) in favor of others (Northern Europeans and people from Great Britain, for example).

Immigrants were hardly the only targets in this decade. The Great Migration of Black Americans from the rural South to Northern cities and the increasing visibility of Black culture—jazz and blues music, for example, and the literary movement known as the Harlem Renaissance —discomfited some white Americans. Millions of people, not just in the South but across the country, joined the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.

By the middle of the decade, the KKK had two million members, many of whom believed the Klan represented a return to all the “values” that the fast-paced, city-slicker Roaring Twenties were trampling. More specifically, the 1920s represented economic and political uplift for Black Americans that threatened the social hierarchy of Jim Crow oppression. 

Early Civil Rights Activism

During this decade, Black Americans sought stable employment, better living conditions and political participation. Many who migrated to the North found jobs in the automobile, steel, shipbuilding and meatpacking industries. But with more work came more exploitation.

In 1925, civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph founded the first predominantly Black labor union , the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters , to draw attention to the discriminatory hiring practices and working conditions for Blacks. And as housing demands increased for Black people in the North, so did discriminatory housing practices that led to a rise of urban ghettos, where Black Americans—excluded from white neighborhoods—were relegated to inadequate, overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions.

Black Americans battled for political and civil rights throughout the Roaring Twenties and beyond. The NAACP launched investigations into Black disenfranchisement in the 1920 presidential election, as well as surges of white mob violence, such as the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.

How Prohibition Fueled the Rise of the Ku Klux Klan

100 years ago, the KKK began terrorizing Catholic immigrants in the name of Prohibition.

Why the Roaring Twenties Left Many Americans Poorer

For some, the Great Depression began in the 1920s.

How Flappers of the Roaring Twenties Redefined Womanhood

Young women with short hairstyles, cigarettes dangling from their painted lips, dancing to a live jazz band, explored new‑found freedoms.

The NAACP also pushed for the passage of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, a law to make lynching a federal crime, but it was defeated by a Senate filibuster in 1922. A political milestone for Black Americans finally occurred when Oscar De Priest , a Chicago Republican , became the first Black congressman since Reconstruction to be elected to the House of Representatives in 1928.

The Roaring Twenties ushered in several demographic shifts, or what one historian called a “cultural Civil War” between city-dwellers and small-town residents, Protestants and Catholics, Blacks and whites, “New Women” and advocates of old-fashioned family values.

But coming immediately after the hardships of World War I and the Spanish flu epidemic , the Roaring Twenties also gave many middle-class Americans an unprecedented taste of freedom, unbridled fun and upward economic mobility unsurpassed in U.S. history.

What Caused the Roaring Twenties? Not the End of a Pandemic (Probably). Smithsonian Magazine . The Roaring Twenties. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History . The Roaring 20s. PBS: American Experience .

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1920s in America: A Decade of Roar and Silence

An essay: the turbulent 1920’s – roaring or snoring.

The 1920s, often dubbed the “ Roaring Twenties ,” was a decade of significant change, progress, and contradiction in American society. The period is frequently visualized through the lens of flapper dancers, jazz music, speakeasies, and economic prosperity. Yet, these lively portrayals must be weighed against the quieter, less flamboyant, yet equally defining elements of the era, which saw the tightening of immigration laws, the rise of nativism, and rural isolationism. Given the diverse and multifaceted nature of the 1920s, the question arises: was this era truly “roaring,” or was it also “snoring” in parts?

Roaring: An Era of Cultural and Economic Exuberance

From the vantage point of popular culture, the 1920s was undeniably roaring. The jazz age brought about a music revolution, with artists like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington defining an entirely new American sound. The Charleston and the shimmy, popular dances of the time, allowed many to express their newfound freedoms in flapper dresses and bobbed haircuts.

Economically, the country was booming. With the end of World War I, the U.S. emerged as a leading global power with a burgeoning economy. The stock market saw unprecedented growth, and many considered this a never-ending ascent to prosperity. The automobile, once a luxury, became commonplace, symbolized by Ford’s Model T. Radios, movies, and household appliances began to shape daily American life, marking the dawn of a consumerist culture.

Snoring: Underlying Tensions and Restrictive Changes

However, beneath the energetic surface of the ’20s, one could hear the steady drone of societal unease. The decade began with the enactment of the 18th Amendment, which ushered in the era of Prohibition. While intended to curb societal ills associated with alcohol, Prohibition paradoxically fostered organized crime, bootlegging, and underground bars called speakeasies.

In the political realm, the Red Scare, or fear of communist influence, led to the Palmer Raids and widespread suspicion of immigrants. The 1924 Immigration Act severely limited the number of newcomers, especially from Southern and Eastern Europe and Asia, reflecting a resurgence in nativist sentiments.

Racial tensions simmered throughout the decade. The Great Migration saw a significant movement of African Americans from the rural South to Northern cities, leading to racial tensions and riots in places like Chicago and Tulsa. The Ku Klux Klan also experienced a revival, not just in the South but across the nation.

In addition, the urban-rural divide widened. While cities thrived, rural areas felt left behind. The Scopes Trial of 1925, which put evolutionary theory on trial, underscored this cultural divide between urban modernists and rural traditionalists.

Conclusion: A Complex Mélange

The 1920s cannot be pinned down as merely roaring or snoring; it was a tumultuous blend of both. The exuberant cultural expressions and economic boom were juxtaposed against profound societal tensions and nativist retreats. The Roaring Twenties was as much about flappers and jazz as it was about the KKK and Prohibition.

To fully understand and appreciate the 1920s, one must acknowledge its dualities. By doing so, we gain insight not only into a unique decade in American history but also into the inherent contradictions that often define human progress. The 1920s serves as a compelling testament to America’s capacity for both dazzling progress and deep introspection.

Class Notes on the Turbulent 20’s – Roaring or Snoring?

The 1920’s were an odd time. On one hand we called it the roaring 20 ’s. America experienced a time of great wealth and new modern ideas. The role of women changed, sports and entertainment stars were celebrated and modern technology changed America’s landscape. On the other hand, however, America remained fiercely conservative and religious. We feared public dissent and rural America attempted to turn back the clock of progress. The reality is that America was a divided nation.

While the US was at war with the Triple Alliance many citizens opposed the war. The government felt that opposition to government policies in time of war threatened our national security. Restrictive laws such as the Espionage and Sedition Acts were passed in order to silence opposition. Many outspoken people were jailed. It was a time of great national crisis and the Constitution was thoroughly tested.

A. What were the Espionage and Sedition Acts? (1917) 1. Persons who commit the following acts may be fined up to $10,000 and/or jailed for up to 20 years: a. willfully cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny or refusal of duty in the military forces . (Espionage Act) b. prohibited disloyal, profane, scurrilous or abusive remarks about the form of government, flag or uniform of the United States. It even prohibited the opposition to the purchase of war bonds. (not investment advice!) (Sedition Act)

B. What was the result of the Espionage Acts during World War I?

1. Eugene V. Debs, arrested and convicted for opposing the war, 10 years. Gained over a million votes in a run for President while he was in prison. 2. Charles Schenck, member of the Socialist Party, sentenced to 15 years for publishing pamphlets urging citizens to refuse to participate in the draft. He called the draft slavery, among other things.

