1920s Society

1920s Society

1920s was often called ‘The Jazz Age’ or ‘The Roaring Twenties’, usually when referring to the USA. In Europe the 1920s are usually referred to as ‘The Golden Twenties’.  The 1920s was an era that brought great cultural change; especially in terms of gender roles.

Organized crime gained momentum in the 1920s, especially in urban areas, as the underground production and sale of alcohol became a big and popular business.

1920s 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.”

World War 1 ended in 1918, Europe struggled with economic and political recovery, but not the United States and in the 1920s people were determined to have fun and enjoy themselves.  More money and leisure time meant that people had greater opportunity to go out and have fun. The entertainment industry boomed, especially Hollywood (1920s – Golden Age for Hollywood) and women were freer than they had ever been. The 1920s also began the jazz age and crazes for new music and dancing. Art: Beginning of the Art Deco and Surrealism movement.

America, which was relatively unaffected by WW1, was able to enjoy peace, prosperity and change but the whole of Europe struggled after the aftermath of the war.

• 106,521,537 people in the United States
• 2,132,000 unemployed, Unemployment 5.2%
• Life expectancy: Male 53.6, Female 54.6
• 343.000 in military (down from 1,172,601 in 1919)
• Average annual earnings $1236; Teacher’s salary $970
• Illiteracy rate reached a new low of 6% of the population.
• Gangland crime included murder, swindles, racketeering

Politics

• Prime Minister David Lloyd George (United Kingdom)
• Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law (United Kingdom)
• Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin (United Kingdom)
• Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald (United Kingdom)
• President Woodrow Wilson (United States)
• President Warren G. Harding (United States)
• President Calvin Coolidge (United States)
• President Herbert Hoover (United States)

Women’s Rights

The women’s suffrage movement continued to advance. Women obtained the full voting rights in the USA in 1920 and in the United Kingdom in 1918, (the voting right was only for women over 30 years of age). In 1928 all women were able to vote and began to enter the workplace in large numbers.

Inventions

Automobile (cars) first invented in the 1920s. By the end of the 20s there was almost one car to each American family and the car became increasingly important in the American people’s lives.  The car continued to develop to it’s now modern ’sibling’.  The car became fairly popular fairly fast with wealthy families being more likely to own an automobile.

Intolerance

In the 1920s there was great racism and discrimination. Many people (American) feared opposed immigrants because they did not want radical political party ideas such as communism and anarchism; this fear spread rapidly during the 1920s and became known as ‘The Red Scare’.  Immigrants were persecuted, arrested and deported despite a general lack of evidence that there had been any ‘wrong-doing’.

• Racial Discrimination

1915 – Klu Klax Klan was reformed in the Southern States. Opposed Jews, Catholics, homosexuals and especially black Americans.

1924 – Klu Klax Klan had over 5 million members, many being policeman, judges and local officials

Thousands of black Americans were attacked during the 1920s by the KKK.

People of different races were segregated (different schooling, lack of public facilities, different seating): Jim Crow Law. Many black Americans moved to the North where they were still discriminated against (unofficially) – poorest housing, health services and education, lowest pay.