What were the Roaring 20s The Roaring Twenties

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What were the Roaring 20’s?

What were the Roaring 20’s?

‘The Roaring Twenties’ The image • 1920 s America – “One long, crazy party,

‘The Roaring Twenties’ The image • 1920 s America – “One long, crazy party, with jazz music playing on the radio, young fashionable women known as flappers wildly dancing the Charleston, large quantities of illegal alcohol being consumed, and everyone behaving in a scandalous manner. ”

Roaring 20’s • The 1920’s were a period of great turmoil and contrast for

Roaring 20’s • The 1920’s were a period of great turmoil and contrast for the USA. • There was liberation and rebellion against traditional values for some • And great anxiety for others who felt that the American way of life was being destroyed. • Hence the term “roaring 20’s”

‘The Roaring Twenties’ The reality • In the aftermath of the war people were

‘The Roaring Twenties’ The reality • In the aftermath of the war people were determined to have fun. • They had more money and more leisure time. • Women were freer than ever • The entertainment industry boomed. • The 1920 s were the golden age for Hollywood films. • It was also the Jazz Age with its crazes for new music and dances.

Growing cities • During the 1920’s the USA (for the first time) became a

Growing cities • During the 1920’s the USA (for the first time) became a predominantly urban society with cities and city life growing fast. • The growing city with its imposing skyline of skyscrapers was one of the most powerful symbols of 1920’s America. • In New York, skyscrapers were built because there was no more land available but even in smaller cities where land was not a problem they built skyscrapers to show that they were a part of the economic boom. • By 1929 there were nearly 400 skyscrapers in the United states.

Empire State Building. • Was completed in 1931 with 102 stories and at 1,

Empire State Building. • Was completed in 1931 with 102 stories and at 1, 250 feet high it became the tallest building in the world.

Growing cities-tension between rural and urban. Many people in the country thought that their

Growing cities-tension between rural and urban. Many people in the country thought that their traditional values, which, emphasised religion and family were under threat from the growing cities which they believed contained atheists, drunks and criminals. Rural Traditional Religion Dry Family Home Innocence Virtue Urban New Atheism Alcohol Skyscrapers Criminality Sex

Rural Farms/Urban Cities

Rural Farms/Urban Cities

Entertainment • During the 1920’s the entertainment industry blossomed. • The average working week

Entertainment • During the 1920’s the entertainment industry blossomed. • The average working week dropped from 47. 4 to 44. 2 hours so people had more leisure time. • Average wages rose by 11% • A lot of this spare time and money was channelled towards entertainment.

Music/Radio ‘The Jazz-Age’

Music/Radio ‘The Jazz-Age’

Radio/jazz • Almost everyone in the USA listened to the radio. • In August

Radio/jazz • Almost everyone in the USA listened to the radio. • In August 1921 there was only one licensed radio station in America. • By the end of 1922 there were 508 of them. • The radio enabled people to listen to JAZZ music.

Jazz • Jazz music became an obsession among young people. Black people moved from

Jazz • Jazz music became an obsession among young people. Black people moved from the countryside and brought jazz and blues music with them. Jazz was played on the radio with dance marathons and dance crazes like the charleston. The 1920’s became known as the JAZZ AGE. The older generation saw Jazz as a corrupting influence on the young people of America.

Sport was another area that boomed in the 1920’s , Baseball became a big

Sport was another area that boomed in the 1920’s , Baseball became a big money sport with teams like the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Prominent figures such as Al Capone were Baseball fans. The greatest sports hero of the 1920’s was George Herman Ruth’Babe Ruth’. He was the star of the NYY. The country’s most famous boxing star was Jack Demsey. A fearsome world heavyweight champion known as the ‘Manassa Mauler’.

Movies

Movies

Cinema • In a small suburb outside Los Angeles, called Hollywood a major film

Cinema • In a small suburb outside Los Angeles, called Hollywood a major film industry was developing. • The USA developed thousands of cinemas which were visited weekly by many Americans. • New stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton made audiences roar with laughter. • All movie were silent until 1927 when the first talkie was made • During the 20’s movies became a multi-billion dollar business, by the end of the decade a hundred million cinema tickets were being sold each week.

Culture • Lots of writers and poets such as Ernest Hemingway, T. S Elliot

Culture • Lots of writers and poets such as Ernest Hemingway, T. S Elliot and Robert Frost became famous. • F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a famous novel depicting upper class life in the ‘roaring 20’s’ called ‘The Great Gatsby’. This novel showed glamorous women and handsome men attending glittering parties and dancing.

Morals • Before the war sex had been a taboo subject. During the roaring

Morals • Before the war sex had been a taboo subject. During the roaring 20’s sexuality became more open. • Jazz music was epitomised by the image of the ‘flapper’-a young women who wore make-up, short dresses and smoked in public. The older generations perceived jazz as being the core of moral sexual degeneration.

Women before the war

Women before the war

Flappers

Flappers

Morals and the cinema • The cinema quickly discovered the selling power of sex.

Morals and the cinema • The cinema quickly discovered the selling power of sex. • Extremely daring films were produced which today would seem tame, but then caused people to faint in the cinema. • Rural areas were so shocked that 36 states threatened to introduce censorship legislation. • Hollywood responded with its own censorship code which ensured that while the films might be full of sex, the sinful characters were not allowed to get away with it.

Morals • Newspapers focused on sex. • Contraceptive advice was available for the first

Morals • Newspapers focused on sex. • Contraceptive advice was available for the first time. • Sex outside marriage was much more common than in previous generations. One cause of this was the mass production of the car.

Cars • During the 1920’s the car became a fundamental feature of American life.

Cars • During the 1920’s the car became a fundamental feature of American life. • It was a factor that made all the other features of the roaring 20’s possible. • Cars helped the cities to grow by opening up the suburbs. • Cars carried their owners to and from the entertainment. The biggest retailer of cars in 1920’s America was Henry Ford who was producing the Model T Ford at only $290.

Model T Ford

Model T Ford

Task Now place your pictures of the 1920’s into the correct boxes.

Task Now place your pictures of the 1920’s into the correct boxes.