The 1920's: The New Generation

Lauren Sion Mr. Scharrenberg US History (4) 28 March 2018 Why Were the 1920s Called the Roaring 20s? The term “roaring” is characterized by prosperity, optimism, and excitement (Oxford English Dictionary). In the US, the years from 1920 to 1929 consisted of a lot of growth and success for the country.

Along with changes within society, education experienced great changes as well. When World War I started, there was only about one million kids attending a high school. However, this number soared to over four million by 1926. With industry booming and the economy prospering, there was a need for higher skilled laborers. This is exactly what high schools became in the 1920’s, as they offered a big range of various courses for students who were interested in industrial jobs.

The booming twenties in Canada The twenties were times that made people forget their lost from the first world war. However, many people say that the twenties were hard times for the economy and the people, but those people are wrong because the 1920’s were actually good times for the economy and the people. That’s because of the industrial growth in Canada, the rise of employment rate, and finally the right for women to vote in the parliament and have equal rights . That’s why the twenties are good times rather than bad times in Canada There are plenty of reasons that shows the twenties are good times.

African Americans were able to work for their own money now and gain confidence while living in America. They began to publish newspapers which increased the awareness of racial violence and express their freedom from restraint through art (O’Neill). This “negro fad” in the United States influenced art and drama that focused on the depiction of an African American in the 1920’s. African Americans were revolutionizing the way they were perceived in the U.S.. They gained confidence and made efforts to achieve their ultimate goal,

The roaring twenties are exactly as they sound. Many things happened in the 1920 's we made some accomplishments that the U.S. is proud of but with those good times comes hard taking two steps forwards and one step back. The silent generation as one would call it ( people born in the mid 1920 to early 1940) was the generation that started it off for everyone today. With political & social tension, technology, early civil rights movement, popular culture, entertainment and media, and societal. Many of the influential parts of the 1920 's are still used

Miles Elliott Elliott 1 Prof. Wiley U.S. History II April 27, 2023 Roaring Twenties The Jazz Age, which is also known as the Roaring Twenties, was a time in American history that took place in the 1920s. Following World War I, it was marked by a general sense of prosperity and optimism, which stimulated consumerism and a demand for novel types of entertainment. The Jazz Age saw the emergence of many of the era's most well-known musicians. Jazz music, which had its beginnings in New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th century, became extremely popular during this time.

The poetry of Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen both focus on the idea that African Americans are deeply impacted by the issue of racism in the 1920’s America. This concentration on the issue of racism can be seen in poems “I, Too” published in 1926 by Langston Hughes and “Incident” published in 1925 by Countee Cullen. These poems are extremely similar in the way that they use the image of a particular incident to point out this societal flaw. In “I Too” Hughes uses the allegorical example of an African American being sent away from the table: “I am the darker brother. /

During the 1920s, a great amount of African Americans moved to big cities including New York City, and that is where the Harlem Renaissance happened. African Americans began to express themselves through art forms, music, literature, etc, and this is when they started to call themselves the “New Negroes.” The New Negroes reused to conform to Jim Crow laws and advocates for their dignity as African Americans. Langston Hughes wrote “‘Why should I want to be white? I am Negro--and beautiful,” inspiring other artists to create art that empowers their fellow African Americans(Document E).

THE ROARING TWENTIES The Roaring Twenties is a term used to describe the Western world in the 1920s, a period marked by sustained economic growth with a distinctive cultural edge in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. It was characterized by: The Roaring Twenties was marked by increased by the economic growth due to the consumer spending. After the Tariff of 1921, there was a reduction of taxes and debt.

America experienced a sudden disregard of Victorian values following World War I, causing the generation of the 1920s to dramatically contrast the previous. This severe degree of change produced three major manifestations of the contradictions in the twenties. There were massive conflicts to the Jazz Age, technological advancements, and Black Migration. The contradictions of the 1920s reflect America’s conflicted state between advancement and convention, as the cultural and technological developments of the era coincide with the inability of individuals to stray from traditional norms and racist attitudes.

The 1920s carried much change in society. Some of these changes were more rights for women, jazz music, and prohibition. The people of the 1920s were disillusioned by society lacking in idealism and vision, sense of personal alienation, and Americans were obsessed with materialism and outmoded moral values (The Roaring Twenties).Cultural changes were strongly influenced by the destruction of World War I ending 1918. America needed to recover and with it youth rebelled against the norms of the older generations.

America moved towards a more modern America by introducing progressivism into the politics of the 1920’s for the first time in history. A dichotomy of the 1920’s was the labor versus capital movement. Laborists, usually people who were a part of the working class, advocated for higher wages, less hours, and overall better working conditions. Capitalists, usually people who were employers and big business owners, wanted to keep their old business practices in place, such as cheap working conditions, low wages, and as many hours as needed. The Labor movement would be considered a progressive ideology while the capital movement the traditional ideology.

The "higher standard of living" perception prior to the Great Depression, was modeled after the "get rich quick lifestyle. " The "get rich lifestyle," basically was a mantra that encouraged U.S. citizens to buy as much manufactured goods, electronics, and other commodities at the time. This was because, the U.S. citizens believed that their fortune/prosperity wouldn’t last long, so to get a grip of that prosperity, they needed to take advantage of all the abundance that was offered. After all, it was the roaring twenties, a period of boundless opportunities and a time where U.S. companies were producing manufactured goods faster than the nominal per

The origins of the intense cultural conflict of the 1920s, was Prohibition. Prohibition was the 18th Amendment, which banned the production and selling of alcohol. This caused a large part of the country to be very upset and had speakeasies behind closed doors. A speakeasy is an illicit bar. When speakeasies arose, so did flappers and gangsters.

This event is considered to be the largest shift in African American culture that occurred during the 20th century as African Americans from across the country began to discover themselves and personally define what it meant to be “black”. This time period also marked the beginning of a shift in white recognition and acceptance of African American culture as whites across the country joined their black counterparts in enjoying jazz music and black literature. However, such a change didn’t mean that racism and racial prejudice were erased entirely. Such problems remained prevalent throughout the Harlem Renaissance, though their effects were limited by the sheer size and power of such a movement. Such a movement changed the lives of African Americans throughout the country as their culture was, for the first time, taken seriously by the general population.