1920's History

In this decade, America became the wealthiest country in the world with no obvious rival. This was the era before robot technology and most work was lab our intensive i.e. people did the work. The person who made that product would get paid and he (as it usually was in the 1920’s) would not save all that money. He would spend some of it and someone somewhere else would have to make that and so he would get paid. And so the cycle continued.

Roaring Twenties 

The Roaring Twenties is a term sometimes used to refer to the 1920s, characterizing the decade's distinctive cultural edge in New York City, Chicago, Paris, Berlin, London, and many other major cities during a period of sustained economic prosperity. Economically, the era saw the large-scale diffusion and use of automobiles, telephones, motion pictures, and electricity, unprecedented industrial growth, accelerated consumer demand and aspirations, and significant changes in lifestyle and culture. The media focused on celebrities, especially sports heroes and movie stars, as cities rooted for their home team and filled the new palatial cinemas and gigantic stadiums. 

Women in this decade were wealthy as well and the women who were not wealthy would like and also tried to be. That means that emotions and expressions were strong characteristics of this era. That was the decade when also the novel published and one of the main characters of this “Daisy” is described as one of those women who were living with wealth and money. On the other side another important character is also described “Myrtle Wilson” who belonged to that type of women trying to seem as a rich one.

Social life and culture of 20s

 Music

The 20s was the age of jazz music, singers like Mamie Smith and Bessie Smith were enormously popular, and bands like those of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and King Oliver became all the rage. Popular dances like the Charleston, the foxtrot, and the Black Bottom were danced by everyone. 

King Oliver

Duke Ellington

Mamie Smith

Bessie Smith

  Literature

The Roaring Twenties was a period of literary creativity, and works of several notable authors appeared during the period. D. H. Lawrence's novel Lady Lover was a scandal at the time because of its explicit descriptions of sex. Chartteley's

Books that take the 1920s as their subject include:

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, set up in 1922 in the vicinity of New York City, is often described as the symbolic meditation on the "Jazz Age" in American literature.
• All Quiet in the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque  recounts the horrors of World War I and also the deep detachment from German civilian life felt by many men returning from the front.
• This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald, primarily set up in post-World War I Princeton University, portrays the lives and morality of youth.
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway is about a group of expatriate Americans in Europe during the 1920s.

                                              

                                                         

                                                                      Social Criticism

As the average American in the 1920s became more enamored of wealth and everyday luxuries, some began satirizing the hypocrisy and greed they observed. Of these social critics, Sinclair Lewis was the most popular. His popular 1920 novel Main street satirized the dull and ignorant lives of the residents of a Midwestern town. 

 Art Deco  

         

    

Climax of the new architectural style: the Chrysler Building in New York City was built after the European wave of Art Deco reached the United States.

Art Deco was the style of design and architecture that marked the era. Originating in Europe, it spread to the rest of Western Europe and North America towards the mid-1920s. In the U.S., one of the most remarkable buildings featuring this style was constructed as the tallest building of the time: the Chrysler Building. The forms of art deco were pure and geometric, even though the artists often drew inspiration from nature. In the beginning, lines were curved, though rectilinear designs would later become more and more popular.

The Changing Role of Women

The 1920s saw significant change in the lives of working women. World War I had temporarily allowed women to enter into industries such as chemical, automobile, and iron and steel manufacturing, which were once deemed inappropriate work for women. Black women, who had been historically closed out of factory jobs, began to find a place in industry during World War I by accepting lower wages and replacing the lost immigrant labor and in heavy work. Yet, like other women during World War I, their success was only temporary; most black women were also pushed out of their factory jobs after the war. In 1920, seventy-five percent of the black female labor force consisted of agricultural laborers, domestic servants, and laundry workers.