American Society in the 1920s
Created | Updated Jun 18, 2003
American Society in the 1920s
By the end of the 1920s, American society had changed beyond recognition in comparison with how it was before World War One. America had grown rich and the American people had reflected this in the way they spent their money. Entertainment took up much more of their time and generated a lot of money. Before the war, people had seen thriftiness as a virtue but in the 1920s people spent money as they earned it and, with credit, before they earned it. Consumerism increased dramatically and with this advertising became a full-scale industry. Women were no longer seen as housewives and many new celebrities came out of Hollywood. Prohibition brought gangsters and many of these became very rich and famous.
Before World War One many American women were expected to lead very dull, restricted lives. They were not expected to dress up, wear make-up or play sport. Relationships with men were not allowed to be free but instead when a woman went out with a boyfriend they had to have a chaperone with them. The few women who worked did low-paid jobs such as cleaning or dressmaking. Much of this was due to the influence of the church in American life. The early settlers had used the church as a way of controlling society in such a way that they were able to survive and its traditional attitude to women still affected daily life. During the war, as in Britain, more factory workers were needed and so women began to take up skilled work in war industries. By 1920, women were able to vote in every state. The car set free many Americans, including women. It meant that people were independent and young couples could escape from their parents.
Young women in the cities began to behave differently. They smoked and drank in public with men, wore more daring clothes and went out with men on their own, often in cars. More women had jobs and along with this advertising directed at women became more prolific. Women were also more liberated in their marriages: the number of divorcees doubled in 15 years as women were less likely to stay in unhappy marriages. Role models in films, books and the media gave women, especially young women, someone to look up to. There were still disadvantages for women. They were less highly paid in general and few women were elected as political candidates.
The mass availability of the car helped to fuel the economic boom, making travel much easier and more flexible and it also allowed the American people to go further and see more. People were able to easily get to and from shops, entertainment, holidays and friends. It took young people away from the gaze of their parents and helped liberate a generation. It gave the American people freedom and allowed them to do things they never could before.
In 1920s America, more cinema tickets were being sold in a week as are sold in a year in Britain now. The cinema became a part of American life. The film industry, based in Hollywood, became much larger and with the continuous sunshine many movies could be made in a year. At first the films were silent but in 1927 the first ‘talkies’ were released. Film stars such as Charlie Chaplin became national icons and films helped change the moral values of American society. Before the war, sex had been something that no-one talked about. However in the 1920s it became an everyday subject and films, newspapers and books were all sold with sex. The cinema found that sex sold and actresses sold on sex appeal became the ‘it’ girls. Male actors such as Rudolph Valentino, pictured here, were also made into sex symbols. Hollywood made many films based on sex and this helped increase cinema popularity even more. Although by today’s standards these films were not particularity daring, they caused concern in many of the more conservative rural states, who threatened to introduce censorship. The bill was never passed but Hollywood did introduce its own code of censorship. Films not only made huge amounts of money but they contributed towards the change in society.
Despite the image of the 1920s being one long party, alcohol was never legal during the 1920s. Before the start of the 20th Century, a strong ‘Temperance’ movement had developed in the country which campaigned against alcohol. Members of temperance groups did not drink and tried to get others to give up alcohol. They produced posters telling of the damage that alcohol did. Many of the temperance groups were formed by Christians from the rural states and they soon became very strong. They managed to get local governments to ban alcohol in some states and before long the movement to ban alcohol had gained nationwide support. Politicians who wanted rural votes got behind the movement and industrial figures also supported it, saying that a dry America would lead to better workers. The dries, as they were known, argued that alcohol killed babies, made money for ‘warmongering’ Germans and supported communism. In 1919 Prohibition became law. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution ‘prohibited the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors’. It was never actually illegal to drink alcohol, as long as you hadn’t made, bought or moved it. Alcohol was effectively banned.
Prohibition was not successful. In the rural states it had some degree of success but it was not universally accepted. Maryland never introduced prohibition and in the cities alcohol was readily available. People started illegally distilling ‘moonshine’ and illegal bars called ‘speakeasies’ appeared in every city. Far from making the USA drink-free prohibition turned many Americans into law-breakers. Gangs, led by individuals such as Al Capone became rich through supplying the speakeasies and many of the police who were meant to support prohibition were often gang members and would direct people to speakeasies. The officers were easily bribed and one gang had 400 on its payroll. Prohibition wasn’t enforced well enough to ever succeed and the idea of taking away something that had been present in society for hundreds of years was implausible. Prohibition simply made the Gangster rich, the police corrupt and Americans into criminals. It was abolished in 1933 after causing more harm than good.
