modern culture life in the 1920s

This is the first discussion assignment for the second half of the class. You are going back to the 1920s; you are to read Chapter 8 in the text, the lecture on modern culture, especially on the 1920s, and also view the videos on the 1920s.

You are going to transport yourself back to the 1920s and write about what life was like in the 1920s. You can focus on a variety of happenings in the 1920s and enjoy your visit back to that timeframe in our modern history.




Finally let us know which aspect of life in the 1920s you enjoy the most and then comment on ONE other student’s choice of their favorite aspect of the 1920s. Again enjoy your trip to the past.

1.

The nineteen twenties were a time of economic progress for most Americans. During the administrations of President Warren Harding and President Calvin Coolidge, many companies grew larger, creating new jobs. Wages for most Americans increased. Many people began to have enough money to buy new kinds of products.
The strong economy also created the right environment for many important changes in the day-to-day social life of Americans. The nineteen twenties are remembered now as an exciting time that historians call the “Roaring Twenties.” The nineteen twenties brought a feeling of freedom and independence to millions of Americans, especially young Americans. Young soldiers returned from the world war with new ideas. They had seen a different world in Europe. They had faced death and learned to enjoy the pleasures that each day offered.
Many of these young soldiers were not willing to quietly accept the old traditions of their families and villages when they returned home. Instead, they wanted to try new ways of living. Many young Americans, both men and women, began to challenge some of the traditions of their parents and grandparents. For example, some young women began to experiment with new kinds of clothes. They no longer wore dresses that hid the shape of their bodies. Instead, they wore thinner dresses that uncovered part of their legs. Many young women began to smoke cigarettes, too. Cigarette production in the United States more than doubled in the ten years between nineteen eighteen and nineteen twenty-eight. Many women also began to drink alcohol with men in public for the first time. And they listened together to a popular new kind of music: jazz.
Young people danced the Fox Trot, the Charleston, and other new dances. They held one another tightly on the dance floor, instead of dancing far apart.

One thing that stood out to me was that the younger generation started to make a step towards a change for the better. Starting their own traditions and taking chances was a new beginning for these people. This was needed since the war was such a life changing event.