INTRODUCTION
In 1928 President Herbert Hoover declared, "We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land." Historiography concerning America in the twenties is often overly simplistic and deceptive. Popular terms of reference include the "the Golden Twenties", "the Asprin Age", "the Era of Excess" and "the New Era." While many in the United States experienced higher living standards and were provided with more choices than ever before with a period of economic expansion and technological innovation, not everyone basked in the affluence of the decade. Many Americans remained displaced within society such as immigrants, farmers, laboring classes and African-Americans. As McCoy has instigated, 'The Prosperity of the 1920s did not spread to all the people, just as the depression of the 1930s was not disasterous for all Americans.'
ECONOMIC PROGRESS
The Twenties introduced a boom within technological invention. Technological innovations adopted by industries acted as a stimulus on the American economy, which consequently created a greater demand for labor. Industries such as construction welcomed machinery including pneumatic tools, dump trucks, and belt and bucket conveyors. In chemicals and synthetics you have the combining of materials to make bakelite and cellophane, and in the communication companies there were major breakthroughs with the introduction of automatic switchboards and dial phones. With more efficient means of labor, real wages for factory workers climbed by thirteen per cent during the decade. The number of white collar workers increased from 10.5 million to 14.3 million. While wages climbed the number of hours per the working week fell from 47.6 hours to 42.1 hours, allowing Americans more time for recreational activities such as bowling, camping and visiting historical sites of interest. Americans had more lifestyle choices than ever before. The consumer goods industry flourished with the marketing of washing machines, vacuum cleaners and refrigerators - making the day to day household chores for the housewife easier.
Americans also had ambiguous means of entertainment. By the close of 1922 there were 508 radio stations and three million Americans owned a radio. Hollywood became cheap way for the working class to escape as images of self made men and pretty girls galvanized across the big screen. Nickelodeons became aptly known because a ticket only cost a nickel. By 1926 every large American city had a movie theater and by the end of the decade more than 20,000 cinemas were constructed. In 1922 motion pictures sold some 40 million tickets per a week, by 1930 this soared to 100 million. The talkies were also introduced during the twenties. In 1929 Al Johnson's "The Jazz Singer" produced by Warner Brothers included three sound musical numbers. Films subsidized for camp meetings as the dominant means by which people absorbed information with news reels. The film houses became an important educational tool.
The nation became mobilized during the twenties. In 1915 only 2.5 million automobiles were registered on American roads. By 1920 this number relatively increased to 9.2 million. However, by 1930 26.7 million vehicles were commuting around the nation. There was one automobile for every five Americans, compared with say Britain were there was only one for every forty-three British citizens. Theoretically it was possible in the twenties for every American citizen to be on the road at the same time. Henry For produced an affordable car for the average person with his Model T. The Model T in 1926 only cost $290. Furthermore, Americans were now able to buy on credit. In 1925 75 per cent of all automobile purchases were bought on installment plans. Ford's assembly line created a more efficient means to manage industry. By October 31, 1925, Ford was rolling a Model T off the assembly line every ten seconds. The automobile industry also became a lifeline for other industries. Automobiles absorbed twenty per cent of the nations steel, eighty per cent of its rubber and seventy-five per cent of its glass. The automobile companies also helped setup new services such as roadside restaurants, motels, gas stations and garages. The Construction business also benefited from automobiles. Since more Americans now owned a set of wheels the vacuum between rural and urban America submerged and as a result more people moved to the suburbs. Further, new highway systems were built. Before the construction of new roads one would have to wait several days for dirt roads to dry from the rain before commuting to the next town in Iowa. By 1928 one could travel from New York as far west as St. Mary's, Kansas on the new roads. As Leuchtenburg instigates, "The production of automobiles soared almost at a geometric rate, and the industry gave a shot in the arm to the whole economy."
While many Americans prospered from this boom in economic opportunity, many did not. The richest tenth of the population received forty per cent of the national income. In "sick" industries including coal and textiles workers saw nothing of this great prosperity. Child labor continued throughout the decade with some two million children working in textile mills and cranberry fields. Furthermore, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found in 1929 that in order to have a "descent standard of living" a family of two adults and two children had to earn around $2,500. However, during 1929 of the twenty-seven million people who filed income tax returns, twelve million earned $1,500 or less.
