US History: Decadent 20's, US Homefront WW2

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The Roaring 20's

The decade that made up the 1920's, from 1920-1929 is dubbed the 'Roaring 20's'. It was an age of decadence in that it was a decade of economic boom. The very first skyscrapers were being constructed in the cities of New York and Chicago, factories following the Ford method of mass production created products that went beyond the nation's surplus, encouraging consumption and international trade. Railways were being built and utilized, banks opened up their capitalizing system to finance entrepreneurial activities, more and more people got employed in factories and as such the nation's wealth more than doubled. Americans for the first time lived in cities more than in farms, and with access to jobs and pay the phenomenon of a consumer society took place (History, 2017). Because of improvement in transportation, lower cost of goods, availability of jobs - a 'mass culture' was instituted in American society so that from coast to coast, the same fashions in magazine, the same ideas and opinions in newspapers, activities and efforts from all parts of the country were shared at a national stage. 'Slang's in popular daily speech were created, spoken by the young who created the trend and to this day has become accepted as part of our speech, i.e. 'Beat it' (to get lost, baby (sweetheart, special someone), bee's knee's (terrific, amazing), applesauce (nonsense, flattery), crasher (a person who attends a party uninvited), dick (a private investigator), drum (a speakeasy), fag (a cigarette) and hooch (booze, alcohol). Because of the fact that parents in this era were able to provide for the needs of their family, their young were able to concentrate on pursuing decadent lifestyles, seeking dance clubs, parties, fashions, Jazz music, etc. It was the same fashion for 'flappers' (young women who seek to enjoy themselves while going against conventional behavior) all over the country - from clothes, to accessories, bags, watches - so much so that a 20's 'look' as well as the attitude of decadent living is now associated to that era.

The fact that Ford motors achieved mass ...