C. How were the Espionage and Sedition Acts challenged?

(Schenck v The United States) 1. Charles Schenck was arrested for violating the Espionage Act, passed by Congress in 1914. The Espionage Act made it illegal to defame the government or do anything that might retard the war effort. Schenck, a member of the Socialist Party, opposed the war and printed and distributed pamphlets urging citizens to oppose the draft which he likened to slavery. Schenck claimed his first amendment rights were violated. 2. The court ruled against Schenck saying that the Espionage Act did not violate the first amendment and that in times of war the government may place reasonable limitations on freedom of speech. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes outlined the courts opinion by explaining that when a “clear and present danger” existed such as shouting fire in a crowded theater, freedom of speech may be limited.

Even though things like the Espionage and Sedition Act occurred the US still became a more modern, faster and wealthier nation.

The 1920’s were a time of great social change characterized by apparent prosperity, new ideas, and personal freedom. Known as the “roaring twenties” America was reacting to the depression of the World War. It was like a giant party. New technology, new ideas and great change. Yet under the surface the same conservative values still flourished. The economic boom of the era was short-lived, but most of the social changes were lasting.

 What were some of the manners and moral changes that occurred?

1. America’s population generally shifted from rural areas to more urban ones.

More than half of the nations population now lived in cities and towns.

2. Urban communities life was now unquestionably lively and stimulating. There were many things to see-museums, art exhibits, plays, athletic events, trade expositions, and the like.

3. New ideas in science were examined and often accepted. Of course this was the case in the cities more so than in the small towns. In small town America most people remained relatively conservative. (See  Scopes Monkey Trial ) People now tended to be judged on their accomplishments rather than on their social background.

As life in the United States began to undergo changes, many felt the gnawing insecurity associated with change. The heroic person who could face the trials of competition or the dangers of the unknown became larger than life. The hero had come up against the strongest adversaries and won. For people living in uncertain times, the hero was proof that a brave and strong-willed man or woman could win out over fears of the unknown or the impossible.

What qualities seem to have been idolized in the 1920’s?

1. Writers Speak for the twenties

A. F. Scott Fitzgerald published  This Side Of Paradise and The Great Gatsby. He won instant acclaim as the spokesman for the twenties generation. In these novels and others, he described the confusion and tragedy caused by a frantic search for material success. B. Ernest Hemingway expressed disgust with prewar codes of behavior and the glorification of war. He also developed a clear, straightforward prose that set a new, tough, “hard-boiled” literary style

2. Sport Heroes

A. Babe Ruth – Perhaps the greatest baseball player who ever lived. He led the Yankees to seven world series and his record for Home Runs (Total and in a season – 60) stood for years. Ruth was a media icon and fan favorite. B. Harold Edward “Red” Grange – College football hero, this running back drew tens of thousands to watch him play and helped popularize college football. C. Jack Dempsey – One of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. Lost a dramatic title match to Gene Tunney. D. Bill Tilden and Helen Wills –Tennis champions who epitomized grace and poise. These star athletes helped popularize the sport of tennis. E. Johnny Weismuller – Olympic gold medal winning swimmer who later starred in Hollywood as Tarzan Lord of the Jungle.

3. Other important Heroes

A. Charles A. Lindbergh –He flew a nonstop flight from New York to Paris in thirty-three and a half hours. He was the man who epitomized heroism in the twenties. Lindbergh became a world and national hero who characterized courage and doing the impossible. B. Louis Armstrong –a trumpeter who played the first jazz heard north of Mason-Dixon line. C. W. E. B. Du Bois –founder of the NAACP and worked hard to improve the lives of blacks in America.

How Did the Role of Women Change in the 1920’s?

During World War 1, women served their country in almost every possible capacity. They took jobs in steel foundries, chemical plants, and munitions factories. Many went overseas as nurses in the newly created Army Corps of Nurses. Their experiences away from home and traditional women’s work gave them a strong moral argument for the right to vote. The many tactics of the women and the shameful way they were treated finally forced Congress to deal with the issue. President Wilson, finally declared himself in favor of woman suffrage and the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on August 26 th 1920.

Many women’s styles changed as well. The popular hair style of the time was for women’s hair to be cut short into a bob. These modern women were known as “flappers.”

Between 1910 and 1930 the proportion of women in the labor force remained at about 20 percent. However, there was a notable change in the kinds of work that some women did. The number of female cooks, dress makers, household servants, and farm hands dropped. The number of women doctors, bankers, lawyers, police and probation officer, social workers, and hairdressers rose.

For all the changes in status during the twenties, it was still generally accepted-even by most women-that “woman’s place is in the home.” Men should earn more than women, it was thought, because usually they supported wives and children. Women workers generally were single. In some states, women teachers who married lost their jobs.

SCOPES MONKEY TRIAL

he 1920’s was not all “roaring” as we shall see. There were many, especially those in power who preached conservatism and moderation. America turned towards the right, we were a religious god fearing nation. This religious traditionalism brought about serious constitutional questions, ones that have yet to fully answered.

The Scopes Monkey Trial   – 1925 – In 1925 in Dayton Tennessee a group of teachers decided to test a law called the Butler Law. The Butler law made it illegal to teach the theory of evolution and instead mandated the biblical interpretation of creationism. The teachers felt that academic freedom and integrity as well as separation of church and state was at stake. Twenty four year old science teacher and football coach John T. Scopes would teach the class. Knowing he would be arrested Scopes taught the class and set into motion one of the most important trials in American history.

Scopes was arrested, as expected, for violating the Butler Law. At the ensuing trial William Jennings Bryan (Yes, the Populist guy!) acted as special prosecutor. World famous criminal defense lawyer Clarence Darrow defended Scopes. The trial raged on for days. The judge did not allow any of Darrow’s scientists to testify and public sentiment in the Bible Belt was against Scopes. Bryan portrayed Darrow as an agnostic and atheist. In desperation Darrow put Bryan himself on the stand. Darrow brilliantly was able to get Bryan to admit that the word of the bible is not literal, it was interpreted. This seemed to destroy the whole case. Darrow asked for immediate judgment and when the jury came back Darrow was shocked…he had lost! The judge levied the minimum fine possible ($100) against Scopes. Later that year the Scopes conviction was overturned on a technicality.

What did all this prove? Well for one it showed the religious and conservative nature of America. It also displayed the vast differences between the big cities and the small towns. The big city newspapers covering the trial scoffed at the Butler Law as small minded and archaic. In the cities Scopes was a hero but in Dayton Tennessee he was a criminal.

America was left with many questions. Were we to be a modern nation, the nation of Lindbergh and the roaring twenties or were we to be the nation of religious right wing conservatives? Only time would tell.

US History: Resources by Decade: 1920s

1920s: resources from database u.s. history in context (gale).

• U.S. History in Context (Gale): 1920s This link contains a variety of content (e.g. an overview, academic journals, primary sources, images, references) on the 1920s.

Barnett, Thomas P. (American architect, 1870-1929), Role: painter. (Work: 1922, Era: CE, Image Date: 1989). Riches of the Mines, detail view. [mural paintings (visual works)].  https://library.artstor.org/public/SS7732236_7732236_12897144

Ebooks and Print Books: USA in 1920s

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The Roaring 1920s Research Paper

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Introduction

The icons of the roaring twenties, the mob in the united states, stock market crash of 1929, reference list.

The roaring 1920’s describes a period in the American history after World War I distinguished by significant socio-cultural changes, organized crimes and the great economic depression. Fashion entered the modern era with the trendy flipper fashion making a significant impression.

The film and music industry underwent a transformation with the introduction of sound featured films. The dance clubs gained popularity during this epoch often christened ‘the Jazz age.’ The 1920s period was marked with breaking away from traditions caused by the introduction of new fashion and dance.