During the 1920s output and sales of consumer goods increased massively. Cars, Radios, Telephones and fridges were just some of the goods that the American people bought in their masses. Department stores introduced a new way of shopping and credit introduced a new way of paying for the shopping. Mail order catalogues reached the country, allowing companies to sell their goods to a wider market. Because of the increase in consumerism industrial production increased. The car’s popularity shaped American society and it also shaped American industry. The industry that employed the most workers in the 1920s was road-building. People had more money to spend and they spent it on consumer goods rather than saving it.
Musical styles changed during the 1920s. The radio’s popularity gave many Americans access to new and exciting forms of music. Black people who moved to the cities brought Jazz and Blues with them. These forms of music became very popular with young black and white people. New types of dances appeared with them. The older generations saw jazz music as a bad influence on young people, saying that the rhythms of the music excited the ‘baser human instincts’ and even claiming that jazz music ‘caused drunkenness’. Jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong became national stars and are still recognised as great today. Jazz music became popular in the 20’s, sometimes known as the Jazz Age, and is still popular today. New forms of music such as jazz reached their audiences through the radio, now a huge industry, and the clubs that were appearing in towns and cities. Americans were spending more of their money on entertainment, which became and industry. The stars of the day were as famous and high-profile as today’s film stars and pop groups.
Fashions also changed during the 1920s. The change in fashion and behaviour was represented by the ‘flapper’. Flappers were young women who wore short dresses, smoked in public, went out with men and were most probably frowned upon by their parents’ generation. The fashions of the time, seen as outrageous by the older generation, served to increase the change in society and paved the way for many of today’s fashions and styles. In the 1920s skyscrapers were built all over America. Many of these corporate statements are still famous today such as the Empire State Building and the Chrysler building in New York. The 1920s marked a change from the low-key attitudes of pre-war America towards the more modern values seen today. Fashion and architecture are just two examples of this. Most aspects of American culture and society changed in the 1920s due largely to the new state of mind that resulted from America’s wealth.
By the end of the 1920s, American society had changed beyond recognition in comparison with how it was before World War One. America had grown rich and the American people had reflected this in the way they spent their money. Entertainment took up much more of their time and generated a lot of money. Before the war, people had seen thriftiness as a virtue but in the 1920s people spent money as they earned it and, with credit, before they earned it. Consumerism increased dramatically and with this advertising became a full-scale industry. Women were no longer seen as housewives and many new celebrities came out of Hollywood. Prohibition brought gangsters and many of these became very rich and famous.
Before World War One many American women were expected to lead very dull, restricted lives. They were not expected to dress up, wear make-up or play sport. Relationships with men were not allowed to be free but instead when a woman went out with a boyfriend they had to have a chaperone with them. The few women who worked did low-paid jobs such as cleaning or dressmaking. Much of this was due to the influence of the church in American life. The early settlers had used the church as a way of controlling society in such a way that they were able to survive and its traditional attitude to women still affected daily life. During the war, as in Britain, more factory workers were needed and so women began to take up skilled work in war industries. By 1920, women were able to vote in every state. The car set free many Americans, including women. It meant that people were independent and young couples could escape from their parents.
Young women in the cities began to behave differently. They smoked and drank in public with men, wore more daring clothes and went out with men on their own, often in cars. More women had jobs and along with this advertising directed at women became more prolific. Women were also more liberated in their marriages: the number of divorcees doubled in 15 years as women were less likely to stay in unhappy marriages. Role models in films, books and the media gave women, especially young women, someone to look up to. There were still disadvantages for women. They were less highly paid in general and few women were elected as political candidates.
The mass availability of the car helped to fuel the economic boom, making travel much easier and more flexible and it also allowed the American people to go further and see more. People were able to easily get to and from shops, entertainment, holidays and friends. It took young people away from the gaze of their parents and helped liberate a generation. It gave the American people freedom and allowed them to do things they never could before.
