The roaring twenties denote the changes that occurred in the decade of 1920’s. America went through dramatic political, economic and social change. There were major amendments of the law, change in income generating activities that doubled the economy as well as in people’s settlement. It can be correctly argued that America experienced the first major rural to urban migration during this period. This paper will discuss these drastic changes, and how they affected the population in general, in addition to concluding whether the term “Roaring Twenties” is appropriate.
The religious society formed groups against liquor business in the 1800s. Their success was in 1900 when the 18th amendment was made by the congress prohibiting the manufacture, transport and sale of liquors. It was intended to reduce social disorders. The aims of this amendment were evidenced in the 1920s due to the calm social order that was experienced.
Women’s’ right to vote and have full citizenship was passed in the 19th amendments of 1920. This was a success for activists like Alice Paul. In 1921, Sanger formed the American birth control league. This gave women the right to control the number of children they gave birth to. Women explored their rights as they could smoke, drink and control their sex lives.
Invention of auto mobile introduced an era of machinery use. The first automobile model was Ford T primarily used by farmers in the muddy farms. However, the demand grew as the country became urbanized leading to enactment of the 1921 Federal Act. Model T cost $260 and by the end of the decade, the ratio of cars to human was 1:5. The increase of cars brought about the establishment of motels and service stations to serve the growing number of drivers. Transport availability motivated young people to move to cities such as New York and Chicago to dance Jazz music played by their favorite bands; a factor that contributed to the huge growth of cities.
The first commercial station by Pittsburgh (KDKA) was first aired in 1920. This established advertisement enhancing businesses and consumer products became expensive. The economy grew, and the Americans had more to spend. They started going to watch movies, and before 1930, more than three quarters of the population had watched movies in theatres.
The rise of civil war in the 1920’s was characterized by several events. The events encompassed conflicts between Blacks and Whites, Protestants and Catholics as well as the concept of the new woman. It is in the 1920’s that black Americans migrated from the South to the North causing cultural tension. This led to National Origins Act in 1924 that passed restrictive immigration law.
The author argues that, ‘…the decade most notably marked by secularization- was certainly the decade of the flapper, bathtub gin and howling jazz bands…’ From a personal perspective, ‘Roaring Twenties’ is the most appropriate description of that decade. There were many major changes that can still define what America is even today. The events of this decade changed transport such that there was more advancement in the industry resulting to the creation of more jobs for citizens. The outlook of women also changed from subjects to human beings with equal rights to men who can make personal decisions on their political and socio-economic lives. Liquor manufacturing, distribution sale and consumption became a personal opinion. These freedoms made America a place of free will and equal opportunities to all genders. It is therefore appropriate to refer the period by the term “Roaring Twenties” due to the many positive changes that were experienced.
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