The Roaring Of The 1920s

The 1920s was an age of drastic social and political changes. For the first time in history, more Americans started living in cities rather than on farms. Americans were wealthier than ever before. People from coast to coast bought similar goods, listened to the same music, did the same dances, and even used related slang. Numerous Americans were uncomfortable with this unfamiliar, urban, and occasionally racy “mass culture”. In fact, for a large number of people in the United States, the 1920s brought more conflict than celebration. However, for a minuscule handful of youth in the nation’s larger cities, the 1920s were roaring. Prohibition gave criminals a way to illegally make money; gangsters, young men who worked in criminal gangs, began selling on the black-market alcohol. Young woman emerged during the 1920s with different appearance, attitude, and behavior; with a bobbed haircut and short skirts.

One of the most interesting and influential time frames in the history of America was the 1920’s, or the Roaring Twenties. The Roaring Twenties was in the decade of the 20’s (1920 to 1929) and was called the “Roaring Twenties” because people in America just boomed. World War I just ended and people prospered because of it. The society was like a well-oiled machine, with everyone dancing and using similar slang, and a lot of people enjoyed it. Not everything was great, because this was also the time where prohibition of alcohol came into play, and the Ku Klux Klan gained popularity as a result. Even though all of these were prevalent at the time, how did the Twenties affect history as a whole?

This can be seen most prominently through the forced acceptance of placing many Indigenous children in residential schools. The federal government conducted the residential school system to isolate children from the influences of their families, homes, culture, and traditions, to assimilate them into the dominant culture of the time. Not only was this wrong but, it was legal. In the early twentieth century, compulsory attendance was integrated into the Indian Act. Children received an inferior education and experienced loss of language and culture. In addition, due to their removal from families, Indigenous children were never nurtured in a family environment, which transcended generations of Indigenous families. Moreover, the injustice faced by Indigenous families has been acknowledged by the Canadian government. For instance, in the 1990s the federal government and churches involved with residential schools acknowledged the true purpose of these schools were to "kill the Indian in the child,” according to Stephen Harper, during his formal apology. The Canadian government openly acknowledges the racism that the Indian Act built upon and the damages done by the residential school system in

As a nation coming out of a devastating war, America faced many changes in the 1920s. It was a decade of growth and improvements. As immigrants fled from Europe, the economy improved, and new machines offered convenience and luxury from the kitchen to the streets. However, with all change comes opposition. The 1920s revealed a conflict between traditional America and the new attitude and lifestyle through the changing role of women, continued dominance of Christian values, and racism.

The 1920s, or better known as the roaring twenties changed the lives of women in America politically, physically and mentally. Women were granted more freedom, the right to vote, changed their physical appearance, and focused on materialistic goals instead of moral values. Before World War I, women would wear a high collar, long straight skirts below the knee and long hair that was tied loosely. The roaring twenties brought along swing dancing and jazz which changed the way women dressed and danced. Not only did the roaring twenties bring along flourishing taste in music, but flappers came into play. Flappers were women who wore short sparkly dresses, cut their hair into a bob, wore heavy make-up, drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes and partied all night.

The era of the 1920s has been depicted as the Roaring Twenties, a time of glamour and glitter with the rise of parties, the dance of the “flappers,” the culture of the Jazz Age, and the consumption of pleasures and indulgence in leisure. But the 1920s were more than just the trend of looking good or listening to the blues, it was also a time of conflict, the fight and struggles of women and race, amongst others. By reading two distinct focuses of the after war era, the period could be thoroughly discussed and presented for what it really was, what events really followed, from the excitement of the envisioned grand parties to the underlying issues that lay beneath the “roar” of the twenties.

The 1920’s were a period of tension between new and changing attitudes on one hand and traditional values and nostalgia on the other. Following WWI it was a transitional time period to modernization, and the old America was being forgotten. From the old and new to urban and rural, generations were feuding over the advancement of American Society. To a great extent social, economic, and cultural changes affected the leading tensions between the old and the new and was manifested greatly by those. Although political changes are usually the cause of disagreements, the tensions in the 1920’s were manifested by social, economic, and cultural changes.

