Understanding the 1920’s

The 1920’s The 1920’s, also known as the Roaring Twenties (for it’s economic boom), was the post-war era. The United States' overall success in World War I, the survival of the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918, and an apparently strong economy led to a period of strong optimism and a new fun-seeking attitude. It was a time of great social change and everything was changing. Pleasure dominated and people prospered. It was the age of flappers and bathtub gin, an age of prosperity, and a time of moral and sexual revolution. Much of what was considered "roaring" about "The Roaring Twenties," however, contained the seeds of the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Consumerism Mass-production and chain stores drove down prices and encouraged consumers to spend. The concept of credit was being used to help more Americans buy durable goods such as cars and stoves. The lenders, of course, charged interest so that the total cost of the item was far more in the end than if it had been purchased for cash. Runaway consumer credit was part of the overload that resulted in the Great Depression of the 1930s. Americans were also spending more money on entertainment, especially movies. The technology that made the "talkies" possible (Phonofilm) became commercially available in 1922. In 1927, Al Jolson's The Jazz Singer, the first commercially-released "talkie," changed the motion picture industry forever.

Economic Policies In 1920, for the first time in United States history, more people were living in cities than on farms. Presidents Warren G. Harding (1921-1923), Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929), and Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) supported big business and passed legislation that benefited large corporations, often at the expense of small business and farmers. Harding's "return to normalcy" after World War I did little to address social and economic problems facing thousands of Americans. The Harding Administration's Teapot Dome Scandal illustrated the extent to which greed and the desire to accumulate wealth quickly were the governing principals of post-World-War-I America. Calvin Coolidge especially favored a laissez faire attitude toward big business, thus allowing for credit and investment abuses that would lead to the 1929 crash.

Alcohol was in abundance, but this was a rather ironic situation. Between 1920-1933 the United States Government implemented PROHIBITION. The Eighteenth Amendment, prohibiting the MANUFACTURE, SALE, or TRANSPORTATION of "intoxicating liquors" in the United States was ratified on January 16, 1919, and the Volstead Act, which defined the phrase "intoxicating liquors," thus making the amendment enforceable, was passed on October 28, 1919. Prohibition began on January 16, 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect. Prohibition

Not Popular Never a popular law (even President Calvin Coolidge, who, as a senator, had voted for both the EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT and the Volstead Act, kept his White House well-stocked with illegal liquor), there were enough LOOPHOLES in the legislation to allow most people to acquire and consume at least as much alcohol as they had before. Prohibition banned only the manufacture, sale, and transport, NOT the possession or consumption of alcohol. This left many opportunities for abuse open. Alcoholic drinks were widely available at "speakeasies" and other underground drinking establishments. Speakeasies were named for the fact that a patron had to "speak easy" and convince the doorman to let him or her in. Large amounts of alcohol were smuggled in from Canada. Home brewing of beer and wine was popular during Prohibition. Commercial wine was still produced in the U.S., but was only available through government warehouses, supposedly for use in RELIGIOUS ceremonies. Whiskey was available by PRESCRIPTION. Although the labels clearly warned that it was for "medicinal purposes" only and that other uses were illegal, doctors freely wrote prescriptions and druggists filled them without question. Over a million gallons of whiskey were prescribed and consumed per year. This discrepancy between law and actual practice contributed to the widespread disdain for authority that had accompanied the return of World War I servicemen.

Excess Alcohol Volstead’s intent was to rid the land of drunkenness. What he created was a 13 year span where alcohol consumption raised each year and was never to return to the lows it had been prior to the 1920’s. With prohibition in effect, this obviously raises one question: if alcohol consumption was on the rise, but it wasn’t being manufactured or sold anywhere in the U.S., where was it coming from?

Gangsters & G-Men With prohibition came organized crime. Saloons went underground and became ‘speakeasies’. Speakeasies, unlike saloons welcomed women, and droves of people came. Gangsters such as Al Capone made their fortunes from organizing the import of alcohol illegally into the U.S. From liquor sales alone, Capone made 60 million dollars in one year.

Famous Gang Getaways… Since organized crime was rampant in the streets of New York, violence was up. Gangsters needed a quick escape from their crime scenes and the twenties, with its money and demand, marked the appropriate time to mass produce automobiles. Still considered luxury items, automobiles were the symbol of wealth and the “in crowd”. Automobiles would prove to make a major impact on the way people traveled from then on.

1920’s Women’s Fashion With the end of the war and the surge in prosperity, fashion was no longer limited to the wealthy. Major changes were seen in women’s fashions, where a boyish figure and short hair were all the rage. Also, dresses and skirts were shorter than ever before.

1920’s Men’s Fashion Men wore very distinguished suits for business, and an outfit wasn’t fully complete without the right hat! For a relaxed look, men took on very preppy attire.

Sports With the surge in social activity came an interest in sports and sports activities…

Baseball An intense love for baseball came about in the 1920’s Babe Ruth became America’s favorite player. And an intense sadness associated with it… The Black Sox scandal rocked the nation in 1919, when several white Sox players were banned from playing baseball for throwing the World Series. Pressured into the scandal by other players, Shoeless Joe Jackson was never allowed to play baseball again.

Besides sports, entertainment in the 1920’s included silent films Famous stars of the silent screen included funny man Charlie Chaplin, Heart throb Rudolph Valentino, and beauty icon Greta Garbo… The first talking film wasn’t released until May, 1929

The “IT” Girl The 1920’s was a very sexual era as well and the silent screen actress Clara Bow defined what it was to be a liberated woman in the 20’s. The flapper icon of the 1920’s, she was to become the inspiration for the cartoon Betty Boop in the 1930’s.

So What’s a “Flapper Girl”? Flappers were a "new breed" of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles, and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms. According to F. Scott Fitzgerald, "Clara Bow is the quintessence of what the term 'flapper' signifies": a young woman who was "pretty, impudent, superbly assured, as worldly-wise, briefly-clad and 'hard-burled' as possible. "In America, a flapper has always been a giddy, attractive and slightly unconventional young thing who, in [H. L.] Mencken's words, 'was a somewhat foolish girl, full of wild surmises and inclined to revolt against the precepts and admonitions of her elders.'"

Jazz Age The popularity of the new Jazz music of New Orleans and Chicago, dances like the Charleston, combined with the relaxing moral code and the general feeling of optimism created the feeling of a never ending social party. The term was coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald because Jazz music was to have such a profound impact and influence over society. Jazz was all the rage and popular hotspots like the famous Cotton Club provided some of the best Jazz entertainment in the 1920’s

The Charleston With Jazz came a new form of dance, the Charleston, and swing dancing was soon to follow!

Harlem Renaissance Between 1920 and 1930 there was an amazing outpouring of talent among the African-American community. Literary and musical talent abounded. And famous Jazz musician Loius “Satchmo” Armstrong was making a name for himself.

Prosperity The 1920’s was a very prosperous time. It was a time of new money and new found wealth for many. There was a distinct difference between new money and old money however. The wealthy, stemming from old money, had a well-established and respected background. The “old money” clans often did not mingle with the new money clans, who were just beginning to build their fortunes from industry, investing, and other business.

Summary So, hopefully, now you have a feel for the 1920’s and the things consuming society at the time: Money, fashion, alcohol, sex, jazz, and just a pure “living life to the fullest” mentality. As we read The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, try to keep some of these things in mind. They should help you picture the people and understand the events in the story.