"THE NEW WOMAN"
F. Scott Fitzgerald coined the decade "The Jazz Age." Young people were believed to be more permissive towards sex and recreation and the "New Woman" and the "Flapper" presented a clear rebellion against Victorian ideals. The Flapper was more masculine in her conduct and appearance - flat chested, drinking, smoking and swearing. Views on marriage changed during the decade. During the pre-1918 era it was generally an internalized norm that me would be the head of the family and be responsible for the provision and protection of the wife and kin, while women were restricted to roles within the domestic sphere such as cooking and cleaning. By 1930, marriage was based on exalted codes honoring romantic love. While in 1914 divorce rate was steady at 100,000 by 1929 this had more than doubled to 205,000. Women also obtained employment. While in 1900 only 86,000 women held positions as secretaries by 1930 this had climbed to 775,000 women in clerical roles. Women flew airplanes and drove taxis and by the end of the decade around ten million women had a job outside the home.
One of the most contentious issues for women in the 1920s was birth control. A New York nurse, Margret Sanger became synonymous with birth control in America. In 1912 Sanger distributed literature among working class women promoting contraception. Sanger published "The Woman Rebel" in 1914 that publicized feminist ideals and in 1916 she established America's first family planning clinic in Brooklyn. In 1921 the American Birth Control League was formed. As a result of Sanger's efforts by 1936 American doctors were legally prescribing contraception. Women had more of a voice in how many children they wanted. However, to suggest that all or a disproportionate segment of American women embraced new cultural trends would be an oversight. Many women remained in traditional roles within the home. Further, while women did gain the right to vote during the period many women either neglected the right or voted in alignment with their husbands. Women were discriminated by employers and were often contained to what was deemed as "women's jobs." Harvard failed to admit women into its medical or law schools. As William H. Chafe wrote:
IMMIGRATION
During the war the number of immigrants entering the U.S. stagnated. However, after the war a "new wave" of immigrants flocked through the great hall at Ellis Island. Between June 1920 and June 1921 approximately 800,000 immigrants came to America. During the early twenties half of all white men and a third of all white women in the manufacturing industry were foreign born. Nearly a third of Chicago's 2.7 million residents in the twenties were from alien lands. The new immigrants looked and spoke differently bringing their cultural traditions and home country's dialect with them. New Yorkers spoke in thirty-seven different languages. Lingering from wartime, anti-foreign sentiment swept across the nation accelerated by "Pro-American" reactionary movements such as the Ku Klux Klan which came to national prominence during the twenties. Nativist ideals and xenophobic attitudes gave rise to congressional legislation to place a cap on immigration, laws which would last until the 1960s. In June 1921 Congress passed the Emergency Immigration Act which restricted the number of new arrivals annually to three per cent of the population. In 1924 even more restrictive code was enacted with the Johnson-Reed Act which placed a ceiling of new comers to 150,000 a year. The Johnson-Reed Act was more favorable to persons from Ireland, England, Germany and Scandinavia at the expense of those from Eastern and Southern Europe and Asia. The law claimed it was preserving the anglo-saxon values of the nordic and teutonic races. Consequently many families were unable to be reunited in the New World. Unable to obtain assistance from the government, immigrants found shelter in the ghettos of cities such as New York and Chicago creating their own little worlds such as Little Italy and Little Poland. As David Kennedy notes, "Many immigrants wondered if the fabled promises of American life was a vagrant and perhaps impossible dream."
