The Roaring Twenties

6 Pages 1561 Words

1920s
Social Trends
"The Roaring Twenties"
The 1920s have been dubbed everything from 'The Roaring Twenties" and The Era of Wonderful Nonsense" To The Decade of the Dollar" and The period of the Psyche" to the " Dry Decade" and the age of Alcohol and the Al Capone." Many historians regard the years between World War I and the stock- market crash of 1929 as the culmination of a long process of social change, which Frederick Lewis Allen described as a "revolution in manners and morals."

The Wake of World War I
The 1920s opened in the aftermath of World War I. the war's brutality and devastation in Europe culminated in euphoria at home over the armistice, followed by political controversy over the Treaty of Versailles. While president Woodrow Wilson helped end the war "over there," he claimed Americans did not "want to be coached and lead" and as a result offered no organized plan to convert the economy from military mobilization to peace or incorporate masses of returning veterans into society.

Conversion to Peacetime Economy
In the absence of government planning, conversion to a peace economy was abrupt. Veterans poured into the job market and competed with the nine million workers, including many blacks and women, who had advanced because of the economic expansion cause by the war. As government contracts terminated, construction companies planned mew buildings and homes, and factories geared up to fill orders for domestic goods. The result was an inflationary boom in 1919, driving up prices and causing massive labor unrest. Food prices rose 84 percent, clothing 114 percent, and furniture 125 percent. Mass- production workers responded with the first general strike in American history.

The Red Scare
The 1920s thus opened in a mood of fear and intolerance that would linger through the decade. The Red Scare led to bizarre, hysterical attacks against aliens and alleged Communists. Organizations such as the American ...