1. The Roaring Twenties

2. The Roaring Twenties Why is this decade called “Roaring”?
What images does that bring up?

3. The Roaring Twenties
The 1920s was a time of tremendous change in America but also some stability.
This is often called the first decade of the 20th Century.
Why would it be called that?

4. The Roaring Twenties
Government
The 1920s
Economy
Society

5. The Roaring Twenties 1920s Government
Government in the 1920s was very conservative.
What does that mean?
Why would Americans want a more conservative government?
The 1920s – “Return to Normalcy”
What does this mean?
What was “abnormal” about the era before the 20’s?

6. The Roaring Twenties Disarmament: Huge cuts in military size
Isolationism:
Less involvement in foreign affairs
Anti-Immigration:
Laws restrict immigration severely
Government
Laissez-faire:
Less regulation of the economy
Prohibition
Alcohol was illegal

7. The Roaring Twenties
How do these Government policies fit in with the ideas of:
Normalcy
Conservative Government
How would these policies affect other areas of life in America?

8. The Roaring Twenties 1920s Economy
The 1920s saw a huge growth in the Economy.
One of the most prosperous times in US History
There were inventions and changes that made life easier and allowed people to get wealthier.
Life became much more technologically advanced.

9. The Roaring Twenties Economy Credit: Easy credit became available.
Consumer economy:
Our economy became centered on making products for ordinary people to buy.
Assembly Line:
Mass production increased supply – lowered prices. Model T
Economy
Electricity:
More homes and businesses connected to electricity – more electric appliances, tools, machines
Technology:
New products & machinery.
Stock Market:
More people got involved.
Mass Entertainment:
All Americans could enjoy the same things at once.
Advertising:
Birth of mass advertising

10. The Roaring Twenties 1920s Economy
What are the connections between these economic factors?
Electricity and technology led to many changes
Factories produced more
New products were cheaper to buy
Electricity in homes led to new appliances and tools
Radio & movies led to mass advertising and entertainment
Consumerism fueled the economy
Easy credit let people buy more
More buying led to more manufacturing
More manufacturing led to more jobs
People invested in new, growing companies

11. The Roaring Twenties Cars and radios changed America
They weren’t invented in the 1920s so why were they so important?
This is when they first became widely available to people
Cars
Henry Ford mass produced the automobile so everyone could have one.
By the end of the decade, cars had become a status symbol.
The growth of the automobile led to changes in:
Government
New laws, more roads.
Society
New dating rules, more vacations and travel.
The Economy
More use of oil, new businesses related to the car.

12. The Roaring Twenties Radio
1921 – 50,000 radios in America - One radio station
1929 – 10 million radios in America radio stations
The radio changed America.
Government
New laws and regulations (FCC)
Economy
The radio is a “must have item”
Advertising increases
Music becomes a big industry
Society
Pop Culture is born
New heroes develop
Becoming popular was now part of the American Dream.

13. The Roaring Twenties Challenging Traditions:
People enjoy breaking the rules and the laws
Religion:
3rd Great Awakening
Materialism:
The more you have-the better you are.
Ku Klux Klan:
Huge growth in membership and power
Society
Pop Culture is Born:
Fads, fashions, new heroes, pop music, sports and entertainment.
The New Woman
Many women push for a more independent life.
The Harlem Renaissance:
Many African-Americans move north & enjoy a more free lifestyle.

14. The Roaring Twenties The New Woman
Why would women in the 1920s feel a new sense of freedom?
Suffrage
More opportunities for education and jobs
The New Woman was usually young and most lived in cities. - Flappers
New, more revealing fashions
New habits – driving, dancing, drinking, smoking, socializing with men in public
Pushed the limits of acceptable behavior.
Challenged traditional views of a woman’s role

15. The Roaring Twenties
What connections can you make on the graphic organizer?
Are there connections you can make between all three areas of life?

16. So why is this known as the Roaring Twenties?

17. The Roaring Twenties
What usually happens in a society when there is a lot of change?
Resistance to Change
There were Americans who did not like the changes America was experiencing
Why?
Who would be against these changes?
How would people who don’t want change respond?

18. The Roaring Twenties
There were really two major societies in the 1920s
One was for those who welcomed the changes
Mostly in the cities
One was for those struggling to hold on to traditional ways
Mostly rural areas

19. The Roaring Twenties Resistance to Change
Many wanted to keep traditional life alive
Rural Americans
Southerners
Older Americans
What didn’t they like?
The New Woman was dangerous (Why?)
Too many immigrants
African-Americans were gaining some acceptance
Rural Americans were losing political and social power
Most Americans now lived in cities
The culture of the cities was spreading thanks to radio and cars
The economy focused more on industries, not farms

20. The Roaring Twenties Culture Clashes
There were areas where Change and Tradition clashed
Government was very conservative
Jim Crow
Restrictions on Women
Scopes Monkey Trial – science vs. religion
Ku Klux Klan – their high point in US History
Prohibition – widely ignored in cities (and the White House)

21. The Roaring Twenties Culture Clashes
What are the culture clashes we have today?
Can we see a connection to the clashes of the 1920s?

22. How do the 1920’s still affect us?
The Roaring Twenties
How do the 1920’s still affect us?

23. Party’s Over! The Roaring Twenties
October 1929 – The Stock Market Crash
This is seen as the official beginning of the Great Depression
The worst economic time in World History begins.