The Roaring 20’s – The Jazz Age

All About the Roaring '20s
The Roaring 20’s (also known as the Jazz Age) was a period of economic prosperity in the US. It took place following World War I which ended in 1918. The period spanned from 1920 to 1929, making it earn the nickname "the Roaring 20's” or “the Jazz Age." During the period, the US experienced unprecedented economic prosperity and cultural shift. There were also significant technological advancements. Jazz music was immense as demonstrated by the increased nightlife activities. Flappers emerged, whose aim was to challenge traditional norms like the prohibition of alcohol. At the same time, organized crime increased. The Roaring 20’s marked an era of optimism, which culminated in eventual collapse, leaving a mark on the US’s history.[Park, Soo Hyun. "Flapper fashion in the context of cultural changes of America in the 1920s." (2014).]
The Roaring 20’s was a period of economic growth and prosperity. World War I had devastated the economy, as the US government had spent a lot of money funding the war. The wartime economy had left the country devastated with a recovery needed to restore the economy. The 1920s experienced an economic boom. There was a boom in the construction industry and the rapid growth of consumer goods, especially automobiles. The economy managed to transition successfully from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy. The period allowed the US to become the richest nation in terms of per capita. The country majored in mass production of goods due to the increasing consumerism. On the contrary, the European economies struggled to readjust post-war and did not flourish until 1924. In the US, the returning soldiers fouled employment opportunities in the industries, hence providing the labor needed to produce consumer products. The prosperity caused a rise in personal wealth and the standards of living among many Americans.[Vonyó, Tamás. "Post-war Reconstruction and the Golden Age of economic growth." European Review of Economic History 12, no. 2 (2008): 221-241.]
The economic growth and prosperity served as a pull factor for people from other countries to move to America to take advantage of the opportunities available. The number of immigrants to the US increased immensely. As a result, the US became more anti-immigrant and enacted laws to limit the number of immigrants. The Emergence Quota Act of 1921 capped the number of immigrants from nations outside the Western Hemisphere to about 357,000 annually. The Immigrant Act of 1924 was more restrictive with a cap of 150,000 immigrants each year. This ensured that as America experienced economic growth and prosperity, immigrants did not cause a burden to the citizens.[Massey, Douglas S., and Karen A. Pren. "Unintended consequences of US immigration policy: Explaining the post‐1965 surge from Latin America." Population and development review 38, no. 1 (2012): 1-29.] [US Department of State. "The Immigration Act of 1924 (The Johnson‐Reed Act)." (2016).]
New products and technologies emerged during the Roaring '20s. Mass production made the technology available even to middle-class people. The middle class could access products that were initially affordable only to the upper class. For instance, before World War I, cars were a luxury product. However, in the 1920s, mass production made cars easily accessible in the US and Canada. While Ford had dominated the automobile industry since the early 1900s, its dominance was eroded before the end of 1929 due to the entrance of competitors doing mass production of vehicles. Ford also expanded its manufacturing capacity by opening factories around the world. Another product that became readily available was the radio. While radios were expensive, they became the first means of broadcasting medium. Radio advertising drove mass marketing, where businesses could reach thousands of listeners simultaneously. The economic importance of the radio gave rise to mass culture that continues to dominate society. At the same time, the cinema industry boomed as people could watch films cheaply and conveniently. Crowds would meet in cinema places to watch their favorite movies. The invention of sound movies in 1923 took the cinema industry a notch higher. These technological advances marked a major transition for the American society.[Brown, Michael. "Radio magazines and the development of broadcasting: Radio broadcast and radio news, 1922–1930." Journal of Radio Studies 5, no. 1 (1998): 68-81.]
Moreover, the period marked major cultural changes. The consumption of jazz music skyrocketed. Jazz musicians made the music livelier by making improvisations that resonated well with the audience. The music genre symbolized the spirit of the area and influenced the ...