Canada holds a shameful history of operating beyond 130 residential schools for the Aboriginal Children during 1800’s until late 1900’s (“Misconceptions of Canada’s Indian Residential School System” 2007). Due to the implementation of the Indian Act in 1876, more than 100 000 Aboriginal children between the ages of four and sixteen years old were forced out of their homes, separated from their family, and sent to the residential schools to be assimilated into Euro-Canadian cultures (ANISHINABEK, 2013). The residential schools were operated by the churches and were funded by the Government of Canada. The main reason for sending the children to the residential schools was due to the strong belief that the assimilation has to start with the children to make them a civilized human beings as the Aboriginal were seen as “savages”. (NEEGANAGWEDGIN,

During the 1920s, there occur several social and political changes occurred. For the first time, Americans began to step out of their comfort circles. Nicknames for the decade, such as “the Jazz Age” or “the Roaring Twenties,” in a way express all of the excitement it was like to have lived through out such a time. As the economy boomed, wages rose for most Americans and prices fell, resulting in a higher standard of living and a dramatic increase in consumer consumption. More and more people began to go out and live life under a new light and experiment with new things.

Duncan Campbell Scott, Head of Indian Affairs Canada from 1913-1932, spoke for many when he said, “I want to get rid of the Indian problem. Our object is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada who has not been absorbed. They are a weird and waning race… ready to break out at any moment in… dances.” (Quinlan et al#######) Additionally, native children in residential schools were not allowed to refer to their own cultures in any way, especially through language. The only language they were allowed to speak was English, a language that none of them knew. If caught, the children were severely punished. Many children experienced physical, sexual and emotional abuse while in residential school. Brenda Cardinal, an aboriginal who once had to stay in residential school, describes how school affected her, “I became withdrawn, painfully shy, and I just couldn’t communicate with anyone. I couldn’t receive love or show anyone love. I didn’t even love myself.” (qtd in Freeman-Shaw, Haskings-Winner 38) Residential schools had a very negative impact on those who went through the horrible experiences and many of these former students do not have positive stories to share. By the end of the 1920s, there were eighty residential schools in Canada. The forced assimilation of native children had greatly impacted those who went to residential school and will always remain as a dark shadow cast on Canada’s history.

The 1920s was a pivotal era in women’s fashion—an era that saw Prohibition, Jazz and celebration of war’s end. Gone was the hourglass figure of the 19th Century, swept away by the World War I, and replaced by the figure of a modern, independent woman. This book covers fashions from 1920 to 1924, an often overlooked period of fashion which was a time of transition between the draped and layered fashions of the post World War I era and the free and easy gowns of the jazz age flapper.

The Roaring Twenties was a period of intense tension towards the numerous barriers of tradition. Unlike the gradual fluctuations in modern day society which lead tension in its wake, the 1920’s was a bombardment of radical change ranging from societal norms to economic consumption. The end of World War I led to the end of idealism, and evolving values began to escalate towards the 1920’s. The surge of immigrants allowed for greater and greater economic booms, including the use of credit and involvement in the stock market. Thus, increasing racial tensions surfaced, heightening as economic booms amplified. Such a deep shift in American culture conflicted with traditional mentalities. The rising tension between new and changing attitudes was

The 1920s were prosperous times for Canada and many other countries around the world. Canadian economy, thanks to its vast storage of natural resources, was striving to the extent that the 1920s was nicknamed “The Roaring 20s”. The 1920s era not only provided Canada with an amazing trade relationship, but also led to the development of different movements & inventions that shook the world and shaped the way we live today. These impacting events include artwork, social change, women’s rights, prohibition, the Model T car, the radio, silent film, medical advances and the telephone. Though all these phenomena worked together to make the 20s “roar”, but in particular women’s rights, medical advances and the telephone made the most prominent impact on the past and present society.

Throughout the era of the roaring 20s, there were several impacts that vastly influenced and altered America from the beginning of the 1920s to today. One of the several impacts that influenced America drastically in the 20s to today, was the boom in feature movies/the movie industry. Things that it greatly impacted, was our culture, lifestyle, career field, and our technological innovation. The creation of motion pictures, movies with sound, and talkies had an immense alteration on society’s entertainment.

The 1920s has been often been referred as the New Society. “They are stronger. They are rich. They hire and fire the politician, the old judges…the college president” (1) was what Dos Passos’s said about the people in the 1920s. The roaring twenty has flappers which just meant young, confident, sexual women. This was all new for the people in the 1920 because they have always thought of the women following rules and staying home. Another term that was during the roaring twenty was speakeasies which is just nightclubs that sold liquor. Liquor at this time was legal and unwanted. A lot of companies such as Henry Ford’s company forbid having alcohol in work area.