Describe the main aspects of the economic boom in the 1920s.
The economic boom occurred in the 1920s in the US and caused huge industrialisation across
the country. The First World War had just ended and this caused celebration amongst the
general population, furthermore, WWI had given the US economy a flying start in industry
with the amount of trading they did with many other countries. The economic boom changed
society and made it more prosperous and wealthy and led to the values and views of women
changing. The society had become more liberal than before the war and many sexual morals
changed from the introduction of sex symbols in Hollywood and the rise of the ‘Jazz age’.
One of the main aspects of the economic boom was the rise of new industries and
employment levels. As new industries emerged for example cars and more people wanted to
buy them as they had more money to spend. Thus industries started to mass produce products
to serve the high demands, and due to this more jobs were opened up which meant that
unemployment levels dropped from 11.9% in 1921 to 3.9% 1929. Furthermore, as more
people began to drive cars, more roads were paved which led to further jobs on construction
opening up and this meant more people had money to spend. This was a cycle of prosperity.
Additionally, people spent money on new technologies such as the ‘Hoover’, cookers and
radios as 70% of towns and cities in 1929 had lighting and electricity in homes. Skyscrapers
were built which implied the great wealth and prosperity of the nation at that time.
Consequently, with this huge industrialisation due to the wealth of the boom came many
changes in society.
With the economic boom, came a great change in society. As more money was made,
industries began to boom. Hollywood became very popular in the 1920s and produced many
films which were viewed by thousands in cinemas. It soon became very famous in which movie
stars were idolized by fans and the film industry became more sexual, for example a huge sex
symbol was Rudolf Valentino. This meant that sex before marriage became more common.
Hence, this contributed to the economy as more people spent money in cinemas because of
the high employment levels. Moreover, this was the era of the Jazz age in which many young
people listened to jazz music on their new radios. This new type of music changed society as
people began to stop listening to classical music and began to listen to jazz which was faster
and raunchier. However, many older people thought it to be corrupting morals of the younger
generation. As a result, the entertainment industry boomed with the economy which led to
society changing as the growth of leisure was generally due to people having more money to
spend as there was more employment.
War had ended, women were already more independent as they worked rather than stayed at
home when the men were fighting. When the war was over, women demanded to work and live
a more liberal life to show themselves
as equals toward men. Moreover, women were soon
given the right to vote which boosted confidence and equality between genders. When
electrical appliances were invented, working women could get cleaning and housework done
faster and then used their free time to go out in their new cars and spend the money they had
earned, which associates with the cycle of prosperity. The normal tradition of being a housewife
was neglected and women began to become more adventurous and daring. For example,
‘flapper girls’ wore trousers, drove motorcycles and smoked in public, which would have been
frowned upon before, to demonstrate their freedom. Teenagers were also influenced by this
movement and became more rebellious. They grew up with new technologies for example;
many teens learnt how to drive the car and this meant that they could go out to popular jazz
clubs and cinemas without their parents. They also expressed their personality by the new
flapper girl fashion like knee- length skirts and short cropped hair. This changed sexual morals
and values as women and teenagers as they began to idolise Hollywood stars which links to the
new use of sex appeal in film industries. As a consequence women and teenagers became more
promiscuous as their values changed from obedient and formal to daring and independent.
Overall, women and teenagers benefited from the economic boom.
However, some people did not benefit from the economic boom. As the nation was
industrialising rapidly and mechanization of industries meant that workers would lose jobs as
machines were far more efficient. Mostly farming and coal industries were affected and
resulted to minor unemployment. Furthermore, some sectors of society did not benefit from
the economic boom. Immigrants such as black people still suffered from segregation and were
treated as the inferior members of society. This would include the lower jobs and racial
discrimination from white people. Therefore many immigrants and poorer people working in
the primary field of employment did not gain from the economic boom.
Overall, the economic boom changed society dramatically as it meant that there was a rise of
new and old industries which influenced many groups in society including women and
teenagers. The overall change made the society promiscuous and boosted the confidence of
many. Furthermore, the nation became more industrialised which opened new jobs however it
caused unemployment for some sectors of society. The economic boom had been, overall a
beneficial era in American history as it brought prosperity into the country.