The Roaring Twenties

HIS 149

The Roaring Twenties

The 1920s was a decade in American history that went by many names such as The Jazz Age, The Age of Intolerance, and The Age of Wonderful Nonsense. The 1920s however had another more widely known nickname, The Roaring Twenties. The name is derived from the social and economic boom that came about in this decade. This decade was popular for its Speakeasies, Flappers, get rich quick schemes, stocks, and jazz music (hence this decade's other nickname "The Jazz Age"). Speakeasies were night clubs where you could buy liquor despite the prohibition. Flappers were the beginning of modern day womanhood in our society because before them, women in America were very conservative and not used to seeing women act and dress in this manner. Jazz music and dancing also arose in this era.

Almost every American was "roaring" back in the 1920s. There was a very open market for everybody to make money. Although racism was still a very large part of our society, the Harlem Renaissance was a way for African Americans to express themselves artistically through literature, poetry, or music. Night clubs like The Cotton Club and The Savoy Ballroom helped to make dance music the most popular form of music during the Roaring Twenties. Jazz music was the music of choice in the roaring twenties with big time names like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Bing Crosby.

With the nineteenth amendment being passed in 1920, women now had the right to vote. Women also developed more of a sense of independence with America's transformation to an industrial society. The transformation opened up new opportunities for women, particularly single young women. This is when the flappers came about. The flappers back then were just a modern day woman. They smoked cigarettes, had casual sex, flaunted their bodies with the clothing they chose to wear. Nowadays that isn't so bad; it's actually normal but back then there was a more moral emphasis in society then now.

The roaring twenties were not enjoyed by