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Cultural Change
Roaring Twenties
The cultural changes of the 1920s were so profound that the decade is often characterized as the "Roaring Twenties." During this period women enjoyed new freedoms, new innovations emerged, and a unified American culture began to develop.
Changing Culture
The culture of the 1920s reflected the changes that emerged in the decades preceding it, especially considering the development of industry. Mass-produced items appeared on store shelves across the nation. Many of these new innovations improved the quality of life and made every day tasks more efficient and less expensive.
Quality of Life
Americans across the country enjoyed a higher standard of living. The bustling cities and industries provided stable work environments with good wages that allowed Americans the freedom and flexibility to enjoy one of the many emerging pastimes.
The growth of cities also led to more social freedom and opportunity as women found socially acceptable jobs outside the home and dared to wear less conservative fashions.
Henry Ford and the "Horseless Carriage"
Perhaps one of the most significant developments of the decade was Henry Ford's "horseless carriage." The advent of the automobile completely transformed life in the United States.
By the 1920s, nearly 8 million Americans owned a family car and millions more worked in industries related to cars. With distance no longer an issue, work and leisure patterns changed, suburban living became possible, and school divisions based on grade-level became a new reality.
Read The Age of the Automobile to learn more about the impact of the automobile.
Innovations
Henry Ford's automobiles were not the only innovation to influence 1920s culture. Numerous other innovations emerged that changed the lifestyle of the typical American.
Read A Consumer Economy.
Also read Here's a List of 20 Inventions in the 1920s [Inventors Included] to explore more about influential innovations during this decade.
Listening to the Radio
One of the favorite pastimes of the decade was listening to the newly developed radio. Americans enjoyed hearing political news, baseball scores, and their favorite music and shows over the radio.
By 1922, nearly 500 stations existed throughout the United States.
These stations paid for programming (as they do today) by selling advertising. By the end of the 1920s, some advertisers were paying over $10,000 for an hour of airtime.
Radio Unites the Nation
Radio also helped unite the nation in a way no other medium could. In 1926, the nation's first broadcast network, the National Broadcasting Company, was created. For the first time, Americans across the nation could listen to the same programs, sporting events, and news broadcasts simultaneously. A unified national culture began to emerge.
Listen to the 1920s History SoundBoard to hear sample radio broadcasts from the era.
Fads and Trends of the 1920s
Movies, sporting events, and reading magazines were also popular ways to spend the days off.
Read about fads and trends of the era:
View some video clips of 1920s movies and sports.
Other Social Trends
Women of the 1920s enjoyed a life with more freedom and choices than women from any previous generation.
The fight for women's suffrage provided women of the twenties the opportunity to vote for the first time in American history. The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920 and gave women the right to vote.
The development of new innovations such as the telephone, department stores, and other big businesses opened doors of employment outside the home for women to work as operators or clerks.
Flappers
Some women of the 1920s dared to push the social boundaries a bit further. These women, commonly known as flappers, were typically urban, middle-class, single women with jobs in the city. They wore less conservative fashions with shorter hair and hemlines and enjoyed the nightlife opportunities provided by the city.
Watch Flappers (2:27) to learn more about the flapper and her lifestyle.
In Summary
- The mass-production of the automobile had a tremendous effect on society. It allowed Americans to travel more and live further away from the city. The ripple effect on the economy was significant as new restaurants, motels, and repair businesses opened to service car owners.
- Consumers of the 1920s purchased many of the new, exciting innovations of the decade. Much of these purchases were made on credit, increasing the debt of many Americans.
- Americans enjoyed a variety of pastimes during the twenties.
- Women enjoyed new freedom and independence during the 1920s. They voted, worked, wore less conservative fashions, and enjoyed the nightlife of the 1920s.
The Woman Rebel
Margaret Sanger is a key figure in the changing freedoms of American women throughout the 20th century.
Read Sanger's biography from the National Women's History Museum to learn more.
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