AGRICULTURE
During World War I farmers experienced an agricultural boom. The war had induced a greater demand for food surplus. Raw farm prices increased by almost eighty-two per cent between 1913 and 1917. Farmers net incomes more than doubled from $4 billion to $10 billion and the number of farmers earning at least $2000 increased from 140,000 to 1,800,000. Yet by the 1920s the demand for farming produce subsided. The U.S. government and allies no longer demanded huge quantities of food and farming prices fell dramatically. Prices of wheat fell from $2.50 per a bushel to a dollar and the prices of corn declined by seventy-five per cent. By 1922 the agricultural market in Europe had recovered from the war and was no longer dependent on American produce. With the passage of the 18th amendment and the enactment of the Volstead Act prohibition had dried farmers of one their its most loyal customers, the distilleries and breweries. With technologically more efficient machinery such as tractors, farmers suffered from overproduction. While Congress approved twice the McNary-Haugen Bill, which proposed that the federal government should act as the buyer of last resort of farm surplus, President Calvin Coolidge used his prerogative and vetoed the bill. Therefore for farmers the twenties had meant the death nail on their abundance of prosperity with little help from Washington.
AFRICAN-AMERICANS
During the war some 500,000 African-Americans trekked North, leaving their rural heartland behind, in sight of new economic opportunities. During the 1920s another million African-Americans would make the journey. This "Great Migration" of African-American's to the northern cities transplanted an essentially rural, deeply religious and uneducated populace into the industrial advancements of the North. They sought economic prosperity and release from the stringent racial Jim Crow laws restricting them in every part of southern society. However, those who made the trip were disappointed. Life in the North was no easier. African-Americans encountered the similar partition of public facilities along racial lines and their dream of economic affluence was largely thwarted by the ensuing economic depression. Once more the mass migration had uprooted men and women from kinship networks and institutions which had acted as a solace and emotional release from their inward discontentment toward racial discrimination. As E. Franklin Frazier argues:
CONCLUSION
"The Roaring Twenties" did give rise to the sound of contentment and happiness from the entire nation. While America saw a time of relative abundance with technological inventiveness boosting the economy and providing employment for millions such as the automobiles companies and construction, other areas of the economy suffered. The demand for coal fell with the introduction of electrical machinery and appliances. Women gained a more pronounced role within society outside the home with employment, voting rights, birth control, feminist ideals and a transformation views toward marriage. However, many women had little time for these new trends and held onto their traditional roles in society. Minority groups such as African-Americans and immigrants failed to be integrated into American society, displaced by racial segregation and ethnocentric attitudes. Therefore, "The Roaring Twenties" did roar but not as loudly as it is believed it did. Not all Americans shared in a slice of the apple pie. As Parrish concluded:
Americans also had ambiguous means of entertainment. By the close of 1922 there were 508 radio stations and three million Americans owned a radio. Hollywood became cheap way for the working class to escape as images of self made men and pretty girls galvanized across the big screen. Nickelodeons became aptly known because a ticket only cost a nickel. By 1926 every large American city had a movie theater and by the end of the decade more than 20,000 cinemas were constructed. In 1922 motion pictures sold some 40 million tickets per a week, by 1930 this soared to 100 million. The talkies were also introduced during the twenties. In 1929 Al Johnson's "The Jazz Singer" produced by Warner Brothers included three sound musical numbers. Films subsidized for camp meetings as the dominant means by which people absorbed information with news reels. The film houses became an important educational tool.
The nation became mobilized during the twenties. In 1915 only 2.5 million automobiles were registered on American roads. By 1920 this number relatively increased to 9.2 million. However, by 1930 26.7 million vehicles were commuting around the nation. There was one automobile for every five Americans, compared with say Britain were there was only one for every forty-three British citizens. Theoretically it was possible in the twenties for every American citizen to be on the road at the same time. Henry For produced an affordable car for the average person with his Model T. The Model T in 1926 only cost $290. Furthermore, Americans were now able to buy on credit. In 1925 75 per cent of all automobile purchases were bought on installment plans. Ford's assembly line created a more efficient means to manage industry. By October 31, 1925, Ford was rolling a Model T off the assembly line every ten seconds. The automobile industry also became a lifeline for other industries. Automobiles absorbed twenty per cent of the nations steel, eighty per cent of its rubber and seventy-five per cent of its glass. The automobile companies also helped setup new services such as roadside restaurants, motels, gas stations and garages. The Construction business also benefited from automobiles. Since more Americans now owned a set of wheels the vacuum between rural and urban America submerged and as a result more people moved to the suburbs. Further, new highway systems were built. Before the construction of new roads one would have to wait several days for dirt roads to dry from the rain before commuting to the next town in Iowa. By 1928 one could travel from New York as far west as St. Mary's, Kansas on the new roads. As Leuchtenburg instigates, "The production of automobiles soared almost at a geometric rate, and the industry gave a shot in the arm to the whole economy."