At the same time, the 1920s era was marked by rise in the level of organized crime including the Mob who had much influence in the American society and government coupled with speculative investment that led to decline in stock prices causing a major economic depression.

The 1920s epoch was characterized by a flourishing nightlife in cities such as Chicago with many nightlife establishments hosting popular dance bands, dancing contests and life radiobroadcasts for the audience (Kyvig 2001, 234).

However, social evils such as prostitution and gambling flourished at the same time leading to prohibitive drinking laws in major cities. Dancing boomed in the 1920s with many social and ethnic groups attending nightly recreational dance halls popularly known as cabarets. The cabarets were influential to the majority of fashionable middle class.

The nightclubs combined fashionable jazz music, public dance halls that hosted dancing competitions, and beer gardens for drinking. The nightlife flourished despite prohibition from the council authorities regulating drinking. Prostitution and gambling arose with the active nightlife

The entertainment industry including the film industry flourished in the 1920’s with a rise of music stars and motion picture production (O’Neal 2005, 58). The film industry’s relocation to Los Angeles facilitated the rise of Hollywood movie stars who lived luxurious lifestyles and had a lot of fanatical support.

This marked the Golden era of Hollywood. Silent films were predominant in the early twenties but all this changed in 1927 with the introduction of the jazz singer, Al Jolsen. Before then, stars of silent films like Greta Garbo and Charlie Chaplin were the only brilliant entertainers of the early 1920s.

Buster Keaton is another comedian star of the silent films before the invention of the talkies that transformed the film industry. The genres of the films included war, romance, biblical stories performed by Cecil Demille and silent comedies.

The fashion of the 1920s was marked by the introduction of the flipper fashions, new hairstyles that were a breakaway from the traditional past and the jazz music. The flapper fashion and hairstyles faced resistance from older generation up to 1925 when the new fashion was embraced contributing to significant transformation of the 1920s. The flapper dresses were short, unlike the traditional long Victoria-like dresses. The flappers also wore stockings and makeup unlike the traditional mode of dressing.

The 1920s saw the rise of organized criminal gangs in the American Society. ‘The American Mafia’, also called the ‘Mob’ arose with the aim of offering protection to the immigrant community without the involvement of the police or local authorities (Dickie 2004, 125).

The 1920s National prohibition to regulate drinking gave rise to organized gangs with national and international connections. Enforcement of the prohibition legislation faced opposition from notorious gangs such as the Al Capone’s mob of Chicago. The efforts to stop drug smuggling were deterred by organized smugglers with support from corrupt government officials and other international gangs.

The roaring 1920s decade was a period of wealth and economic prosperity especially in the manufacturing industry; for instance, “the automobile output increased exponentially between 1925 and 1929 period” (Henretta and Brody 2010, 67).

Business earnings also increased sharply during this period and the middle-class became wealthier investing in residential homes especially in Florida. However, towards the end of this decade, “a slump in share prices in New York Stock Exchange led to a major financial crisis that halted the flourishing economy” (Lange 2007, 81).

This crash is the infamous 1929 ‘Great Depression’ which led to business uncertainty affecting job security of American workers. Because of decline in stock prices, many investors faced financial difficulties that led to shut down of many businesses and resultant mass unemployment. This affected all industries including the then booming film industry.

New economic policies developed by the new administration helped to overcome the effects of the great depression. The economic recovery programs; known as the New Deal, allowed the federal government participation in social and economic projects of the citizens.

The New Deal led to the establishment of democratic governance that enhanced support for individual and community rights for all citizens. Before the 1929 stock market slump, the stock prices were rising which attracted huge investments. However, speculations over instability of the stock market led to panic selling of the shares causing the prices to go down.

The decade of 1920s was an era of break away from traditional lifestyles into modernity. Introduction of trendy fashions like flappers, jazz music and musical bands were popular in this era. The film industry underwent a major transformation with the relocation of the movie industry to Hollywood and the innovation of ‘talkies’ in sound films.

However, the roaring era faced threats from organized criminal gangs like the Mafia that increased insecurity in cities. In addition, the stock market slumping of 1929 affected the flourishing investment industry affecting the lives of many Americans.

Dickie, John. 2004. Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia . New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Henretta, James, and Brody, David. 2010. America: A Concise History, Volume ll: Since1877 . Fourth Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Kyvig, David E. 2001. Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1939: Decades of Promise & Pain . Westport: Greenwood Press.

Lange, Brenda. 2007. Milestones in American History: Stock Market Crash of 1929: The End of Prosperity. London: Chelsea House.

O’Neal, Michael J. 2005. America in the 1920s. London: Chelsea House.

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IvyPanda . (2018) 'The Roaring 1920s'. 10 September.

IvyPanda . 2018. "The Roaring 1920s." September 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-roaring-1920s/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Roaring 1920s." September 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-roaring-1920s/.

Bibliography

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The Culture of the 1920s in America

This essay about 1920s culture examines the transformative period known as the “Roaring Twenties,” a decade marked by vibrant cultural expression and significant societal shifts in America. It highlights the rise of jazz music, which became the era’s defining soundtrack and influenced social dance culture with styles like the Charleston and the Lindy Hop. The essay also discusses the emergence of the “flapper,” a new woman’s identity that symbolized the decade’s break from traditional gender norms and embraced personal freedom. Additionally, it explores the impact of Prohibition, which, although intended to curb alcohol consumption, ironically fostered an underground liquor trade and speakeasies, fueling organized crime and a culture of defiance. Finally, the expansion of mass entertainment is addressed, with the growth of Hollywood, the advent of talkies, and the widespread popularity of radio, which linked the nation in a shared cultural experience. The 1920s was a period of rebellion, liberation, and innovation that profoundly influenced the cultural landscape of America.

How it works

The 1920s, often denoted as the “Roaring Twenties,” constituted a decade of profound cultural, social, and political upheaval that redefined American society. It heralded an era distinguished by exuberant cultural expression, seismic shifts in societal norms, and a palpable liberation from the constraints of yesteryears. This exposition delves into the cultural tapestry of the 1920s, accentuating its defining attributes, including the sway of jazz music, the emergence of a novel feminine archetype, the ramifications of Prohibition, and the burgeoning realm of mass entertainment.

Foremost among the influential facets of 1920s culture was the ascension of jazz music, serving as the quintessential melody of the era. Rooted in the crucibles of African American communities in the Southern regions, jazz swiftly proliferated to the urban epicenters of the North, notably Chicago and New York City. Eminent luminaries such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington attained iconic status, their musical compositions emblematic of the epoch’s departure from convention and its embrace of novelty and spontaneity. Jazz not only revolutionized the American musical landscape but also left an indelible imprint on the social dance milieu, catalyzing the vogue of dance styles such as the Charleston, the Lindy Hop, and the Foxtrot.

The 1920s also bore witness to a seismic metamorphosis in the role and perception of women in society, personified by the archetype of the “flapper.” Flappers, emblematic of youthful femininity, adorned themselves in abbreviated hemlines and sported bobbed hairstyles, overtly challenging traditional gender mores through their indulgence in vices like imbibing alcohol, smoking, and partaking in activities traditionally associated with masculinity. This emergent feminine paradigm transcended the shackles of societal norms, embodying a fervent pursuit of autonomy and personal actualization. The flapper burgeoned into an emblem of the era’s newfound liberties and shifting paradigms concerning femininity and sexual agency.