In 1920s America, more cinema tickets were being sold in a week as are sold in a year in Britain now. The cinema became a part of American life. The film industry, based in Hollywood, became much larger and with the continuous sunshine many movies could be made in a year. At first the films were silent but in 1927 the first ‘talkies’ were released. Film stars such as Charlie Chaplin became national icons and films helped change the moral values of American society. Before the war, sex had been something that no-one talked about. However in the 1920s it became an everyday subject and films, newspapers and books were all sold with sex. The cinema found that sex sold and actresses sold on sex appeal became the ‘it’ girls. Male actors such as Rudolph Valentino, pictured here, were also made into sex symbols. Hollywood made many films based on sex and this helped increase cinema popularity even more. Although by today’s standards these films were not particularity daring, they caused concern in many of the more conservative rural states, who threatened to introduce censorship. The bill was never passed but Hollywood did introduce its own code of censorship. Films not only made huge amounts of money but they contributed towards the change in society.
Despite the image of the 1920s being one long party, alcohol was never legal during the 1920s. Before the start of the 20th Century, a strong ‘Temperance’ movement had developed in the country which campaigned against alcohol. Members of temperance groups did not drink and tried to get others to give up alcohol. They produced posters telling of the damage that alcohol did. Many of the temperance groups were formed by Christians from the rural states and they soon became very strong. They managed to get local governments to ban alcohol in some states and before long the movement to ban alcohol had gained nationwide support. Politicians who wanted rural votes got behind the movement and industrial figures also supported it, saying that a dry America would lead to better workers. The dries, as they were known, argued that alcohol killed babies, made money for ‘warmongering’ Germans and supported communism. In 1919 Prohibition became law. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution ‘prohibited the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors’. It was never actually illegal to drink alcohol, as long as you hadn’t made, bought or moved it. Alcohol was effectively banned.
Prohibition was not successful. In the rural states it had some degree of success but it was not universally accepted. Maryland never introduced prohibition and in the cities alcohol was readily available. People started illegally distilling ‘moonshine’ and illegal bars called ‘speakeasies’ appeared in every city. Far from making the USA drink-free prohibition turned many Americans into law-breakers. Gangs, led by individuals such as Al Capone became rich through supplying the speakeasies and many of the police who were meant to support prohibition were often gang members and would direct people to speakeasies. The officers were easily bribed and one gang had 400 on its payroll. Prohibition wasn’t enforced well enough to ever succeed and the idea of taking away something that had been present in society for hundreds of years was implausible. Prohibition simply made the Gangster rich, the police corrupt and Americans into criminals. It was abolished in 1933 after causing more harm than good.
During the 1920s output and sales of consumer goods increased massively. Cars, Radios, Telephones and fridges were just some of the goods that the American people bought in their masses. Department stores introduced a new way of shopping and credit introduced a new way of paying for the shopping. Mail order catalogues reached the country, allowing companies to sell their goods to a wider market. Because of the increase in consumerism industrial production increased. The car’s popularity shaped American society and it also shaped American industry. The industry that employed the most workers in the 1920s was road-building. People had more money to spend and they spent it on consumer goods rather than saving it.
Musical styles changed during the 1920s. The radio’s popularity gave many Americans access to new and exciting forms of music. Black people who moved to the cities brought Jazz and Blues with them. These forms of music became very popular with young black and white people. New types of dances appeared with them. The older generations saw jazz music as a bad influence on young people, saying that the rhythms of the music excited the ‘baser human instincts’ and even claiming that jazz music ‘caused drunkenness’. Jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong became national stars and are still recognised as great today. Jazz music became popular in the 20’s, sometimes known as the Jazz Age, and is still popular today. New forms of music such as jazz reached their audiences through the radio, now a huge industry, and the clubs that were appearing in towns and cities. Americans were spending more of their money on entertainment, which became and industry. The stars of the day were as famous and high-profile as today’s film stars and pop groups.
Fashions also changed during the 1920s. The change in fashion and behaviour was represented by the ‘flapper’. Flappers were young women who wore short dresses, smoked in public, went out with men and were most probably frowned upon by their parents’ generation. The fashions of the time, seen as outrageous by the older generation, served to increase the change in society and paved the way for many of today’s fashions and styles. In the 1920s skyscrapers were built all over America. Many of these corporate statements are still famous today such as the Empire State Building and the Chrysler building in New York. The 1920s marked a change from the low-key attitudes of pre-war America towards the more modern values seen today. Fashion and architecture are just two examples of this. Most aspects of American culture and society changed in the 1920s due largely to the new state of mind that resulted from America’s wealth.