While many Americans prospered from this boom in economic opportunity, many did not. The richest tenth of the population received forty per cent of the national income. In "sick" industries including coal and textiles workers saw nothing of this great prosperity. Child labor continued throughout the decade with some two million children working in textile mills and cranberry fields. Furthermore, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found in 1929 that in order to have a "descent standard of living" a family of two adults and two children had to earn around $2,500. However, during 1929 of the twenty-seven million people who filed income tax returns, twelve million earned $1,500 or less.
"THE NEW WOMAN"
F. Scott Fitzgerald coined the decade "The Jazz Age." Young people were believed to be more permissive towards sex and recreation and the "New Woman" and the "Flapper" presented a clear rebellion against Victorian ideals. The Flapper was more masculine in her conduct and appearance - flat chested, drinking, smoking and swearing. Views on marriage changed during the decade. During the pre-1918 era it was generally an internalized norm that me would be the head of the family and be responsible for the provision and protection of the wife and kin, while women were restricted to roles within the domestic sphere such as cooking and cleaning. By 1930, marriage was based on exalted codes honoring romantic love. While in 1914 divorce rate was steady at 100,000 by 1929 this had more than doubled to 205,000. Women also obtained employment. While in 1900 only 86,000 women held positions as secretaries by 1930 this had climbed to 775,000 women in clerical roles. Women flew airplanes and drove taxis and by the end of the decade around ten million women had a job outside the home.
One of the most contentious issues for women in the 1920s was birth control. A New York nurse, Margret Sanger became synonymous with birth control in America. In 1912 Sanger distributed literature among working class women promoting contraception. Sanger published "The Woman Rebel" in 1914 that publicized feminist ideals and in 1916 she established America's first family planning clinic in Brooklyn. In 1921 the American Birth Control League was formed. As a result of Sanger's efforts by 1936 American doctors were legally prescribing contraception. Women had more of a voice in how many children they wanted. However, to suggest that all or a disproportionate segment of American women embraced new cultural trends would be an oversight. Many women remained in traditional roles within the home. Further, while women did gain the right to vote during the period many women either neglected the right or voted in alignment with their husbands. Women were discriminated by employers and were often contained to what was deemed as "women's jobs." Harvard failed to admit women into its medical or law schools. As William H. Chafe wrote:
"If the word 'emancipation' is take to mean the ability of women to function in the world outside the home on the same basis as men. Then female workers remained as unemancipated in the 1920s as in the 1940s."
IMMIGRATION
During the war the number of immigrants entering the U.S. stagnated. However, after the war a "new wave" of immigrants flocked through the great hall at Ellis Island. Between June 1920 and June 1921 approximately 800,000 immigrants came to America. During the early twenties half of all white men and a third of all white women in the manufacturing industry were foreign born. Nearly a third of Chicago's 2.7 million residents in the twenties were from alien lands. The new immigrants looked and spoke differently bringing their cultural traditions and home country's dialect with them. New Yorkers spoke in thirty-seven different languages. Lingering from wartime, anti-foreign sentiment swept across the nation accelerated by "Pro-American" reactionary movements such as the Ku Klux Klan which came to national prominence during the twenties. Nativist ideals and xenophobic attitudes gave rise to congressional legislation to place a cap on immigration, laws which would last until the 1960s. In June 1921 Congress passed the Emergency Immigration Act which restricted the number of new arrivals annually to three per cent of the population. In 1924 even more restrictive code was enacted with the Johnson-Reed Act which placed a ceiling of new comers to 150,000 a year. The Johnson-Reed Act was more favorable to persons from Ireland, England, Germany and Scandinavia at the expense of those from Eastern and Southern Europe and Asia. The law claimed it was preserving the anglo-saxon values of the nordic and teutonic races. Consequently many families were unable to be reunited in the New World. Unable to obtain assistance from the government, immigrants found shelter in the ghettos of cities such as New York and Chicago creating their own little worlds such as Little Italy and Little Poland. As David Kennedy notes, "Many immigrants wondered if the fabled promises of American life was a vagrant and perhaps impossible dream."