Prohibition, a nationwide constitutional proscription on the production, importation, transportation, and retail of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933, wielded a substantial influence on the cultural milieu of the 1920s. While ostensibly designed to curtail alcohol consumption, Prohibition inadvertently engendered a burgeoning clandestine liquor trade and the proliferation of speakeasies—covert drinking establishments where libations flowed freely. This epoch engendered not only the ascendance of organized criminal enterprises but also incubated a culture of defiance against federal mandates. Prohibition engendered a schism within American society, accentuating the schism between conservative rural enclaves and their more liberal urban counterparts.

Lastly, the 1920s emerged as a veritable heyday for mass amusement, particularly with the burgeoning prominence of Hollywood and the cinematic industry. The advent of “talkies,” motion pictures endowed with synchronized sound, heralded a revolution in cinematography, propelling luminaries such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to cinematic stardom. The decade also witnessed the nascent inception of animations, epitomized by the debut of Walt Disney’s iconic character, Mickey Mouse, in 1928. Concurrently, the radio ascended as an indispensable facet of American domesticity; households congregated around the wireless apparatus to partake in news bulletins, dramatic recitals, comedic showcases, and live musical performances, forging communal bonds through a shared cultural milieu.

In summation, the cultural milieu of the 1920s was characterized by an amalgam of rebellion, emancipation, and innovation. From the jazz-infused melodies reverberating through music halls to the audacious declarations of the flapper cohort, and from the clandestine speakeasies that flouted Prohibition to the silver screens that gave voice to silent narratives, the Roaring Twenties unfolded as an epoch of metamorphosis that not only captivated America but also catalyzed and transformed it irrevocably. The epoch’s cultural metamorphoses mirrored broader societal transformations in the American fabric, many of which endure as enduring legacies shaping the contours of contemporary America.

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Available to teachers only as part of the teaching the roaring twentiesteacher pass, teaching the roaring twenties teacher pass includes:.

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Politics lens.

• Why did the Republican Party dominate national politics during the decade?
• What was attractive about "normalcy"?
• What was wrong with the Democrats?
• What lesson might political parties learn from their dysfunction?
• Why do political parties periodically find it difficult to avoid this sort of internal division?
• What statistics support these conclusions?
• Must “pro-business” policies always lead to these sorts of divergent results (economic growth, maldistribution of income)? Why or why not?
• Was it the fault of Harding or of his pro-business policies? Explain.

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A Century of Reading: The 10 Books That Defined the 1920s

Part three of your new favorite series.

Some books are flashes in the pan, read for entertainment and then left on a bus seat for the next lucky person to pick up and enjoy, forgotten by most after their season has passed. Others stick around, are read and re-read, are taught and discussed. sometimes due to great artistry, sometimes due to luck, and sometimes because they manage to recognize and capture some element of the culture of the time.

In the moment, you often can’t tell which books are which.  The Great Gatsby  wasn’t a bestseller upon its release, but we now see it as emblematic of a certain American sensibility in the 1920s. Of course, hindsight can also distort the senses; the canon looms and obscures. Still, over the next weeks, we’ll be publishing a list a day, each one attempting to define a discrete decade, starting with the 1900s (as you’ve no doubt guessed by now) and counting down until we get to the (nearly complete) 2010s.

Though the books on these lists need not be American in origin, I am looking for books that evoke some aspect of American life, actual or intellectual, in each decade—a global lens would require a much longer list. And of course, varied and complex as it is, there’s no list that could truly define American life over ten or any number of years, so I do not make any claim on exhaustiveness. I’ve simply selected books that, if read together, would give a fair picture of the landscape of literary culture for that decade—both as it was and as it is remembered. Finally, two process notes: I’ve limited myself to one book for author over the entire 12-part list, so you may see certain works skipped over in favor of others, even if both are important (for instance, I ignored  Dubliners  yesterday so I could include Ulysses  today), and in the case of translated work, I’ll be using the date of the English translation, for obvious reasons.

For our third installment, below you’ll find 10 books that defined the third decade of the 1900s—a decade that, as you may notice, the literary world is still particularly obsessed with.

Christie’s first published novel—and the first to feature her mega-famous creation Hercule Poirot—was released to wide acclaim (somewhat surprised acclaim, considering it was a first novel by an unknown) in 1920, helping to usher in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, not to mention the enduring love affair that millions of fans would have with Christie’s work. According to the flap copy of the first edition, Christie wrote it after accepting a bet—that she couldn’t write a mystery novel in which the reader could spot the murderer before the detective. Everyone agrees that she won. Now she’s one of the best selling, widely translated, and most influential novelists of all time—but it all started here.

Eliot’s masterpiece is widely considered to be one of the most important works of Modernist literature, not to mention 20th-century literature in general. The book-length poem, which Louis Menand describes as “a collage of allusion, quotation, echo, appropriation, pastiche, imitation, and ventriloquism,” but also “a report on the condition of postwar Europe,” didn’t sell particularly well (330 copies in the first six months), but the Cambridge academics seized upon it, and with Eliot’s other works, used it as the basis for creating the modern English department.

If we’re counting by literary influence, Ulysses  was biggest book of the 20s by far—the most important Modernist text and certainly one of the most important novels ever written. “ Ulysses ,” T. S. Eliot told Virginia Woolf , “destroyed the whole of the 19th century. It left Joyce himself with nothing to write another book on. It showed up the futility of all the English styles.” For her part, Woolf wasn’t always convinced, but did sing its praises in her essay “ Modern Fiction ,” calling it “undeniably important . . . The scene in the cemetery, for instance, with its brilliancy, its sordidity, its incoherence, its sudden lightning flashes of significance, does undoubtedly come so close to the quick of the mind that, on a first reading at any rate, it is difficult not to acclaim a masterpiece. If we want life itself, here surely we have it.”

If any book could challenge  Ulysses  for the top spot in literary history, it’s Proust’s seven-volume masterpiece about memory,  In Search of Lost Time , the first book of which was translated by C. K. Scott Moncrieff and published in English for the first time in 1922. In fact, in 2013 Edmund White called it “the most respected novel of the 20th century,” and noted that “in the last 30 years Proust has superseded Joyce.” Either way, like  Ulysses , it is a widely influential, much-discussed, probably under-read, classic exemplar of the decade in literature, a text that reverberates through to much of our art today.

Yet another Modernist masterpiece for this list, this one also a significant text of the Harlem Renaissance, notable for its experimental style, which blends poetry, prose, and drama to illuminate the lives of African Americans living under Jim Crow. Though it received positive—if sometimes baffled—reviews from contemporary critics, the book did not find widespread success in the decade of its publication. “The Negro artist works against an undertow of sharp criticism and misunderstanding from his own group and unintentional bribes from the whites,” wrote Langston Hughes in his 1926 essay “ The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain .”

“Oh, be respectable, write about nice people, show how good we are,” say the Negroes. “Be stereotyped, don’t go too far, don’t shatter our illusions about you, don’t amuse us too seriously. We will pay you,” say the whites. Both would have told Jean Toomer not to write Cane . The colored people did not praise it. The white people did not buy it. Most of the colored people who did read Cane hate it. They are afraid of it. Although the critics gave it good reviews the public remained indifferent. Yet (excepting the work of Du Bois) Cane contains the finest prose written by a Negro in America. And like the singing of Robeson, it is truly racial.

Now it’s considered one of the most important books of the Harlem Renaissance, and a Modernist classic, particularly notable for its formal flexibility and enduring influence on later works.

