What was life like in 1920's America?

during the 1920s the United States witnessed extreme social change and technological advances which led to significant change in lifestyle and culture there was an economic boom order ocean turmoil and ended in disaster the decade became known as the Roaring Twenties an economic upturn and a growing population rapidly increased demand for consumer goods more people were moving into urban areas the government wanted people to buy goods made in the US resulting in profits remaining in the US as President Coolidge said the business of America is business Congress introduced the Fortnum become a tariff a taxation placed on foreign goods coming into the United States this resulted in imported goods being more expensive than the same American goods thereby helping create a financial boom in the 20s this tariff protected the American industry from competition and the government relaxed regulations and reduced American taxes methods of production were also changing notably with the innovation and advances of production in the motor industry the largest car manufacturers were Ford and General Motors Henry Ford did not invent the assembly line instead he developed and revolutionized it his automobile factories produced vehicles more efficiently the most famous and successful car was a Ford Model T Ford became a name for quality and affordability originally the Model T was $825 but in 1925 after many fluctuations in price it had dropped to $260 which is around $3,600 today Ford will producing a car every 10 seconds pushing down prices and making cars more accessible for ordinary people Henry Ford captured the loyalty of his workers by paying them more than his competitors he introduced better working hours and even gave Sundays off in the 20s prejudice towards african-americans was exhibited by organization known as the Ku Klux Klan one and a half million african-americans migrated north and specific neighborhoods were soon deemed african-american the Harlem Renaissance in New York and other areas like the hill district in Pittsburgh and Bronzeville in Chicago became centers for african-american art and culture there were African American architects novelists poets and painters many African Americans believed the artistic endeavors were a way of winning equality by proving they were equal African American jazz music took its roots from New Orleans and through the migration of African Americans its popularity spread jazz music was frequently played at nightclubs the most famous was the Cotton Club where live music was hosted nightly to people of all race there were also significant changes to women's rights in 1920 the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote the federal Road Act of 1916 was the start of the significant period for American infrastructure over the following years construction of roads was seen all across the nation new industries like aviation chemicals and electronics of roads which provided both jobs and consumer products for the emerging American dream companies looked at the new technology and produce many devices such as vacuum cleaners toasters washing machines and refrigerators this enabled the average working American to achieve more time for leisure and the economy prospered the use of financial credit became widely accepted however the implications of debt were ignored in order to maintain the American standard of living prosperity in the 1920s wasn't equally spread Americans celebrated big business and Wall Street became a well-known location for trade selling stocks and shares however with the rise in affluence throughout many areas of the economy there are also extremes of social and economic hardship apparent in many other aspects of American life it is estimated that 40% of Americans lived in poverty farmers had prospered during World War one when their government had subsidized farm prices for the war effort but when that ended farmers income dropped and farms declined however as the average wage increased people had more disposable income to spent Hollywood became a major film industry studios like Warner Brothers and paramount produced numerous films annually Hollywood was a perfect location it was mostly dry with mountain and desert scenery until 1927 films and movies were silent and piano players were hired to provide background music for each scene stars like Rudolph Valentino and Charlie Chaplin became very popular in the film industry the first film of sound the jazz singer was presented as a talkie the name given to the first films with sound which soon became the standard by the mid 1930s films were produced in color and cartoon characters like Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse hit the scenes new dance styles also emerged the Charleston and the tango became very popular with young Americans many young women became flappers they rebelled from the restrictive fashions of corsets in favor of short hair and short skirts these women was seen to smoke drink wear makeup play tennis and socially they danced wildly at jazz clubs many Americans watched American football baseball basketball boxing and other sports and was spurred on by the popularity of the radio sport was becoming a recreational activity by 1920 most households owned a radio giving the population greater access to sports music and obviously information from news programs radios made information more accessible and advertisers were keen to promote their products through these means in the 1920s prohibition was fully enacted it was ratified by the 18th amendment and officially began in 1920 making the production and sale about coal illegal prohibition was very difficult to enforce there were very few prohibition agents who often easily bribed to ignore the offenses bootleggers manufactured and exported alcohol making homemade moonshine and smuggled them into cities with the enactment of prohibition speakeasies began to papa these were secretive places while alcohol was consumed and sold and they were often run by organized crime groups our Capone battled to the control of the bootlegging and speakeasy trade this was altered in gang violence as opposing gang sought to profit from prohibition it was clear that prohibition was a bad idea and extremely difficult to enforce and it subsequently ended in 1933 for those that study history the 1920s is an era where significant change took place all this makes us wonder what will this decade the 2010s be remembered for and how will future decades remember us thanks for watching