AGRICULTURE
During World War I farmers experienced an agricultural boom. The war had induced a greater demand for food surplus. Raw farm prices increased by almost eighty-two per cent between 1913 and 1917. Farmers net incomes more than doubled from $4 billion to $10 billion and the number of farmers earning at least $2000 increased from 140,000 to 1,800,000. Yet by the 1920s the demand for farming produce subsided. The U.S. government and allies no longer demanded huge quantities of food and farming prices fell dramatically. Prices of wheat fell from $2.50 per a bushel to a dollar and the prices of corn declined by seventy-five per cent. By 1922 the agricultural market in Europe had recovered from the war and was no longer dependent on American produce. With the passage of the 18th amendment and the enactment of the Volstead Act prohibition had dried farmers of one their its most loyal customers, the distilleries and breweries. With technologically more efficient machinery such as tractors, farmers suffered from overproduction. While Congress approved twice the McNary-Haugen Bill, which proposed that the federal government should act as the buyer of last resort of farm surplus, President Calvin Coolidge used his prerogative and vetoed the bill. Therefore for farmers the twenties had meant the death nail on their abundance of prosperity with little help from Washington.
AFRICAN-AMERICANS
During the war some 500,000 African-Americans trekked North, leaving their rural heartland behind, in sight of new economic opportunities. During the 1920s another million African-Americans would make the journey. This "Great Migration" of African-American's to the northern cities transplanted an essentially rural, deeply religious and uneducated populace into the industrial advancements of the North. They sought economic prosperity and release from the stringent racial Jim Crow laws restricting them in every part of southern society. However, those who made the trip were disappointed. Life in the North was no easier. African-Americans encountered the similar partition of public facilities along racial lines and their dream of economic affluence was largely thwarted by the ensuing economic depression. Once more the mass migration had uprooted men and women from kinship networks and institutions which had acted as a solace and emotional release from their inward discontentment toward racial discrimination. As E. Franklin Frazier argues:
"In the cold impersonal environment of the city, the institutions and associations which had provided security and support for the Negro in the rural environment could not be resurrected... The most important crisis in the life of the Negro migrant was produced by the absence of the church which had been the centre of his social life and a refuge from a hostile world."Many African-Americans remained in the Jim Crow South. In 1930 four out of five Americans lived in the rural South. Further, African-Americans lacked representation in both local and federal government. Up until the late 1940s only five per cent of African-Americans were registered to vote in the eleven former confederate states. African-Americans also suffered a lower life expectancy to whites and by 1930 infant mortality rates were nearly double that of whites.
CONCLUSION
"The Roaring Twenties" did give rise to the sound of contentment and happiness from the entire nation. While America saw a time of relative abundance with technological inventiveness boosting the economy and providing employment for millions such as the automobiles companies and construction, other areas of the economy suffered. The demand for coal fell with the introduction of electrical machinery and appliances. Women gained a more pronounced role within society outside the home with employment, voting rights, birth control, feminist ideals and a transformation views toward marriage. However, many women had little time for these new trends and held onto their traditional roles in society. Minority groups such as African-Americans and immigrants failed to be integrated into American society, displaced by racial segregation and ethnocentric attitudes. Therefore, "The Roaring Twenties" did roar but not as loudly as it is believed it did. Not all Americans shared in a slice of the apple pie. As Parrish concluded:
"...the vaunted prosperity of the decade fell to some more than others and did not touch the lives of millions. Radiant statistics about per capita income and wage growth cloaked numerous cases of economic catastrophe..."
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