Given its enduring cultural relevance, it’s impossible to ignore this Great American Novel, and its influence on the way we imagine the 1920s in this country, despite the fact that in the actual 1920s, it wasn’t considered so great. Sure, readers loved This Side of Paradise  and  The Beautiful and the Damned , but  The Great Gatsby  represented something of a fall from grace. “Fitzgerald’s Latest A Dud” read the headline of a review in the  New York World . Other reviewers were less critical but unenthusiastic, and by the time Fitzgerald died in 1940, the book had sold fewer than 25,000 copies. Now it sells 500,000 copies a year, if mostly to disgruntled students. It was WWII that rescued Gatsby from obscurity. The US government developed a program to send cheap paperback books to soldiers, and of the 1,227 titles chosen, one of them was The Great Gatsby . The program was wildly popular— by some estimates more than a million soldiers read the novel—and Fitzgerald’s reputation soared. It hasn’t slowed down yet.

You could argue (or at least I would) that  To the Lighthouse  (1927) is the more formally exciting—and even the better—book, that Orlando  (1928) is decidedly more fun, and that  A Room of One’s Own (1929) is the most widely and continually influential (or at least glibly quoted) but I think it’s safe to say that  Mrs. Dalloway  is the most loved. At least, that’s my read after surveying the Literary Hub office, the internet, and the members of my own personal family. It was also very well regarded in its time—in a contemporary review in the New York Times , John W. Crawford wrote:

Among Mrs. Woolf’s contemporaries, there are not a few who have brought to the traditional forms of fiction, and the stated modes of writing, idioms which cannot but enlarge the resources of speech and the uses of narrative. Virginia Woolf is almost alone, however, in the intricate yet clear art of her composition. . . . Clarissa is . . . conceived so brilliantly, dimensioned so thoroughly and documented so absolutely that her type, in the words of Constantin Stanislavsky, might be said to have been done ”inviolably and for all time.”

Despite all the competition, Mrs. Dalloway  is a standout work in a standout career, a hallmark of the Modernist movement, and a splendid, wrenching, subtle psychological novel, beloved in its day and beloved now.

The title poem of Langston Hughes’ first collection is still one of his most famous, weaving language and jazz together as in all the best of his work, and he’s probably the most important figure of the Harlem Renaissance. “It’s the poems that speak of being “Black like me”— black  still being fighting words in some quarters—that prove especially moving,” wrote Kevin Young in an introduction to a 2014 edition of the book.

Hughes manages remarkably to take Whitman’s American “I” and write himself into it. After labeling the final section “Our Land,” the volume ends with one of the more memorable lines of the century, almost an anthem: “I, too, am America.”

Offering up a series of “Dream Variations,” as one section is called, Hughes, it becomes clear, is celebrating, critiquing, and completing the American dream, that desire for equality or at least opportunity. But his America takes in the Americas—including Mexico, where his estranged father moved to flee the color line of the United States—and even the West Coast of Africa, which he’d also visited. His well-paced poetry is laced with an impeccable exile.

A groundbreaking collection from an iconic American artist.

Hemingway’s outsize influence and literary fame began with the publication of  The Sun Also Rises , his first proper novel, and hasn’t abated much in the 90 years since. “No amount of analysis can convey the quality of The Sun Also Rises ,” the New York Times purred in the year of its release.

It is a truly gripping story, told in a lean, hard, athletic narrative prose that puts more literary English to shame. Mr. Hemingway knows how not only to make words be specific but how to arrange a collection of words which shall betray a great deal more than is to be found in the individual parts. It is magnificent writing, filled with that organic action which gives a compelling picture of character. This novel is unquestionably one of the events of an unusually rich year in literature.

In the years after, some writers would diligently copy his sparse, “athletic” prose, and others would fly descriptively in the opposite direction, but almost everyone would develop an opinion on him, and at least some degree of knowledge of him. He’s still, decades after his death, as beloved a literary celebrity as he was during his lifetime.

We’ll round out this gutting (for me—I’ve had to cut so many!) list of literary giants with everyone’s least favorite postman , whose stream-of-consciousness masterpiece is one of the most difficult, important, complex, and lionized works of American literature—our best, not-so-humble contribution to the High Modernist era. Faulkner won the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature for “his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.”

See also:  D. H. Lawrence, Women in Love (1920), Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence (1920), F. Scott Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise (1920), Sinclair Lewis, Main Street (1920), Albert Einstein, The Meaning of Relativity (1922), Emily Post, Etiquette (1922), F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and the Damned (1922), Katherine Mansfield, The Garden Party (1922), Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit (1922), William Carlos Williams, Spring and All (1923), Carrie Chapman Catt and Nettie Rogers Shuler, Woman Suffrage and Politics: The Inner Story of the Suffrage Movement (1923), Robert Frost, New Hampshire (1923), Emma Goldman, My Disillusionment with Russia (1924), Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain (1924), E. M. Forster,  A Passage to India (1924), Herman Melville, Billy Budd, Sailor (1924), Theodore Dreiser, An American Tragedy (1925), Alain Locke, ed., The New Negro (1925), Anita Loos, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1925), A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), Thornton Wilder, Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927), Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927), Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse (1927), Virginia Woolf, Orlando  (1928), Aldous Huxley, Point Counter Point (1928), Evelyn Waugh, Decline and Fall (1928), Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest (1929), Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own (1929), Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel (1929), Henry Green, Living (1929), Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms (1929),  Erich Maria Remarque,  All Quiet on the Western Front (1929), Nella Larsen, Passing (1929), etc.

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Cultural transformations of the 1920s

When did the cultural transformations of the 1920s actually start, and how did they affect undergraduate women at berkeley, the 1920s are famously the era when victorian sexual attitudes were finally declared moribund. early in the decade, movies, novels, and newspapers showcased young women defying nineteenth-century standards of behavior. though many were no doubt exaggerated, such sensational pictures of the habits of “jazz-age” youth did register an actual cultural rift between the generations. the gulf had been widening since the late 1910s but was still news in 1920 because the crises of war and influenza pandemic had deflected the nation’s attention. when those emergencies ended, though, it became apparent that young women and men were interacting in new ways. they mixed more easily and unrestrictedly than past generations had. they were going out on dates unchaperoned, dancing to jazz music, smoking cigarettes together, forming intimate emotional bonds, and even engaging in the limited form of sexual experimentation known as “petting”. none of this conduct would have been respectable in their parents’ generation, so its rise seemed to indicate a sudden revolution in gender relations. , college students, according to historian paula fass, not only followed the new trends but also invented them (fass, 1977, 261-290). it was primarily university students in the decade following wwi, she argues, who created the first youth-oriented peer culture, which would dominate campus life for decades, become common to young people throughout society, and fundamentally reorganize gender relations. the alterations, moreover, were especially noticeable at large and expanding coeducational public universities, like uc berkeley (fass, 129-159; horowitz, 193-219)., to get a better idea of how the transformation came about locally, this essay will look first at the crucial events leading up to 1920s, exploring how the war years accelerated changes in gender relations at berkeley. the second part of the essay will ask to what extent berkeley’s undergraduate women participated in and benefited from the 1920s peer culture.  , how did wartime conditions accelerate gender change on campus, the combined crises of wwi and the 1918-19 flu epidemic catalyzed the changes in gender relations. superficially it may be hard to see how those hazardous and somber events are connected to the atmosphere of youthful self-indulgence that followed. the crises, after all, called for collective self-sacrifice and unstinting service from the students. a closer look at campus life in 1917-19 can perhaps give us a better understanding of how the disruptions in university routines relaxed and sometimes suspended the previous rules of engagement between men and women., first, we must keep in mind that the university in those years was overrun by servicemen. in total nearly 1,000 male students volunteered or were drafted, and yet there were soon more men on campus than ever before, both as students and as military men. the grounds, buildings, and equipment had been placed at the disposal of the war department, which put up numerous barracks and converted playing fields into training grounds. there were men in every kind of uniform, for the campus contained an army training center, a naval unit, and an ambulance corps, to say nothing of the reserve officers training corps (rotc), established in 1916, which absorbed the university’s earlier cadet corps. the largest wartime program, the school of military aeronautics (in above picture), gave pre-flight training to over 2,000 pilots, with a peak enrollment of 1,500. another 1,900 men came to berkeley through the student army training center. hence, despite an initial drop in male enrollments, the gender balance on campus itself was heavily tipped toward the masculine. moreover, we should keep in mind that thousands of other college-age men were stationed or training in the san francisco bay area, which added to the temporary demographic imbalance.  , second, in addition to being constantly surrounded by military men, the women students were energetically recruited into the university’s war effort; it was seen as a way to give them both new career goals and service opportunities. the university went so far as to divert the curriculum itself into wartime channels.  dean of women lucy stebbins’s exhaustive description of the university’s war-related initiatives designed specifically for women stresses an array of new programs and courses: a curriculum for nurses; a course in “first aid and home care of the sick” to free the trained nurses in every community . . . for the critical needs of war time”; home economics courses that “(1) inform all college women of the food problems created by the war, (2) train women in food conservation and the use of substitutes in the household, and (3) and equip specially qualified women to become community leaders in food conservation”. over a thousand undergraduate women registered for the new courses in the first semester, and as the war went on, they became an obligatory part of every woman’s course list. in addition, the university offered to “refocus” women’s college work through “short intensive training . . . in the special application of their previous education and experience” to war work:.

“Women who have been trained in physical education may become reconstruction aides ... Those trained in manual arts and design may become teachers of occupational therapy and assist in the first stages of the reeducation of the wounded man for work. Women trained in scientific work may become laboratory technicians. Others with fundamental training in agriculture may become leaders of groups of women working on farms or in orchards and assist in meeting the shortage of farm labor.”  ( Annual Report , 1918, 186).

The women’s extracurriculum came in for equally radical changes. The “extracurriculum” is what historian Helen Horowitz calls the complex of student government, sports, and other organized social, cultural, and philanthropic activities that occupied students' time outside of the classroom (Horowitz,  passim ). At Berkeley, the extracurriculum was, moreover, the arena in which women had made noticeable progress in the 1910s by building an elaborate complex of women-only organizations and activities. Their efforts had the enthusiastic support and encouragement of the university president, Benjamin Ide Wheeler, who sought to harness student activities to his interconnected goals of self-government, character-building, and public service. He had intertwined the women’s undertakings especially with a continual round of fund-raising for various campus projects. When the war started, the women’s activities were turned almost exclusively in patriotic directions. They were expected to volunteer in the local campaign for food conservation, raise funds for War Relief and ambulance teams, and plant vegetable gardens. As the Dean of Women reported, “In the work rooms in Hearst Hall, knitted garments, hospital garments, children’s clothing and surgical dressings were made by the students under the supervision of faculty women who have given generously of their time” ( Annual Report , 1918, 187). Students were also encouraged to volunteer at the Berkeley Chapter of the American Red Cross to learn nursing skills. In many ways the war-course work and the extracurricular activities overlapped.

Some women apparently felt emboldened enough by their “war work” to use it in protesting against campus symbols of male privilege, such as the senior men’s bench at the southeast corner of south hall. even though the bench had lost its strategic placement when wheeler hall opened in 1917, a group of women dared to sit on it and knit garments for war relief in 1918 while another group invaded the men-only campus lunch counter (gordon, 81). the men, however, swiftly took back their territorial symbols, which the changing shape of the campus in the 1920s would soon render irrelevant., most changes in those years would come about in less confrontational ways, through the adoption of different modes of socializing with members of the opposite sex. universities provide three levels of interaction among students: the curricular, the semi-official extracurricular, and a third social level: “the basic friendship, living, and dating associations that consumed the largest part of the leisure time of . . . students” (fass, 1977, 133). in 1917-19 at berkeley, this social level, too, was dominated by the war. we are lucky to have an unusually vivid and personal account of how the military atmosphere affected the social lives of women students. in weekly letters, agnes edwards, a freshman in 1917, described the details of her new berkeley life to her parents on the family farm in the imperial valley. agnes edwards was far from an average undergraduate; she insisted on grasping every opportunity the university offered, whether financial, scholastic, recreational, or social. her atypical ambition allows her letters to reveal a set of interconnected changes that the war made in women’s college life. we learn about her struggles to support herself while keeping her grades at competitive scholarship levels and about her career ambitions. most importantly for our purposes here, though, she constantly reports on an endless stream of social engagements with young men—mainly cousins and relatives of hometown neighbors—already connected to her family. just weeks into her college life, the parental networks had put her in touch with numerous young men from all parts of the west coast who were stationed in the san francisco bay area. entertaining them is clearly the part of familial social obligations she enjoys most:.

I sent Mrs. Swain a card & she wrote right away saying Russell Graham [her nephew] was here in Berkeley at the School of Aeronautics, & gave me his address. Also gave me Frank’s address [Kittie’s son]—he was held over to the 2 nd  camp. I wrote both of them notes, & Russell came up last night to see me. He will only be here one week more, then has a week’s leave [and] . . . will come back here to wait for orders. He is very nice indeed—doesn’t act much like a lawyer. I’m going to the movies with him tonight—it’s Sunday too—& then some night next week we are going down to a big hotel for dinner. Gee—I’m afraid I won’t know what to do. Garrett is coming up here . . . soon, & Gerald may come later in the winter. A regular epidemic of cousins. Frank Swain is coming the first chance he gets ... (Edwards Partin, 18).

In addition to the familial alibi, the wartime call to support the troops also kept her social calendar crowded and relaxed some of the usual rules governing the relations between young women and men. When cousin Russell arrives to take her to San Francisco for their movie date, Agnes and her landlady agree that cousins do not need chaperones and that Agnes is an unusually mature girl anyway(19). After longer acquaintance with the aviators (this picture shows her with one), she admits that some of them are “regular flirts”, but they nevertheless get a pass:

“I think they’re rather spoiled because everyone entertains them so much. There are dances every week & they’re in on all the college affairs”. 

The abundance of men in uniform even prompts Agnes to adopt a tone of superior depreciation toward mere college boys: “Yes we had a peach of a time when the aviators were over. The fellows were very nice & the  swellest  dancers. Best time I’ve had for ages, because they were all so wide awake & are  real  men. These college fellows mostly act bored to death all the time” (p. 80).

Between trips to the presidio for dances at the army officers’ training camp and boat rides to “goat island” (yerba buena), where the naval officers trained, agnes debated which “war courses” to take, tried to find time to knit socks for the cousins once they move to other bases, made and boxed up candy for them. and she reports on all kinds of university events—charter day, graduation, pep rallies, football games—that invariably turn into war rallies. the war reorganized university routines for women in ways that wove the previously separate strands of academic, extracurricular, and social life into a more uniform pattern, with patriotic sentiment at its center. agnes’s letters let us see just how deeply wartime university life immersed women students in collective experiences that allowed for relatively unconstrained association and close emotional ties with members of the opposite sex., in the midst of this hyper-charged swirl of activity, in october of 1918, the flu epidemic arrived on campus, putting a near stop to the already diverted campus routines. the flu was first brought by aviators barracked on campus. the women students’ activities were consequently redirected yet again; they were pressed into service as nurses and makers of the gauze masks that all citizens were required to wear. according to the  university chronicle  for january 1919, over 1,000 students made masks in their spare time. the crisis, though, also required the services of hundreds of women volunteers doing more perilous work, for over 1,400 students and servicemen living on and around campus eventually needed treatment for the flu. the size and rapidity of the onslaught immediately overwhelmed the small infirmary, which had approximately fifty beds. several of the larger barracks and the gymnasium were quickly converted into hospitals, but only for men. “to have men living in crowded boarding houses, fraternities and clubs at this time when infection was everywhere, was out of the question,” dr. legge, the university infirmary’s director, explained in his annual report for 1919., and yet, his report went on to admit, the sick women students were simply left in their overcrowded housing. many of them were recruited to care for the sick, but when they themselves fell ill, the university’s very few beds were already full:.

"During the period of the epidemic the women students were inadequately provided for, as but a limited section of the Infirmary could be reserved for their use. A service department was instituted by Drs. Lillian Moore, Romilda Meads and Ruby Cunningham of the Infirmary and these, with the cooperation of the Dean of Women, and student helpers, ministered to the women who were ill in sororities and club houses. Their services were crowned with success and without their help it would have been impossible to have provided adequate medical and nursing service to our college women. The Berkeley Chapter of the American Red Cross was our great angel of mercy.” ( Annual Report , 1919, 99).  

As one historian explained, “The unsung heroines of the 1918 influenza epidemic at Berkeley were the university women” (Adams, 55). Three hundred and twenty students did maintenance work and nursing in sick rooms. Four campus women died nursing the sick: two professional nurses and “two unselfish and devoted” women students, Elizabeth Webster and Charlotte Norton”. As Dr. Legge reported, they fell “in the service of their brothers in arms” ( Annual Report , 1919, 99). In his report’s closing peroration, Dr. Legge expresses a sentiment that was often heard when the crisis ended:

“The memory of these four women should shine as an inspiration to all of what American women did for humanity when the call was sounded.”

As Dr. Legge’s description of the students dying “in the service of their brothers in arms” indicates, the pandemic deaths transformed these women into fallen heroes. Such patriotic sacrifices became yet another argument in favor of giving women equal civil and political rights. In his appeal to the U.S. Senate to pass the Nineteenth Amendment, for example, President Woodrow Wilson drew on the same sentiment: “We have made partners of the women in this war. Shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to a partnership of privilege and right?” (“Appeal”, 406) Nationwide, the confluence of the two crises thus seems to have raised the status of women as citizens and even removed opposition to their political equality.

To what extent did berkeley’s undergraduate women participate in and benefit from the 1920s peer culture, we’ve been tracing wartime trends—the greater freedom of association between the sexes in the social realm and the boost in political status for women—that might have prepared the way for the 1920s peer culture on college campuses. the next part of this essay will look at the effects of that peer culture itself on berkeley’s undergraduates with special attention to women students., let’s first take a quick look at changes in the student body’s size and gender composition from prewar to postwar. in 1916, enrollments stood at 5659, with 44% (2412) women; in 1920 they jumped to 9,689, with 45% women, before settling into a1920s average of around 9,000 at mid-decade. women accounted for a substantial share of the growth; in 1926, they made up 47% (4246) of the 9,036 undergraduates. taken together with the enrollments at the newly founded ucla, the increases indicate that a higher proportion high-school graduates were heading to uc campuses in almost equal numbers of male and female. with college becoming a more normal destination for middle- and upper middle-class california teen-agers, its social functions were bound to change., some important changes in parity between male and female students did come about quickly after the campus returned to normal. the all-male asuc and the all-female aws, for example, merged in the early 1920s, and women were thus no longer excluded from the primary student governing body. the event was a milestone of sorts: the first time a previously exclusionary male student organization opened itself to women’s full participation. construction also began on a large new asuc building (stephens hall), which was planned before the war and opened in 1923. men and women thus shared not only an organization but also facilities that had previously been denied to women, the most important of which was a restaurant where they could finally buy lunch on campus for the first time. the old asuc lunch counter had been men-only. the disappearance of such blatant exclusions made the campus a friendlier and more convenient place for the women, so the extension of the new asuc’s campus presence can be counted as a contribution to sexual equality. , when recalling this merger five decades later in an interview with the oral history center, former prytanean member ruth norton donnelly (’25) makes it sound like a decision that was entirely up to the women:.

"We reorganized the A.S.U.C., and abolished the Associated Women’s organization, on the theory that if we were a coeducational institution, we should have a student body organization that included both men and women. Obviously, we felt that women no longer needed to band together for protection. I shall not debate the matter of whether or not we were right” (145).

There is a strong sense here of the 1920s marking the beginning of a new era for women students, which was no doubt an important part of the students’ consciousness of their break with the past. Norton Donnelly indicates that women in the twenties saw themselves as pioneers primarily of a new social regime in which the sexes would associate freely. Her description emphasizes the new social mingling rather than the more equal sharing of campus political power. The social and political changes were, of course, compatible, but the stress on the social significance reflects a broader trend toward the elevation of social popularity as the measure of an individual’s status.

 another sign of growing gender equivalence that started in the early 1920s was the appointment of a dean of men in 1923. women had had a dean of their own since 1904, but men, as the unmarked majority of student body members, had not been perceived as needing special attention from the administration. suddenly, it seems, they had become more problematic. thus, although it was a continuation of separatism, the creation of a dean of men at least put the sexes on an even administrative plain. it also indicated the changing nature of student government: in the old regime, senior men maintained discipline and meted out justice for various kinds of student infractions in partnership with the faculty. but in the early twenties, when student tribunals became more lenient, the faculty dissociated itself from the process, turned its role over to the administration, and the new deanship was soon created. the asuc still played a role, but it was directly overseen by the administration (stadtman, 282-3), as student leadership focused less on discipline and more on stimulating and coordinating leisure-time activities. , the sexual integration of the asuc thus coincided with changes in the size and functions of student organizations and activities: they assumed new social roles, had greater campus centrality, and encouraged students to devote more time and energy to the extracurriculum. as historian verne stadtman points out, the associated students not only controlled “the bookstores, athletics, almost all special-interest activities, and many student services” (stadtman, 282) but also concentrated power in the hands of the students with the largest amount of spare time because the  majority of seats on its legislative council were for activities representatives. its leaders were thus the people with the longest lists of extracurricular pastimes: “the glee clubs, bands, debate teams, athletic squads, class committees, spirit organizations, and publications” (stadtman, 282). such students were often affiliated with fraternities and sororities, which both populated the organized activities and mustered votes for winning asuc elections. the wheeler-era “moral overtones” of student activities were muted as they became increasingly bound up with the social lives of the campus’s leisure class., the structure of berkeley’s student government thereby gave disproportionate weight to organizations and activities run by undergraduates who came from the highest social-economic ranks. the resulting student culture thus marginalized or ignored the large number of students, male and female, who had little spare time for such activities: those who did not have wealthy parents supporting them and were working their way through college; those commuting from their parents’ home; or those who were carrying an inordinately heavy academic load in order to graduate early. the outsized power of fraternities and sororities in the system not only stratified the student body by class but also often denied membership on ethnic, religious, and racial grounds, compounding the problem of housing discrimination already rife in the town. the interdependence of berkeley’s student social structure with its student government in the 1920s might be said to have created and rigidified new categories of outsiders and insiders., it’s little wonder, then, that the concentration on student activities and certain aspects of the new modes of socializing were viewed by some as negative forces in student life. when the women’s debating team in 1923 beat the men’s debating team, as reported in the  blue and gold , the topic was the campus’s preoccupation with activities., we also find a contrasting a pair of  complaints in the annual reports of the deans of men and women in 1924, which sheds light on the gender implications of the student culture. the dean of men blamed “the excessive attention given to undergraduate activities and to social affairs among student organizations” (30) for both the rise in disciplinary problems (primarily drunken carousing among fraternity men) and the students’ mediocre grades. dean of women lucy stebbins, however, complained that too many of the current activities failed to engage the students. she recommended establishing additional student organizations to increase community spirit and cohesion in the female student body. it is striking that the two deans, looking at the same phenomenon of the campus culture, come to such opposite conclusions. the dean of men saw the problems it made for those at its center, who were distracted and sometimes corrupted by it, whereas the dean of women saw the problems for those on the margins, who felt dispersed and disengaged. why, in a decade known for integrating the genders, would these opposite perspectives still prevail, dean stebbins’s report indicates that the youth culture taking root at berkeley may have integrated some women into its higher echelons—especially since fraternities and sororities served as filters for identifying plausible mates—while leaving many on the sidelines. looking into the reasons for the women’s disconnection, the dean points to the university’s refusal to provide housing. stebbins had long claimed that the lack of university-built dormitories disproportionately affected women, who often could not find affordable, safe, and sanitary accommodations. she warned in 1919 that the university’s policy would limit its geographic draw: female students would increasingly be living with their families, she predicted. her 1924 survey shows her forecasts had come true: women students were primarily local. of 3852 women registered (up 1404 in five years, over a 50% increase from 1919), a majority of the women (1989) were “living at home” (34). most commuted from towns in the bay area, and 974 of them resided with their families in the city of berkeley itself. stebbins notes that some families felt obliged to move to berkeley because of the lack of available student housing. “sororities and clubs”, on the other hand, served quite a small proportion of the women, only 13%, but had accrued great significance because the housing shortage had given them increasing desirability and selectivity. she frankly labels these trends “divisive”., paula fass has shown that the youthful peer culture in 1920s america developed fastest at coeducational  residential  universities where most students lived on campus, whereas commuter campuses like ucla had modified versions. berkeley, however, seems not to have fit either model but rather to have been a residential university for men but not for the majority of women. just what the local consequences of this gendered pattern were for the absorption rate of the new youth culture would require more research, but fass’s generalizations about students who lived at home in the 1920s might give us some indications (fass, 135-6). they tended to be only moderately involved in the extracurriculum, to be at least partially self-supporting, and to be more critical of the social hierarchy. they also tended to have above-average grades, and there is evidence that berkeley’s undergraduate women excelled academically: in the years 1922-24, for example, two-thirds of the seniors elected to phi beta kappa were women ( blue & gold , 1922, 298; 1923, 304; 1924, 364). odds are that at berkeley, as elsewhere, living at home served as a counterweight to the peer culture., counterweights, though, are also important for cultural transitions. as fass notes, the women were the most active leaders in the social life of the students: “men dominated the activities, women the social functions” (fass, 1977, 200). to create freer manners and morals, they needed to set new standards for acceptable behavior as well as overturn the old ones. sororities and boarding houses, for example, accepted the housemothers who functioned as chaperones, and all approved women’s living quarters had parietal rules governing visits with men as well as curfews. and as couples spent more time together privately, limits on sexual behavior also had to be enforced through more informal methods of gossip and reputation assessment. such unwritten rules might have been easier to keep in a place where over half of the women still lived with their parents. indeed, the oral histories (conducted in the seventies) of women who had been active in the twenties stress their lack of rebelliousness:.

“As for parallels to the student rebellions of the 60’s, I think we had none of that. We were completely in sympathy with our professors . . . .  We attended social events with them, and we felt very close to the controlling elements in the government of our university” (Elladora Hudson Furbush, 135).

The university women of the twenties seem to have sought greater social freedom and respect without disruption or rebellion.

Diffusing unobtrusively through the student body, the peer culture at berkeley came to permeate even the groups most obviously excluded from its mainstream organizations. it spread, moreover, through a process similar to that undergone by the first generations of women students in earlier decades: in response to exclusion, they built compensatory parallel institutions and thereby expanded the reach of the extracurriculum. correspondingly, the groups barred from fraternities and sororities on racial and religious grounds followed the exclusion-expansion pattern by founding their own greek-letter societies. in later generations students would protest against the racist bigotry of the hellenic system, but in the twenties the proscribed groups on campus duplicated and extended it. in 1923, alpha epsilon phi, the first sorority for jewish women, for example, was founded at berkeley and was allowed to join the panhellenic alliance., in 1921, two chapters of african american sororities, delta sigma theta and alpha kappa alpha, were established at berkeley, and aka was included in the women’s council, where representatives of women’s groups assembled. in her memoir, the chapter founder, ida louise jackson, describes the qualifications for becoming a bonafide campus group: the members needed to qualify scholastically, to apply to the dean’s office for approval, and to have a regular meeting place (jackson’s house in north oakland). once approved, jackson became their representative on the women’s council, and “we began to feel we were a part of things” ( there was light , 255). despite meeting all of the necessary criteria, the african american sororities (and fraternities) went unrecognized by berkeley’s panhellenic or interfraternity conferences. moreover, when the aka paid for a page in the  blue and gold  for a photograph of the membership, the page was cut at the last minute. asian american greek-letter groups like pi alpha phi, founded in 1926, were also not accepted among the white fraternities and sororities. in short, the white peer culture pretended these groups did not exist, and yet the excluded groups established organizations on the same pattern because the need for peer-group recognition and respect extended far beyond the campus elite. the jewish and african american organizations, moreover, were affiliates of national fraternal networks, and the african american groups especially were becoming important symbols of identity for what one historian has called “black counterpublics” (whaley). their arrival on the west coast demonstrates that college life in the twenties was remarkably uniform throughout the country., the attraction of sororities, fraternities, and other house clubs was their generational autonomy; the students collectively controlled their properties instead of merely renting rooms in someone else’s house. joining one, though, entailed submission to the relentless scrutiny and assessment of one’s peer group, which is why they have come to symbolize the overarching phenomenon of peer influence and conformity. there is no better indication of the predominance of that general impulse to adhere to peer standards than the diversification of greek-letter organizations at berkeley. it illustrates not that the excluded groups were mistaken in their response but that the peer culture in the twenties had such strong magnetism that it attracted even those it simultaneously kept at the margins.   .

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Beyond 1920: the legacies of woman suffrage.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — 1920S — The 1920’s – A Decade Of Social Change

The 1920’s – a Decade of Social Change

• Categories: 1920S Roaring Twenties

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Published: Mar 18, 2021

Words: 883 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Works Cited

• O'Neil, Shannon Leigh. “Crazes in the 1920s.” Synonym, CLASSROOM, 31 Mar. 2017, https://classroom.synonym.com/crazes-1920s-11158.html.
• Rose, et al. “What Did Women Wear in the 1920s? 20s Clothing Trends.” Vintage Dancer, Debbie Sessions, 13 June 2013, vintagedancer.com/1920s/when-to-wear-what-in-the-1920s/.
• Silverstein, B. (2019). 1920s: A Decade of Change | NCpedia. [online] Ncpedia.org. Available at: https://www.ncpedia.org/history/20th-Century/1920s [Accessed 9 Sep. 2019].

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